First post, by tegrady
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I just completed my first sleeper build.
Specs:
Addtronics 7890a Server Tower Case (circa 1999 or so).
EVGA 750 GQ Power Supply.
Asus Prime X470-Pro motherboard.
Ryzen 7 2700x 8-core CPU.
16GB G.Skill DDR4 Ram, 3000mhz.
500gb WD Black NVME drive.
Asus Radeon 5700 XT GPU.
Noctua NH-D15 CPU Cooler.
5 Noctua 80mm case fans.
1 Noctua 92mm case fan.
LG Blu-Ray Writer/Player.
Front panel USB 3.0.
Original 1.44mb Floppy drive connected with an internal USB 2.0 adapter.
I also added a white Monoprice mechanical keyboard (which is the most old-school looking modern keyboard I have ever seen) and a white Logitech G203 mouse to complete the retro look.
The chassis of the case was starting to rust, so I sanded it down and repainted it with Rustoleum winter gray spray paint. It's not an exact match to the original color, which was a bit lighter, but it's pretty close and looks "original" to me.
I also had to spray paint the face plate of the Blu-Ray player and the USB 3.0 Front Panel with Rustoleum smoky beige spray paint. I would say that this is the perfect spray paint for that old school beige look.
I did my best with cable management, but this case was not designed with cable management in mind. That being said, it is a very large case for its time and I was able to route most of the cables in a way that doesn't make the interior look too cluttered. There were some cables that just could not be managed too well though. I was also pleasantly surprised that the Noctua NH-D15 actually fits quite well. I think this is the largest air cooler out there and I have a good 1/2" to 1" of clearance from the side panel.
Overall, I am very pleased with the outcome. Other than the front USB 3.0, you would never know it's got modern hardware inside. I am also very happy that this amazing case gets to live on in a useful form.