Carcenomy
04-26-2007, 11:46 AM
A few months back I inherited a selection of ancient IBMs. Now none of them were really worth saving as far as technology went - they were all Pentium II 400s or lower. But one did catch my eye - an Aptiva 2176. Natively it's a Pentium 166, with a severely propietary IBM design involving a riser which ran parallel to the actual motherboard, which was slightly narrower than a MicroATX motherboard.
The case looked reasonably pretty though, and for its age was bristling with excess vents, has an inbuilt carry handle, and a lovely door on rails that drops down with a geared mechanism that slowly lowers it.
So, I converted it to MicroATX. Enjoy.
http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/3955/dsc02141kr7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The interior of the IBM before I got stuck in...
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/7836/dsc02142ej2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Rear panel of the IBM - note the non-standard layout.
http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/7861/dsc02143vq1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The donor MicroATX case.
http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/52/dsc02144jd4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Comparing dimensions...
http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/843/dsc02145sg0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
More comparing... nice and close.
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/9014/dsc02146yv1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
VIOLENCE!
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/8351/dsc02147vm3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
MORE VIOLENCE!
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/7029/dsc02148vz3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
MicroATX section sitting in IBM frame.
http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/2315/dsc02149gt6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Measuring up where the board tray sits relative to the existing mounting points, I screwed some standard motherboard stands in to bring the height up to 12mm, to support the tray.
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/4432/dsc02151fe7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And it's in!
http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/2986/dsc02152hw1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Sneaky rivets...
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/9549/dsc02154qj4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I had to give up the top hard drive brackets as they fouled the PSU. Note how buckled the cheap, flimsy motherboard tray is...
http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/83/dsc02155nt1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Old HP motherboard and a PSU fitted. Looks alright to me... The motherboard needs some new capacitors before I can test-fire it.
http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/9499/dsc02156gt0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Looks all good from behind... even has room to cut an 80mm exhaust fan hole if needs be.
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/9863/dsc02158qx9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Outer housing fitted perfectly first hit, and the rivets are all covered... very sneaky.
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/7821/dsc02159vh6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Party piece. Now I just need to reinstall switches, drives and blanking plates...
And so there you have it - how to convert a stupidly propietary case into a standard MicroATX with nothing more than old junk cases, a 4" angle grinder, a drill and some pop rivets.
The case looked reasonably pretty though, and for its age was bristling with excess vents, has an inbuilt carry handle, and a lovely door on rails that drops down with a geared mechanism that slowly lowers it.
So, I converted it to MicroATX. Enjoy.
http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/3955/dsc02141kr7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The interior of the IBM before I got stuck in...
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/7836/dsc02142ej2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Rear panel of the IBM - note the non-standard layout.
http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/7861/dsc02143vq1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The donor MicroATX case.
http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/52/dsc02144jd4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Comparing dimensions...
http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/843/dsc02145sg0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
More comparing... nice and close.
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/9014/dsc02146yv1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
VIOLENCE!
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/8351/dsc02147vm3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
MORE VIOLENCE!
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/7029/dsc02148vz3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
MicroATX section sitting in IBM frame.
http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/2315/dsc02149gt6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Measuring up where the board tray sits relative to the existing mounting points, I screwed some standard motherboard stands in to bring the height up to 12mm, to support the tray.
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/4432/dsc02151fe7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And it's in!
http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/2986/dsc02152hw1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Sneaky rivets...
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/9549/dsc02154qj4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I had to give up the top hard drive brackets as they fouled the PSU. Note how buckled the cheap, flimsy motherboard tray is...
http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/83/dsc02155nt1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Old HP motherboard and a PSU fitted. Looks alright to me... The motherboard needs some new capacitors before I can test-fire it.
http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/9499/dsc02156gt0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Looks all good from behind... even has room to cut an 80mm exhaust fan hole if needs be.
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/9863/dsc02158qx9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Outer housing fitted perfectly first hit, and the rivets are all covered... very sneaky.
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/7821/dsc02159vh6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Party piece. Now I just need to reinstall switches, drives and blanking plates...
And so there you have it - how to convert a stupidly propietary case into a standard MicroATX with nothing more than old junk cases, a 4" angle grinder, a drill and some pop rivets.