VOGONS


PC tower cases by year

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Reply 180 of 227, by PcBytes

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Trev-MUN wrote on 2022-04-27, 13:56:
Hey all, […]
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Hey all,

I had seen in another VOGONS thread that someone had posted having (or seeing) a computer with this sort of case:

case.jpg

Last year when Fry's Electronics liquidated I was able to pick up one of their corporate machines on the cheap. The one I picked out had this case.

I was wondering if anyone might know the original make and model of it; I had tried finding that out myself when I found out that the Wayback Machine had not only archived some of Newegg's earliest pages for computer cases, but that Newegg used to link to case manufacturer websites and that the Wayback Machine had archived some of them as well. Frustratingly, I'd been able to identify the cases for all the other beige box machines that were on sale during the liquidation except for the ones which use this style of case.

Has anyone had any luck identifying this one?

JNC/Deer 811SG(A), according to this site:
http://www.eurotech.8m.net/economic.htm

"Enter at your own peril, past the bolted door..."
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Reply 181 of 227, by Wussman

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kvanderlaag wrote on 2021-08-05, 16:56:
radivx wrote on 2019-04-21, 12:39:
https://i.imgur.com/rJ1Rggxm.jpg […]
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rJ1Rggxm.jpg

This is the one from my childhood.
A good condition one is really wanted 😀

If anyone was still wondering (since everyone seems to have had one as a child), this is the Macase KS-330, from Macase's "Diamond" series. They were available as Desktop, minitower, mid-tower, and full-tower versions. (The Desktop is the KS-730; Minitower is the KS-330; Mid-tower is the KS-230; and the full-tower is the KS-130.)

They were also available in black, though black ones are much less common these days. You can actually see one in a 1994 (or maybe it was 1995) episode of the Computer Chronicles in one of the demo segments; apologies, but I just watched through both years and I forget which one it was. They're quite handsome.

Hi all! More info about the black tower version of Macase , where can I get more photos of it please?
I own the minitower and wanted to know more about it.Thank you!

Reply 182 of 227, by Chadti99

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Spotted a Macase in a documentary on YouTube, which I thought I had bookmarked, I’ll find it later. Looks like it also has an NEC Multispin and a MAG Innovision monitor.

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Reply 183 of 227, by douglar

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Chadti99 wrote on 2023-05-23, 14:58:

Spotted a Macase in a documentary on YouTube, which I thought I had bookmarked, I’ll find it later. Looks like it also has an NEC Multispin and a MAG Innovision monitor.

Damn!! That SOB has all the prime goodies! Next thing you'll tell us is that he's got a Cyrix 5x86 OC'ed to 150 under the hood with a 4MB S3 Trio VLB @ 50Mhz bus....

Reply 184 of 227, by jtchip

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I'm glad I checked out this thread, thanks to @kvanderlaag I now know my case is a Macase KS-330 with 2-digit LED and it seems to be a popular one to play spot-the-case 😀
I acquired this around the turn of the millennium with a 200W PSU as part of a clear-out otherwise it would have likely gone into a skip. Only marking was a sticker inside with a handwritten HDD CHS geometry of 936/16/36 or 276MB so that probably places it at around 1993.

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Reply 186 of 227, by Cuttoon

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EvieSigma wrote on 2023-03-18, 23:27:

Trying to identify this case...it's got Inwin A500 vibes but it's clearly not an A500, so I don't know if it's a different Inwin case or some kind of Taiwanese clone.

Front is an A500, but the PSU is horizontally up top, instead of hovering vertically in front of the CPU area.
(This one is µ-ATX, the original being full ATX format.)

Even by the limited sample of the heap, there were all kinds of variants of these cases, I have at least two with clear Q500 DNA, yet other details. One actually is blue.

Most likely not clones, but simply OEM products from the same factory. With some features or cost cutting measures.
As weird as it sounds, but most PCs were not built at home or by small custom shops, but large OEMs.

Wasn't In-Win Taiwanese to begin with?

Nod to thread title: I got my Q500 in 1999.
Those side ventilation openings here seem rather modern, yet it's still beige. I'd wager it was sold somewhere around 2000 to 2003?

I like jumpers.

Reply 187 of 227, by PC Hoarder Patrol

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SETBLASTER wrote on 2023-05-26, 04:19:

can anyone tell if lian li pc-60 is one of the first cases they released?

wikipedia mentions they started in the 80s but i have never seen older lian li cases

Seems plausible; around 1999 / 2000 - have a read here https://www.userlandia.com/home/2022/5/lian-li-pc6077

Reply 188 of 227, by Trev-MUN

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PcBytes wrote on 2023-03-21, 20:20:

JNC/Deer 811SG(A), according to this site:
http://www.eurotech.8m.net/economic.htm

Dang! How'd you find that?!

I was trying everything I could think of! Wayback Machine's archives of Newegg didn't turn anything up so I was exploring old archives of Impress Watch's "Hotline!" netzine.

