Skip to main content
PC Gamer PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
  • Games
  • Hardware
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Guides
  • Video
  • Forum
  • More
    • PC Gaming Show
    • Software
    • Movies & TV
    • Coupons
    • Magazine
    • Newsletter
    • Community guidelines
    • Affiliate links
    • Meet the team
    • About PC Gamer
PC Gamer Magazine Subscription
PC Gamer Magazine Subscription
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe to the world's #1 PC gaming mag
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$32.49
View
Popular
  • Early Prime Day Deals
  • Essential Hardware
  • PC Gaming Show
  • Dune: Awakening
  • Nightreign
  • AI
Recommended reading
A gaming PC lit up with neon-style lighting and using an RX 9070 XT graphics card.
Gaming PCs The RX 9070 XT might not be the truly mid-range graphics card I'm still dreaming of but it turned my latest sci-fi PC build into a frame rate menace
ASRock Phantom Gaming B860I Lightning Wi-Fi motherboard on a desk.
Motherboards Call me Victor Kermit Kiam, cos I liked this mobo so much I built my new gaming PC around it
CherryTree Compyers' prebuilt PC housed in the salvaged chassis of a modern GPU floats through space.
Graphics Cards This one-of-a-kind GPU is actually an entire prebuilt PC in disguise—with a memorable codename and everything
Minisforum AtomMan G7 PT mini PC and AtomMan Venus UM790 mini PCs
Gaming PCs Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most
An Amstrad-ALT286 retro PC with a Minisforum UM890 Pro mini PC inside, on a desk with a retro mouse
Gaming PCs This retro sleeper build hides one of the top mini PCs inside and I wish I had the tools and patience to game like it's the '90s
Corsair One i600
Hardware Corsair's new One i600 mini PC packs an RTX 5080 into a stunning understated wood panel case
Silverstone FLP02 retro PC case on display at Computex trade show
PC Cases This retro PC case has a big red button and a turnkey and it hits me square in the chest with nostalgia
  1. Hardware
  2. PC Cases

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
Read more
A gaming PC lit up with neon-style lighting and using an RX 9070 XT graphics card.
The RX 9070 XT might not be the truly mid-range graphics card I'm still dreaming of but it turned my latest sci-fi PC build into a frame rate menace
ASRock Phantom Gaming B860I Lightning Wi-Fi motherboard on a desk.
Call me Victor Kermit Kiam, cos I liked this mobo so much I built my new gaming PC around it
CherryTree Compyers' prebuilt PC housed in the salvaged chassis of a modern GPU floats through space.
This one-of-a-kind GPU is actually an entire prebuilt PC in disguise—with a memorable codename and everything
Minisforum AtomMan G7 PT mini PC and AtomMan Venus UM790 mini PCs
Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most
An Amstrad-ALT286 retro PC with a Minisforum UM890 Pro mini PC inside, on a desk with a retro mouse
This retro sleeper build hides one of the top mini PCs inside and I wish I had the tools and patience to game like it's the '90s
Corsair One i600
Corsair's new One i600 mini PC packs an RTX 5080 into a stunning understated wood panel case
Latest in PC Cases
Hyte's Gundam collaboration case and keyboard
Hyte's iconic new Wing Gundam Zero case is going to grab your eyeballs first, but it's these fresh-looking keycaps I really want
The white RGB version of the Lian Li Lancool 216 PC case floats in the teal-gradient PC Gamer deal void.
I'm not just blowing hot air—$112 for this Lian Li Lancool 216 case is a cracking deal
SuccessfulHost6375's cel shaded, hand-drawn PC case on a desk with a green background
'Couldn't afford a PC so I drew one' says one Redditor after drawing a God-tier cel shaded case mod for his kids to play Minecraft on
A three screen setup is seen on a desk. These screens are encased in an off-white shell designed to look retro and bring to mind classic CRT housing.
Redditor handcrafts retrofuturistic set up that wouldn't look out of place on the set of Alien, with precisely zero 3D printing involved
The Asus Prime AP202 PC case on a blue gradient background with PC components inside
Trick venting solutions look like the hot new thing in PC case design and this low-vented Asus model has me more than a little intrigued
A gaming PC sat on a desk with purple RGB lighting on the fans and light bar enabled.
Phanteks Eclipse G400A review
Latest in Features
Gunman Chronicles
What happened to the creator of Gunman Chronicles, Valve's forgotten FPS? 'My relationship with Gabe didn't really go that great'
A goblin with a crown smiling with a huge pile of money in Hearthstone.
Can you guess gaming's weirdest currencies in our latest quiz?
Marvel Rivals Wolverine and Phoenix team-up in Season 3: Wolverine gritting his teeth as he gets ready to leap. His claws glow orange and are covered in a red haze.
Phoenix's terrifying team-up in Marvel Rivals Season 3 has me starting a campaign to get Wolverine banned in all my matches
A grocery store with townfolk around it
I played 10 free Steam demos this week: here are the 5 games that made it onto my wishlist
Blue's News Quake header
Out of the blue: How a Quake blog turned PC gaming news site has stayed a haven from 'internet enshittification' for nearly 30 years
20 foolproof ways to get laid off in the videogame industry
  1. Nvidia RTX 5090 and XFX RX 9070 graphics cards
    1
    Best graphics cards in 2025: I've tested pretty much every AMD and Nvidia GPU of the past 20 years and these are today's top cards
  2. 2
    Best gaming laptop in 2025: I've put the best of this new generation head-to-head and we have a winner
  3. 3
    Best gaming chair in 2025: I've tested a ton of gaming chairs and these are the seats I'd suggest for any PC gamer
  4. 4
    Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads
  5. 5
    Best graphics card for laptops in 2025: the mobile GPUs I'd want in my next gaming laptop
  1. An NZXT N7 Z890 motherboard on a desk with port covers removed.
    1
    NZXT N7 Z890 review
  2. 2
    NZXT N9 X870E review
  3. 3
    NZXT N9 Z890 review
  4. 4
    Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 review
  5. 5
    Razer Joro & Basilisk Mobile review

PC Gamer is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...