Did I turn this old $5 PC case into a $100 retro case?

[@studiotube6033]

Your case is an APEX PC-132 White

[@BudgetBin]

So that's what it was! Thanks for the info. Now I can definitely do a follow up video now that I have some more background data on this guy.

[@BelgiumNLmillenium00]

@@BudgetBin I had the same case in since ±2012 - ±2018 with a Asus P5KPL-CM motherboard in it etc...

[@RealEpikCartfrenYT]

That case would make for such a cool sleeper. Put some modern and actually usable parts in it.

[@yuan.pingchen3056]

You should add an intake fan to the front bottom of this case and add a small dust filter to make it a bit modern...

[@dylanbobyeoh6062]

Sleeper case would be nice beats anything "gamer" or "rgb"

[@BudgetBin]

I agree!

[@Prabhu2086]

Really ? Doesn't RGB case make parts run faster ?

[@mohamedmostafamohamedmahbo5706]

A sleeper build would be awesome

[@antattackBAM]

I love it. Retro has a special place in my heart.

[@venturelord32]

So it was peroxide... awesome! I didn't know you could get chemical burns from peroxide like that, so that's good to know, and I'm frankly amazed how good the plastic turned out from such a quick operation. Love the added disk drives, it really takes me back to elementary school days going to the old computer labs... excited to see wherever you decide to take this build.

[@BudgetBin]

Thanks man! I hope my follow up video (whenever that gets made) will be just as entertaining or better!

[@auteurfiddler8706]

It is called "retro brite" in the vintage computer hobby. There are lots of videos under that name.

[@AtariBorn]

Just a tip. Line the bottom of your plastic tub with aluminum foil as it will help reflect light under the parts and eliminate shadows. Also, use clear glass tumblers or mugs to hold the parts down. Set them upright and fill them with water to weigh them down. The glass and the water in the glass won't obstruct the UV rays you need.

[@BudgetBin]

Yeah I was going to do something like that initially but I didn't want to invest too much into it if the only thing that was going into the container was that front panel. Appreciate the tips!

[@AtariBorn]

@@BudgetBin No problem. I posted a comment earlier, that I had this case. I got it from ebay and the guy said he bought four of them from CompUSA, in the early 2000s. I guess KZbin deleted it. But you're missing a small door that covers the two USB ports, on the bottom.

[@BudgetBin]

Those bottom usbs did look odd. Makes sense that a little door goes there. Thanks for the info.

[@sirtanon1]

I feel like that case deserves a "top of the line" socket 775 build or something similar.

[@xPLAYnOfficial]

Personally I would aim for a "resto-mod". New parts, but with older compatibility and, most-importantly, made to look like the parts of old. I'm doing a build of this sort currently, and it results in some interesting challenges and parts selection: // Notable Parts Selection: *GTX 980Ti (last / one of the most powerful GPUs that still supports analog video out through DVI-I) *Industrial 1150 ATX motherboard (built-in ISA slots and an old-school green look, but new-ish socket) *Noctua fans (because color scheme) *3.5" Floppy Drive (because compatibility, because I still use them even on my modern PC, and because you can easily adapt them to USB) *modular ATX PSU (because less cables to manage in an older case) *Team RAM (because they come with easily-removable-and-unnecessary metal shields that would be easy to paint) *Silver Spiral Wraps (for wrapping cables in a way that gives them a more old-school look *PCI Soundblaster Live! (patched Windows 10 drivers exist, plus the low noise floor and older part match well even for modern use) // Notable Challenges: - I do not want a "modern parts in an old case" look. This means custom-painting / otherwise modifying the 980Ti and other components to color-match them to the case (I'm going with one with a metal back plate so I can pain the shroud in beige and the backplate in PCB green to make it "feel" older.) - I do not want a hot-box, but I also do not want the outside look to convey the changes. This means tastefully modifying the side panel, adding cooling to the front with 5.25" bays, and other changes in an attempt to make this case perform like a modern one, while still looking like a much older one. I have lots of ideas but we'll see how it all plays out. I'm excited to see what you do with a case like this. Personally I think that cases like these are ripe for restomods, as in my opinion it's the best way to preserve and enhance the original case while still making it usable for a modern workflow.

