Black is the New Beige - Building a Pentium 2 Retro Computer

[@3dfxvoodoocards6]

Interesting video, like! A 1998 dream PC with the P2 450 mhz and Riva TNT1, the fastest CPU and one of the fastest video cards released that year.

[@阿綸的全勳學院]

YES!i remember TNT1 is very expensive in 1998.i see TNT1 run "incoming" game.

[@RiksRandomRetro]

Thanks! Yeah felt like a good match up for a 1998 build. A top tier classy computer for the discerning gamer/DVD watcher!

[@postanimus8989]

Don't know where you from, but in eastern Europe DVDs weren't really popular in 1998. People still used VHS tapes until early 00s. Sure, DVDs were available, but ridiculously expensive. I remember my parents bought first DVD player in 2002, it was still "new" and expensive technology.

[@williamstewart1883]

That was true in the US as well. Our first dvd player was a Playstation 2.

[@stfanboy]

I still have that case and it was used for multiple systems. I got it in 2007 to run a server, then it became a retro build, then my friends mothers computer, then back to me. It's in storage but thinking of using it again in the future for a server again. LOL

[@caelointheclouds]

11:31 when you dropped that set of cables my mouth dropped!! Rik this is such an amazing build!! You definitely must have felt like Rocky B on that mountain!! What a slick build!!

[@RiksRandomRetro]

Hey thanks, appreciate it! Definitely felt pretty good to get this finished hah.

[@iNubpwn3r]

Beautiful. Seeing Motorhead box at the end hit me right in the nostalgia gut. Such great memories rocking that game on my old Pentium 233 MMX, Voodoo 3 2000 and 32 Gb of ram. Only thing that I have left from that golden era of PC computing is single photo I cherish to this day.

[@PixelPipes]

This is like...the computer The Crow would use. Or Batman. It's been a while since you did a system build video so this was a nice treat!

[@RiksRandomRetro]

Batman voice: My computer is the pinnacle of multimedia experiences. Also it's black. Because I'm BATMAN.

[@wannaflyme]

10:00 we didn't have that tinted power supply back then just in case of UV sunlights. 😂😂😂

[@Paul-xs7ks]

Really nice machine. The all black finish and having all the separate parts look like they belong makes it really pop. Windows 98 is one of my favourite operating systems. Great job.

[@StarlancerAstro]

That case is hot! I am usually a beige purist but a desktop in black is so rarely seen I love it!

[@SUCRA]

Fantastic video as usual. Makes me want to go back and play Tex Murphy games for a week. Funny how we went from "Yuk, a beige PC" in the early 2000s to "Where are all the beige PC cases?" in the 2020s.

[@RiksRandomRetro]

It's funny how times change, huh? We chase that beige high, but back then we'd jump into anything else. The early 2000s case designs was like a counter revolution hah. Not always for the better...

[@jasonme3557]

in 1998 I have a sony vio. It was rustic blue. Great PC.

[@josephkartychak6789]

Beautiful case! I got the same one, bought it a few years ago off Newegg. A broken and battered beige model is in the barn somewhere, needing some tlc.

[@geekwithsocialskills]

What an awesome build! Nicely done Rik! Game on!

[@RiksRandomRetro]

Thanks! It's been a long time coming, so I'm glad to finally finish it.

[@alaricjeard269]

I build almost exactly the same spec machine 2month ago. P2 300@450, 128Mb of ram, Creative TnT, V² 12Mb and a AWE64 Gold. This is my P2 dream computer. ;)

[@RiksRandomRetro]

Hah that's awesome. I don't know why I had overlooked a P2 machine for so long. Maybe the P3 I had scratched that itch already, but this is a nice addition to my computer stable!

[@GarthBeagle]

Wow, that system looks amazing! Oh and 18:09 I see Diamond InControl Tools there in the taskbar 😁

[@RiksRandomRetro]

Thanks! I think it turned out really nice, reminds me a bit of a PC sort of Next station/high end late 90s machine. And yes, I did initially use the Diamond drivers, before switching to the reference ones. I got the glory of a whole bunch of dropdown toolbars before I did a 180!

[@Svein-Frode]

Very very nice rig! The great thing about vintage computers is that you don't need the really high end stuff to have great fun and get that warm fuzzy nostalgic feeling.

[@RiksRandomRetro]

Yep, exactly! There is so much retro fun to have with "cheaper" components, although in 1998, this would have been top-shelf stuff. Thanks for watching!

