KT7AGuy wrote:

Nowadays, aside from my P200 MMX system, my cases are all semi-modern units that don't look very "retro". I built them with a function-over-form mentality. Even the P200 case is not original. The original case was ugly and had a cracked power switch, so I got the current one from a seller on eBay about six years ago.

I like it, nice and clean and has style. Having all the original drive bay covers is a nice bonus - they're often missing or yellowed in my experience. Finding a floppy drive / CD-ROM that matches the case colour is also tricky but worth the effort I think.

You have some pretty awesome specs on your P200 machine, I'm a fan of the Matrox Millennium and CT2230 too. Very nice machine.

sadly I dont own any retro beige cases, I had one made by mesh , but it broke and so I had to throw it out. The problem with finding cases from the 1990s , especially AT cases , is a significant one , usually when they do show up they can be badly yellowed. I suspect its probably even worse here in the UK than in the US , due to the greater popularity of the Amiga over the PC for the longest time, at least outside of business & government institutions.

my retro machines all sit in relatively newer cases, my P133 machine is in an Cooler Master Wave case (though I am trying to find an older case for that ), my Athlon 1400 sits in a Lian LI PC60 (which really does look nice), and the HP XW4400 workstation sits in the HP case it original came in (also quite nice actually)

devius wrote:

You win! Nobody else has so many nice looking old cases 😁

Then you didnt have seen mine cases.. I have a lot of these old cases too..
I also take them if they are yellowed, you can really be to greedy if the case is yellowed or not.. Because trying to get one is almost impossible.
So iam happy with the cases i can buy or getting.

I only have 2 retro ATX cases, and the second one is what I call an "ugly duckling" 😜

Here's the first one, an Antec KS-288 Valueline. It currently houses my Socket 7 build (click on pics for larger size).

As for the "ugly duckling", it's an Enermax CS-A1QX-02 from 2001. It's currently inside a box in the garage, and the only pics I have are old ones from when my Pentium 4 build was in it. I may or may not use it again.

Oh man! 😀
Cases in the first post are impressive
Superb!
Tomorrow I will put my pictures

Darkman wrote:

my retro machines all sit in relatively newer cases, my P133 machine is in an Cooler Master Wave case (though I am trying to find an older case for that ), my Athlon 1400 sits in a Lian LI PC60 (which really does look nice), and the HP XW4400 workstation sits in the HP case it original came in (also quite nice actually)

The Lian LI PC60 is a beautiful case and I think they can go either way, retro or modern - it's just a classic style. I have a P4 in something similar (Pentium 4 Cedar Mill 3.4 GHz - more than just hot air) and I love working on it. Such a well designed case.

JayCeeBee64 wrote:

I only have 2 retro ATX cases, and the second one is what I call an "ugly duckling" 😜

That Antec is the business, very serious looking hardware. Have you considered a case badge to fill the provided space?

I do have a Pentium badge, came with my P233MMX. I've been tempted to use it more than once, but it's smaller than the badge space on the Antec case.

I'll probably look for a larger-size badge that fits better; maybe a 3dfx badge will do (and add the Pentium badge as well ^^).

EDIT: Ah yes, I remember this old thread of yours badmojo Case badges

I'll gather some 3dfx logos and see which one will fit best for a custom order 😁

badmojo wrote:

You have some pretty awesome specs on your P200 machine, I'm a fan of the Matrox Millennium and CT2230 too. Very nice machine.

Thanks! I got the CT2230 through pure luck and coincidence. When I made my first attempt at building a PC from scratch in 1995, I was still quite ignorant about what was good or bad in components. I went to the local computer shop, told them that I wanted the best SoundBlaster they had, and this is what they sold me. I remember it being extremely expensive when I bought it new. I want to say I paid over $200 for it, but I may not be remembering things correctly. I also remember the Matrox being ridiculously expensive too. Heck, pretty much everything was expensive back in the mid-1990s.

Almost 20 years later, and it turns out that the CT2230 is possibly the best variant of the SB16. I'm still not too sure what makes this one so great, aside from lack of the "hanging note bug". Mine has the ASP chip on it too, which is probably why it was so expensive. I also understand the ASP chip to be quite useless, but I didn't know any better at the time.

Anyway, the shop that sold me the card was a really disreputable dump. I'm still surprised that they actually listened to me and sold me the best SB card they had, as I requested.

I added on the WaveBlaster daughterboard sometime in 1998 or 1999. I know it's not the best wavetable midi card out there, but the fact that it's rare and made by Creative is why I keep it.

badmojo wrote:

Darkman wrote:

my retro machines all sit in relatively newer cases, my P133 machine is in an Cooler Master Wave case (though I am trying to find an older case for that ), my Athlon 1400 sits in a Lian LI PC60 (which really does look nice), and the HP XW4400 workstation sits in the HP case it original came in (also quite nice actually)

The Lian LI PC60 is a beautiful case and I think they can go either way, retro or modern - it's just a classic style. I have a P4 in something similar (Pentium 4 Cedar Mill 3.4 GHz - more than just hot air) and I love working on it. Such a well designed case.

the PC60 really is a great case, sturdy and good looking, though it seems mine is slightly different than the one you have, mine has a vent/fan on top , seems like mine is a 2002 revision as opposed to yours which is the 2001 USB original.

One option of course is to go for beige/white cases from the early 2000s, maybe not quite as retro , but they are bound to be in better shape and easier to find than 90s cases (unless youre talking about AT cases of course)

Here are some new pics of the Enermax case:

I'll be the new home for an Asus CUSL2-C with a Pentium 3 800EB and a Voodoo 3 3000 AGP (minus the cheap PSU, of course 😊 ).

As for the Antec KS-288, it now has some new decorations added 😁 :

Is this only for custom cases (non-OEM)? I have a bunch I will post photo's of tomorrow but I also have a few retro OEM computers that I just think look sweet.

InWin A500.

My ATC-S 500 housing my PIII Rig

Sliding rear makes for such an easier build..

Full thread here... ATC-S PIII Coppermine Win9x Build Log [WIP] **Photo Heavy**

If I was to bring my 3 most retro looking cases to the party it would be the 286 (16MHz display), the 386 desktop (40MHz display), and the tower case I am waiting to arrive. This tower may replace the desktop as my main 386 rig.

386_junkie wrote:

If I was to bring my 3 most retro looking cases to the party it would be the 286 (16MHz display), the 386 desktop (40MHz display), and the tower case I am waiting to arrive. This tower may replace the desktop as my main 386 rig.

The top one looks absolutely fantastic! 😁
Always liked the looks of these designs 😀

Tetrium wrote:

The top one looks absolutely fantastic! 😁
Always liked the looks of these designs 😀

It arrived today... very clean and new looking, with thanks to a fellow Vogon'er.

Yes... the old ones are the best.

I've got five beige cases, but this one is my favorite. I wrote about it in another recent thread.

I needed a Baby AT case for a SS7 build, and this was a clean-looking example on eBay. Plus, I'd never seen a full three-digit LED display on a Baby AT case before. At $80 shipped, it wasn't cheap, but it was part of a working system that included a K6-233 and a Soundscape Opus, Chicony AT-style KB, among other things. I swapped the FDD it came with with the Mitsumi FDD/flash memory combo--not really-period correct, but the SD reader is very convenient. I need to get rid of the 52x CD-ROM drive because it's too loud.

Here's my favorite one and the goodies inside:

Great looking case. Did you drill a stand-off into the bottom of the case for the AWE32? I've been wondering if I ought to do something to support mine.

Also, is that a slot fan? Is it cooling the card above it? I've been thinking about getting something like that to aim at a V3 in my case.