I have never seen this type of case before. I really like them tho. I must start doing research on these!

Mephusto wrote on 2020-10-29, 11:15:

I have never seen this type of case before. I really like them tho. I must start doing research on these!

I recommended the first case pictured in this thread to a friend back in 1999. We put a SiS620 baby AT slot 1 mobo in the case with a pentium II 450mhz CPU. I don't know if this particular sound system or motherboard was defective or what, but the RF produced by the motherboard was clearly audible on the speakers when they were not playing sounds. All in all, it wasn't as nice as I'd hoped it would be. But then a Baby AT Pentium II wasn't a great idea either. It was always a little less that 100% stable. But the thing that completely tanked that build was I thought we had ordered an STB Velocity 100, (Cut down Voodoo 3) but instead we got an STB Velocity 128 (2 year old Riva 128). The system was not the sub $1000 a gaming powerhouse I had hoped.

Wow! So many cool cases here, i`ve never seen before.
I`ve got this one a year ago, new in box:

I love that case. It's so incredibly late-90s.

Nick4 wrote on 2021-06-08, 08:11:

Wow! So many cool cases here, i`ve never seen before.
I`ve got this one a year ago, new in box:

Wow. Perfect for a late 90's pentium with early 3d cards.

kolderman wrote on 2021-06-08, 09:10:

I love that case. It's so incredibly late-90s.

I agree - it almost looks like it's about to transform into a robot. It's the sort of case that almost needs more flashy lights and gadgets installed to look even better.

kolderman wrote on 2021-06-08, 09:10:

I love that case. It's so incredibly late-90s.

It is impressive! My new favourite in this thread. 😀

Strange thing to post... but I have a box of front facia? Front plastic bezel or whatever they're called for #9 in the original post.
I had two complete cases, but I've since parted with them... but if anyone ever needs cleaner parts, replacement amplifier (attached to the front facia) or any of the other bits that go to the front of the case, ping me.
I'm one of those who just can't throw stuff away and I have a weird fascination with stuff from this era.

So I bought one too as they seem fairly easy to find. Needs some care but once I finish with it (next year) it will look as good as new.

I will transfer the guts from my 486 build into it and the 486 case will get some 386 stuff.

Also - this case is the same as the #4 - internally it's exactly the same, also the audio electronics seem very similar.

My brother's 486 was in a #7 case. I love that case!

HanJammer wrote on 2021-10-07, 21:58:

So I bought one too as they seem fairly easy to find.

Awesome case. Where are you finding them easily?

furan wrote on 2021-10-09, 13:58:

HanJammer wrote on 2021-10-07, 21:58:

So I bought one too as they seem fairly easy to find.

Awesome case. Where are you finding them easily?

They show up from time to time on local Polish auction service (Allegro) - around once a two months - and it's usually this style (#7) or #4 which is basically the same internally. Both of my cases came as complete machines built by German brand Palladium, and other computers I've seen on Allegro in these cases were also built by this brand.

HanJammer wrote on 2021-10-09, 14:24:

furan wrote on 2021-10-09, 13:58:

HanJammer wrote on 2021-10-07, 21:58:

So I bought one too as they seem fairly easy to find.

Awesome case. Where are you finding them easily?

They show up from time to time on local Polish auction service (Allegro) - around once a two months - and it's usually this style (#7) or #4 which is basically the same internally. Both of my cases came as complete machines built by German brand Palladium, and other computers I've seen on Allegro in these cases were also built by this brand.

Wow thanks, I see one on there now. If I'm looking to get another I may try to import it from Poland. 😀

furan wrote on 2021-10-09, 19:41:

HanJammer wrote on 2021-10-09, 14:24:

furan wrote on 2021-10-09, 13:58:

Awesome case. Where are you finding them easily?

They show up from time to time on local Polish auction service (Allegro) - around once a two months - and it's usually this style (#7) or #4 which is basically the same internally. Both of my cases came as complete machines built by German brand Palladium, and other computers I've seen on Allegro in these cases were also built by this brand.

Wow thanks, I see one on there now. If I'm looking to get another I may try to import it from Poland. 😀

This one? https://allegro.pl/oferta/retro-stary-kompute … 0-1-10889008322

Price is a bit steep, but this machine is in nice condition and I didn't paid much less for the last one. Also this machine was for sale for quite a while now, so if you are ready to pay you can just click on "kup teraz" (buy it now) and it's yours. It would be good to contact the seller first though. I bought from him some interesting machines in the past and everything was fine, and he packed them reasonably well too.

HanJammer wrote on 2021-10-09, 19:48:

Price is a bit steep, but this machine is in nice condition and I didn't paid much less for the last one. Also this machine was for sale for quite a while now, so if you are ready to pay you can just click on "kup teraz" (buy it now) and it's yours. It would be good to contact the seller first though. I bought from him some interesting machines in the past and everything was fine, and he packed them reasonably well too.

