Adding to my list of worklogs is a project I recently decided to be motivated into doing. It's been done quite a bit before, but I want to do it, maybe with a little more class.

I have 2 Nintento Entertainment Systems (hereafter referred to as NES) laying about my room. One works beautifully, one is a husk of an old gaming system. Recently I had to tear my non-functional one apart to salvage the controller ports for a friend, and, looking at the inside of the case, I decided to begin scheming on an idea I'd had for a while now. I want to fit a very small HTPC inside of this NES case. I've been googling worklogs and related stuff, and I've found it's not very hard to do at all. Only I see a lot of... sloppy modding which compromises the "vintage" look of the case, which I don't want to do. I want this to look and feel like an old NES.. almost. At first glance, it will look like an NES, but once you really look at it, you should realize that there's treachery afoot.

I'm still researching hardware, as I'm not terribly familiar with the Mini-ITX form factor, nor am I really familiar with HTPC's, but this, as is the case with most projects, will be a learning experience. It's not going to need much in terms of power, it'll just be running DVD's, *maybe* a TV recorder, and hopefully a couple emulators. Hardware-wise I'd like to fit in a remote reciever of some sort, and a decent wifi hookup so it can access all my movies and shows stored on the home network, so I can avoid having a massive hard drive in this thing. I'm open to suggestions, as always, and I hope to have some pictures of the victim up in a couple days for reference (camera = broke ).

OMG NOSTLGIA!!

I love these console mods, they're so trippy. Have you seen the new pico-itx board?

In case ya didnt have a board picked out yet, I have a mini-itx (I think, may be micro) board with an 800mhz VIA processor on it. I'm pretty sure it works and it uses PC133 memory. In fact, I think its the same one TGS is using in the Spaceballs PC. Either way, if ya need one, its just sittin here right now and I'd probably give it to ya for the cost of shipping. If ya want I'll measure it when I get home.

Korrupt1: That'd be awesome of you! I'd appreciate the measurements, so I can make sure it fits properly. I haven't settled on a mobo yet, so if it fits, I'll be glad to work something out with you.

Silent: Yeah, I have seen the Pico-ITX, it's insane that things keep getting smaller. Wonder how long it'll be before someone can fit a PC inside of an old Gameboy "Brick". Good to have you back man!

Cleaned the case, beginning the arduous process of trimming off all the old mounts from the NES hardware. Did anyone else know there was a SCSI port on the bottom of the NES board? At least, that's what it looks like. Anyway, pics when I can, camera LCD is ker-broke and it lacks a viewfinder, so it's kind of hit-and-miss till I can afford a new one.

it is mini (duh there is no micro )... it's about 6.5" by 6.5", tallest part would be the sticks of RAM, or maybe the IO plate on the back (maybe 2"), which is pretty much a standard ATX. Theres 1 PCI port, 2 ram slots, pc 133, 2 IDE ports, and its all powered by a 20 pin motherboard plug. I dont have a camera right now or I'd just take a picture, but oh well.
Its a VIA C3 processor and 800mhz, and I'm almost positive its the same mobo as the spaceballs one. I got a small 200watt power supply for it too but I was kinda hoping to hold onto that for future projects... Anyways, hope that helped, if ya had anymore questions pm me or somethin.

Check this out, wiki mini-itx and the picture on the side is this exact board. Weird, would just link it but I dont think I have enough posts yet...

Slick Korrupt, I think that may work out perfectly for me, I'll do some test fits with a cardboard dummy. And the PSU you can keep, I was thinking about picking up something like this, not only will it not take up any of the oh-so-precious volume inside the case, it'll retrofit into the existing spot for power on the NES case . I'll shoot a PM your way when I've tested it, thanks a bunch.

Alright! Got a lovely package from Korrupt1 the other day, a beautiful little Epia mini-ITX mobo safe and sound in it's little ghetto easter egg . It's missing some heatsinks and a CMOS battery, but I'm going to scavenge dad's collection for some decent heatsinks, and the CMOS is just a trip to Rite Aid (but damn if those batteries aren't expensive for being so tiny).

Been test-fitting the parts inside of the NES case, and decided that this first case, having seen much abuse from my childhood, will be the "beta" case, and once I've figured out how it all works, I'll snag a decent looking one off eBay or one of my friends for the final product. It's going to be a helluva tight fit, that's for sure, but I *think* with a shoehorn and someone sitting on top of it, I might be able to fit it all in there.

Still no camera, so still no eye-candy, sorry guys With any luck I'll have a decent chunk of money to work with this weekend, and I'll go about procuring some supplies.. need to lap some tiny heatsinks, and then get them mounted securely. Any recommendations for a decent thermal adhesive?