[@discinfiltrator_games]

this video is very high quality! surprised it doesn't have many more thousands of views. Suscribed :)

[@RetroPC]

Rik, your video quality and editing style is out of this world! This video deserves a bajillion views as your channel does subscribers. Thanks for the great videos, and the beyond amazing live streams. 🤘🏻 *That's the good stuff* 🤣

[@RiksRandomRetro]

Thanks, much appreciated! I'm my own worst enemy when it comes to perfection, and never quite good enough, but having people notice the effort put in goes a really long way, so thank you!

[@jerfle7787]

My grandma bought an IBM Aptiva back then. It was black. The case set on the floor. There was a separate smaller case that set on the desk under the monitor. It held all the drives. Floppy and cd drive. I believe pentium 75mhz. I loved looking at it. I finally bought it off her and upgraded what I could. Wish I had kept it.

[@wannaflyme]

12:00 Fatal error 01D 0167:BFF89433

[@georgez8859]

Very nice Machine. I always like your build videos. That case is really cool. Thanks for sharing

[@RiksRandomRetro]

Thanks for the support and for watching!

[@wettuga2762]

For me, black (and RGB for a matter of fact) has become boring as well. For Windows 9x retro machines I prefer beige with parts of blue/green, even better if those parts are glossy, translucent and/or with clean curves.

[@clintthompson4100]

I know I am a year late seeing this video but when I saw the case it looked familiar and I realized I have the save exactly Hercules Case. I got mine from NewEgg when they had them in stock over a year ago. I was trying to find the beige version but no luck. They also don't have anymore in stock last time I checked. Funny is mine is still new in box and I haven't built my system yet with it. Personally when it comes to the desktop I actually like the beige better so I'm thinking of actually painting mine just to the simple fact is I don't like desktop versions in black. I can deal with it in the tower form factor(as long as its doesn't have any RGB(Can't stand it. Sorry a computer is not supposed to look like the Griswold's House at Christmas time) lights in it or nothing but glass and no drive bays. I want to paint mine the white/beige since for me its just a better retro feel for me. Still love the build.

[@helldog3105]

I am really curious where you found that case. I picked up 4 of those for retro ATX builds about 4 years ago, and I haven't seen them since. They are nice, especially since they are designed to be able to mount an AT Switch power supply in the front as well. At least the ones I have are capable of that. Pentium II machines are great, and I have a couple, but I built an AMD k6-2/3 machine for myself in that time period when I was a teen, and it holds a soft spot for me. I had the TNT2 Ultra in mine in the end. Loved that machine. I wish I still had it.

[@RiksRandomRetro]

In my case (get it? tsk tsk), I found it at Newegg over a year ago now. They had some new old stock ones still around. I'm guessing it was discovered in some random storage spot, and they ended up selling them. I nabbed one as soon as I saw they were available.

[@helldog3105]

@@RiksRandomRetro That's where I got the last 4 I got from.

[@lonewolfniko3525]

New old box, aaaah!!! makes me feel super!!!! and the Matrix is indeed so acquired. I am thinking now, 10 years ago ( in 80's I mean) black was also a special choice in some stuffs like Spectrum

[@GameTechRefuge]

That's a really nice build Rik. Plenty of options should you want to change out parts and try different things. Very cool.

[@RiksRandomRetro]

Thanks for watching! I'm happy with how it turned out. I'm sure life has been busy, but nice to see you around again! Maybe you have been lurking too, hah. The time difference can make things difficult to say the least.

[@wannaflyme]

13:22 ❤❤❤ love you

[@dodgem259]

What impressed me about this build is the fact that the motherboard has it's backplate. These are near on impossible to get with pentium 2 motherboards because 99% of what is available out there is 2nd hand and who ever pulled the motherboards from the cases failed to take the backplate with it. I've just recently built a pentium 2 computer. I still had all my old original parts for my original pentium 2 except for a motherboard because my original one died and thus I needed to get a replacement and spent months looking for the right one at the right price and in all those months not one was being advertised with it's backplate, just the motherboard. So yes, I am therefore impressed that your motherboard has it's backplate.

[@carltonleboss]

Very cool.

