Project: NES PC

[Vertigo]

Objective:
Create a media pc for my living room, without an obnoxious tower cluttering up my entertainment center.

Solution:
The NES PC.
NES as many of you may recall stands for Nintendo Entertainment System. Over the holiday I made a quick trip to my mother's attic to retrieve this classic icon of my childhood, a few games, some controllers ... and even a Power Glove.

Edit: LOL, just want to say, I'm not the first to do this obviously, and I'm not shooting for the best. I just want a media box with a little geek cred. So, I'm not going to go too in depth on this one, just some pics here and there. If you want to see the real deal, I highly recomend checking out d_stilgar (http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/member.php?u=289)'s mod of embarassingly enough the same name, which can be found here: link (http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2937&highlight=NES+PC)

Now, to the Nintendo which will be serving as the case.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/vertigo_038/Computer/NESPC/01.jpg

So, today I'm taking this little guy apart and cleaning up the case. I'm going to save any cutting until the parts get here. But I want to be sure this sucker is clean and gutted before it does get here. Also, I'm going to see about getting the connections ready for the power and reset buttons. (yes they're going to be functional)

Parts List:
* JetWay J627F800-OC VIA C3 processor VIA CLE266 Mini ITX Motherboard/CPU - link (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813995001)
* iGoLogic Model iPMKIT-60 Mini-ITX DC-DC Power Board with 60Watt AC Adapter - link (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813995001)
* SAMSUNG MP0201H 20GB 5400 RPM ATA-6 Notebook Hard Drive - OEM - link (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822152047)
* Rosewill RCW-603 Laptop 2.5" to Desktop 3.5" IDE Hard Drive Adapter Converter - link (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16812119020)
* Kingston ValueRAM 128MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 266 (PC 2100) System Memory - link (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820140003)
Price: $190.95 currently on NewEgg without Shipping

Power/Reset Buttons and DVD Drive from d_stilgar (BIG thanks to Stil for all the help)

[d_stilgar]

Ah, the NES PC. I have to get back to mine. I've got about five projects going on at once, and one of them is an NES PC.

Here is my old version. I have a modded Zelda DVD drive. I'm selling it. If you are interested just PM me. The trading post is gone, so if trading is now illegal then please someone tell me and I'll edit this out.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v333/d_stilgar/DSCN0684.jpg

Here is the drive open. It is not a burner of any kind.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v333/d_stilgar/DSCN0686.jpg


If you have any questions, and I mean any, feel free to ask.

[slytherock]

Ah, the NES PC. I have to get back to mine. I've got about five projects going on at once, and one of them is an NES PC.

Here is my old version. I have a modded Zelda DVD drive. I'm selling it. If you are interested just PM me. The trading post is gone, so if trading is now illegal then please someone tell me and I'll edit this out.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v333/d_stilgar/DSCN0684.jpg

Here is the drive open. It is not a burner of any kind.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v333/d_stilgar/DSCN0686.jpg


If you have any questions, and I mean any, feel free to ask.

I like that Zelda drive :up:

[Vertigo]

LOL, yeah I figured someone else had surely done it. That drive is definitely sweet, check your inbox.

[Vertigo]

First, a big thanks to Stil.

Second, NES has been gutted. I decided to save the metal mounting brackets, I'll have to wait till the parts actually get here, but it looks like I'll be able to use these to mount the motherboard and/or hard drive with a little modification. I'll have pics of the process from gutting to hooking up to the tv.

[Vertigo]

Ok, after a little bit of deliberation, and the pleasant surprise of finding a hidden cache of money (sometimes my wife and I hide money from ourselves, odd tradition but it works) I've decided to go ahead with Project NES PC. I have modified my parts list slightly to reflect this. I'm having an issue however, the ATI Remote Wonder II Wireless Remote was what I was hoping to get as a controller rather than cluttering up the coffee table with a mouse and keyboard. However, I'm having a hard time tracking one down in the US.

I found one, on mini-itx.com link (http://www.mini-itx.com/store/?c=14#p1502) however shipping to the US is over $100. So if anyone has information on where I can find one of these stateside please let me know.

Also, I'm curious about hooking up the DVD drive I'm getting from Stilgar. I've never messed with laptop parts at all, I know I need a converter cable for the noteboook HD I'm ordering, but the rest I'm still a little sketchy on. Anyhow, this is what I'm ordering today:

* Rosewill RCW-603 Laptop 2.5" to Desktop 3.5" IDE Hard Drive Adapter Converter - link (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16812119020)
* VIA EPIA-5000 VIA C3 533MHz Fanless Processor VIA PLE133 Mini ITX Motherboard/CPU Set - link (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813181017)
* iGoLogic Model iPMKIT-60 Mini-ITX DC-DC Power Board with 60Watt AC Adapter - link (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813995001)
* Kingston 128MB 168-Pin SDRAM PC 100 Desktop Memory Model KVR100X64C3/128 - link (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820134148)
* Seagate Momentus 5400.3 (Perpendicular Recording) ST9160821A 160GB 5400 RPM ATA-6 Notebook Hard Drive - link (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822148073)

I decided to order 2 of the converter cables, always good to have a spare around (especially when no one in my city sells them)

If I can't get the Ati controller, then I'll have to stick with a wireless mouse and keyboard. NewEgg has a deal on a decent Logitech set (link (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16823126175)), so we'll see.


