NES case build - Mini-ITX

F

Foz2001

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Aug 25, 2001
Messages
2,029
Hi Guys,

I want to build a system to play emulators and put it inside of an NES case so I'm looking at a mini-itx motherboard and other small parts... Also I have heard its better to have a higher clocked single core when using emulators instead of lower clocked multiple cores? Can anyone verify that?

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming - emulators

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
No budget, best bang for buck

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Ontario - Canada

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Mobo, CPU, RAM, PSU.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
250gb laptop harddrive, case fans

6) Will you be overclocking?
Doubt it, but if its the difference between smooth play and choppy play then yes

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
55" 1080p

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Now

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
HDMI out, and most likely onboard video

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Windows 7 64 bit. May use Linux though, not sure yet.

Any feedback is appreciated.

Thanks,

Foz
 
Last edited:
I'm actually quite interested in this... was thinking of doing something like this myself so don't mind if I follow along :)
 
What consoles are you trying to emulate? Is it just going to be for 8/16 bit gaming? Do you want to be able to emulate newer consoles PS2/Wii? If it is for the older games up to N64 you can build one heck of a powerful system in a very tiny package now a days. :)
 
Subbed.

I've built a similar machine around 2003-2004 using a VIA motherboard, and have been contemplating doing an upgrade to that machine for newer OSes to have a unique NAS at home.



Edit:
Foz2001 said:
I want to build a system to play emulators and put it inside of an NES case so I'm looking at a mini-itx motherboard and other small parts... Also I have heard its better to have a higher clocked single core when using emulators instead of lower clocked multiple cores? Can anyone verify that?
Click to expand...
I haven't heard that, but I also haven't had any issues that you are asking about.
 
Last edited:
ChuckLogan said:
What consoles are you trying to emulate? Is it just going to be for 8/16 bit gaming? Do you want to be able to emulate newer consoles PS2/Wii? If it is for the older games up to N64 you can build one heck of a powerful system in a very tiny package now a days. :)
Click to expand...

I'm looking to emulate up to N64 and Playstation 1
 
Foz2001 said:
Also I have heard its better to have a higher clocked single core when using emulators instead of lower clocked multiple cores? Can anyone verify that?
Click to expand...
That was true like half a decade ago. Nowdays, not true at all since no single-core CPU in the world can compete with the current generation of Intel dual-core CPUs in heavily single-threaded applications. So in other words, you'll be fine with a dual-core CPU.

Now considering that people were running PS1 emulators on old P4 CPUs just fine, just about any cheap dual-core CPU out now will be more than enough considering the huge jump in performance between cheap modern dual-cores and old single core P4s. So you should be fine with something like the Pentium G630. Here's what I recommend for the rest of the system:
$68 - Intel Pentium G630 CPU
$85 - BIOSTAR TH61ITX+RCH LGA 1155 Intel H61 mITX Motherboard
$19 - G.Skill F3-10666CL9S-2GBNT 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$43 - Antec NEO ECO 400C 400W PSU
----
Total: $215 CAD plus tax and shipping.

If you still want a little extra CPU on tap for those just-in-case situations, the Pentium G850 or Pentium G860 are solid CPU upgrades choices.
 
cool.

One other note... I am forced to use a Mini ITX PSU as well. There is no way an ATX one will fit in there with other components. Any suggestions on those? There are slim pickings.
 
Won't be near a PC to research for another six hours. So can not give you a recommendation now.
 
Foz2001 said:
One other note... I am forced to use a Mini ITX PSU as well. There is no way an ATX one will fit in there with other components. Any suggestions on those?
Click to expand...
Alternatively, there are many DC-DC adapters that allow you to use an external power brick. Or, as I did on my NES PC, you can take the PSU out of the external shell and mount it internally to the bottom or top of the NES chassis.

Regardless, share some pics once you start the construction, and share details about layout, build approach, and any hurdles encountered.
 
I have been looking at those DC Adapters. They will provide enough power?
 
You can find a Pico PSU that will easily power a mini-itx setup.

As much as I like the builds suggested by Danny_Bui, you may have to consider a different CPU.

