Up until the late 1990s PC Computer cases were typically rectangular, beige objects where the colour was dictated more by the quality of cheap recycled plastic from which they were manufactured than by choice or design. In the late 1990s to early 2000s some PC enthusiasts, many of them Gamers, began Case Modding - "spicing up" their PC cases with lights, windows and paintwork to reflect their personalities and interests in much the same way as car enthusiasts have been modifying their cars since the early days of hot-rodding in the 1930s.
Case mods are often bright and gaudy, festooned with lights and high-gloss paintwork, but increasingly there are beautifully conceived and executed, even elegant, case mods by talented and professional designers.
In 2001 VIA Technologies introduced the Mini-ITX form-factor motherboard; a tiny 17cm x 17cm board with onboard CPU and minimal cooling requirements. This has opened avenues for case modders to build PC into smaller and more unusual enclosures than ever before. The case mods I showcase here combine these tiny mini- or pico-ITX boards with classic PC from computing history. Here are my picks for the best retro case mods:
10. Commodore Pet CBM 3032 by ZSX.
This case mod takes one of the early Commodore Pet computers and installs the innards of a Gateway GP6-400. Bonus points for not cutting into the original case, and keeping the original keyboard, but because of the ample room inside a Commodore Pet case, and the nearly criminal destruction of a truly historic computer (the Pet, not the Gateway) I can't in good conscience rate it higher.
See also ZSXs fantastic installation of an EPIA M board into a 1970s National portable television.
Another Pet conversion.
9. Atari 800 by Andy Hutson
This Atari 800 looks stock from the top, while packing a CDR where the joystick ports should be. He adds an SDIO adapter internally so that other Ataris and peripherals can be connected without modification. Sadly it has a number of other exterior modification such as a non-functioning oversize XL keyboard, hinges on the back of the case and a giant hole in the right hand side that detract from the final product. Given the limited space to work with this is still a great mod that meets the builder's needs. Now, does anybody have an Atari 800 spare to a good home?
8. Atari 1200XL by noelio1974
I've been able to find very little about this one, and the quality of the video is a bit rubbish, but I really like the DVD burner in the 1050 trick.
7. Apple Macintosh SE/30 by Iain Sharp
This Macintosh SE also takes great pains to ensure the exterior is kept as original as possible, so other than some widening of the stock floppy drive slot to accommodate CDs, this looks pretty much as good as a bought one. By keeping a 9" CRT for the display Iain has had to work around some fairly restrictive internal space limitations, but the payoff is in the final product - a stock looking SE/30 with a colour screen. Well Done!
6. Commodore 64 by JJ aka DocLorren
This was the first retro PC case mod I remember seeing. I involves quite a bit of exterior case cutting, but it is done well and looks good. Into the C64 breadbin goes a slimline DVD drive, HDD and EPIA Mini ITX board. Sadly the keyboard is a no go.
5. Nintendo Entertainment System by John F. de Perczel
Nintendo has had a profound influence on gaming for serveral decades, and none of their products is more iconic than the venerable Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). This wonderful case mod keeps most exterior mods to the back of the unit, and hides the DVD drive and USB connectors behind a cunningly concealed flap, leaving the front looking good and original. It doesn't say whether the game pad ports still function - let's hope they do.
4. Sinclair ZX81 by unravelled
A Pico-ITX board makes this mod possible. This mod almost made my top three, but knowing I'm a Sinclair fan to begin with it seemed a little too convenient to have two Sinclairs at the top of the leaderboard. Those of you who have used a ZX81 will know just how incredible it is to have installed a functioning PC inside this tiny case. Exterior mods are limited to the rear, especially the expansion bus where the Pico-ITX board vents its heat. Sadly, the keyboard is a no go, but then it was when it was new, so I guess little has changed in that department.
3. Commodore SX-64 by Neil Jansen
The Commodore SX-64 is a classic, and sought after machine which put all the fun of the popular C64 into a "portable" unit, with keyboard, floppy disk drive and colour screen. Neil's mod tries to keep the external appearance as close to stock as possible, going as far as building a PCB to convert all the modern PC connectors to the original SX-64 DIN and DB9 connectors to avoid having to modify the external ports. He also keeps the original keyboard, with a custom PS/2 adapter and a SID card for the authentic C64He also manages to keep the original CRT for that stunning 80s look. It's this extra effort which brings this in at number three.
2. Atari 2600 by retrogamer1990
A very close fight for first place saw this Atari 2600 mode lose out by the smallest of margins. A lot of effort has been put into this mod, from cutting and relocating the original switches, cutting the solid metal shield to get more space and even modding the Mini-ITX board to remove the parallel port to make it fit. A great effort and a fantastic result.
1. Sinclair ZX Spectrum by Brian
Inspired by unravelled's ZX81 hack and built around an ARM based BeagleBoard, Brian squeezes a modern PC capable of full HD video playback into the diminutive ZX Spectrum case while keeping the original keyboard intact and functioning, taking it to first place. Fitting anything modern into such an incredibly small and slimline enclosure is quite a feat, so it's no surprise that even a Pico-ITX would have been too big for this job. With the ARM processor sporting high performance with low power and minimal cooling needs this mod is a usable as it is brilliant.
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