[@heckintech]

Beautiful machine! And LOVE that case badge! 😁What a fantastic era. I remember having a beige 90mhz P1 system, and trying desperately to play Quake 2 and S.I.N on it, without an accelerator lol. It was a SLIDE SHOW, but I just kept on truckin, stuttering audio and all. I eventually got a 4mb Matrox card shoved in there, and while it helped a little, it was still a struggle lol. Took Quake 2 to my cousins to show it off, and they had some kind of black tower PC and I was just RATTLED by how friggin *future* it was! I'm gonna guess it was a 133mhz IBM of sorts, but I could be wrong.. I was so jealous. Then FINALLY one day, we got a 500mhz PIII Slot 1 machine, and MAAAAAAN, my mind was BLOWN. I don't remember what graphics card we had, definitely something cheap, likely a SIS based card, but it was WORLDS better than what I had before it. 😁 Unreal Tournament, All the Quake games, S.I.N, they all looked SO REAL hahaha. I think I might need to build a nice P2 system soon! I'm in the same boat, a few P1's, and P3's, but P2 somehow eludes me!

[@FOIL_FRESH]

yep that black case is just too damn awesome. I've had an ebay auto search on used black cases for years now in hopes of finding something of that era but i've never seen anything older than a thermaltake from mid/late 00s. i'm going to go watch the matrix now...

[@RiksRandomRetro]

Boy I wanted to put the music from the Matrix DVD menu, but I figured there would be no way it would have made it through the copyright checks. But yeah, this case was new old stock from Newegg, I had to pounce on it when I saw it. Couldn't let it pass me by!

[@martinez1701a]

I don't what it was about the slot1 boards but seemed more robust and had better performance. I have a couple slot 1 boards im planning to do a PIII and a PII build.

[@DanielCardei]

What an awesome build.

[@RiksRandomRetro]

Thanks! Glad you like it, it turned out quite nice and I'm happy to have it in my stable of usable machines!

[@RaPtOr9600]

Excellent build, Riva TNT should flex nice with that CPU. Seing black case back in 98 would be like epiphany. And more people should play Sin such great game. I had Asus P2B-F AT style, P-II 333mhz and TNT2 pro back in 1999. I searched on the local market for decades for the same motherboard but no luck.

[@xBruceLee88x]

Great job Rik! I'm really tempted to go through and just build a stack of 3 systems for various "environments" Super 7 k6 for dos through earlier 9x. A fast p3 or maybe p4 system for late 9x to xp era, and as much as I'd love to build a Vista specific system, any dx10 game should run fine on a modern system. I dunno gotta think about it. Maybe a 4th system not sure yet

[@RiksRandomRetro]

Basically what I have ended up doing I think! I have various reasons to want to be able to cover it all, of course, but it's fun to be able to get a particular era of machine out ready to go.

[@xBruceLee88x]

@@RiksRandomRetro of course add an extra system for the stream lol

[@proteque]

Oh I would have loved that case back then ❤ ironicly now I prefer beige. 😅 great video.

[@ms-ex8em]

i want a pc with a hard disc and floppy drive where can i buy one new old stock ?? thanks

[@lonewolfniko3525]

Back in the day Rik I realized that also me and all my friends had Pentium 1 and then 3, except one of them. He had never Pentium 1 but directly Pentium 2. Now it has that unique place in my nostalgic mind hahaha. Rick I like that you always have a special point and always it makes me think about it. Indeed the black fits perfectly in old build 🙂

[@RiksRandomRetro]

Thanks! I do like having some sort of focus or point with my machines. This one sort of came together naturally.

[@drzeissler]

FSC C5+C6 are my favorites!

[@ramiallan525]

how do you get the cpu/gpu drivers?

[@wannaflyme]

11:06 Metallica era. No hair drier required at the time.

[@RobertKliethermes]

I love building in retro PCs, but boy am I glad we moved away from Molex connectors.

[@williamstewart1883]

I still regularly play Civilization 3

[@tysonhughes3711]

If I were you I’ll tear off that shroud package on the cpu, it wouldn’t do any good in cooling. Mounting a cooler master AIO liquid cooler and you are good to go.

[@UncleAwesomeRetro]

Very nice computer :) Not perfect, it's not beige, but nice :P

[@RiksRandomRetro]

Haha, hey, you are not wrong. Honestly, if they still had this case in stock in beige, this build may have come out very different.

[@akademiacybersowa]

Tak, chcę powrotu do przeszłości. Chcę powrotu Polski do jej złotych lat: 2010-2014! A wy, ***, gońcie się z tymi reklamami!

[@drzeissler]

An ugly black box/case? look how stylish these C5/C6 are!

[@MPEG]

test