First post, by Aragorn
So i have for many years used modified OEM case parts in my builds, largely because i think they look pretty smart... Usually Dell, i think mostly because when i was about 15 i did some work experience at a place running Poweredge 1300's, and the Charcoal chassis with the prominent grille on the front really struck me as a cool design:
http://www.ithistory.org/sites/default/files/ … dware/1300s.jpg
Unfortunately that particular model uses lots of non-standard components, making it not particularly useful for a custom build, though i did own a real Poweredge 1400 a few years later when they got super cheap, its since been sold on and replaced.
My "daily driver" is a modern i5/Asus B250H setup, built into the chassis from a Dell Poweredge 830. I also have a spare Poweredge 800 chassis which looks the same, which had another modern build in it, but is currently on the shelf.
However these boxes are somewhat too modern looking for a proper retro build. I have set out to build a "99-00" Gaming box, and what i really wanted was an Antec SX800/830 or SX600/630 chassis, as that was the quintissential box from back then, and i owned the larger full tower version of that case back then myself. Unfortunately they seem to be like rocking horse p these days. Pondering what to use, and realising beige cases are pretty rare, i jumped on ebay and started looking at Dells from that era.
Eventually i came across a XPS T500 which i liked the look of, and snapped it up for a mere £50. Spec wise its a little too early for what i want, but it is a pretty high end box for its time, running a P3 500, and a Diamond TNT graphics card and soundblaster live! I've bought an Athlon 1100, and a MSI K7T board for it as i feel thats a bit more fitting of the peak of y2k gaming.
I'm now getting pangs of guilt for some reason, about the thoughts of stripping this machine down and rebuilding it into something radically different. Not sure why, its never bothered me before, but this box is decidedly older than what i usually mess with. If the mods were non-destructive it wouldnt be too bad, but having a close look at it, i realise i'm going to have to remove the IO shield and modify it, to accept the full AC97 outputs of the K7T, as being a Dell chassis its not a standard IO sheild, and while dell have stuck with AC97, they've not fitted the second serial port or the onboard sound jacks. A fairly minor hack i guess, but still one that means its unlikely to ever be returned to its original self.
What are your thoughts on this? Finding cases must be pretty difficult so purchasing a machine and rebuilding it is perhaps often the best/easiest way to go, but your destroying a wee piece of history in the process?
Needing an AT case for an older build as well, and those are even more impossible than the ATX stuff!
