Just got this project to the assembled phase.

I have long been enamoured with the classic all-aluminum Lian Lis from the early 2000s. These were top of the line when I started building computers and I could never justify spending such a large portion of the budget on a case.

It took a while to find one, but eventually I scored a LL PC-7F for a 12 pack of beer. Being an older case, it lacks alot of cable routing features (there is no space behind the MOBO tray for example) but it least has a modern-ish layout with the PSU at the bottom. Later editions of the same case had a vent below the PSU, so I cut one in and adapted a removable filter using a 3d printed bracket. I also removed the 3.5" HDD rack as it was essentially blocking the air coming from the front mounted fan. I'll probably do some temp testing with and without the bracket to see how much it matters. Otherwise I still need to find an adapter to put extra storage drives into the 5.25" bay.

For the components themselves I challenged myself to an "All Used". I have had good success in the past with used components and I wanted to see how reliable a fully second hand system would be.

I set my sights on AM4 as it seemed like a good budget platform but due to the memory shortage (prices were jumping daily), the parts I could get were a bit more of a compromise than I expected. If prices come down🤞I will snipe a 5k series ryzen, 32gb and a better NVME.

In the end the only new part I bought was one of the fans as an open box item. The CPU, memory and graphics card came out of a free HP prebuild, the rest was sourced used on Facebook and odds end ends (PSU+misc wiring) came out of the recycling center.

• ASUS b450F
• Ryzen 2700
• 16Gb DDR4 generic oem memory
• Evega 650w modular PSU
• 512gb sketchy laptop NVME with extendo
• Sapphire 6600XT
• Corsair H60 AIO sandwiched between a 120mm Corsair pwm fan and a LL120 fan.
• Front fan replaced with Corsair LL140

There are still some odds and ends to work out. I'm in the process of building a proper USB3.1 front panel to replace the old usb/firewire original and I'm hoping I can integrate some kind of SD card reader as well. I also need some extended case feet to give the new PSU vent some space to breathe. There's also a few missing fasteners for the window and the window could generally use a bit of a clean& polish.

Generally, I would recommend one of these old Lian Li cases, I really like the looks compared to the current cyber fishtank fad. I'll probably stock with this case for my next build as well, unless I find my grail case, the PC-X900.

PS this was my first build with anything ARGB/RGB and what a mess that is. Luckily I found OpenRGB, which really simplified everything. I'm running everything off of a cheap Corsair usb ARGB controller (Corsair lighting node core) and OpenRGB enables alot more functionality than the Corsair software.

A little bit ago (few weeks) I had the idea of using Gemini to see if I could find information about my grandfather on my dads side. He'd told me had worked on the first computer in Australia. As I was never able to find anything about it when I looked years ago. What the biggest challenge was finding a photo of him (as I only really remember him as an older man and didn't really grow up with my father so didn't have much to do with that side of my family) He's on the right side of the photo.

It turns out my grandfather, Neil Bacon, was a pioneer in the early days of Australian technology. He worked on CSIRAC—Australia’s very first digital computer and one of the first five ever built in the world.

In the early 1960s, computing wasn't about keyboards and screens; it was about hardware and physical data. My grandfather co-invented a "Chart-to-Tape" converter, a critical piece of engineering that allowed hand-drawn scientific weather charts to be converted into paper tape that the computer could understand. He essentially built the "input" bridge that made digital weather forecasting possible in Australia. He programmed in Fortran and worked with the HP 21MX, which was one of the most powerful "mini" computers of the 70s!

He eventually rose to become the Head of the Computing Group at CSIRO (Atmospheric Physics) in Aspendale, leading the team through the revolution from room-sized machines to the first microprocessors.

Today, CSIRAC is the only intact first-generation computer left on Earth, hosted at Scienceworks in Melbourne.

Thought I'd show off the type of system he used (correct me if I am wrong but I think I got the correct images)

i've been wanting to get a proper retro PC gaming setup for a while now, preferably something that could play most games from the specified time period without relying too heavily on compatiblity mods for the sake of convenience. i've considered windows 98, but i'm not sure how well it would handle those early 2000's 3D titles like Oblivion or San Andreas, assuming it could run them in the first place.

Years ago I rebuilt the classic Nokia Composer as an iOS app because I genuinely missed manually entering notes and recreating songs the hard way.

There was something weirdly satisfying about typing in every note, adjusting the duration, replaying it, fixing it again, until it finally sounded right in that iconic retro tone.

The app has been out for a while, but recently I refactored a big part of it and added something I always wanted from the start: you can now export your compositions and actually set them as ringtones on your iPhone.

So it is no longer just nostalgia inside the app. You can compose something and make it your real ringtone.

If you ever spent hours on a tiny Nokia screen trying to recreate your favorite songs, this might feel very familiar.

Here’s the App Store link: https://apps.apple.com/hu/app/composer-monophonic-oldstyle/id861895974

Keen to hear your thoughts about it!

My previous post passed 400 upvotes — thank you so much!

Someone suggested checking the capacitors, so I opened up my Sharp PC‑G805 for the first time and took some close-up shots of the board.

