Ideal for building a retro console on the cheap!

Bloodwych · 03 October 2003, 13:15

Warning - Lameulation thread ahead!!!!!

A while back, I was going to build a SFF (small form factor) PC to use as a retrogaming console, but the boxes at £200 were a little too expensive.

I never did get around to building one, until recently. After surfing around e-bay, I came across this:

skt370 SFF box, PSU and motherboard with TV-out!

Since it's the cheapest SFF PC box I've ever seen, I couldn't resist snapping it up as it has the following vital requirements:

Composite/TV-out to hook it up to TV sets.
Front USB ports for PC gamepads.
Small as a gamecube (well almost).

Another reason I grabbed it is I had a spare celeron 433, 64MB SDRAM CDROM and HD lying around from upgrading!

Although it uses the older skt370 PIII/celeron cpu's, these are still powerful enough to run all the best emulators. Plus 400+ celerons can be bought on ebay for £5+ or so.

How do I know? Well, I've git one up and running right here! I've taken it around a few friends’ houses and they want one more than their next gen consoles. Nostalgia is a powerful tool. Plus it doubles as a jukebox in my front room.

You might think I'd be the person selling these things. Well, no. Just thought I'd mention it in case any of you have spare PC parts lying around and fancy a neat retro console.

03 October 2003, 14:29

Cool,

I've seen that brand of box in ATX mini tower format and its got an extremely quiet PSU fan. Is this one also quiet? I doubt its got the same PSU unit as they send to be lon elongated things inside those size boxes.

Show more photos if you can

Bloodwych · 03 October 2003, 14:39

Afraid I don't have a web/digital cam.

The PSU is VERY quiet, but I'm only running a celeron 433 so things don't exactly get that warm. I'm not sure if the fan on the PSU is temperature controlled. If it is, it might get noisy if things heat up with say a 1Ghz pentium III and a warm room.

I'm very happy with the build quality for the price. Plus it has 2 firewire ports as well as USB.

woody57 · 03 October 2003, 14:41

.............Knowing what you want , adapting it with upgrades you know work then using it as a multi platform retro gamer without the need to haul around a monitor ............Hang on isn,t that what most of us wanted from the original miggy ?

the possibility of cross platform useage ! ....be carefull bloodwych you may be starting a trend .... espeacialy at that price ! nice one m8....

Bloodwych · 03 October 2003, 14:47

Thanks woodshed!

I've just noticed the guy has got a bit mixed up in his ebay ad. He claims it has an intel 815 chipset somewhere, then goes on to say it's got the via shuttle FV25 motherboard.

I can confirm it is the via NOT intel motherboard

BTW, this fully integrated motherboard DOES retail at £70-90!!! So it's definitely cheap for a SFF.

Bloodwych · 03 October 2003, 20:18

The SFF box is almost identical inside to the pics in this review

Just the outside that looks different.

Ash · 12 October 2003, 21:32

Quote:

...following vital requirements:

Composite/TV-out to hook it up to TV sets.
Front USB ports for PC gamepads.
Small as a gamecube (well almost).

Thats why I bought an xbox as it can play xbox games and DVD's
When modded its region free, can use homebrew software such as emulation, media players, etc
All I need is a bigger harddrive to fit more games, homebrew games and apps, s/vcd, mp3, ogg, etc!
Now that the 137 Gb HDD limit has finally been overcome its all good
Plus you get to mess with the m$ ideal of a locked down PC as the next generation of console/pc's, if you are like me and like that
Just a thought
Sure not all emu's are perfect but a lot of them are coming alon fine

Peanutuk · 12 October 2003, 23:13

So how much do you reckon it would cost to get the silver box ro up and running status?

Bloodwych · 13 October 2003, 13:56

Quote:

Originally posted by Peanutuk
So how much do you reckon it would cost to get the silver box ro up and running status?

Well as I mentioned above, I had some spare parts lying around on a shelf so nothing but the cost of the box in my case.

As a conservative guess and some ebay madness, I'd say:

All inc P&P

Box £95
Memory 128MB £10
CPU Celeron 600+ and cooler £15
Hard Drive 40-60GB (brand new) £45
DVDROM (new) or CDRW £20-35
Gamepads (new) £20
Disk Drive (new) £8

so as a rough estimate I'd say about £220 if you're buying everything from scratch.

Big-Byte · 13 October 2003, 15:46

or if you want to do it the xbox way like my mate.

Get a secondhand xbox (v1.0/v2.0/v3.0 revision) - easier to chip. £50-£80

Mod chip = £25-£40

120gig hard disk = £75

Crossover cable (so you can ftp stuff back and forth to your pc..