EDIT: Forgot to mention, the motherboard I'm ordering has 2 slots for memory which I was a little surprised about. And a PCI slot, I intend to add a wireless card in the back a bit later (after the big move in a couple of months). I figure the amount of memory I've put in should be sufficient for just playing videos, but if I need to I can upgrade it to 1 gig. I've also decided to go with Xubuntu for an OS, since it's a good lightweight Linux distro, originally I wanted to go with Windows Media edition, but I figure it would be slow on this machine, and it's another 100 dollars I can spend on a better hard drive, etc.

[Vertigo]

All parts now ordered, I received confirmation and tracking numbers today. So, I should have all of the parts in this week, ready to assemble soon. Thanks again to Stilgar for pointing me in the right direction, managed to get a couple of little extras that I think will work out nicely, including a replacement for the original controller plugin that attackes in the back to the USB port ... meaning I can reuse my old NES controller!

[Vertigo]

Parts are starting to arrive, I got the Seagate 160g Hard Drive in, and received confirmation from UPS. It looks like everything will be here today so expect some pics soon.

[Vertigo]

Made some serious progress, thanks in no small part to UPS finally showing up with the bulk of the parts. I just have a little bit of fabrication left, I need to make mounting brackets and cut a few small pieces.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/vertigo_038/Computer/NESPC/02.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/vertigo_038/Computer/NESPC/03.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/vertigo_038/Computer/NESPC/04.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/vertigo_038/Computer/NESPC/05.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/vertigo_038/Computer/NESPC/06.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/vertigo_038/Computer/NESPC/07.jpg

Comments welcome. Mostly just waiting for the DVD Drive now, so I can finish fabrication and plug this puppy in.

SUPER BIG thanks to Stilgar for all of his help.

[d_stilgar]

Glad to hear that you got the stuff from me. I can't wait to see the finished result.

[Vertigo]

I've also decided to grab a remote, I think I'm gonna go with Crimson's suggestion for the FireFly (http://store.snapstream.com/firefly.html).

http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/snapstreamtest_1931_201409

I've got to make a trip to the store for some supplies, but this weekend I should have the thing running.

[linoge]

it would be interesting if you could fit a remote in
a nes controller or something like that
the drive bay idea was awesome i would like to see the look
o peoples faces when you open it up for the first time to
watch a movie

[DRece]

:D Well if your not gonna put in a slave drive, I would pop off that connecter and make it more tight. It is pretty tight as it is, wish I had one. :D

[Vertigo]

After reviewing the amount of video I have ... I decided to get a second Seagate drive. Thanks for the kind words guys, I've been kinda busy with the expansion to WoW coming out and school starting back up. But, I got the materials to fab some mounting brackets in earlier, so it's all coming together quite nicely.

[Vertigo]

Sorry I've been a little lax on the updates, school started again and things have been hectic.

Today I decided to make a radio shack run for an S Video cable and audio cable, since everything was pretty much done. I had to make a few adjustments to accomodate the power/reset button, then I ran into a bit of a hang up connecting the buttons to the motherboard. The mini itx board I'm using has horrible documentation, it's like a cd cover cut into 5 sections. The pictures are from a very old model apparently, and the board itself doesn't have anything printed where I should be connecting the stuff.

I thought I figured it out, so I tried plugging it in and nothing happened. So, a quick check on their website after repositioning the connectors and I discovered, a "Mozilla can not find this website" error. LOL.

So, for fear of throwing the entire thing against a wall I decided to take a break for a day. I gotta wait for my Firefly remote to get here anyway, just ordered it. So, hopefully Monday I'll have more to report.

[d_stilgar]

Yeah, take it easy and take all the time you need to do it right. Speed will mean nothing in a project if it turns out bad.

[Vertigo]

Thanks for the encouragement Stil, so I found out after getting a second opinion that the motherboard was indeed DOA. So, I'm RMAing it and getting to work on my next project while I wait.

[Vertigo]

Been one crazy summer, but I finally finished this mod. Here's the end result of the comp setting up Linux on the test desk, just before my final adjustments. It works like a pro. Sorry bout the pic quality, just wanted to grab a couple of quick pics of it actually functioning. I'll have "finished" pics up soon.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/vertigo_038/Computer/NESPC/nespc01.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/vertigo_038/Computer/NESPC/nespc02.jpg

BIG THANKS to d_stilgar and Crimson for the input while I was working on this thing, it may have still come together without them ... but it was definitely easier with their help.

[slytherock]

Wow, An update :) really nice work :up:
You know what could be nice? If you mod your mouse with the controller :)

[Bucko]

You know what could be nice? If you mod your mouse with the controller :)

Or in an old game cartridge Like I did with an N64 game cartridge (http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7954)

[Vertigo]

Thanks guys, actually I'm not really using a standard mouse or keyboard with this. It's just a media pc in my living room. I use a Fire Fly remote to control it, but I plan on painting it with some NES style graphics. And I'm putting together some NES wallpapers, etc.