Nes Pc!

[gggelo]

Hey guys!

A couple of days go i read that somebody made a pc out of a nes! ever since then i've been reading up on people's own projects, how to's and etc! but i've reached the point where i can't do anymore research (ran out of sites :() and have some questions!

there was a person who made one in this site, so i thought if i posted on the same forum the people there'll be a great help!

Here's what i know so far,

People have used mini-itx and intel atoms
Cooling has been an issue
And space has been an issue (although most people used laptop parts or made an external housing to make up for it)

if you think i'll have anymore problems could you please let me know? maybe i can find out about it before i encounter it and get completely stumped.

Some specifics i want in my NES PC
i wanted...
the shell be touched as LITTLE as possible (most people just take out a chunk of the back, some chop off the t in the bottom, etc etc.)
to have the dvd drive stick out where the cartridge goes in
to make the reset button the button that makes the dvd slot come out (heard it was nearly impossible but i'd atleast like to ask)
the controller ports be somehow used as a usb port (heard you can rewire them then use a controller plug rewired with a usb end instead of a controller?)

that's it for now... i think. your thoughts, inputs and overall general feelings would be great!

thanks! :D

[Dysturbed]

I wish this was real but Im sure the folks here could tell you how to make it real..
http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/nes-mouse.jpg


But If you don't wanna go thru that trouble. The mod to do with this would be this.
http://www.zieak.com/2005/08/08/nintendo-mouse/

[nevermind1534]

If you do a forum search with myself as the poster and NES PC as the words to search for (select title only), you'll see a list of most of the NES PCs on these forums. The one that immediately comes to mind is the one that d_stilgar recently completed. His was the best I've seen completed to date. Here's the link: http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2937

I'm still in the process of building mine.

[gggelo]

I wish this was real but Im sure the folks here could tell you how to make it real..
http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/nes-mouse.jpg


But If you don't wanna go thru that trouble. The mod to do with this would be this.
http://www.zieak.com/2005/08/08/nintendo-mouse/

haha that would be pretty cool, i myself was just thinking of using the dpad to control the mouse o.o

[gggelo]

If you do a forum search with myself as the poster and NES PC as the words to search for (select title only), you'll see a list of most of the NES PCs on these forums. The one that immediately comes to mind is the one that d_stilgar recently completed. His was the best I've seen completed to date. Here's the link: http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2937

I'm still in the process of building mine.

thanks nevermind! you seem very familiar actually... but i was actually looking at that! i have it tabbed in my references window but it's hard to follow as it seems kinda scattered but i DO love the keyboard and the mouse, those are huge win's in my department.

[Bopher]

First of welcome to the forums, as you can see there are a ton of people here who are willing to help with almost anything. I think I can at least answer you question on using the reset button for the CD drive. You can rewire the button to work and I know I have a wiring diagram somewhere for it, but keeping that control board inside you lose about a 1" by 2" area in space which as you know is very tight inside the NES shell. Remove the bottom plate from the drive and find the solder points up by the button and hook right into those. With my build I have the power for power and the reset for the disk drive. The power button is a tad trickier but is fairly quick to work out.

[d_stilgar]

Yeah it's a bit scattered since it was built over several years of found time. If you have any specific questions about that build and how to do things then just ask me. Maybe I'll even make a quick tutorial for each of the things you ask.

[gggelo]

First of welcome to the forums, as you can see there are a ton of people here who are willing to help with almost anything. I think I can at least answer you question on using the reset button for the CD drive. You can rewire the button to work and I know I have a wiring diagram somewhere for it, but keeping that control board inside you lose about a 1" by 2" area in space which as you know is very tight inside the NES shell. Remove the bottom plate from the drive and find the solder points up by the button and hook right into those. With my build I have the power for power and the reset for the disk drive. The power button is a tad trickier but is fairly quick to work out.

thanks bopher! hmm! so it IS possible! i have to wait until i actually do get a nes, tried ebay hunting but they're all rather expensive, even the local adds are asking for 50-70 cad. once i get the shell it should be easier to measure and kinda guess how everything's gonna fit right?

[gggelo]

Yeah it's a bit scattered since it was built over several years of found time. If you have any specific questions about that build and how to do things then just ask me. Maybe I'll even make a quick tutorial for each of the things you ask.

that would be AWESOME! i'll ask once the questions come up :)

[Bopher]

thanks bopher! hmm! so it IS possible! i have to wait until i actually do get a nes, tried ebay hunting but they're all rather expensive, even the local adds are asking for 50-70 cad. once i get the shell it should be easier to measure and kinda guess how everything's gonna fit right?