I meant to say: I see one is on there already, but I want one in better condition. I will keep watching Allegro to see what comes up. Thanks!

I have case #1 but sadly its not in great condition - the floppy drive mounting bracket is missing so last time I was using it (probably 15-20 years ago now) I was using duct tape to hold the floppy drive in. IIRC the speakers sounded pretty decent but the audio stuff on the front panel needed some work - new volume control at a minimum. Don't remember if the speakers were magnetically shielded but I don't think I ever lost any floppy disks to them. Wouldn't mind finding another better one but that seems pretty unlikely (and even if I did shipping one internationally wouldn't be cheap).

I think back when I was using it last I had a 486DX4-100 in it with that weird AMI bios with the GUI. Might have even been what was in it when I got it from where ever it came from. Might even be what's still in it now though last time I saw it both 5.25" drives were missing so who knows what else I robbed from it years ago. The duct tape had let go of the floppy drive which had fallen back into the case too. Might have to grab it out of the pile some time and see if I can renovate it a bit.

Thank you for broadening my horizon with this thread. Didn't even know these existed, let alone in such a variety. Until I came by this offering on ebay:
https://www.ebay.de/itm/PC-486-retro-Computer … s-/154826245495

281 € "for parts or not working" - they appear to be in high demand. (I did not buy that one!)
Did some research on that Palladium, apparently they were sold by German mail order Neckermann.

I did not read all the posts here, but would assume that the audio on all of these machines was abysmal.
And I really would like to have one!

Cuttoon wrote on 2022-03-10, 10:20:

Thank you for broadening my horizon with these threat. Didn't even know these existed, let alone in such a variety. Until I came […]
Show full quote

Thank you for broadening my horizon with these threat. Didn't even know these existed, let alone in such a variety. Until I came by this offering on ebay:
https://www.ebay.de/itm/PC-486-retro-Computer … s-/154826245495
palladium.jpg
281 € "for parts or not working" - they appear to be in high demand. (I did not buy that one!)
Did some research on that Palladium, apparently they were sold by German mail order Neckermann.

I did not read all the posts here, but would assume that the audio on all of these machines was abysmal.
And I really would like to have one!

Audio is not as bad as you may think - comparable to most mid-range small computer speakers of this time just with less 'boxy' sound to it (speakers are usually well insulated from the inside with at least some thick plasic 'cups' sitting over them), and with more control over it (some cases even have a simple equalizer). Problem is most of them have the 5,25" bays in the center of the case making it super problematic to mount longer cards or to fit some motherboards. Still they are uncommon and fit the 90s "MPC" craziness perfectly.

HanJammer wrote on 2022-03-10, 11:23:

Audio is not as bad as you may think - comparable to most mid-range small computer speakers of this time just with less 'boxy' sound to it (speakers are usually well insulated from the inside with at least some thick plasic 'cups' sitting over them), and with more control over it (some cases even have a simple equalizer). Problem is most of them have the 5,25" bays in the center of the case making it super problematic to mount longer cards or to fit some motherboards. Still they are uncommon and fit the 90s "MPC" craziness perfectly.

I see. I was going by the inside shots of the Palladium's case and what I was seeing there didn't inspire much confidence in its hifi abilities. But obiously, sound cards and external speakers were all kinds of shitty back then.

I remember, "multimedia" was all the rage and people kept getting their knickers in a twist about how Wing Commander 3 was ushering in a whole new era of "interactive movies" and how you totally should spend the extra buck on a quad speed CD-ROM. Which we did. And it was glorious!

Cuttoon wrote on 2022-03-10, 11:30:

HanJammer wrote on 2022-03-10, 11:23:

Audio is not as bad as you may think - comparable to most mid-range small computer speakers of this time just with less 'boxy' sound to it (speakers are usually well insulated from the inside with at least some thick plasic 'cups' sitting over them), and with more control over it (some cases even have a simple equalizer). Problem is most of them have the 5,25" bays in the center of the case making it super problematic to mount longer cards or to fit some motherboards. Still they are uncommon and fit the 90s "MPC" craziness perfectly.

I see. I was going by the inside shots of the Palladium's case and what I was seeing there didn't inspire much confidence in its hifi abilities. But obiously, sound cards and external speakers were all kinds of shitty back then.

I remember, "multimedia" was all the rage and people kept getting their knickers in a twist about how Wing Commander 3 was ushering in a whole new era of "interactive movies" and how you totally should spend the extra buck on a quad speed CD-ROM. Which we did. And it was glorious!

You can look at internals of my other case here: My uncommon/epic MPC2 486 VLB build

Palladium cases are of similar quality (just the speakers may be a bit less insulated from the case interior).