MS-DOS/Win3.11 style PC case??

[bergqvistjl]

Hi guys, i'm into old/vintage/retro computing and I was wondering has anyone made an MS-DOS and/or Windows 3.11 style PC case. I saw a pic of a 3dfx case a while ago (custom-made i think) which was red all over with a black 3dfx logo on the sides. Any ideas? ive got an old MS-DOS box which ive scanned so i could perhaps use that to stick a high-res MS-DOS logo on the sides. Anybody got any ideas regarding extra functionality etc. (its a long shot i know. Probably the best i could have would be an extra floppy drive lol). It would be nice if it could be, not a tower, but the ones where its actually on the desk and the monitor sits on top of that (sorry ive forgotten the name for them lol). Any ideas/suggestions?

[d_stilgar]

It's called a "desktop," which is funny because that's what we call anything that is not a laptop. When the phrase was first coined it was because the computers were actually on a desk, instead of being the entire desk, or an entire room.

I've been wanting to do a Lucas Arts Adventure PC with an oldschool OS and older parts. I love the idea and hope you do it.

[bergqvistjl]

It's called a "desktop," which is funny because that's what we call anything that is not a laptop. When the phrase was first coined it was because the computers were actually on a desk, instead of being the entire desk, or an entire room.

I've been wanting to do a Lucas Arts Adventure PC with an oldschool OS and older parts. I love the idea and hope you do it.

thanks. Im not sure about the colour. i think it would look nice black, rather than beige for a change. I have a nice 12" CRT 640x480 monitor which isnt too big and would sit on a desktop case quite well. a nice spring (clickety-clack) keyboard would be good too. As regards to hardware, i was thinking a AWE64 gold ISA soundcard, as it requires no drivers for Win3.11 i think. and I have a good graphics card which will output 1280x1024 16bit colours Max in win3.11 with the right drivers. CPU probably a PII 233mhz since i have one lying around, should be plenty. I would imagine it would be pretty noisy so some soundproofing would probably be good. not sure how much i could fit in an old desktop case though.

[d_stilgar]

Those old cases were roomy. Parts were fairly similarly sized as today. Video cards were smaller and hard drives were bigger with less capacity. You should have plenty of room.

[Dysturbed]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Apple_III.jpg
This would be perfect. Install a LCD in the old monitor and you would have more room than you would ever need for anything you wanted lol.

[billygoat333]

except thats an apple, and he wants to do a ms dos theme. lol :)

[bergqvistjl]

except thats an apple, and he wants to do a ms dos theme. lol :)

exactly and id want a CRT as they pixelate less.

[d_stilgar]

A google image search of 1981 MS-DOS box (http://images.google.com/images?q=1981%20MS-Dos%20box&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi) computers yielded some decent results. You should be able to find what you need from there. Good luck!

[billygoat333]

I like how this was the first picture that pulled up for that search:
http://www.deanbarrettthailand.com/All%20Mojos%20&%20Pool%20Player.jpg

[Airbozo]

...eeewww....

That's a MAN baby!

[TheMainMan]

a nice spring (clickety-clack) keyboard would be good too.

PM me if you need one of these. I think I still have a very solid IBM keyboard lying around that would likely fit your needs.

[billygoat333]

...eeewww....

That's a MAN baby!

lol my thoughts exactly. what an unflattering picture to be spreading around the internetz.

[Drum Thumper]

lol my thoughts exactly. what an unflattering picture to be spreading around the internetz.

I disagree. This (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v697/b4i7/stupid%20fun/DSCN0398-1.jpg) is an unflattering pic!

Sorry b4i7, but you posted it!

[bergqvistjl]

PM me if you need one of these. I think I still have a very solid IBM keyboard lying around that would likely fit your needs.

I'm in the UK so I would prefer a UK layout. Also, one of the later PS/2 ones, with the blue IBM logo would be good.

[TheMainMan]

I'm pretty sure it's a US layout but it's PS/2 with curly cord and I'm almost positive it has the blue IBM logo. I'm at school but should be going home this weekend or next and can confirm then.

[chaksq]

Depending how much work you want to do to convert it to new hardware. If you get a case with a AT form factor I believe most if not all of the standoffs would match a ATX board and you would just need to cut a hole for the rear motherboard I/O ports. However a lot of IBM and other OEM Pentium computers from the 90s were LPX which is a pain to convert to ATX and you'd generally only be able to fit a microATX board in them unless you move the PSU. Although if you want that old school look I definately recommend an earlier IBM or clone.

The IBM AT might work well for you if you can find one:
http://www.selectric.org/ibmpc/1ibm5170.jpg

To find your case I recommend you hit up tag sales, flee markets, pawn shops, and thrift stores.

Another cool idea I just had is to gut an original 5.25" floppy drive and mount a slimline slot load optical drive inside so that the CD loads/ejects out the original floppy slot but it look original on the outside.