Yeah I know how that goes. My build has 3 in a tower configuration. So that was no fun to find 3. Sometimes you get lucky with flea markets. Myself being a gamer I couldn't bring myself to use a perfectly good unit so I was trying to find ones that didn't work or were unconfirmed. I never even plugged on in to see if they were alive because then I wouldn't of been able to bring myself to rip it down. I could be wrong but I think there was someone on here selling off old gaming systems, I'll do a search when I get home and see if I can find it.

[gggelo]

Yeah I know how that goes. My build has 3 in a tower configuration. So that was no fun to find 3. Sometimes you get lucky with flea markets. Myself being a gamer I couldn't bring myself to use a perfectly good unit so I was trying to find ones that didn't work or were unconfirmed. I never even plugged on in to see if they were alive because then I wouldn't of been able to bring myself to rip it down. I could be wrong but I think there was someone on here selling off old gaming systems, I'll do a search when I get home and see if I can find it.

yeah i've had some people msg my listing telling me they have one for sale that's in great condition, i don't wanna break it >.< a classic's a classic inside and out but if i really can't find one maybe i'll just transplant the insides into something else like... a toaster :D

[Bopher]

Now thats an idea, maybe a toaster oven and some lights and you can see the NES motherboard and you put the carts in by opening the door, lol. Can't wait to see what you do with this.

[nevermind1534]

thanks bopher! hmm! so it IS possible! i have to wait until i actually do get a nes, tried ebay hunting but they're all rather expensive, even the local adds are asking for 50-70 cad. once i get the shell it should be easier to measure and kinda guess how everything's gonna fit right?

I can ship one to you for less than that. PM me if you're interested.

I can do just an empty shell or one with the innards.

[gggelo]

I can ship one to you for less than that. PM me if you're interested.

I can do just an empty shell or one with the innards.

pm'd! :)

[gggelo]

hey guys i was wondering a couple of things, how much is this gonna cost me and how many man hours do you think it'll take?

i have alot of time i could put into it and really hope it won't take years :(

as for price i'm aiming to make it better then my laptop which is 2 years old, it's an intel dual core that runs at 1.86 and 1.87

my cousin tells me that tri cores are best bang for buck right now and quads are nice but expensive and unnecessary.

my friend tells me hexa cores are comming out soon so i'm better off waiting.

the more i research the more clueless i feel :(

[Bopher]

For what most people normally use a computer in a NES for a hex core would be way to much and you'd have some serious issues with heat. If this is going to be a show piece in the living room to stream movies and audio you won't need something crazy. Most anything that runs on an itx board would do. If you're looking for a power house system you're probably going to be more in the market for mATX boards and then you'll be cutting out the back and such to make everything fit right.

[gggelo]

For what most people normally use a computer in a NES for a hex core would be way to much and you'd have some serious issues with heat. If this is going to be a show piece in the living room to stream movies and audio you won't need something crazy. Most anything that runs on an itx board would do. If you're looking for a power house system you're probably going to be more in the market for mATX boards and then you'll be cutting out the back and such to make everything fit right.

well i just put the hexa core in there cause i was thinking that once that comes out the quad core's prices would drop significantly. i don't think i'd actually ever need a hexacore machine... i'm thinking of more of a good computer that responds and loads quickly and will only be used for light gaming like emulators and flash games or what not.

[nevermind1534]

I would suggest looking into boards using the nvidia ion platform if you want an inexpensive solution that is probably better than your laptop. It won't produce much heat, either.

If you're committed, it shouldn't take you years.

[gggelo]

I would suggest looking into boards using the nvidia ion platform if you want an inexpensive solution that is probably better than your laptop. It won't produce much heat, either.

If you're committed, it shouldn't take you years.

thanks for the heads up! i'm reading up on them and they seem to have most of the things i'll need :)

[gggelo]

well my father seems adamant that if i was to create or purchase a computer quad core would be the way to go, while my cousin says tri core is best bang for buck, all the while i'm thinking that dual core is fine, i just need it around 3 ghz and that'll be plenty fast!

what do you guys think? with a quad core would i have cooling problems? also the choices for mother boards quickly diminish, tri cores i'm not even sure if i should approach and dual cores just seem to have all the choices in the world :?

just a reminder that i want this to be like a web browsing pc but when i want to i can hook it up to a larger tv and run an emulator on it full screen!

[billygoat333]

heck an intel atom should do everything you want it to. you don't need a quad core to browse the web.

[gggelo]

heck an intel atom should do everything you want it to. you don't need a quad core to browse the web.

but i'm worris as to the emulators and when i do decide to game a little, would it be adequate then?

