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Build of the week: NES 3.0

Features
By Amber Bouman published 6 July 2015

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Every Monday, Build of the week highlights a unique rig from the web's most dedicated PC building communities.

This week’s Build of the Week is also our first reader submission! Linustechtips.com user ungreedy sent us a heads up on his custom case mod that uses a 1985 Nintendo Entertainment System to house an Intel Core i5-4670K CPU, an ASRock Mini ITX motherboard, and an MSI GeForce GTX 750 video card. This NES 3.0 build is actually ungreedy’s first custom case mod; he says that he’s wanted to build a custom NES PC since the first time he saw such a build done, and when his uncle gifted him a broken NES, he just couldn’t stop thinking about what to do for his own build.

In the end, that meant taking apart the NES to clean it down (relatively simple), sand it and paint it (somewhat more complicated – particularly dremeling out the bottom and sanding). Ungreedy’s goal was to keep the build as clean as possible on the outside with the bare minimum number of holes. He wanted to custom paint the case to give it a modern twist on the classic NES appearance; in the end the build took just over seven months’ worth of work.

Ungreedy tells us that the hardest part of the build was getting the cooling systems right, with many hours spent testing fans and CPU coolers. Builders who’d like to attempt something similar would do well to follow his advice on extremely patience: a build like this will take both an even temper and creative thinking to overcome the obstacles that are likely to pop up along the way (like trying to squeeze two fans into the body of an NES). Thanks for the submission ungreedy, and congrats on the build!

NES 3.0 case mod parts list

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4Ghz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card
Storage: Hitachi Travelstar 1TB 2.5 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Case Fan: GELID Silent 7 (low speed optimized silent fan)
Case: 1985 Nintendo

Other: HDPlex

Page 1 of 8
Page 1 of 8

Every Monday, Build of the week highlights a unique rig from the web's most dedicated PC building communities.

This week’s Build of the Week is also our first reader submission! Linustechtips.com user ungreedy sent us a heads up on his custom case mod that uses a 1985 Nintendo Entertainment System to house an Intel Core i5-4670K CPU, an ASRock Mini ITX motherboard, and an MSI GeForce GTX 750 video card. This NES 3.0 build is actually ungreedy’s first custom case mod; he says that he’s wanted to build a custom NES PC since the first time he saw such a build done, and when his uncle gifted him a broken NES, he just couldn’t stop thinking about what to do for his own build.

In the end, that meant taking apart the NES to clean it down (relatively simple), sand it and paint it (somewhat more complicated – particularly dremeling out the bottom and sanding). Ungreedy’s goal was to keep the build as clean as possible on the outside with the bare minimum number of holes. He wanted to custom paint the case to give it a modern twist on the classic NES appearance; in the end the build took just over seven months’ worth of work.

Ungreedy tells us that the hardest part of the build was getting the cooling systems right, with many hours spent testing fans and CPU coolers. Builders who’d like to attempt something similar would do well to follow his advice on extremely patience: a build like this will take both an even temper and creative thinking to overcome the obstacles that are likely to pop up along the way (like trying to squeeze two fans into the body of an NES). Thanks for the submission ungreedy, and congrats on the build!

NES 3.0 case mod parts list

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4Ghz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card
Storage: Hitachi Travelstar 1TB 2.5 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Case Fan: GELID Silent 7 (low speed optimized silent fan)
Case: 1985 Nintendo
Other: HDPlex

Page 2 of 8
Page 2 of 8

Every Monday, Build of the week highlights a unique rig from the web's most dedicated PC building communities.

This week’s Build of the Week is also our first reader submission! Linustechtips.com user ungreedy sent us a heads up on his custom case mod that uses a 1985 Nintendo Entertainment System to house an Intel Core i5-4670K CPU, an ASRock Mini ITX motherboard, and an MSI GeForce GTX 750 video card. This NES 3.0 build is actually ungreedy’s first custom case mod; he says that he’s wanted to build a custom NES PC since the first time he saw such a build done, and when his uncle gifted him a broken NES, he just couldn’t stop thinking about what to do for his own build.

In the end, that meant taking apart the NES to clean it down (relatively simple), sand it and paint it (somewhat more complicated – particularly dremeling out the bottom and sanding). Ungreedy’s goal was to keep the build as clean as possible on the outside with the bare minimum number of holes. He wanted to custom paint the case to give it a modern twist on the classic NES appearance; in the end the build took just over seven months’ worth of work.

