Amiga desktop case conversion?

Brostenen

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Hi all.
I have been wondering and googling, in order to see if anyone has done an Amiga in a PC desktop case conversion. I know there are an a600 in an old Apple PowerPC case. Everything I find is tower's. I am asking out of curiosity.
 
Ya know, I adore most Amiga case hardware... The 500s, 1000, 2000 3000, 4000. But.... and I could be in the minority here, I think the Amiga Tower retail and conversions just looked like ugly PCs of the era!

Now, about the desktop conversion. I’ve never seen one but I’d be sure it’s possible and been done.

But would it be possible for one to look nicer than one of the Commodore desktops? My favourite is the Amiga 4000, but I know the 3000 ( which is also nice ) often gets voted the best looking!

Interested to see other replies about this!

Regards




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Wasnt there once a tower case that could hold an A1200 ?

I'm with you though stephenfalken, I think a lot of the towers looked butt ugly.
 
He is not giving pictures of the back, so that might be a mess. Well you could just use the metal rf shield of the a600 included and take a long square out of the back of any case. If there are to mucht disturbing holes in a used case I buy a thin aluminium plate in a hardware store and cut it out (they sell scissors for the job up to about 1 mm thickness) and glue it over using tek7. (first some sanding)

There is information on aminet for a ps/2 keyboard, and there is even a ready solution for usb keyboards these day's. https://retro.7-bit.pl/?lang=en&go=projekty&name=sum_a600. The db9 ports can be had using old brackets that used to come with isa cards for pc. To power on out of atx is green-black (start), and it might be best to calculate a few watts power draw out of each power line to make sure to get stable power. (URI, PUI) I used at least 50 ohms resistor on the 5 volt line is about 0.5 watt, might beter use 2 watt resistor (or a small car light bulb)
 
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Well...
It was only an example of a PC case, that can be a possible candidate, due to case design. However, if I am going to do a case conversion, then I have a case. It is not like the one I linked to. The good part is that it is wide enough to mount a 500-board inside. I have thought abounreusing an a500 keyboard. The 600 is an option, yet the 500 seems to give a wider set of options. The 1200 is simply too expensive. I think it will be the 500 if I am going along with the conversion.

The case that I have, have room and space under the PSU, and I can mount one Floppy, one CDrom and one HDD inside. It is from an old Unisys 486 machine. Originally a DX2-66 machine. It got a grill or what it is called on the front, that somehow looks a bit 500/600/1200-ish.

It is not this physical machine here in the link below that I have. The case is from a machine that are the same model. Or line of models. Basically same case...

https://www.amibay.com/showthread.php?91798-Unisys-MPI-4663-complete-dekstop-486DX2-66-computer
 
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Amiga desktop case conversion?

I attempted this with a A1200 motherboard a while back. It all worked too. but sold it on here when I got a Gift A1200 tower.

Here is a link to the advert for it

https://www.amibay.com/showthread.php?76678-Amiga-1200-(PC)-Desktop-Case

I made the backplate by hand lots of filing and drilling :LOL: and use the card slot plate from the cases original back plate

The case was just a little to small for the accelerator I didn’t account for the mediator motherboard connector when I was creating my design so had to make a little extension on the side for it to fit :LOL: this can be seen in the pictures.

There is a Zorro slot busboard for the A500 but is rare only seen one on here while I’ve been active on Amibay. It also need a special tower case because the card a fitted vertically at the bottom of the tower case. http://www.bigbookofamigahardware.com/bboah/product.aspx?id=1340

There is also Stephen Jones Kickstarter for an A3000 shaped custom case hopefully it comes through. https://www.kickstarter.com/project...spired-modular-amiga-pc-desktop-compu/updates
 
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Yup... I have seen jones case. It is not really something I like. I have two things about it that is not really my cup of tea. One is the front panel design. I don't like it being so close to the a3000 in design. He could do better by doing a complete new design, were he took the design language of former Amiga models. A bit like Amiga'ish and yet something new. The second thing that are not really my cup of tea, is the keyboard bay. To me it is pointless in modern times.

