Nintendo Entertainment System PC

Back in the summer of 2010 I created a "NES PC". This is basically a micro-itx motherboard with a dual core Intel Atom CPU and Nvidia GPU. This machine also has 2GB of ram and a 1.5TB 7200rpm hard drive tucked away inside. I know you are thinking "why in the hell did you cram a PC in an old NES?". Well that is a good question, I did for a few reasons. The first being because its flipping cool, second chicks dig it (just kidding) and three I think it makes a cool looking computer case.

Below is a picture of a mini-itx motherboard with 2 sticks of ram to the left. (Note each square is 1/2 inch)

What do I use this epic PC for you ask? Well it is hooked to my 42" LG LCD HDTV in my bed room via HDMI and has XMBC running. XBMC is a home theatre frontend software. I use it to watch all of my movies and TV shows. Their are plugins for Netflix and Hulu allowing for viewing from with in this application. However the interface for these two plugins are not near as clean and efficient as those within Xbox 360 and other consoles.

 It can be controlled with an awesome smart phone application shown to the left. This is way better than the crappy line of site infrared remotes of the past.

Below are some pictures of the actual completed build. Yes those are USB ports where the controller ports normally would be. There is also a small exhaust fan just under the heat vents on the top of the NES on the right side.

You can see the motherboard and other electronics inside in the picture below.

The back has your standard ports with an external "brick" power supply and a small intake fan on the back right side. Please excuse the dust ;-)

Besides XBMC I also have a few emulators on this machine, however being a low power (35watt) CPU it is not able to handle anything new than PSX games. I do have a HDMI cable going from my i7 and Nvidia 460 OC Edition videocard box that I use for more games requiring more horse power.

One good example of how emulators are better than the original is the Nintendo Wii, an under powered machine. The first two  pic is of the game as show in the actual Wii.

Now some screenshots from the Dolphin emulator first in 720p then in 1080p...