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Main => Project Announcements => Topic started by: BurgerKingDiamond on September 01, 2010, 05:32:05 am

Title: NES PC Project
Post by: BurgerKingDiamond on September 01, 2010, 05:32:05 am
This is a new project that I just finished. It isn't exactly arcade related, but I think that the people on this forum will find it interesting anyway.
I also want to acknowledge that I am not the first person to do this. I have seen numerous other PC NES case mods. I think my turned out really well though, and
that it is worth showing off.

The Hardware:

120 GB hard drive, Toshiba
2 GB RAM, Crucial
Intel Ion motherboard, cpu combo, ZOTAC
DVD Burner, Lite-On
1 Fan, blue LED
2 Cold Cathode Tubes, Blue
Built in WiFi card
ION Graphics card, ZOTAC
picoPSU-150-XT   102W Adapter Power Kit


Total Cost including random odds and ends (cable sleeves, shipping, adapters....)
$650-$700
I could have saved some money, but I messed up a little on my order and had to buy some extra stuff, but whatever.

Basic rundown...

I bought a used NES that was being sold for parts on eBay, because I didn't want to ruin a working one. The original red power LED wasn't working, so I just threw
in a green one that I had. I thought it looked cool so I left it in. I also drilled a hole under the controller ports for the HDD LED. You can see it blinking, but
it's kinda out of sight at the same time, which I like. From the outside it looks pretty much like a regular NES. Just for fun
I also but some cold cathodes (with on/off switch) under the air slots on the top right side of the NES. The blue glow looks really cool in the dark.

Original, unmodified NES controllers work through the controller ports for emulators and games. I installed NES to USB converters which are
hooked up to internal USB headers, and the controller ports from the inside.

I am using a wireless mini keyboard with trackpad that is really awesome called the Rii mini. It is rechargable, and backlit. I would highly recommend it to
anyone who has a home theatre pc. You can get it from Pandawill.com for like $45.

I still haven't configured all the software, but I will be using Hyperspin.

Check the video if you want to see some more. It's a little long. Skip ahead to the end for finished shots.

NES PC by Burger King Diamond (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTkojWEFpho#ws)
Title: Re: NES PC Project
Post by: PsychoMikey on September 01, 2010, 06:40:55 am
Very nice mod, good job on fitting everything in there with the fan on the bottom.

Why don't you run XBMC Live under Ubuntu instead of native Windows?

pro's:
Nice HTPC interface, fast boot times and easy to use with remote/joystick. You can also get emulators on there as well.
Title: Re: NES PC Project
Post by: BurgerKingDiamond on September 01, 2010, 06:56:04 am
@PsychoMikey
Thanks for the compliments. As for XBMC, I don't know what that is. I don't know a lot about computers to be honest. I'm learning though. This is the first one I ever built, and I've never messed with Linux before, although I hear that it has a lot of advantages over Windows. I'll check XBMC out though.
Title: Re: NES PC Project
Post by: BobA on September 01, 2010, 07:37:22 am
Great Mod.  :applaud: :applaud:  I love it when old consoles can be reused and made useful again.
Title: Re: NES PC Project
Post by: emphatic on September 01, 2010, 09:08:17 am
 :applaud:

Really incredible how well those parts fit in there. Too bad you didn't film the USB->NES ports. Did you use the extra GFX card?
Title: Re: NES PC Project
Post by: BurgerKingDiamond on September 01, 2010, 05:21:20 pm
@emphatic, I got the ribbon cable for the GFX card, but it still doesn't fit, cause the plastic part of the connector is too long. So I ordered another 90 degree angle connector that will go on the card, and then the ribbon cable goes into that. It should work fine, but I'm still waiting for it to come...

Also, since you are interested in the controller mod, here is a quick sketch, it's two pics, cuz I had to zoom in so far with my phone to make it readable.

