Part 2: Components
Part 3: Modifications to the Case
Part 4: Adding Components
Part 5: Software
Part 6: Finished!
I decided to stuff a computer into the case of an original Nintendo (NES). I've never built a computer before, and never messed around with custom cases. I've installed RAM and new hard drives, but that's about it. I've never dremeled, soldered or any of that, so this should be an adventure. Lots of people have done this before me, so there were a lot of resources for me to learn how to do it. Here are some of the cooler ones:I'm going to detail all of my steps here to show how I did it.
The dream: I'd like this thing to work as an emulator to play NES, SNES, N64, Sega Genesis and Arcade games. I'd also like it to work as a dvd player, and music player through itunes. It's going to sit in my den connected to my TV and surround sound stereo, but I'd also like to be able to take it to friend's houses, so it will need standard TV and audio connections.
The reason I'm able to fit a whole computer into a NES is becuase of Mini-ITX mainboards. They're fully functioning computer mother-boards in a smaller form. Because they're so small, people have been making some really cool custom cases with them, like this guy who put one into a toy Millennium Falcon. I found a place called Logic Supply that has a great selection of them and I picked one out.
...click any picture for a bigger view
I decided to use a VIA EPIA EX15000G. It's 1.5 GHz and can support 1 Gb of RAM. But most importantly it has tons of audio and video output options as you can see from the pic. I have my choice of high quality video outputs: DVI, YPbPr and S-video, as well as a good old component video that can go straight into anyone's tv. Audio choices are S/PDIF via coaxial or optical (which is very high quality) or standard component left and right channels. This mainboard is more expensive than other options, but I'm hopeful that the 1.5 GHz processor should be able to handle N64 games well. And the different A/V ouput options will allow me to have a high quality setup at home as well as easy options for connecting this thing when I go to other people's houses. With optical audio and S-video at home, it can be a quality dvd player that will do surround sound (it actually supports 8 channel HD audio). And when I go to someone elses house, I can always count on the component connections straight to the tv.
The plan is to buy an old NES, gut it and put this board, a hard drive, dvd player, and wireless-g adapter all in the NES case. I've also got to mount everything so that it will be stable when bringing it to people's houses. I want to do as little damage to the original case as possible. I'm going to try to make all the connections, inputs and outputs go where the original NES had its connections.
This is the NES I bought on EBAY. It has yellowed a little bit. I scrubbed it with fantastic which helped, but it still looks yellowish. It's ok because I'm planning on using this one as a practice case. Since this is my first time, I'm know I'm going to mess some stuff up. I'll toy with this one, then buy a nicer box to make the final comp.
I took out all the screws and cracked her open.
I took all the pieces out fairly easily. This little connector gave me problems, but I removed it using pliers.
Here is the case with all the guts removed, except for the power/reset buttons. The bottom half of the case has lots of plastic things for mounting parts and connecting it to the top half of the case. I've got to get rid of most of these to clear room for the computer parts I'm going to add. All I need is the four things in the corners to screw the case together, and some little bits that mount the power/reset button.The Dremel!
The other people who have done projects like this all mentioned using a dremel to get rid of the plastic. I took a nice trip to home depot to see what these things were. I ended up buying the cheapest one they had, model #300, which cost about $50. Here it is.
The dremel instructions told me that I could use the fiberglass reinforced cut-off wheel to cut plastic. It took me a while to figure out how to attach it to the dremel. I figured out that one of the bits has a screw on the end. If you unscrew it, you can put the wheel on the bit, and screw it in.
Here is my first attempt at dremeling. My first impressions: I think my dentist used one of these friggin things when I got a cavity filled. It smells and sounds just like a dentist drill. It's relatively easy to use. I figured out a system of cutting the the piece of plastic off, leaving a stump about a millimeter or two high.
I then carefully used the wheel to kind of sand down the stump until it was even with the base. There was a lot of hot plastic flying around. I'm glad I was wearing my glasses. I cut everything out in about an hour. I quickly learned to wear a mask to stop from inhaling bits of plastic. I may need to go in and clean it up a little bit more. I might try one of the sanding attachments, or perhaps the damn chainsaw sharpening attachment that came with my kit. There isn't any noticeable marking on the cut-off wheel, so I thought I may be able to return the dremel to home depot when I'm all done. But now I think it's useful enough to keep around. I actually just used it to make these sweet devo hats me and some friends wore at bay to breakers in SF.
Part 2: Components
