❤ Dell Dimension 3000 ❤ Case Refit to Be Quiet Pure Base
6The Goal of this project was to Refit an Old Dell Dimension 3000.
This project had three main sub-parts.
1. Extract and save my music from the dying 5.25-inch Hard Drive.
1A. Convert the new system to use a Solid state hard drive and save the music project accordinly.
2. Change out the case of the Dell Dimension 3000 to a Be Quiet Pure Base unit.
2A. Use Silent Wings fans to cool the machine.
3. Make sure the computer can boot without having to strike F1 or deal with BIOS issues.
3A. Verify that the computer can run for hours without overheating.
3B. Verify that the machine can handle a USB - Midi Controller for doing music.
I love Windows XP and even though my main computer runs Windows 11 there is a special place
in my heart ❤ for Win XP.
By running an original XP compatible motherboard and not going online, I'm also able to run
older programs as well as get inspiration from old-school classic games that might not
run properly on a modern machine, even with Dos emulators etc.
Also, some of the limitations of an older machine are good for making music.
It helps to have some limitations of scope for project sizes, sample sets and track length.
Also CPU limitations can help a creator like myself keep a project precise in scope
for the number of instruments and track lanes.
Personally I find it refreshing to be forced to make a song with only so much polyphony and
tracks, making it perfect for retro-style games.
This machine was rigorously tested running for hours and I haven't had any problems.
Also, since its now running of SSD, there is no more concern regarding the hard drive
'clicks' which are usually indicative that a magnetic drive is about to die.
This project took a while and I did require some special order parts.
This included an ATX power supply extension cable because the new case was just too big
for the cabling to get across.
Overall this was a super-fun project and I learned a lot.
Future improvements would be to get the Be-Quiet power supply integrated as well as
futher sound / noise reduction.
Thanks for watching!