[@BudgetBin]

I really like challenges like that! I have a few ideas in mind for my future build for this case. I just wonder what the people want to see the most. Straight up sleeper, retro, or a mix. Maybe even what your suggesting might be the smart move.

[@TechnologyNToys]

Route 216 is a bop! 😂

[@auteurfiddler8706]

I like to mount the drives such as the floppy up higher. Having the floppy at the bottom of the stack makes it looks like it dropped down. Also, easier to insert if at the top. Finally, the 3 1/2 inch bays may need to be removed or trimmed to mount a long video card. But I think it turned out well. I would put a modern or semi modern system in it. Or, a Pentium 4 single core for the best experience with vintage games.

[@phenomenologicalparadox5216]

Oh man I love sleepers. There are 5.25 drive bays to triple 40mm fan adapters made by ever cool if I remember correctly. Will help with airflow, and you can always cut up the bottom for more if you do decide to go the sleeper route. Cool find! Have fun with it

[@BudgetBin]

Glad you liked the video! And let's just say I might have a cooling solution similar to what you have mentioned :)

[@phenomenologicalparadox5216]

@@BudgetBin Subbed, looking forward to it :^)

[@LowcastleTech]

Dude that is an awesome find. Very nice!

[@DuneRunnerEnterprises]

It depends on what it's gonna be. If it gonna be a retro gaming pc,i won't put a floppy in it,but a sensors,watches combo panel.

[@bmanrockwell2174]

I like this idea

[@Silverarrow-zv2yt]

I have the same pc case that I plan to make a sleeper pc I want to mod the side or the front to fit a 120mm liquid cooler.

[@Alpha-ms9nj]

I like your thinking to make it unique. I have a few HP Elite 800 G1 mini towers that are not as old as that one but I've been tossing around ideas to do the same and make them into custom units with side view cutout windows and unique paint work. I also have an old Windows XP Dell Dimension and a Dell GTX 520 I may do projects on.

[@techromancer313]

Retro hardware XP build!

[@plagosus]

You should just put front USB panel instead of Floppy disk and DVD drive in the big hole on the top. Also, the thing I saw in some other channel, a 3D printed custom legs are adding so much to the look of those old PC cases.

[@devil5051000]

You don´t need to use hydrogen peroxide in such high concentrations, it may even damage the bleached parts in case there are writings or markings on them (they can start to fade or even come off if they are stickers). I use less then 1% concentration and still get nice results, may take a day longer, but as long as the sun shines everything is fine. This way you are also not at risk "burning" your fingers and can even put your hands inside the solution. Don´t forget to wear protective glasses, h2o2 tends to gush and if something from that comes into your eye it will do the same thing to your cornea it did to your hands.

[@BudgetBin]

Gotcha, I appreciate the information! I didn't know you could use a lower concentration.

[@devil5051000]

@@BudgetBin The 8 Bit Guy "cooks" his keycaps in hydrogen peroxide at 55 - 60C. I would not go above that temperature or the plastic may start to become soft. Heating a container in the size of a PC front is a bit more difficult, but maybe putting it on top or in front of a heater will do the trick. It seems a constant supply of heat is more important then the UV part from sunlight.

[@xbuildscustoms]

1 that is SICK! didnt even know you can unyellow plastic. 2 that table is cool how you can spin parts in the middle 3 definitely made the case look brand new and 100% retro build please. i actually might have a old pc case that i could send out to you...also great video

[@BudgetBin]

Thanks a lot man! I'm really glad you liked the content. I plan to reuse the hydrogen peroxide to unyellow some old game consoles too, the stuff is amazing. If you would like to talk to me more about sending me an old PC case, the discord link is in the description. We definitely can talk about it in DMs.

[@stevejohnson1321]

I tend to just dismantle and spray paint the plastic parts. That way they're not going to yellow again. With newer components and SSD, the cooling might finally be sufficient.

[@user2C47]

I used a case similar to this one for a very long time, and while they weren't high-end, they aren't bad either. If you're running a powerful system, you might want to put a 120mm or 140mm fan in the 5.25" drive bays.