If he had recreated the exterior design, to look like the concept design's that they did before the release of the first Amiga. Then it would have been so much more awesome. I am thinking about the design, were the keyboard have a drawer in the bottom case. That 3-part case. The inner design of jones 3000-case is pure awesomeness to me. So many possibilities and room for so many different systems. Now that is well done.

Those picrures gives me idea's. Thanks for sharing the link. :)
 
The keyboard garage is optional. I reckon it looks naff too but it's there for those who want it.

To be honest I don't think it'd make sense to do anything other than an A3000 style front, that's the one where it's easiest to change drive bays about and have it look right.
 
Justin did this (i traded with him and still have the case)

https://www.amibay.com/showthread.php?85764-A1200-in-a-PC-case

Nice. That is more like it. Hmmm... I think that it has given me ideas.
Now I need to get a spare 500 motherboard, revision 8a.1 or just 8a (not the plus version)
For keyboard, I have a spare Amiga500 keyboard, that I need to buy 8-pin DIN socket's for.

I think you kind of know were this might end up. :-D
I have this spare case, that are from an Unisys 486 machine. It has grill's or whatever it's called.
It is a case that can house a 3,5 inch floppy drive, and a 5,25 inch drive (floppy or optical).
It has an internal bay for an 3,5 inch harddrive, and the PSU space is raised up.
In other words, there are room under the PSU.
If I push an 500 board all the way to eighter back or front, then there are 20cm's extra dept space.
The board fit's perfectly in the width, and there are 3 card slots in the back of the case.

- - - Updated - - -

The case I have, is from the unisys model, in this post here....

https://atariage.com/forums/topic/277268-unisys-mpi-4663-computer/
 
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lol i do see where this is heading, here is another desktop i did years and years ago

attachment.php
 
Well....
My casemod/convertion of an Amiga500 have begun. I am some 90 percent done with mounting of the board in the case. So far, I am still keeping the cards close to my chest. However, once the basic installation is done, and I can use it to the same degree as a stock 500. Then I will start posting a couple of pictures.

Case and metal shield need more work, I need to recap the original AT PSU to power the Amiga and I need to make a keyboard solution of some sort. The board that I have gotten, was a Rev. 6a and not the 500+ board (8a.1). So I have given it the old Chipmem upgrade to a total of 1mb onboard.

The question now, is what type of hardware can people here recommend for stuffing the machine, once it is running stock inside the case. The maingoal is to get something usefull in regards to features. Speed/horsepowers are not the goal here.
 
I made some towers back in 2000, back when tower cases looked good. Then there was a phase of incredibly ugly looking OTT cases. Through that whole period
I stuck with my Lian-Li cases. An Amiga would work great in one of those with a laser cut backplate.

If I was going to do this all again it would be either a Lian-Li case or head straight for Stephen Jones and his Checkmate 1500 case! It even comes with a proper metal keyboard case, really does look the part :)
 
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The checkmate 1500 Plus case is a great achievement. No question about that at all. Yet I have a couple of issues with the final product, that keeps me from buying it. They are personal issues, and I know that I might be one of the only people that are of this opinion.

The first issue that I have, is the outside design of the case. I would have prefered something else, that the a3000 design. Something is just a bit off, if you ask me. And I have absolutely no idea what it is. There is just something that I am not a big fan of. Second issue that I have, is the feet's. Yes they can be left off, yet if you ask me, then why leave them off when you have bought a complete product? The keyboard on the other hand. That is just pure awesomeness. I like it better than the case.

Internally and in regards to the modularity of the case. Then it is one heck of a product. That is the absolute jewel of that product. Now... If only the design of the from were different. Like a mix of the 2000 and the 1200 and the 4000. Oh boy... Then it would rule so much more. If you ask me, then a completely different design would be better, because it would be something on it's own in it's own rights. And again. The Checkmate 1500 Plus is a clear love letter to the 3000 machine. For that it must demand respect. If there were an option for ordering a different faceplate on the case, then I would be buying one in an instant.
 
My Amiga500 desktop convertion is nearly done.... So far it is looking ok. Not perfect, just ok.
 
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