Cost.. £200 max..

Peanutuk · 13 October 2003, 16:46

The trouble with the Xbox is that its hugh and doesnt look very sexy. I might as well have my A1200 or C64 rather than emulating it on a bigger machine.

The cube looks interestng and mysterious..... :-) and i can tinker with it

Bloodwych · 13 October 2003, 16:55

The best 3.5" hard drive you can buy at the moment IMO for SFF pc's and A1200/A600's is......

Samsung Spin Point 40GB

It's very slim, light and gives out little heat as the 40GB model uses only one side of a platter.

In other words, its low profile would fit into an A1200/A600 like a dream if you have the correct cables!

Also, the thing has near-inaudible seeks (quietest I've EVER heard) and very low operational sound.

Ash · 13 October 2003, 19:23

Quote:

Originally posted by Peanutuk
The trouble with the Xbox is that its hugh and doesnt look very sexy. I might as well have my A1200 or C64 rather than emulating it on a bigger machine.

The cube looks interestng and mysterious..... :-) and i can tinker with it

If you only use an A1200 or C64 you are only going to use the apps and games for that platform
Wheres xbox can do so much more
As for looking sexy, I've never found computers or consoles to be sexy so this is not an issue for me

It black and suits the decor in my place, good enough for me
You can get colour mods for the case, or why not paint it yourself?
Or even put it in a new case?
I saw an article somewhere about some guy who put it in a DVD player type case with the xXx logo from the film
And then theres the guy put an xbox in his car with a custom version of linux to play snes roms and mp3's
...

Peanutuk · 13 October 2003, 19:58

Is the Samsung available in the UK? Can't...find...anywhere......Nggghhhh

Bloodwych · 13 October 2003, 22:16

A modded xbox does sound very cool and I know emu uk are really big on them at the moment. It's really impressive what people can achieve once a scene gets going.

As for the hard drive, look here.............

Remember - it's only the 40GB model that's so slim, if that matters at all. Uses less power too.

Peanutuk · 16 October 2003, 15:22

I'm really drawn between which one to go for!!?!?!

I seem to be drawn to the PC however, for some reason. Xbox just look crap and well...like an XBox.

BTW Gamecube's have now been reduced to £79.99 here in the UK - is this good news?

killergorilla · 16 October 2003, 16:44

Quote:

Originally posted by Peanutuk
BTW Gamecube's have now been reduced to £79.99 here in the UK - is this good news?

If it helps Ninty sell a load more consoles. then yes.

Peanutuk · 16 October 2003, 17:31

Well was hoping that it was so they could just sell alot more of the best console on the market this Xmas and not because they have a large stock of unsold Gamecubes or want to stop making them :-(

killergorilla · 16 October 2003, 17:33

They don't 'want' to stop making them, they stopped making them because they hadn't shifted the ones they've made already and didn't want to spend a load of money filling up stock rooms.

Peanutuk · 16 October 2003, 19:44

So they have stopped making them?

Let's hope they make pink ones when they resume :-)

03 October 2003, 13:15	#1
Bloodwych Moderator Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: I'm behind you! Posts: 3,763	Ideal for building a retro console on the cheap! Warning - Lameulation thread ahead!!!!! A while back, I was going to build a SFF (small form factor) PC to use as a retrogaming console, but the boxes at £200 were a little too expensive. I never did get around to building one, until recently. After surfing around e-bay, I came across this: skt370 SFF box, PSU and motherboard with TV-out! Since it's the cheapest SFF PC box I've ever seen, I couldn't resist snapping it up as it has the following vital requirements: Composite/TV-out to hook it up to TV sets. Front USB ports for PC gamepads. Small as a gamecube (well almost). Another reason I grabbed it is I had a spare celeron 433, 64MB SDRAM CDROM and HD lying around from upgrading! Although it uses the older skt370 PIII/celeron cpu's, these are still powerful enough to run all the best emulators. Plus 400+ celerons can be bought on ebay for £5+ or so. How do I know? Well, I've git one up and running right here! I've taken it around a few friends’ houses and they want one more than their next gen consoles. Nostalgia is a powerful tool. Plus it doubles as a jukebox in my front room. You might think I'd be the person selling these things. Well, no. Just thought I'd mention it in case any of you have spare PC parts lying around and fancy a neat retro console. Last edited by Bloodwych; 03 October 2003 at 13:23.

03 October 2003, 14:41	#4
woody57 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Manchester Posts: 801	Now thats what I call entertainment ! .............Knowing what you want , adapting it with upgrades you know work then using it as a multi platform retro gamer without the need to haul around a monitor ............Hang on isn,t that what most of us wanted from the original miggy ? the possibility of cross platform useage ! ....be carefull bloodwych you may be starting a trend .... espeacialy at that price ! nice one m8....