[@Woodwerker]

Maybe paint a case like this next time? Just my 2 cents. Thanks for the great video!

[@sithandra]

My Fractal Design R7 XL lets you remove the top so you can easily connect a radiator or even attach hdds to it.

[@samudrasaha209]

From what I understand this case was made by some factory in china and other companies just rebadged it their own generally the rebadged company logo is on the floppy drive cover or cd drive cover and a small sticker at the back (which falls of easily with age) . In my country this similar case can be found on era appreciate pcs generally 775 socket based on a used buy website. And rebadged by companies like frontech , enter ,etc

[@BudgetBin]

Interesting. That gives me some sort of lead until I can find maybe the manufacture name to the very least. Thanks!

[@dreamshooter90]

A sleeper build. Time to do some machining. :3 Watercool the GPU and aircool the CPU.

[@BudgetBin]

Hmmm, I kinda like that idea.

[@dreamshooter90]

@@BudgetBin Full on Noctua aesthetic for the fans. I suggest Alphacool for watercooling. I think the AMD RX 7900 XTX will go down in price soon.

[@dreamshooter90]

@@BudgetBin You could conceivably mount a radiator with soft tubing and noctua fans on the inside of the side cover. Could machine out retro looking square air holes for intake.

[@Llamarama100]

My first PC used this style case, I still have it :)

[@elu9780]

Damn, your prices for DVD drives are absolutely insane. People where I am at would gladly get rid of them for free or for next to nothing. The retro craze has caused some people to become really greedy and try to sell stuff for way more than it could ever be worth.

[@RealEpikCartfrenYT]

There is nothing worse than being unable to afford something cool and "vintage" just because some nostalgia blinded boomers think it is so valuable to them because they are emotionally attached to it. I remember it was only 2 or 3 years ago when I could just go and find an old MacBook or something for like $10 because nobody wanted it. Now that same MacBook would be sold for over $100 because apparently it has "historical value" even tho it's been mass produced to such extent you could even find them in landfills for free. What's next? Retro boomers like the "8 bit guy" visiting every single landfill to dig for Commodore 64s?

[@JuanGonzalez-hv6vs]

Make a sleeper out of this case with mod holes at the bottom for ventilation or a radiator.

[@The_tech_reviews_3036]

Man should make it a sleeper build

[@genos3467]

2005? That thing is as old as I am xD

[@michaell2248]

I have one same case and I bought it at the year 2002, it was made by Foxconn. Very solid.

[@norndev]

Put xbox 360 components in it, let's go full weird

[@johnnytaylor1243]

thank you so much for the video !!!

[@BudgetBin]

Thanks for watching it!

[@IOTWVUVWTOI]

Instead of a floppy disk i would have went with a card reader in its place... or one of those 2.5" hot swap bays

[@dreamshooter90]

What did you decide? :)

[@BudgetBin]

Something a little different :)

[@WilliamHollinger2019]

i know it ruin the set up could you add side panels fans.

[@BudgetBin]

Honestly, it might not be a bad idea. I will consider how I could do it. It might increase some airflow if I do it from the inside.

[@ironholder3763]

I have 10 atx-G8015 D-computer . Gaming PC. I need to get rid of.

[@BudgetBin]

Ebay would be a great place to sell. You could make a quick buck from there!

[@subbookkeeper]

That's a typical generic budget style of case that came from China usually between 2001 and 2005. Many companies were importing them and selling under their own badge like Modecom or Tracer. Nothing fancy. I scrapped quite a few of them as they were literally a wothless junk.

[@2528drevas]

Sorry dude, but this case was typical for the era. I also put custom paint on some of these unless it's a total retro build.

[@spyware1100]

Peroxide results are temporary. 6-8 months and it will be yellow again :/

[@ThePigeonmilk]

Really? I gargle with peroxide everyday. You aren't dealing with napalm. It's flipping peroxide. Men have become weak.

[@xbuildscustoms]

first!

[@ScottGenX]

junk

[@user2C47]

Probably, because this case was pretty common, but XP-era computer parts are now starting to fade from "obsolete" to "retro" and gain a lot of value.