Running a standard 65 Watt CPU inside a cramped NES case will require a bunch of holes to keep thermals/noise under control.
Yes I know the low end dual cores do not use 65 Watts, but there is no guarantee on how much power it will use and the op may end up with a CPU that dumps 50 Watt inside the case.
 
runs2far said:
You can find a Pico PSU that will easily power a mini-itx setup.

As much as I like the builds suggested by Danny_Bui, you may have to consider a different CPU.

Running a standard 65 Watt CPU inside a cramped NES case will require a bunch of holes to keep thermals/noise under control.
Yes I know the low end dual cores do not use 65 Watts, but there is no guarantee on how much power it will use and the op may end up with a CPU that dumps 50 Watt inside the case.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I honestly don't think it's a big issue. If you read the power consumption figures of low power T or S series Intel CPUs, the only big difference between those and the regular CPUs is 10W at load. That's due to their lower clock speed, not of any specific engineering marvel that allows to lower power dramatically. At idle, they're virtually the same.`

As long as you find the right Pico-PSU with the right power adapter, those will be enough for this system. From what I can tell, you'd need the power adapter to be an 80W one at the least.
 
I'm sorry, I did not express myself very well.

I was trying to express a concern over the NES being a very closed case with few venting holes. If the OP puts to much power into that NES he will have to make a lot of venting holes to get rid of the heat.

I know that the chosen CPU should be close to many of the low wattage models in terms of power usage, although not guaranteed, but I think even the lowly Pentium you have picked will heat up that NES if the OP does not create a lot of venting holes.

A high clocked Atom board with HDMI should handle all but the most demanding N64 games such as Goldeneye, it is far easier to cool down and should run of a cheaper 12 volt AC/DC adapter with a 60 watt PicoPSU.

EDIT:

I should have noticed the OP has a 55" TV, without CPU power for post processing those old games will look really really old and blocky as hell, an Atom will not be able to handle any AA or other enhancements possible in a N64 emulator.

I guess the Pentium and some underclock/undervolt may be the only good answer.
 
Last edited:
i think the OPs best bet would be to go for something similar to this dreamcast build, and put the mobo upside down with the cpu heat sink sticking out the case. its really the best way to get good heat dissipation outside the case without hacking up the top.
 
I'm pretty sure the NES is at least 80mm tall, therefore an 80mm fan could be mounted on the rear of the unit to move air around. It's not like it's going to be producing a ton of heat where an 80mm fan isn't efficient. Might be a little loud with an 80mm fan though.
 
ekuest said:
i think the OPs best bet would be to go for something similar to this dreamcast build, and put the mobo upside down with the cpu heat sink sticking out the case. its really the best way to get good heat dissipation outside the case without hacking up the top.
Click to expand...
+
Skillz said:
I'm pretty sure the NES is at least 80mm tall, therefore an 80mm fan could be mounted on the rear of the unit to move air around. It's not like it's going to be producing a ton of heat where an 80mm fan isn't efficient. Might be a little loud with an 80mm fan though.
Click to expand...

Cooler intake + exhaust ;)

EDIT:

Looking past the jokes, the system should be cool enough if the OP uses a bottom hole for intake and drills a bunch of exhaust holes on the back and/or side/top.
I hope the OP can figure out how to mount the motherboard upside down.
 
Last edited:
Not too worried about mounting it, I think I'll be fine.

I'm really having a hard time picking a PSU... The Pico-PSU's are far and few between and can get very costly with the AC-DC Adapter...
 
Foz2001 said:
I'm really having a hard time picking a PSU... The Pico-PSU's are far and few between and can get very costly with the AC-DC Adapter...
Click to expand...

Yeah you're definitely pay a lot for the small size. With that said, this Pico PSU + adapter isn't that bad price wise for such a combination:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0081S4UY0/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?tag=hardfocom-20

Same one used in this NES mod right here on the forums:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1694763

The OP is still around so I recommend hitting him up with any questions you may have about this NES case mod.
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Danny Bui said:
Yeah you're definitely pay a lot for the small size. With that said, this Pico PSU + adapter isn't that bad price wise for such a combination:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0081S4UY0/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?tag=hardfocom-20

Same one used in this NES mod right here on the forums:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1694763

The OP is still around so I recommend hitting him up with any questions you may have about this NES case mod.
Click to expand...

