DIY'ing my Dream Vintage Test Bench
2,610After a few weeks of work I've built the perfect test bench for me to test vintage PC gear!
There was a LOT of trial and error in constructing this. There aren't many test bench cases out there that give you access to the parts while also providing bays for putting 5.25" and 3.5" drives. As far as I could find, it's actually none. So I set out to build one myself. Starting with an existing basic open frame kit gave me all the specially parts for computer components. I used this as a base to expand with additional parts to fit the goal I had. I decided to just order parts and figure it out as I go, it worked well as a process, but it did take a long time.
A closer look at the new AT PSU: https://youtu.be/gahdTcRHxNk
If you want to build one of these and support the channel you can use the following links to get all parts needed to from either ebay or Amazon:
Amazon Parts:
- Base ATX Frame Kit: https://amzn.to/2P669Om
- 300mm Rails (2x order, 4x total parts): https://amzn.to/3vD6Lfa
- Extra L Brackets: https://amzn.to/30Xg2AM
- 5.25" Mounting Bay: https://amzn.to/3luatmB (Out of stock as of creating list)
- 3.5" Mounting Brackets: https://amzn.to/3vBZQ5T
- M3 Bolt Kit: https://amzn.to/3s2Ntxw
- AT PSU: https://amzn.to/2QbdYmo
- Paddle Switch: Not available on Amazon
or
- ATX to AT Adapter: https://amzn.to/319vOZv
Ebay Parts:
- Base ATX Frame Kit: https://ebay.us/RPR9kc
- 300mm Rails: https://ebay.us/vvNZoZ
- Extra L Brackets: https://ebay.us/FftwsD
- 5.25" Mounting Bay: https://ebay.us/Vkw9nW
- 3.5" Mounting Brackets: https://ebay.us/2EUFPI
- M3 Bolt Kit: https://ebay.us/qLz7dp
- AT PSU: https://ebay.us/YBAwj9
- Paddle Switch: https://ebay.us/Ps3bxd
or
- ATX to AT Adapter: https://ebay.us/7J4q2h
Notes:
I only used 10x of the L brackets, that's cutting it too close for my liking and I recommend ordering 20x in case some are bad.
The large paddle switch is likely going to become unavailble, and mounting the original AT push button switch was really difficult to figure out. The ATX kit comes with a way mount a push button power switch, using that with an ATX PSU adapted to AT. So a more sure option for a power switch is to just use that.
The Phanteks 5.25" bay is an option for a modular case. The case seems to be still in production as of this publication, but the bay is out of stock. I have no other strong alternatives. It is meant to mount with standard M3 PC case bolts and is threaded. Mounting it was tricky, I used some motherboard standoff brackets from the frame kit and used M3 bolts to mount it up against the frame, it's not elegant.
Playlists of more stuff like this:
Computers: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJVwF78cppBjb_EinOYA2QnzaNwryOvfE
Other Links
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/AkBKukU
Github: https://github.com/AkBKukU
Thingiverse: https://www.thingiverse.com/AkBKukU
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/AkBKukU
Discord: https://discord.gg/E6xgGs6