It may seem like everything I did wasn't needed. In a way it's not. I could have just put the nes part of the converter in the front panel, but you kind of have to force the controller plug into it, whereas on the original port they just slide in. Also, I would have had to do some dremel work to get the usb converter directly into the front panel because the shape is a little bigger. I didn't want to do that because I wasn't sure if I could do it cleanly. So came up with what I did in the sketch and it worked very well.
Title: Re: NES PC Project
Post by: Rusty Shackelford on September 02, 2010, 05:20:26 pm
Seriously cool!  :applaud: This is somthing ive wanted to do for a while but mine wouldnt have come out that well! Im always on the lookout for a broken NES at carboot sales.
Title: Re: NES PC Project
Post by: BurgerKingDiamond on September 02, 2010, 10:06:03 pm
@rusty
thanks. im glad u like it. i think i got the nes on ebay for $11 with free shipping. it was a little dirty but i disassembled the case and put it in the dishwasher and it came out looking a thousand times better. luckily it was mostly dirt and not a discoloration of the plastic itself (btw, there is an old school tech restoration website with a recipe for a homemade concoction for getting old yellowed consoles and computers looking brand new again. i cant remember the sit right now though...).
Title: Re: NES PC Project
Post by: Rusty Shackelford on September 03, 2010, 02:47:38 am
@rusty
thanks. im glad u like it. i think i got the nes on ebay for $11 with free shipping. it was a little dirty but i disassembled the case and put it in the dishwasher and it came out looking a thousand times better. luckily it was mostly dirt and not a discoloration of the plastic itself (btw, there is an old school tech restoration website with a recipe for a homemade concoction for getting old yellowed consoles and computers looking brand new again. i cant remember the sit right now though...).

If you remember please post. Ive got a couple of SNES's that could do with a de-yellowing.
Title: Re: NES PC Project
Post by: amendonz on September 03, 2010, 03:54:26 am
assemblergames.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-3910.html

Sorry it's not a link, on my phone havin a hell of a time :).
Pretty good guide there
Title: Re: NES PC Project
Post by: BurgerKingDiamond on September 03, 2010, 06:35:20 am
@Rusty

Here it is. Retr0Bright. Some of the pictures show pretty dramatic results.
http://retr0bright.wikispaces.com/ (http://retr0bright.wikispaces.com/)
Title: Re: NES PC Project
Post by: BurgerKingDiamond on September 03, 2010, 06:43:03 am
Man, I just looked at all the Retr0Bright examples. If I wasn't so lazy I would take apart the NES and really get it looking pristine... Originally, I was prepared to do the Retr0Bright thing but after the dishwasher I thought that it looked OK. And it does look very good, but I keep imagining what if... Anyway, if anybody does try and clean an old console, let me know about the results.
Title: Re: NES PC Project
Post by: Rusty Shackelford on September 03, 2010, 03:34:24 pm
That stuff gets good results! The one question I have (which I couldnt find the answer to on the site) do you think it would be ok to paint the gel over printed words i.e. the red Nintendo logo on the flap? In the examples they seem to just slap it all over.
Title: Re: NES PC Project
Post by: DaOld Man on September 04, 2010, 09:53:08 am
Great job! Love the way it turned out.
I might have missed it, but what is that motherboard and where did you get it?
Title: Re: NES PC Project
Post by: gaijinking on September 05, 2010, 01:11:43 pm
Awesome build! But I'm curious to see what kind of performance you get running Hyperspin on it?
Title: Re: NES PC Project
Post by: BurgerKingDiamond on September 05, 2010, 08:06:48 pm
@rusty
i dont think the gel can hurt the logo. they use the stuff on keyboard keys and stuff like that and you can still read everything. btw, i have a candy cab coming in this week. it looked a little yellowed on the ebay pictures, so i will probably try to make up a batch of the stuff and try it out. ill post pics.

@DaOldMan
its called the ion motherboard, made by Zotac. i got it from Newegg. i accidentally got the upgrade pack though, which didnt come with a psu for some reason. but i think you can get the one with the psu, a fan and some other stuff for like $179.

@GaijinKing
hyperspin runs OK. its fine actually, but i still have to turn off the intro video cuz it stutters the whole time.
Title: Re: NES PC Project
Post by: DaOld Man on September 06, 2010, 05:51:22 pm
Thanks! I re-read your first post after I commented, and I saw where you had already posted what kind of MB it is.
I searched over at Newegg and found them.
Very interesting.