[d_stilgar]

I coulda swore I had made another post in here. I know I wrote it . . . hmm.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500036

This board has a dual core 1.6Ghz Intel atom CPU and on board GeForce 9400. It also has onboard wi-fi and PSU. As far as a newbie build it doesn't get easier than that. Add a DVD drive, ram, and a hard drive and you are done.

If someone insists that you go with something more powerful, you are going to run into heat issues. It isn't a big deal, but that's where you will have to cut into the case a bunch and add lots of fans. You will not have heat issues with the board linked above, however.

If you find you have no other choice but to get something more powerful, here are some boards to choose from.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500041
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500035
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136073

If you are going to go that route, get one of these CPUs and nothing else.

If you must have quad: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115208

Otherwise:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116074

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115222

Hope that helps. You will have heat issues going with any of those. Good luck!

[gggelo]

I coulda swore I had made another post in here. I know I wrote it . . . hmm.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500036

This board has a dual core 1.6Ghz Intel atom CPU and on board GeForce 9400. It also has onboard wi-fi and PSU. As far as a newbie build it doesn't get easier than that. Add a DVD drive, ram, and a hard drive and you are done.

If someone insists that you go with something more powerful, you are going to run into heat issues. It isn't a big deal, but that's where you will have to cut into the case a bunch and add lots of fans. You will not have heat issues with the board linked above, however.

If you find you have no other choice but to get something more powerful, here are some boards to choose from.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500041
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500035
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136073

If you are going to go that route, get one of these CPUs and nothing else.

If you must have quad: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115208

Otherwise:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116074

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115222

Hope that helps. You will have heat issues going with any of those. Good luck!

hope that helps? hope? you must be crazy cause that's a definite help! nevermind told me about the nvidia ion and i was looking at a couple of them, the only thing i fear is that it`ll basically be the same as my current laptop that i use (with the exception that i can have 4gb ram in the nes)

i looked up the specific model of my laptop so i can somewhat compare specifics, here`s the link if anyone`s interested http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/ca/en/ho/WF06b/12139188-78299199-78299212-78299212-78299212-81683518-81844944.html

i live in canada so when i looked at the link that you sent and changed it to their canadian site i lost the free shipping and the 10 dollars off :( however i compared all of them and this seems to shine http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500027

as for buying parts i'm really looking at newegg.ca and ncix.com and comparing prices between the two, not sure as to if they price match but yeah.

darn, i was hoping there would be no overheating, but i'm guessing it's not one of those add fans on the vents and it's fine over heating huh?

[d_stilgar]

The atom should be fine on heat. I was more worried about the 775 and 1156 chips. Those would require some fans and custom heat sinks, which is probably more work than you want to get yourself into if this is your first build.

The Atom is a pretty quick chip, and the 9400 graphics will be a lot better than the intel graphics on your laptop.

If you want a demo of the gaming capabilities, look at these vids.

98iYnuT7y-c

taI23YYjFUA

0ycdbJGq640

The second two videos are on a single core CPU as well, so that board above will do even better.

[nevermind1534]

With an 8500 (rough equivalent of the 9400) in my parents' computer, I'm been playing source games at full res (1680*1050) with high graphics settings. It really beats most onboard graphics.

[gggelo]

the board you told me to get was an f-e, but the board i showed you was an a-u, i tried comparing the two and i don't really find much of a difference, unless all the ions dont come with the psu and wifi? or maybe some of them just have more plugs?

also i'm worried about the processor speed more so then the graphics, my laptop's running at 1.86 and the atom's at 1.6? although i only have 2 gig of ram and i was thinking of putting 4 in the nes, would i still expect it to slow down or be around the speed of my laptop?

EDIT: okay so i looked it up, the main difference would seem to be that the f-e has an PCI Express x16 slot, and the a-u does not, so how come the a-u is more expensive?

DOUBLE EDIT: so i think the a-u has the power supply outside, some people's comparisons said that it's much quieter fan wise...

[nevermind1534]

The video matters much more than a 200MHz CPU difference. The atom processors also have Hyper-Threading, which allows a dual-core processor to be used like a quad-core (each core can do two threads). With 4GB RAM and the 9500, it will perform better than the laptop in games.

[gggelo]

Would it start and load programs faster since it has hyperthreading? It's just disheartening knowing I'm making a compter that'll be somewhat in the same league as my laptop

[d_stilgar]

I think it will surpass your laptop in almost all categories. If, however, you want something faster, you can dump the NES PC idea and go in another direction. For about $500-750 you can build a pretty nice gaming computer.

