This old Compaq Presario 5000 kicks ass!

[eightbit]

I had no idea these were so advanced!

[Keatah]

A testament to their upgradability.

[eightbit]

Just now, Keatah said:

A testament to their upgradability.

 

Lol, indeed. This system's motherboard was shot so today I figured I'd have some fun and migrate my i3 system into it since the case it was already in really sucked. I haven't really purchased much in terms of computer equipment in years (other than the odd vintage thing) and mostly rely on local donations from people just offloading their stuff since they all love to upgrade every 3 months. 

 

This system was in a case that was complete crap. Literally you can crush the case with your hands like a soda can. So, since I had this Compaq shell I figured what the heck. 

 

The case quality is like a million times better than that garbage case. It is actually quite a bit better than even some new Coolermaster cases I have used to build my wife and my daughter's computers. 

 

 

[wierd_w]

I had an old aptiva PII era case i built an i5 into. It was for a coworker, and was the only case I had just sitting around. Other than expecting a floppy drive, it is/was fully ATX formfactor, and accepted the i5 without complaint.

 

The owner seems content, and unconcerned by the retro aesthetic.

 

 

[JFD62780]

Sorta brings to mind that I want to, someday, make a custom Frankensystem with a recent-ish (mid-2000s) HP Media Center PC, taking advantage of all necessary headers, so I could use the USB, card reader and other connections, down to the hot-pluggable Personal Media Drive (enclosed full-size 3.5" HDD, up to 1 terabyte, maybe 2).

 

Keeping in mind the front panel on the right side includes 2 USB2.0 ports, a Firewire port, headphone and mic jacks, and composite AV and S-Video jacks (the previous two examples most likely connected to a Hauppauge TV tuner).

 

Is such a system possible? ?

 

Edited July 25, 2022 by JFD62780

[+H454]

21 hours ago, JFD62780 said:

Sorta brings to mind that I want to, someday, make a custom Frankensystem with a recent-ish (mid-2000s) HP Media Center PC, taking advantage of all necessary headers, so I could use the USB, card reader and other connections, down to the hot-pluggable Personal Media Drive (enclosed full-size 3.5" HDD, up to 1 terabyte, maybe 2).

 

Keeping in mind the front panel on the right side includes 2 USB2.0 ports, a Firewire port, headphone and mic jacks, and composite AV and S-Video jacks (the previous two examples most likely connected to a Hauppauge TV tuner).

 

Is such a system possible? ?

 

Yes.

I have reused HP cases a number of times.  Most are full atx or matx.

The USB 2.0 and sd card usually use (almost always) standard motherboard USB headers.

The header for the front headphones / mic usually follow one of the two standards - but the mic and phones can get swapped.

You may need to repin the power / reset switches  and HD LED if they are grouped together.

 

The most of the HP cases are built like tanks and have the same air flow. Expect anything more than medium usage to run hot.

[eightbit]

On 7/26/2022 at 3:50 AM, H454 said:

The USB 2.0 and sd card usually use (almost always) standard motherboard USB headers.

 

 

Except for this case and stupid Compaq specialness. The front panel USB header is pinned in reverse!