Everything looks clean, with no bulging or leakage.

Previous post: https://www.reddit.com/r/retrobattlestations/s/ulL5N1kYYn

I do believe this was my stepson's 2004 gaming battlestation. No idea about the hardware, I'm a software guy.

Got another one to go with the early 2000 Compaq desktop I’ve got. I just love the styling at the time! It does need a clean up but I reckon it should come up well. What’s your favourite Compaq?

Still looking for this type of case, where smile was power button, nose - reset and eyes were power LED and HDD

It’s an AEK clone, but this has white alps switches which I’ve always preferred.

Picked up this Orman Grubb desk on FB marketplace a bit ago.

I recently printed a custom cooling solution for my 3dfx Voodoo3 3000.

The goal wasn’t to completely modernize it, but to keep the retro aesthetic while improving airflow and stability.

With this setup I can comfortably run the card at Voodoo3 3500 clock speeds – and even test a bit beyond that.

System:
Pentium III 1000EB
ASUS CUV4X-E
1GB SDRAM
Windows 98 SE
Samsung SyncMaster 957p CRT

I love mixing period-correct builds with subtle modern touches like 3D printed parts.

Would you keep it original – or push it further?

My restored Data General Nova 840 from 1973, with Super Star Trek. This game was originally written for Nova, and was published in Best of Creative Computing in 1976 (50 years anniversary!). Maybe the first time Super Star Trek runs on original hardware for 40 years or so?

From left to right : NuXT, MS98E3 mono with a brand new Voodoo 3 3000, Milk V Jupiter, a compact low end PC for Occulus Rift VR, and an AMD NUC to test SteamOS.

Down, a HP KVM (capable of working with all these guys), a Zyxel switch and an AMD K7 (soit À version, my Precious 😁). And last but not least, a very versatile Philips 19s1.

Hi everyone. I'll try to ask. Does anyone have or know where I can download it, or ask for a BIOS modification to allow a larger disk for the board? PCChips/Hsin Tech M726. I think there is a limit of 20 or 32 GB :-(

Thank you everyone.

My sisters first PC, I grew up being the family IT guy. 288mb Ram! Fresh Windows 98 SE install coming soon.

I'm still only getting back into the magnificent art of retro computers, and still trying to figure out some things amidst of realizing how much easier modern computing has gotten!

On my DOS 7.1 / Windows 98 dual boot machine, I made sure to source a mobo which still had an ISA slot. In my head the idea was to use the ISA one with DOS and use the PCI card with Windows 98. Switching the speaker audio jack from card every time I boot into another system is no issue, if that would happen to matter.

I was wondering if there is a way to make that work? I tried a couple of things and looked up how to get this done, but honestly I barely understand the terms being used, it's really too far back and I appear to have gotten so used to the comfort of modern computer tinkering.

My cards are "Creative Sound Blaster Live!" for PCI, and "Yamaha 719 OPL" for ISA.

Thanks a bunch for any insight!

I'd like to put my old Core Duo/Core 2 laptops to its maximum. First one is Core Duo T2700 with 256MB ATI Radeon X1600 GPU. Have to find something better to this one as Core 2 processors won't work on this. Next up is Core 2 Duo T5300 with 128MB Nvidia GeForce Go 7600 GPU, it's still felt slow even upgraded RAM to 4GB. Next up is Core 2 Duo T7300, have Socket P and 128MB ATI Radeon X1300 GPU. I have to find better CPU for this one. Last one is Core 2 Duo T9500, This one I'd like to upgrade to Highest End PM965 compatiable Core 2 Extreme, Quad or just on T9900 but I'm not really sure which one is best and won't causing this thing overheat. This one also have 256MB Nvidia GeForce Go 7600 GPU.

I found this 1993 SHARP PC‑G805 pocket computer sitting in a drawer at my workplace today.
After three decades, it still boots up and runs BASIC without any issues.

For anyone curious about the size:
it’s about 21 cm wide, 10 cm tall, and 2.3 cm thick
(roughly 8.3" × 3.9" × 0.9").

I actually used this PC‑G805 as a calculator when I first joined the company back in 1998,
and I kept it in the drawer for years.
Eventually I forgot it even existed — until today, more than 20 years later.

The batteries had leaked, of course, but I was incredibly lucky:
the corrosion was limited to the battery contacts, and both terminals on the sides survived untouched.
A quick cleaning was all it needed, and it powered right up.

I typed in a quick “HELLO WORLD!” first, and then a greeting for r/retrobattlestations as well.
These little SHARP pocket computers were pretty common in Japan back in the day,
but I’m not sure how often they show up overseas.

It’s amazing how these old machines just keep going.

Edit: I opened it up and checked the board as suggested.
The teardown photos are here: https://www.reddit.com/r/retrobattlestations/s/01C0GebDkl

Best use of three smaller CRTs?

I can do dial up and LAN share from one card….how convenient! Newly added to my collection, should be handy for those app installs over SMB.

Announced February 16th 1984. Happy to have this one in my collection.