Ungreedy tells us that the hardest part of the build was getting the cooling systems right, with many hours spent testing fans and CPU coolers. Builders who’d like to attempt something similar would do well to follow his advice on extremely patience: a build like this will take both an even temper and creative thinking to overcome the obstacles that are likely to pop up along the way (like trying to squeeze two fans into the body of an NES). Thanks for the submission ungreedy, and congrats on the build!

NES 3.0 case mod parts list

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4Ghz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card
Storage: Hitachi Travelstar 1TB 2.5 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Case Fan: GELID Silent 7 (low speed optimized silent fan)
Case: 1985 Nintendo
Other: HDPlex

Page 3 of 8
Page 3 of 8

Every Monday, Build of the week highlights a unique rig from the web's most dedicated PC building communities.

This week’s Build of the Week is also our first reader submission! Linustechtips.com user ungreedy sent us a heads up on his custom case mod that uses a 1985 Nintendo Entertainment System to house an Intel Core i5-4670K CPU, an ASRock Mini ITX motherboard, and an MSI GeForce GTX 750 video card. This NES 3.0 build is actually ungreedy’s first custom case mod; he says that he’s wanted to build a custom NES PC since the first time he saw such a build done, and when his uncle gifted him a broken NES, he just couldn’t stop thinking about what to do for his own build.

In the end, that meant taking apart the NES to clean it down (relatively simple), sand it and paint it (somewhat more complicated – particularly dremeling out the bottom and sanding). Ungreedy’s goal was to keep the build as clean as possible on the outside with the bare minimum number of holes. He wanted to custom paint the case to give it a modern twist on the classic NES appearance; in the end the build took just over seven months’ worth of work.

Ungreedy tells us that the hardest part of the build was getting the cooling systems right, with many hours spent testing fans and CPU coolers. Builders who’d like to attempt something similar would do well to follow his advice on extremely patience: a build like this will take both an even temper and creative thinking to overcome the obstacles that are likely to pop up along the way (like trying to squeeze two fans into the body of an NES). Thanks for the submission ungreedy, and congrats on the build!

NES 3.0 case mod parts list

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4Ghz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card
Storage: Hitachi Travelstar 1TB 2.5 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Case Fan: GELID Silent 7 (low speed optimized silent fan)
Case: 1985 Nintendo

Other: HDPlex

Page 4 of 8
Page 4 of 8

Every Monday, Build of the week highlights a unique rig from the web's most dedicated PC building communities.

This week’s Build of the Week is also our first reader submission! Linustechtips.com user ungreedy sent us a heads up on his custom case mod that uses a 1985 Nintendo Entertainment System to house an Intel Core i5-4670K CPU, an ASRock Mini ITX motherboard, and an MSI GeForce GTX 750 video card. This NES 3.0 build is actually ungreedy’s first custom case mod; he says that he’s wanted to build a custom NES PC since the first time he saw such a build done, and when his uncle gifted him a broken NES, he just couldn’t stop thinking about what to do for his own build.

In the end, that meant taking apart the NES to clean it down (relatively simple), sand it and paint it (somewhat more complicated – particularly dremeling out the bottom and sanding). Ungreedy’s goal was to keep the build as clean as possible on the outside with the bare minimum number of holes. He wanted to custom paint the case to give it a modern twist on the classic NES appearance; in the end the build took just over seven months’ worth of work.

Ungreedy tells us that the hardest part of the build was getting the cooling systems right, with many hours spent testing fans and CPU coolers. Builders who’d like to attempt something similar would do well to follow his advice on extremely patience: a build like this will take both an even temper and creative thinking to overcome the obstacles that are likely to pop up along the way (like trying to squeeze two fans into the body of an NES). Thanks for the submission ungreedy, and congrats on the build!

NES 3.0 case mod parts list

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4Ghz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card
Storage: Hitachi Travelstar 1TB 2.5 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Case Fan: GELID Silent 7 (low speed optimized silent fan)
Case: 1985 Nintendo

Other: HDPlex

Page 5 of 8
Page 5 of 8

Every Monday, Build of the week highlights a unique rig from the web's most dedicated PC building communities.

This week’s Build of the Week is also our first reader submission! Linustechtips.com user ungreedy sent us a heads up on his custom case mod that uses a 1985 Nintendo Entertainment System to house an Intel Core i5-4670K CPU, an ASRock Mini ITX motherboard, and an MSI GeForce GTX 750 video card. This NES 3.0 build is actually ungreedy’s first custom case mod; he says that he’s wanted to build a custom NES PC since the first time he saw such a build done, and when his uncle gifted him a broken NES, he just couldn’t stop thinking about what to do for his own build.

