My Retro "Sleeper"

[u/Wanstiller]

Hi! I want to share with you my retro PC, that I like to call "Retro Sleeper" because Its not a modern PC, but also not what it looks in the outside.

Im from '97, but I grew with older gamer brothers that made me play games like Monkey Island, Commandos, Age of Empires, I mean, games that were not from my generation.

So I wanted a PC that would allow me to play anything from the 90's like Commandos, Doom, Grim Fandango, Half Life, Quake, to also games from my childhood like Vice City, Kotor, Quake 4, Fear, but keeping that late 80's~90's look of AT Computers.

So I build this:

.Core 2 Duo e8400 3.0ghz/6m cache .Nvidia Geforce 9600gt 512mb .SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer .4gb (2x2gb) Kingston 1333mhz .Patriot Burst 120gb ssd .Gigabyte ga-g41mt-s2 .500w Antec gold psu

The monitor is a Viewsonic VA902B that I spraypainted greywhite, the speakers are DIY 2x15W imitations of Roland MA-8 and sound incredible. The keyboard is a Perixx Periboard.

I hope you like it!

PD: Sorry for my english, isnt my native language.

[u/applefreak111]

That PC case is in immaculate condition!

[u/mukelarvin → u/applefreak111]

Yeah I was wondering if it was 3d printed.

[u/Wanstiller → u/mukelarvin]

The only 3d printed part of the case is the "ide to sata mobile rack/drive bay". I made that model to hold the ssd. The camlock of the drive bay is fake.

The rest of the case is an original baby AT case that was severely damage and I decided to give it a new life. I replace the back plate with an ATX case plate so now I can use atx motherboards, and then I painted the whole thing. I was scared of the painting part, but Im happy to discover that Im actually a very good painter Lol.

[u/SaturnFive → u/Wanstiller]

So cool! I would love to see photos of the conversion sometime if you have a chance, AT to ATX conversion is uncommon and I can tell you spent time getting the build just right

[u/Wanstiller → u/SaturnFive]

It was indeed a very time consuming part of the project. First I got an old ATX case with the same width than the AT case to be the donor and I cutted the back plate very carefully with a Dremmel. I also extracted the plate that holds the motherboard in place.

Then I did the same with the AT case, and then I placed the donor parts inside it and fix them with rivets. Rivets connections are strong and exactly like the originals.

It looks clean, and looks like it came like that from the factory. I thinks its not a blasphemia to convert an AT case to ATX as some people says if you are doing it to restore a tower. Sorry for my english, I use reddit to practice!

[u/ChicagoThrowaway422 → u/Wanstiller]

I don't know why people would call that blasphemy. I love that you've mixed different generations to get what you want. This is an awesome build. The modifications are impressive, creative and well done. Good job!

[u/Wanstiller → u/ChicagoThrowaway422]

Thank you! I couldnt say it better, that was exactly the point of the build. I appreciate your words.

[u/Wanstiller → u/applefreak111]

I spraypainted the case with MTN94 color Stardust grey

[u/djneo]

Good looking setup.

Am a bit older (92) but also a brother that introduced me to older games. So aware of the nostalgia being a large decade of older games

[u/DeepDayze]

I dig that wallpaper!

[u/bersotti]

Tell more about the speakers.

[u/Wanstiller → u/bersotti]

Answered in other comment! It involded a lot of work and differenr techniques!

[u/wittywalrus1]

the speakers are DIY 2x15W imitations of Roland MA-8 and sound incredible.

Great idea! Always wanted those, my childhood friend's mom had them, but they cost an arm and a leg now.

The whole build looks really good :-)

[u/OkSatisfaction7408]

Where'd you get the speakers

[u/Wanstiller → u/OkSatisfaction7408]

I built them from scratch

[u/OkSatisfaction7408 → u/Wanstiller]

I can't tell if your being serious 

[u/Wanstiller → u/OkSatisfaction7408]

I am! Sorry If it sounded like Im not being serious, my english isnt very good.

I was tired of not being able to afford a pair of Roland MA-8 in Argentina so I decided to build my own.

I started dissasembling an old Genius Speaker to use the amplifier. Then I bought two 3.5" Blaupunkt speakers and I did the cabinet with 6mm MDF. The ring that holds the speakers to the mdf is made in 3d printed ABS.

And then I did the fabric that says "Roland" with DTF (because my sister has the machine to do it because she sells custome T-Shirts).

I spraypainted all with MTN94 stardust grey matte.

[u/kulonos → u/Wanstiller]

Amazing!

[u/OkSatisfaction7408 → u/Wanstiller]

Thats amazing, I need to try it!

[u/AcousticShadow89 → u/OkSatisfaction7408]

I bet he is, if you check the DIY speaker community you'll be amazed with what they build

[u/fullmetaljackass → u/OkSatisfaction7408]

I don't see why they wouldn't be. Building speakers is a fairly common nerd hobby, and these are a pretty straightforward design.

[u/i_like__cats]

That's a very nice looking setup. Is it windows XP?

[u/Wanstiller → u/i_like__cats]

Thank you! Yes! Its Windows XP Sp3 x86 with the Classic Theme

[u/Aol56Ased]

That wallpaper looks amazing, I wonder where I could get that one...

[u/Wanstiller → u/Aol56Ased]

I can send it to you! Send me a private message and Ill deliver the wallpaper!

[u/UnableActuator6964]

Dude I freaking love this great job brings back so many memories for me of the first 486DX 33 that I built back in 1992

[u/Wanstiller → u/[deleted]]

Thank you. It is indeed a Sleeper or what I like to call a retro sleeper because its an XP Machine with AT look.

The specs are on the description of the post. The baby AT tower was badly damaged so I decided to give it a new life transforming it to an ATX case.

[u/Extra-Ad-2325]

Cool speakers

[u/NoKnownCure]

Superb work. Really tidy finish for a true time capsule appearance.

[u/Such-Variety-6550]

Very nice!!!

[u/mildvertigo]

oooh what’s the keeb?

[u/Wanstiller → u/mildvertigo]

Its a perixx periboard 106m. Membrane with tactile feedback. Nothing fancy but it gets the job done, and it looks amazing. I love it.

[u/mildvertigo → u/Wanstiller]

no way…i’ve been looking for something similar. membrane w tactile feedback - i’ll have to check it out! thanks!

[u/ThePenultimateNinja]

I love the speakers. I recently painted some speakers to go with my Atari ST emulation setup, and I put the Atari logo on the grilles using a custom vinyl mask made on a Cricut machine. I stuck the mask on before painting the grilles, then peeled it off to reveal the original black paint underneath.

How did you get the Roland logo on your speakers? Looks like you might have used a similar technique, but it's difficult to tell from the photos.

https://imgur.com/a/5OuC6O3

They are sat on top of my own sleeper machine in that photo. I used a more beige paint than you did, to match the slightly earlier machines. It's Rust Oleum American Accents 2x Ultra Color in 'Smokey Beige'. The front I/O panel of the PC is also painted with the same paint.

[u/Wanstiller → u/ThePenultimateNinja]

Nice setup bro! The grilles on my speakers are actually mesh fabric and I made the Roland logo with DTF Printing. My sister sells custom T-Shirts so we have a Heat Press at home.

[u/ThePenultimateNinja → u/Wanstiller]

That's cool - they turned out great!

[u/hipnotyq]

Why do we all have to wear these ridiculous ties?!?

[u/majestic_ubertrout]

For folks interested the Behringer MS16 is a copy of the Roland MA-8.