I'm putting together a retro 'Doom' machine, like a had back in '94 - just because.....
The only difference is that this time I don't want it in a case the size of an aircraft carrier and sounding like a hovercraft !
My Baby AT form factor motherboard is a Shuttle HOT 433 that measures 22cm x 26cm.
From my initial research into the various form factor cases I reckon that my mb will fit in 'some' Micro-ATX cases.
I believe I can resolve the power supply issue by using an ATX PSU with a conversion connector to the old AT style power connectors. I obviously can't use the ATX power switch (since they're a momentary style, not the make/break needed for cutting the power to my Baby At mb) but I'm not going to bother with a front mounted switch. Instead I reckon I can just use the power switch on the PSU itself to switch the machine on/off. As such I'm trying to avoid 'front-mounted' PSU's as this would mean I can't physically reach the on/off switch on the PSU and would have to switch it off at the mains (not the end of the world but something I'd rather avoid).
The other issue I have is alignment/availability of the PCI slots vs the slots in a Micro ATX case. Micro ATX cases typically seem to have 4 available slots on the back, which will align with my mb's ISA slots but have no slots where my mb's PCI slots are. I reckon a PCI riser card/cable arrangement will enable me to use either one of the four adjacent case slots or possibly one of the horizontal slots that some of the Micro-ATX cases have.
So, having resolved all the above issues.......
...it seems to boil down to whether I can physically fit my 22cm x 26cm Baby AT mb into the Micro ATX case.
This can be hard to determine from the reviews (funnily they never test Baby AT mb compatibility )
Cases I've considered so far that seem to fit the bill (assuming the mb fits) include:
- Aerocool Dead Silence Cube
- Antec Minuet 350 Slimline
- Silverstone Milo ML03B Slim HTPC
Oh and I need a bay for a floppy drive too (for loading DOS ) and a 5 1/4" cd bay.
Any advice/thoughts anyone can offer ? (ignoring the 'why ?' questions )
Thanks in advance,
Gary