[gggelo]

I think it will surpass your laptop in almost all categories. If, however, you want something faster, you can dump the NES PC idea and go in another direction. For about $500-750 you can build a pretty nice gaming computer.

that`s the thing, i dont think i`ll be gaming heavily on the nes pc (emulators will dominate most likely) i just don`t want this pc to be similar to my laptop in terms of everything =/ although i'm more then sure that my laptop would die from call of duty modern warfare...

[gggelo]

hey stilgar how much heat would i be dealing with if i choose to go with a non atom mobo in comparison with the ion one? common sense tells me that the quad core'll be alot hotter than the dual but as to how much exactly i'm unsure...

the geforce9300 just allows for possible upgrades later on in it's life when quad cores and etc are alot cheaper then they are now.

[d_stilgar]

Well the thermal output on the Atom is 14W. The other processors I linked to are 65W and 73W. That's a lot more!

The first NES PC I built (http://thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1730) used a 1.8Ghz P4. The thermal design on that CPU was 50W. I also had an ATI Radeon 9200. I could play computer games for about an hour and a half before the computer overheated and shut down. The airflow was very poor, and it was my first ever build. I could do a lot better now, but if I wanted a decent gaming PC I would have to liquid cool and make custom blocks. It would be difficult for me and probably even harder for you to do a first build like this.

I would highly highly recommend going with the atom for your first build. It is a very powerful processor, and the Nvidia Ion is really great. I think you will love it.

If you need something to do more than emulation, I would say to do a build in a standard case, even a small form factor one.

Good luck!

[gggelo]

WOW. that sounds like alot! i thought that if i was gonna go with the 9300 i'll just have to add a fan or two and problem fixed :(

sorry but i'm driven to make this nes computer! it was just that the 9300's upgrade ability was so enticing and i thought that if i throw a dual in there then when the quads go cheaper i could put that there too with a 8gb ram = badabing badaboom! future ready.

but if i was to go with the atom one i've read that you can safely overclock it to 2.0 ghz would that make the thermal output soar? or would it just slightly raise?

also the ionitx-f-e has a pci-express which i've only seen people put a graphics card into it, but if i was to add a graphics card wouldn't it be a waste since it'll just get bogged down by the processor?

thanks alot for the responses btw :)

[gggelo]

just a quick update, i've been researching like a madman on the possiblities as to what can go in the nes pc.

Mobo:

Zotac ION - HIGHLY recommended, will have no space and heat problems and best value, drawback is performance (intel dual atom running at 1.6ghz)

Zotac 9300 -GREAT in terms of upgrade ability (can run core 2 duo/quad, celeron and etc.) problems come in at heat (creates x4 or x5 more thermal energy than atom) and price (board + processor = $$$)

the main thing derailing me from going with the 9300 is the amount of heat it'll produce, the only way i was told that i can cure that is either to cut and mount fans or water cooling (which seems really complicated) also planning to overclock the atom to 2.0 (supposedly highest ghz while maintaining stability) so it somewhat makes up for the drawback in power but still nothing compared to 9300.

Hard Drive:

HDD: Best value

SSD: Expensive but faster, doesn't crash when shaken (very very hard), but $/per gb is insane (100 gb = $200-$300?)

what i thought of doing was getting an ssd large enough to fit windows 7 in and have it set so everything i save'll go into the hdd like my pictures, videos or etc.

RAM:

Regular or Dual channel?

There's been a report that someone was able to overclock the ion itx at 2.2 but as to how, only the parts they used was posted.

http://www.brightsideofnews.com/news/2009/6/19/bso--overclocks-intel-atom-330-to-22-ghz2c-nvidia-ion.aspx

CD/DVD/Bluray Drive:

Not sure what i'm gonna do about this one quite yet, it seems to be a waste to have something hd capable and not put a bluray player/burner but i don't wanna shell out the extra cash so maybe a cd/dvd burner for now till i either make more money or blurays have a price drop.

also having a hard time finding a slim dvd drive, i'll need sata but most slims are ide (made for laptops) so maybe i'll just get the adapter for it or somehow make an external slim into an internal one? this one's still up in the air.

thoughts/inputs/feelings?

[d_stilgar]

Most new slim drives will be SATA.

I had heat issues with my 50W P4, but I also had a 300W AC-DC PSU and a video card in that machine. You will be able to go with a DC-DC PSU and the on board 9400M video, both of which will save on space and heat output. I had almost no air flow in that machine.

The top vent is 40mm wide, and 40mm fans are available. You could easily build a channel to pipe air in the top vent, over the heat sink and out the back. Check out the rear shot of my first NES PC. A fan fits in the back and looks like its meant to be there.

