VOGONS


First post, by SSTV2

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Hello,

I have an opportunity to get this full-tower AT case "locally", but visual inspection reveals that it's not in the best shape... PSU cover, drive bay covers and feet are missing, protective zinc layer starts to corrode, but exterior looks decent. PSU would definitely require some maintenance whether it's operating or not.

I'd like know what fellow forumers think about this case and how much would it be worth paying for. Any info (links, pictures) about this particular case model and PSU would be appreciated 😀

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Reply 2 of 10, by badmojo

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I'd leave that one personally - finding matching drive bay covers is hard at the best of times and that case needs about 150 of them!

Life? Don't talk to me about life.

Reply 4 of 10, by SSTV2

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Yes, finding matching original drive bay covers is practically impossible, but drive bays could still be filled with 2x floppies and 4x matching optical drives. I'm more concerned about that huge proprietary PSU case, which has no top cover. Just noticed one more thing... Shouldn't there also be 3.5in drive rack?

Reply 6 of 10, by skitters

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Very nice power button.
I like rocker switches for on/off, especially when they're green.

You can use a 3.5" to 5.25" drive bay adapter for a 3.5" floppy drive.

You can use protective silver paint if you're worried about zinc layer corrosion.
At least the case isn't full of rust (that I can see) and looks fairly clean.

I don't know about the power supply.
I'd want to check it out before attaching a hard-to-find motherboard to it.

If I needed an AT case, I'd probably go up to $50 for an AT case like this.
It appears to be in mostly good shape, and being available locally means no
additional charges for shipping -- or risk of damage during shipment.

Reply 7 of 10, by chinny22

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The missing drive bay covers are annoying but the Mhz, power switch make up for that.
Case that size you should be able to rig a standard PSU if needed somehow.

Depends on how much you need/want a AT case is how much I'd pay. but they are becoming more and more rare and beggers cant be choosers.

Reply 8 of 10, by SSTV2

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chinny22 wrote:

Case that size you should be able to rig a standard PSU if needed somehow.

If only it was that simple:

Gc6jEJWm.jpg

I'm categorically against any modifications on old hardware, that cannot easily be reverted back and here I'd have to drill new mounting holes and remove/add part of the tin so that standard PSU would fit in...

I've contacted the seller about this case, he said that he might still find missing parts, damn, if he finds 'em, I won't miss a chance of getting this tower,
who knows when another late 80's/early 90's style AT case will show up here.

XCVG wrote:

AT cases are so rare in my area that I'd jump on just about anything. How badly do you need an AT case, and how hard are they to get?

AT cases are pretty darn rare around here, maybe I could still find some ugly, plump-looking mini ATs of late 90's, if I looked hard enough.

skitters wrote:
Very nice power button. I like rocker switches for on/off, especially when they're green. […]
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Very nice power button.
I like rocker switches for on/off, especially when they're green.

You can use a 3.5" to 5.25" drive bay adapter for a 3.5" floppy drive.

You can use protective silver paint if you're worried about zinc layer corrosion.
At least the case isn't full of rust (that I can see) and looks fairly clean.

I don't know about the power supply.
I'd want to check it out before attaching a hard-to-find motherboard to it.

If I needed an AT case, I'd probably go up to $50 for an AT case like this.
It appears to be in mostly good shape, and being available locally means no
additional charges for shipping -- or risk of damage during shipment.

Agreed on the power button. Yes, I'd fill rack with two floppies, one of which would be adapted to fit 5.25" bay. Looking at photos, it appears that PSU was completely dismantled at some point, so only God knows what happened to it. There would still be a risk of damage by shipment, because it's located in another city over 200 kilometers away.

Reply 9 of 10, by creepingnet

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Shoot, I'd jump on it. AT Cases are a needle-in-a-haystack affair.

Throw SCSI in there, make a massive media-beast out of it. I had a tower like that 12 years ago, could have had every type of media possible in that thing.

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Reply 10 of 10, by McBierle

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Thats really crazy now. That case is exactly the case of my first PC i got from my brother when he got his first 486.
It was a :
- 386DX-33
- Tseng ET4000 512kb (had one other with 1mb which i changed sometimes back then)
- Soundblaster (i think 1.5)
- 4Mb RAM, later 5Mb
- 80Mb HDD
- 5,25" and 3,5" FDD
- 14" CRT Monitor
- Logitech Series 9 (Bus not serial) mouse

I would get that case.