Thanks! I appreciate it!

Reply 190 of 227, by Tzzantaru

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arncht wrote on 2018-05-20, 10:43:
Hi […]
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Hi

I mean if you remember - "I saw somewhere same/similar case from this year, with this configuration" - you can share this information with us.
That helps to build more authentic retro computers.

rJ1Rggxm.jpg
"Dominick" ca 1992-1999 (sleep button instead of turbo from 1995-1996)

  • It came with an MMX233 in it but it was likely upgraded, the turbo display is 2 digits. I used to see this very case from small computer businesses for years, but I really can't say much about it. I've been looking to find where these came from because I know for a fact they are extremely ubiquitous. Later versions of it came with 3 digit displays.
  • My father had a 386SX-25 in a case with this bezel, given to him new by his work, that was around mid-1992.
  • I have two cases with really similar look. One had a 486SX with VLB and the case has a turbo button, the other was a Pentium 133 and the cas has a sleep button. Looks like they got produced for quite some time. Also the 486 has a big plastic feet. The pentium has none, but it have been removed I think because the bare metal is toutching the ground instead ...
  • I would bet 386 machines circa 1992 would have been the earliest showing of it. I've never seen one with a sleep button, only the same case with turbo and a triple digit display instead of double. Though I'm not sure if the 3 digit ones were a later iteration or just 3rd party swaps of the display.

Hi

I have this almost exactly same case, with different led panel. From what i understand from this topic this should be a Macase KS-330D(?) but with a different LED Panel(CAT-188-1) that i didnt see anywhere on the entire internet.

The system was bought in 1997 with:
Mobo: Lucky Star LS-486E Rev:C2
CPU: AMD Am5x86 133ADZ
RAM: 8MB (upgraded to 16MB after)
Video card: Trident TGUI-9680-1 with 1MB video ram
Audio: Yamaha OPL3/SA2
HDD: Quantum Fireball 3.5, 1.2 GB capacity
PSU: Codegen Model 200B

Also, does anyone know where the POWER LED should be connected? The motherboard does not have a connector for it.

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Reply 191 of 227, by copper

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Anybody recognize this unusual looking case I picked up? Doesn't have any obvious markings. Seems mid to late 90s. I'm a big fan of the gray accents.

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Reply 192 of 227, by douglar

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Here's a strange one that's currently on an auction site.

"Nexar ISP4106 AT PC Pentium". Stickers suggest it's from July 1996. FCCID is from March 1996.

At first glance it looks like your standard clone case, but it has a side access panel that let's you can reach the RAM, Cache & CPU without opening the case.

The motherboard must have those components mounted on the opposite side.

Not sure what the use of the pin header next to the CPU is.

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Reply 194 of 227, by Sev80

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anyone know much about this case? This is taken from a video from Necroware. This looks to be the desktop version of the mini tower case I had for my first PC. Unfortunately, my dad threw that machine away and since then I have spent forever looking for the same case. The case I had for my pc was from 1991/1992. I'm including a picture of the badge that was on my case. We bought that computer from a Taiwanese computer place in City of Industry, ca. It was called "golden everstar"

The mini tower had the same buttons, text, frequency display and etc. It also had the same step down design. The lights are identical to the one I had too, it must be the same manufacturer. Unfortunately you'd think i'd have a picture of my old case, but I dont. I saw this one in Nercroware's video and lit up because it looks to be the same design, just in desktop form.

I've never seen another like that case I had, not even a picture of it. I've scoured the internet and found nothing. I did find another case that had the same badge. Pic attached.

If anyone can help find who made it, another one like it, I'd be over the moon!

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Reply 196 of 227, by tommak78

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Hi,

I've been trying to figure out for years who was the manufacturer for this case? I know I had it in 1993 or 1994 and had 486/33MHz in it.

Would be very nice to build this machine again. Too bad the picture is not better and I cannot see/read the blue logo.. I have been trying to remember it.. like eurostar, euromaster, euronics... but it might be something
completely different. It was bought from Finland.

Thank you for reading!

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Reply 198 of 227, by tommak78

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copper wrote on 2023-12-05, 20:16:
tommak78 wrote on 2023-12-05, 20:08:

Too bad the picture is not better

That is a desktop case turned on its side, not a tower. Have you searched for desktops?

You are correct and I have searched for desktops. I searched all over the internet and also went through many PC magazines from the era with no luck finding this.
Maybe they made towers also, so If I can figure out the logo or find a similar tower, it might help me on this quest.
I'm pretty sure there is a black reset and/or turbo button on the black area and MHz should be visible on it too.

Reply 199 of 227, by Corvair

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copper wrote on 2023-09-22, 15:28:

Anybody recognize this unusual looking case I picked up? Doesn't have any obvious markings. Seems mid to late 90s. I'm a big fan of the gray accents.

Nice case! I'm a fan of the big, HUGE front panel buttons 😀