That guy hit 60 degrees just sitting at the desktop and was able to burn test it up to 99 O_O, that shows how airflow starved the heatsink and fan is even with a huge nasty cutout in the back.

Again, I am sure it would work if there is space for venting in the back, similar to the linked build, the motherboard is flipped upside down and the OP cuts a hole below the heatsink fan.

A picopsu is not exactly cheap once you go past 60 or 80 watt, the 120 version is plenty for this build and cost 65$

The 80 watt bundle is 50$, If the OP wants to be a little risky. It should work, but if that Pentium is an unlucky model the system may hit just over 80 watt when running a benchmark.
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
I think that 120w looks reasonable.


So it looks like I'll go with:

$68 - Intel Pentium G630 CPU
$85 - BIOSTAR TH61ITX+RCH LGA 1155 Intel H61 mITX Motherboard
$19 - G.Skill F3-10666CL9S-2GBNT 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$65 - 120W Mini ITX Power Supply Kit PicoPSU 120

Any other suggestions before I bite the bullet?

I'm assuming with this setup I should have no problem playing n64/ps1 right?
 
Foz2001 said:
I think that 120w looks reasonable.


So it looks like I'll go with:

$68 - Intel Pentium G630 CPU
$85 - BIOSTAR TH61ITX+RCH LGA 1155 Intel H61 mITX Motherboard
$19 - G.Skill F3-10666CL9S-2GBNT 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$65 - 120W Mini ITX Power Supply Kit PicoPSU 120

Any other suggestions before I bite the bullet?

I'm assuming with this setup I should have no problem playing n64/ps1 right?
Click to expand...

if you havent seen them yet, you might wanna look at this ram. it's $10 more, but will use less power and put out less heat, though both of those will be basically negligible. more importantly, it's extremely low profile which may or may not help in your planned build. gives you more room for cable routing and possibly other components. not essential, but always a consideration for anyone building extremely sff. i got 2 sticks last week for my build and there is nothing smaller. and, they are amazing performers from what i hear.
 
Last edited:
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Foz2001 said:
I think that 120w looks reasonable.


So it looks like I'll go with:

$68 - Intel Pentium G630 CPU
$85 - BIOSTAR TH61ITX+RCH LGA 1155 Intel H61 mITX Motherboard
$19 - G.Skill F3-10666CL9S-2GBNT 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$65 - 120W Mini ITX Power Supply Kit PicoPSU 120

Any other suggestions before I bite the bullet?

I'm assuming with this setup I should have no problem playing n64/ps1 right?
Click to expand...

PS1 requires less CPU power than N64 and a lowly atom CPU is able to run most N64 games as long as you do not enable any post processing.
That CPU is leaps and bounds more powerful than an Atom and will handle it easily.
 
Last edited:
Danny Bui said:
Yeah you're definitely pay a lot for the small size. With that said, this Pico PSU + adapter isn't that bad price wise for such a combination:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0081S4UY0/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?tag=hardfocom-20

Same one used in this NES mod right here on the forums:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1694763

The OP is still around so I recommend hitting him up with any questions you may have about this NES case mod.
Click to expand...

That is US amazon... anyone know where I can get something like this PICO in Canada?
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Foz2001 said:
I'm looking to emulate up to N64 and Playstation 1
Click to expand...

people do this on old atoms. I'd start with a new brazos computer like zotac AD12 and go from there. you're making this difficult on yourself going high end for something that will mostly be emulating snes games

it is possible that the latest atom/brazos will not work well for n64/playstation emulation. it is hard to tell when so few people are treading this ground before you. but that is what I'd try first.
 
So I have ordered the following:

$73 PICOPSU-150-XT with 102w power brick
$80 BIOSTAR TH61ITX
$85 Intel G860 CPU

I'll start posting some pics soon. I have the bottom cleared out. I'm contemplating keeping the mobo completely enclosed and running a small male to female HDMI cord from mobo to where the original audio/video opening is. Power hookup will be mounted at original power opening as well.

Issue is space...
 
I finished this awhile back and really should have put an update on here... picture quality is poor, my bad. I also don't have pictures of everything but this should still give you a good idea of the build.