13 October 2003, 22:16	#15
Bloodwych Moderator Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: I'm behind you! Posts: 3,763	A modded xbox does sound very cool and I know emu uk are really big on them at the moment. It's really impressive what people can achieve once a scene gets going. As for the hard drive, look here............. Remember - it's only the 40GB model that's so slim, if that matters at all. Uses less power too. Last edited by Bloodwych; 13 October 2003 at 22:26.

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03 October 2003, 14:29	#2
M0d Posts: n/a	Cool, I've seen that brand of box in ATX mini tower format and its got an extremely quiet PSU fan. Is this one also quiet? I doubt its got the same PSU unit as they send to be lon elongated things inside those size boxes. Show more photos if you can

03 October 2003, 14:39	#3
Bloodwych Moderator Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: I'm behind you! Posts: 3,763	Afraid I don't have a web/digital cam. The PSU is VERY quiet, but I'm only running a celeron 433 so things don't exactly get that warm. I'm not sure if the fan on the PSU is temperature controlled. If it is, it might get noisy if things heat up with say a 1Ghz pentium III and a warm room. I'm very happy with the build quality for the price. Plus it has 2 firewire ports as well as USB.

03 October 2003, 14:47	#5
Bloodwych Moderator Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: I'm behind you! Posts: 3,763	Thanks woodshed! I've just noticed the guy has got a bit mixed up in his ebay ad. He claims it has an intel 815 chipset somewhere, then goes on to say it's got the via shuttle FV25 motherboard. I can confirm it is the via NOT intel motherboard BTW, this fully integrated motherboard DOES retail at £70-90!!! So it's definitely cheap for a SFF.

03 October 2003, 20:18	#6
Bloodwych Moderator Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: I'm behind you! Posts: 3,763	The SFF box is almost identical inside to the pics in this review Just the outside that looks different.

12 October 2003, 23:13	#8
Peanutuk Registered User Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: The North, UK Age: 45 Posts: 1,082	So how much do you reckon it would cost to get the silver box ro up and running status?

13 October 2003, 15:46	#10
Big-Byte Long time member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: UK Posts: 754	or if you want to do it the xbox way like my mate. Get a secondhand xbox (v1.0/v2.0/v3.0 revision) - easier to chip. £50-£80 Mod chip = £25-£40 120gig hard disk = £75 Crossover cable (so you can ftp stuff back and forth to your pc.. Cost.. £200 max..

13 October 2003, 16:46	#11
Peanutuk Registered User Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: The North, UK Age: 45 Posts: 1,082	The trouble with the Xbox is that its hugh and doesnt look very sexy. I might as well have my A1200 or C64 rather than emulating it on a bigger machine. The cube looks interestng and mysterious..... :-) and i can tinker with it

13 October 2003, 16:55	#12
Bloodwych Moderator Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: I'm behind you! Posts: 3,763	The best 3.5" hard drive you can buy at the moment IMO for SFF pc's and A1200/A600's is...... Samsung Spin Point 40GB It's very slim, light and gives out little heat as the 40GB model uses only one side of a platter. In other words, its low profile would fit into an A1200/A600 like a dream if you have the correct cables! Also, the thing has near-inaudible seeks (quietest I've EVER heard) and very low operational sound.

13 October 2003, 19:58	#14
Peanutuk Registered User Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: The North, UK Age: 45 Posts: 1,082	Is the Samsung available in the UK? Can't...find...anywhere......Nggghhhh

16 October 2003, 15:22	#16
Peanutuk Registered User Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: The North, UK Age: 45 Posts: 1,082	I'm really drawn between which one to go for!!?!?! I seem to be drawn to the PC however, for some reason. Xbox just look crap and well...like an XBox. BTW Gamecube's have now been reduced to £79.99 here in the UK - is this good news?

16 October 2003, 17:31	#18
Peanutuk Registered User Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: The North, UK Age: 45 Posts: 1,082	Well was hoping that it was so they could just sell alot more of the best console on the market this Xmas and not because they have a large stock of unsold Gamecubes or want to stop making them :-(

16 October 2003, 17:33	#19
killergorilla Lesser Talent Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: UK Age: 42 Posts: 7,957	They don't 'want' to stop making them, they stopped making them because they hadn't shifted the ones they've made already and didn't want to spend a load of money filling up stock rooms.

16 October 2003, 19:44	#20
Peanutuk Registered User Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: The North, UK Age: 45 Posts: 1,082	So they have stopped making them? Let's hope they make pink ones when they resume :-)

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