In the end, that meant taking apart the NES to clean it down (relatively simple), sand it and paint it (somewhat more complicated – particularly dremeling out the bottom and sanding). Ungreedy’s goal was to keep the build as clean as possible on the outside with the bare minimum number of holes. He wanted to custom paint the case to give it a modern twist on the classic NES appearance; in the end the build took just over seven months’ worth of work.

Ungreedy tells us that the hardest part of the build was getting the cooling systems right, with many hours spent testing fans and CPU coolers. Builders who’d like to attempt something similar would do well to follow his advice on extremely patience: a build like this will take both an even temper and creative thinking to overcome the obstacles that are likely to pop up along the way (like trying to squeeze two fans into the body of an NES). Thanks for the submission ungreedy, and congrats on the build!

NES 3.0 case mod parts list

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4Ghz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card
Storage: Hitachi Travelstar 1TB 2.5 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Case Fan: GELID Silent 7 (low speed optimized silent fan)
Case: 1985 Nintendo

Other: HDPlex

Page 6 of 8
Page 6 of 8

Every Monday, Build of the week highlights a unique rig from the web's most dedicated PC building communities.

This week’s Build of the Week is also our first reader submission! Linustechtips.com user ungreedy sent us a heads up on his custom case mod that uses a 1985 Nintendo Entertainment System to house an Intel Core i5-4670K CPU, an ASRock Mini ITX motherboard, and an MSI GeForce GTX 750 video card. This NES 3.0 build is actually ungreedy’s first custom case mod; he says that he’s wanted to build a custom NES PC since the first time he saw such a build done, and when his uncle gifted him a broken NES, he just couldn’t stop thinking about what to do for his own build.

In the end, that meant taking apart the NES to clean it down (relatively simple), sand it and paint it (somewhat more complicated – particularly dremeling out the bottom and sanding). Ungreedy’s goal was to keep the build as clean as possible on the outside with the bare minimum number of holes. He wanted to custom paint the case to give it a modern twist on the classic NES appearance; in the end the build took just over seven months’ worth of work.

Ungreedy tells us that the hardest part of the build was getting the cooling systems right, with many hours spent testing fans and CPU coolers. Builders who’d like to attempt something similar would do well to follow his advice on extremely patience: a build like this will take both an even temper and creative thinking to overcome the obstacles that are likely to pop up along the way (like trying to squeeze two fans into the body of an NES). Thanks for the submission ungreedy, and congrats on the build!

NES 3.0 case mod parts list

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4Ghz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card
Storage: Hitachi Travelstar 1TB 2.5 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Case Fan: GELID Silent 7 (low speed optimized silent fan)
Case: 1985 Nintendo

Other: HDPlex

Page 7 of 8
Page 7 of 8

Every Monday, Build of the week highlights a unique rig from the web's most dedicated PC building communities.

This week’s Build of the Week is also our first reader submission! Linustechtips.com user ungreedy sent us a heads up on his custom case mod that uses a 1985 Nintendo Entertainment System to house an Intel Core i5-4670K CPU, an ASRock Mini ITX motherboard, and an MSI GeForce GTX 750 video card. This NES 3.0 build is actually ungreedy’s first custom case mod; he says that he’s wanted to build a custom NES PC since the first time he saw such a build done, and when his uncle gifted him a broken NES, he just couldn’t stop thinking about what to do for his own build.

In the end, that meant taking apart the NES to clean it down (relatively simple), sand it and paint it (somewhat more complicated – particularly dremeling out the bottom and sanding). Ungreedy’s goal was to keep the build as clean as possible on the outside with the bare minimum number of holes. He wanted to custom paint the case to give it a modern twist on the classic NES appearance; in the end the build took just over seven months’ worth of work.

Ungreedy tells us that the hardest part of the build was getting the cooling systems right, with many hours spent testing fans and CPU coolers. Builders who’d like to attempt something similar would do well to follow his advice on extremely patience: a build like this will take both an even temper and creative thinking to overcome the obstacles that are likely to pop up along the way (like trying to squeeze two fans into the body of an NES). Thanks for the submission ungreedy, and congrats on the build!

NES 3.0 case mod parts list

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4Ghz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card
Storage: Hitachi Travelstar 1TB 2.5 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Case Fan: GELID Silent 7 (low speed optimized silent fan)
Case: 1985 Nintendo

Other: HDPlex

Page 8 of 8
Page 8 of 8
Amber Bouman
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