From what it sounds like you want from this machine, the Atom should do whatever you need it to. Here is a list of what I would do if I were building this machine.

Mobo (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500027&cm_re=atom_ION-_-13-500-027-_-Product) -$180

Ram (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122) - $85

640Gb Slim HDD (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136459) - $90

A google search for a slim slot load blu ray drive found some $300 drives. That's way too much. You can go with something half that much. There's this at newegg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827270003) and you could strip that and I'm almost positive it will be SATA on the inside.

So, there you have it. For $500 (and I maxed that thing out) you have a top notch home theater, web surfing, emulation machine. Now, you could easily downgrade the ram, HDD, and disk drive and do it for ~300. In any case, if you want to do an NES PC, and this is your first build, go with that motherboard with the integrated Wi-Fi and power.

[gggelo]

thanks d! a great help like always. i think i may just go for the atom one and maybe later on i'll sell it and start again from square one! by then maybe technology'll change so i can have a nes as my main computer xD. (without ruining the shell)

due to not living in america, the 640gb hdd isn't 90 =/ it's 129 at newegg.ca which is quite a difference.

so you think i should go for bluray on this one eh? i guess that'll help resell ability later on,

EDIT: scratch that, that slim bluray isn't available in canada -.-

[d_stilgar]

Really, I recommend that you get what you need to do what you want to do with the machine. If you won't be gaming, you don't need power for it. If you aren't going to be connecting it to an HDTV, you don't need blu-ray.

I would say to do this one for as cheap as possible, the only splurge being that you get the motherboard I linked to, since it should be able to do web browsing and HD movie watching for five years at least no problem. If later, you want to do it again or build a more powerful machine, you will have the low cost experience of this build behind you.

[gggelo]

Really, I recommend that you get what you need to do what you want to do with the machine. If you won't be gaming, you don't need power for it. If you aren't going to be connecting it to an HDTV, you don't need blu-ray.

I would say to do this one for as cheap as possible, the only splurge being that you get the motherboard I linked to, since it should be able to do web browsing and HD movie watching for five years at least no problem. If later, you want to do it again or build a more powerful machine, you will have the low cost experience of this build behind you.

i agree, i'm just thinking on whether or not to get the blu ray and as to how much space i'll be needing for the hdd,

[nevermind1534]

In my opinion, flash drives/portable hard drives are more practical than Blu-Ray as a means of storage.

[gggelo]

In my opinion, flash drives/portable hard drives are more practical than Blu-Ray as a means of storage.

well i never really saw bluray as a means of storage, i was thinking of making use of the hdmi and the mobo's capabilities of playing it.

[nevermind1534]

Yeah, but I guess you just need to ask yourself if you'll ever use it on that computer, and if it's worth the cost. If you can answer yes to both of those questions, get a Blu-Ray drive.

[gggelo]

what do you guys think about this one?

http://www.memoryhouse.com/products/4099/Silverstone_Technology/TOB02/

it's the only slim blu ray for 150 that i see when i google :/

also waiting for ncix to put up their weekly deal and price comparo when they do :)

[nevermind1534]

That would probably be ok; I don't know what the brand is like, though.

[gggelo]

well i read reviews and it's actually a Panasonic Model Number UJ875A, i know panasonic better then silverstone so i'm guessing it's not too bad?

[nevermind1534]

I'm pretty sure that panasonic is ok. If you'll use the Blu-Ray, you should probably go with that.

[gggelo]

Hey guys! I'm at a somewhat ready to buy stage and just wanna see what you guys think and stuff!

Mobo:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500027
RAM:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122
HDD:
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=42252&vpn=ST9320423AS&manufacture=Seagate&promoid=1060

DVD/CD:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118034
+ http://ncix.com/products/?sku=36565&vpn=CB-SATA-SD67&manufacture=nGear%20Technologies%20Inc

OR

Blu Ray:
http://www.memoryhouse.com/products/4099/Silverstone_Technology/TOB02/

i was hoping ncix would have a good sale this week but i don't see any, if you guys have any suggestions or know of better items for the same or less price please share! also if you think i'm missing or needing anything please tell me that too :)

some bad news though, my tv doesn't have a vga, dvi or hdmi port, it's those yellow white red ports and there's also 2 s cables, i've heard that vga to s video's picture' quality is terrible so i'm a bit lost now, anyone have any thoughts?

also thought of cutting the back ports (ac adaptor and etc) and making it like a door? i just need it large enough to put the plug through and then close the door and have the wire come through the hole? i'm not sure if that made any sense but yeah, seemed like a really good idea!