NES-top Computer: Part 6

Hey guys SighFye here and the last parts finally came for my NES-top PC. So lets get down and get this thing completed.

This is part 6 of the NES-top build. If you have not yet read about it, you can start by clicking here.

The last parts I was waiting for was the blu-ray drive and the micro-sata to sata adapter. To connect the drive to the case I screwed a bracket to the drive and then glued it to the case using an epoxy glue. The second bracket isn't screwed into the drive its just glued into place. This should allow me to unscrew the one screw and the pull the drive out if I ever need to replace the part.

I hooked up the sata and power and also glued the fan in place. Its a little hard to see as all the wires are on top of it.

The last step was to create a switch. I took the switch cable out of an old PC I had and hooked it to the motherboard. Using the original switch bracket I forced the switch into a groove that was already there which lined up nicely with the power button. Unfortunately
there was a little gap making the button no touch the switch.

To fix this I took a part of the old switch, cut it shorter and clicked it into the button. This closed the gap nicely. But I discovered a new problem. Since I had forced the switch into the groove, it was squeezing the edges and made the switch not work. I had to remove it and think of another idea. While removing the switch I accidentally pulled one of the wires off. So now I have a broken switch. Back to the drawing board for that one.

I decided to close the case and boot the NES up. I may not have a working switch but I can get the system installed and running. I installed Windows 7 and Kodi. Windows 7 boots straight into Kodi making it the primary operation. Its a nice program that makes a home theatre system easy.

You may also notice I painted the NES too. The bottom is painted metallic charcoal and the top is silver. Personally the silver isn't shiney enough and I do plan to repaint this part.

So now I am only waiting on a new switch. I have to wait til payday for that one. I also need to add two USB ports where the old controller ports were.

Until then readers thanks for reading.

You can find me on twitter or like our facebook page. Also don't forget to comment, 1+ and share :)

SighFye

Best Lego Builds

Hey Guys SighFye here and I've been looking at a few Lego build. I mean who doesn't like Lego

When I first started this post my idea was to get the best builds. However I started falling in love with a lot of very small builds and wanted to do the post about mini builds, BUT, I still loved the big builds. So I have split this post into two categories.

Top 10 Minibuilds

10) Phone: Simple and cute

 

9) Star Wars Characters: You can tell who they are and they are made with minimal pieces.

 

8) Sydney Opera House: Brilliant work and oh so small

 

7) Wall-E: My Nephew would love this build. Captures Wall-E's essence .

6) Mech Warrior: Brilliant Design

5) Minion: Who doesn't love Minions

4) Batmobile: Now come on. I struggle to build a tiny horse

3) The tardus: AND IT OPENS

2) Micro spaceship: this would have been my favourite as its so perfectly built and such a small build too.

1) Snoopy: Out of all the mini build I saw this one takes the cake. It so perfectly represents snoopy.

Top 6 Large Builds - Not including my top 3 all time best builds

6) Harry Potter: I normally don't like builds with people but for some reason I liked this one

5) Ghost Busters: Once again, its a scene and Im not normally into scenes. But I do love Ghost Busters

4) Iron Giant: The giant looks just like in the movie.

3) Robotic Sleave: Built by an 11 year old and really impressive

2) Terminator Spongebob: Its got all the aspects of both

1) Terminator: This one impressed me because it look like a terminator head. Not like a head made of lego trying to look like a terminator :)

Top 3 All Time Best Builds

3) Wearable Halo Body Suit: This is incredible. A suit that is even able to be worn:

2) The DeLorean From Back To The Future: This one impressed me even before I saw the extra pictures of it opened up. the wheels even turn up.

1) A drivable car made entirely of lego: This is insane. It runs on air and really drives.

Well that's it guys, my list of best lego builds. I hope you enjoyed it.

NES Mods

Since I have been working on a NES mod with my NES-top, it got me thinking what have others have made from the NES? There are some really cool ideas out there some of which I really want to make.

Alarm Clock / iPod dock

Toaster

This is by far the best...

Bag

Then I stumble across so awesome ideas for NES accessories...

This is one of my favourites.

Would be a cool purse for a lady friend

How awesome would this be for a lan center.

I'm sure there are so many more out there. If you find a cool addition, add it into the comments.

SighFye

NES-Top Computer: Part 5

Hey Guys, SighFye again...

If you haven't yet read the rest of this topic, start from the... well start right here.

Before I start on the progress I realised, in the last post I mentioned that the power supply had been ordered but did not add it to the price. So here it is.


ITEM:  picoPSU-120 + 8.5A (102W) Power Kit
PRICE:  $149 + $15 Postage
TOTAL CURRENT PRICE OF BUILD: $372.98

 

Now as you can see in the picture, there is only 1 sata power, so to add enough for 2 internal drives and a bluray drive I have bought myself a molex power to 2 x sata power adapter.

ITEM:  Dual Sata power cable
PRICE:  $13.63
TOTAL CURRENT PRICE OF BUILD: $386.61

Today I went out to get the last parts. I couldn't get hold of a slim slot bluray drive but I did get everything else I needed.

ITEM:  Fujitsu 64GB SSD Drive
PRICE:  $71.82
TOTAL CURRENT PRICE OF BUILD: $458.43
This should give me a speedy boot up. I don't want to have to wait for the NES to boot just to watch a DvD.

ITEM:  8GB DDR3 1600Mhz Sol-Dimm
PRICE:  $90.00
TOTAL CURRENT PRICE OF BUILD: $548.43

ITEM:  Deep Cool SF-500 Fan
PRICE:  $13.64
TOTAL CURRENT PRICE OF BUILD: $562.07

When I added the power supply to the motherboard my risers that I glued on snapped off. If you remember I glued 2 of them in the wrong spot so it was only held on by 2 of the screws. So I had to repair this and this time I was doing it right. I screwed all the risers onto the motherboard before gluing them in place as suggest by twitter follower @Oz Ravenheart. This ensured all the risers sat exactly were they were needed.

 I then made up some brackets for the SSD drive to screw to. I changed my plan a little and decided to have the SSD standing up on its side. I made the brackets and glued them in place using the same method as the motherboard. Unfortunately, once again, my master builder skills came into play and I didn't take into account the SSD drive was too high for the top housing. Since the brackets were already glued into place I decided to bend them on an angle to lower the height of the drive.

I added the RAM and now the NES is almost complete.

All it needs now is the Blu-ray drive, a 2TB HDD and the buttons made for the front. I already have a HDD from a previous build so that's not going to cost me zip but the size of it does concern me. I may not be able to fit it in with the bluray drive. I haven't added the fan yet as I am trying to decide where it should go. There are vents at the top and bottom of the NES both of which would hold the fan nicely. My thoughts are, 1) heat rises so the fan should be on top. 2) Dust falls so to prevent the dust being sucked in it should be on the bottom.

So that's where the build is sitting for now. I have purchased the keyboard and mouse combo...

ITEM:  Kaiser Baas Mini Blu-tooth Keyboard.
PRICE:  $50.00
TOTAL CURRENT PRICE OF BUILD: $612.07

... and of course I need the blu-tooth adapter to be able to use it. This will plug into one of the USB ports at the back.

ITEM:  USB Bluetooth Dongle Ver 4
PRICE:  $26.82
TOTAL CURRENT PRICE OF BUILD: $638.89

So that's the build so far guys... It's turning out to be a lot more expensive than I first thought, but I guess that's living in the country.

Next step, rebuild the switches and get a Blu-Ray drive.
Until then, stay geeky...

Continue Reading Right HERE

SighFye