80s Computers - x86/ARM mods "ethical"?

Started by abstauber, Thu 10/05/2012 15:26:16

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abstauber

Hey guys,

I recently finished a hardware project because I felt the need of an HTPC/mediacenter/more-tech-in-livingroom (besides hardware projects don't cause eyestrain).

So anyway, I put a recent atom board into a C16, put an optical sensor into an amiga mouse and also added dvd-drive to a (unfortunately rare) 1551 floppy.
Playing games is awesome on this machine - especially on a crt.
At first I wanted record a small video with this machine playing Limey Lizard. But well - dx5 doesn't work too well with the embedded graphics and I somehow forgot about dx9, so these pics a currently I have to show around.




But what do you think? I guess this can be seen as outrage, especially if you really love the former machine. On the other hand - if you still have a vintage machine around, do you still use it? I bet with the upcoming 40$ Raspberry PI, more people will consider hacking their old stuff. And with it, more vintage hardware will cease to exist in it's original form.

Anyway, I'm happy to have a keyboard-computer around and my childhood computer was a TI99/4a, so my conscience is clear  8-)
How about you? Awesome or awful?

Victor6

BURN THE HERETIC!!!


....nah, just kidding. It's always awesome to see retro-tech given a new lease of life, especially in this age of horrible neon-lit, chrome and clear plastic aesthetics.

I'm surprised that you only had to replace the ball in an amiga mouse. The buttons on those things used to fail all the time.

kaputtnik

Haha, Dirk, this is awesome! I have a heavy old VHS recorder from the late 70s, with a tough steel case and all sorts of useless LEDs and buttons, lying around in pieces at home, it even fits a reasonably big mainboard. Plus the cassette slot can hold a DVD drive easily, I just had to make some space in the front cover plate. I've been wanting to make a desktop-style computer out of this for such a long time but never got around to finishing it...

Your project on the other hand looks so great, I am sure the removed C16 will find comfort in the fact that this has turned out absolutely beautiful. So, I'm all for implanting!
I, object.

ThreeOhFour

This is perfect. I've been meaning to do something similar to this as well but haven't gotten around to it yet. Yours is amazing, especially the joystick :D.

abstauber

Hehe, thanks guys! Ben, isn't Australia MSX-territory or did Commodore sell their stuff too? Anyway I'd love to see any upcoming hardware hacks!
@Sebastian: a VCR playing avi-files,now that would be rad! I hope you get to finish it, already loved your Blüm-Board  ;-D


About the mouse. For those mousebuttons you simply need long "click-ways", new microswitches just felt wrong. But you're right Victor, the old switches are indeed a bit error-prone.
I hope none of you are making games with a mandatory mouse wheel ;)

Kweepa

Shame to butcher the C16, but it does look nice!
I've been thinking about writing a C16 game. This reduces the potential market by one  :~(
Still waiting for Purity of the Surf II

abstauber

Nah, it's just shifted, I sold the still working board on ebay. But you do have point, recent vintage games like JimSlim on the C64 aren't selling to bad either.
To be honest, I had to think of your Vic-20 First-Person-Awesomeness, while I was doing this.

amateurhour

Abstauber that looks fantastic!

Which atom board did you go with? Did you use one of the dual core atom boards with the nVidia ION graphics or go with one of the older models so it could be fanless? (including the fan over the processor)

I only asked because I figured you'd be better off with the older cheaper atom board for playing the classics, as sometimes now the newer hardware can over accelerate older games.

I'm actually doing a similar build with a miniITX mobo and an old NES, since through the miracle of luck the miniITX boards line up perfectly on the bottom of a gutted NES and two of the screw holes even line up on several models of the board.

I'd love to see a video of this setup when you get a chance to update to DX9.

Again, awesome build!
Co-Founder of Pink Pineapple Ink Pink Pineapple Ink
Creator of the online comic Trouble Ticket Trouble Ticket

abstauber

Hey thanks!
I used an intel dn2800mt. It's graphics core is called GMA3650, it's suppsed to be "alright", but the drivers aren't fully there yet. DX9 works fine though, the machine only crashes at DX5. Oh and the 3D performance is also very poor - just 1 fps at 3D Mark 2006.
But on the other hand, watching movies in 1080p already works pretty good. So if your NES is going to be a media station, I think that board wouldn't be a bad choice.

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