1. Power/Reset/LED motherboard lead cables recycled from an old case.
jYizSAu.jpg


2. Soldered onto original NES PCB - Note: Had to remove/break off the little metal connector that keeps the power switch recessed.
D0cMtWL.jpg

z3FiBGE.jpg


3. This next pic skips a lot of parts, and unfortunately I don't have what happened in between.

a) I used a pair of USB ports that came with a motherboard I had, they ended up being almost a perfect width between them to replace where the NES Controller ports went. Simply used a hot glue gun to attach here.

b) Used a Dremmel to remove all of the extra plastic mounting pieces besides the 4 you see in the corners. The plastic melts like crazy with a variety of cutting discs so that wasn't fun, difficult to cut cleanly.

c) I then drilled holes for motherboard mounts, 2.5" HDD, and the intake antec case fan. I used plastic nuts/bolts for the motherboard as it was going to be such a tight fit I didn't want anything shorting out, the motherboard essentially "floats" inside the case.
nLH57m7.jpg


4. Here is the PicoPSU. Kinda glad I didn't skimp on this in terms of wattage. Seems to be working perfectly fine.
vEERlfu.jpg


5. MOBO
PYwmSq8.jpg


6. MOBO installed (Before some cable management)
nUiEVmO.jpg


7. Some testing
OqxwGuh.jpg


8. Installed exhaust HDD cooler to where the original case vents are.
HLKrUFe.jpg


9. Xbox 360 wireless adapter installed (aka sitting on mobo)
KpDye0P.jpg


10. Everything in.
7a0g2u1.jpg


11. Dust cover open (very close fit)
fwVIBT5.jpg


12. Bad pic - but HDMI and Power Hookups. (I have a ethernet jack I need to put in the back as well)
qbL03N4.jpg


13. Hooked up
iATM4Ad.jpg


15. Wireless KB/Mouse
AUfpQMR.jpg


16. Running Maximus Arcade
9PeP6bC.jpg



I'm pretty happy how it turned out. I probably have left out a lot information. Just ask.

Thanks,

Foz
 
Last edited:
Dang that looks pretty damn good. What kind of temps are you getting?
 
Nice work on the build!

Couple questions:

1 - Many others (myself included) chose to dremel-out the inner T-shaped plastic region in the bottom of the case. I noticed you left the majority of it intact, and seems to work out for placing the HDD. Did you debate this decision, or was it never considered?

2 - How are the case temps holding up under load? (Just concerned about the plastic shifting as it heats up.)

3 - Are you using any shield/block between the mobo and the HDD?

4 - Did you modify the original NES power switch to properly function with the mobo's power button header? The original had a "depressed" type that didn't seem like a normal momentary toggle.
 
Hello, first post.

I was actually "banned" from another website / forum citing I was trolling and violating legality laws. I will refrain from using Nintendo Life as any reference so they won't be upset about any inferences.

I built an "Arcade MAME machine" within a NES case. Yes, before anyone asks, the case was in good shape, but the board was well gone, having had loose soldering connections fail, dirt, cracked epoxy layer on the board, a bulging capacitor, and what appears to be a "scorch" mark on the main board. The system is a Mini-ITX, with MAME frontend software to help hide the operating system, and a wheel menu option to open the emulator.

Note, the emulator is the same software Nintendo Japan used for its prototype Famicom. The names are different, but a side by side comparison illustrates the software is identical. Also, the frontend software used is a registered, globally used MAME software package.. which was also used in the early to mid 1980s by game manufacturers such as Nintendo, Sega, Sony, Daphne, Atari just to name a few. Lastly, I do NOT condone the use of illegal ROM files. The few games I actually own, were backed up using a device that is not illegal by Nintendo piracy and legality copyright disclosure. ROMS are acceptable as long as you own the game, and the ROM file is the exact backup of the game you own. Searching the internet quickly, anyone can purchase a variety of devices that will accomplish this task.

That said. Here is a tutorial and quick 10 min video of how to build one yourself.

Enjoy.

http://youtu.be/SykMZfvd12o

Sorry, I couldn't quickly figure out how to link a video, so I had to resort to a HTML link.

I will happily answer any questions.

(PS - if there is anything amiss about this post regarding the moderator team here, please do me the courtesy of asking in PM's. I will definitely accommodate)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top