** Acme's [Akagi's] Retro Odyssey! From Apple ][ to Pentium 4. Repair, modding, and more! **

This Casetek CK-1020 arrived today! Many thanks to @Kurgen for offering to ship it to me. :cool:

It has some goodies still inside too. The RAM is nice to have, but please message me if you'd like me to send it back, as I'm not sure you intended to leave it in there... :p

Mg8XWiJ.jpg


Further pictures and info!

It is apparently new old stock, and it is in pretty nice shape overall!

z4bpJaq.jpg


It has a lockable front door with the bays and the buttons behind it. I don't have the key, but its easy enough to get one for this sort of lock if I feel the need!

HmB2rGT.jpg


And behind that another door hinges open to allow removal and installation of the drives using plastic skids (very cool), cleaning the intake fan filter, and also locking the side panel!
There is one retention clip missing in here that the door is meant to snap into, so I'll have to see what I can do about that...

LVzwudr.jpg


Contents wise it has half an X58 system, which I'm sure I can find a use for at some point.

You can also see a mounting point for two fans, so they can draw air from... The... Solid side panel? Righty-o Casetek. :p
And the side panel has an optional intrusion detection switch, which is pretty neato.

JPjkbLU.jpg


The paint is going a little iffy from age and storage, but if thats the worst of its condition, being 20 years old, thats pretty amazing if you ask me!

4G4H36e.jpg


You can barely tell in normal lighting, so it looks basically immaculate unless you scrutinise!

p4G3iQf.jpg


Love them or hate them it also has this IDE cable inside, which I think I'll use in the Pentium 4 machine, along with the silver one I salvaged from the last machine I posted!

8rTr8nm.jpg

Plans wise I haven't quite decided what to do with it, but I have a few ideas floating around...

Option 1 is to find a dual socket 771 E-ATX motherboard and use parts from the Dell to make a custom dual socket Core 2 era machine.
Option 2 is to build a Core 2 Quad or Phenom X4 system, but that will have to be down the road when I have the funds to find some nice parts.
Option 3 is to fit the missing parts of the X58 system that is already installed. I just need an IO shield, a CPU cooler and a GPU!

Things are starting to get out of hand...

twUYxkr.jpg


Watch this space I guess! :p
 
Last edited:
I really think the motherboard in the Dell may be in trouble, beyond just the missing surface mount components causing the network port to not function.

The network card in the PCI-E x8 slot causing a system crash is one reason why, I have tested it in another machine, and in another slot on the machine, and it worked in both cases. So I suspect an issue with the slot.

I am also having issues with USB devices being detected, the front panel ports seem to be intermittent, and depending on what devices are plugged into the rear, further connected devices are flagged as faulty or do not show up at all...

I tried updating the BIOS to the latest version available, and installed chipset drivers, nothing changed.

So I am possibly looking for a T5400 or a motherboard from one if anyone has any leads. There are some on the bay of e for more than a whole system is worth, but I'm not going to buy one of those...

For now, I've bought a very cheap PCI card with 4x USB ports, as a last ditch attempt to bandaid fix it. :p
 
I must be out of my god damn mind but I just bought three untested Intel S5000PSL dual socket 771 server motherboards and a pair of socket 771 Mac Pro passive CPU coolers.

Assuming that they work, which in itself is a big maybe, the jury is out on whether or not PCI-E graphics cards are supported or not. I found some threads where people were having issues... But I found one where someone claimed that the exact card I want to use (GTX260) works on theirs... :o
 
Acme said:
I must be out of my god damn mind but I just bought three untested Intel S5000PSL dual socket 771 server motherboards and a pair of socket 771 Mac Pro passive CPU coolers.

Assuming that they work, which in itself is a big maybe, the jury is out on whether or not PCI-E graphics cards are supported or not. I found some threads where people were having issues... But I found one where someone claimed that the exact card I want to use (GTX260) works on theirs... :o
Click to expand...
I have a GTX260 somewhere
 
In preparation, because this case won't have nearly enough airflow for this application (this is a stupid idea, after all) - I made an adjustment to the front of the case.

I spaced out the blue section of the front panel using longer screws and spacers:

N1VOiJh.jpg


So that some air can be drawn in around the sides as well as more being able to come from above and below...

1BGlh1C.jpg


It still looks OK.

4x7dQkz.jpg


I'll remove the lowest three 5.25" blanks, and mount a fan in here as an intake, which will blow directly onto the CPU heatsinks.

wkVWOg0.jpg


I really don't think this is going to work well enough but ah, we'll see. :p
 
Mmmm I am just now learning that these boards don't support sound. :o
Of course. Server boards. I am a dummy.

I guess if it works I will also need a sound card. :o

Actually yknow, I think I have a Xonar DGX somewhere...

e; no, no I don't. I must have sold it... >:(
 
Last edited:
A revelation, TWO 120mm fans fit in the drive bay area stacked atop each other. I have bought some fan grille mesh filter stuff to attach to the back of the door.

PodD642.jpg


Playing around with where stuff might go... It is going to need a lot of cooling to keep up with a pair of 120W chips, 80W of burning hot fully-buffered RAM, and a GPU dumping heat into the case...

I'll probably set the rear fan and the top fan to be exhaust, and add another little fan to the IO area...

Dq37hZF.jpg


I am also considering modifying the case to have an additional 120mm intake at the front where the current 80mm is, but I'll see how it is first...

The more I look at this thing, the more I'm sure it was originally some kind of server/workstation chassis that got modified for sale as a gaming case. It even has holes for server grade motherboards, and the general construction and weight of it, as well as the styling, the expansion card supports, etc...
 
Last edited:
Packed away the vintage stuff for the time being, because the spare room is required for the next few weeks

1Af4YQi.jpg


And doing a bit of sorting, so I can actually find things...

ZUNkTCJ.jpg


658PjQo.jpg


I also found the lost Xonar DGX... AFTER ordering a USB sound dongle thing... >:(
 
Last edited:
Iconic case get.

£5!

It looks great in the photo! Unfortunately it is pretty badly scratched up on both sides (the far side more so than the one seen here), on the top, and to a lesser extent on the front. So ideally it needs re-painting.

Chieftec Dragon vs Casetek (with a) Dragon (on it) :p

uuaQ99y.jpg


No plans for it for now, so into the loft it goes.
 
Last edited:
Although, I'll take suggestions of what colour to paint it...
I only have black or white in stock. Or bright red. None of which I want to use. :p

I could try and find a similar metallic green... Or I could go purple, or metallic coral pink, or orange, etc.
 
Kurgen said:
i think you need this one too

www.ebay.co.uk

Retro Chieftech Dragon Full ATX Midi Tower PC Case | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Retro Chieftech Dragon Full ATX Midi Tower PC Case at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.
www.ebay.co.uk
Click to expand...

Thats ace!

I only do cheep though. Always scouting for freebies and cheap local pickups.

Buying parts for the Xeon PC was a gamble, but I'm hoping that all three of the untested boards I bought for it work, because then I can sell two of them!

I'm currently jobhunting and on partial disability, so this is a cheap way to pass time. :p

That case is tempting me to spray the one I have matte black... But I'd feel so bad!
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom