Top-loader meaning a top loading/flip top CDrom drive like on the PS1, Dreamcast, gamecube, etc. I've always wanted to build my own compact emulation machine and have it look like a console - maybe with 2 or 4 USB ports in front to look like controller ports. My favorite era of gaming (90s and early 2000s) had a lot of these top loading consoles, and there is just something about the top loading aspect and how it influences the aesthetic that says "fun game console" to me. I know I could theoretically cram a mini ITX into a console case, but I'd rather have something that looks more unique or unusual, yet still in the style of the top-loading consoles. Anything out there? Anything that could be conditioned to serve as an interesting case outside of clock radios (which I don't find interesting)?
Do you want it to be functional? I don't think you'll be able to get that look & have it be functional. You might have to do this yourself, like hack together something with a discman/portable dvd player/karaoke machine/whatever. If you want something totally unique, you can always design it yourself and have it 3D printed. It could get expensive depending on the size of your components though.
Maybe you could use sometring like this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/HP-RM475E-Slimline-Top-Loading-External/dp/B006ISC8BM And a modded console case.
I instantly pictured something like a PC-FX. Anything i don't think you'll be able to find a case like it. Unless you mod it with an external DVD-ROM like andoba suggested.
Yeah I seen people use dreamcast cases to make little pc's but i doubt you can do that and fit a dvd drive on top maybe a fat ps2 with the fliptop mod on the case.
Sorry to intrigue, is there a gaming console type loader one for MS-DOS only? like it has Norton Commander or some sort of game launcher for it bulit from the ground up or similar?
Quick question for anyone who has taken apart a DVD drive or more specifically a Blu Ray drive, is there any way to open one up and remove the loading tray or slot-loading mechanism and then add a lid, essentially building a top loader? I've done a brief search but I can't find any solid info on the subject.
Of course it's possible to convert any CD/DVD/BR into a top loader. It's just depends on amount of time involved. Easiest way will be to use laptop SATA one, because it's smaller and already have a spindle top that can hold disc without a magnet. It's all about removing case cover, eject mechanism and soldering a switch that will tell the drive that disc is loaded, just like in all top loading consoles or players. Also there were MiniITX cases with built-in top loading drives, but i saw one last time a few years ago in only one store in Moscow, and don't remember the brand. I guess those are extremely rare since it was the first and last time i saw this kind of case. And it wasn't really a case but MiniITX PC w/o RAM and HDD, and it wasn't cheap, probably due to aluminium case with VFD and other multimedia stuff.
Sorry i'll rephrase that bit, what i mean was is it possible to make a MS-DOS consolized gaming machine and have it's main menu similar to that of Norton Commander http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yrkpU63YWrg/UHpnb9T-KcI/AAAAAAAAAQU/SexHVpedCB8/s640/norton+commander.gif or like you've mentioned AdvancedMENU but exclusively for DOS only.
^Yeah, I have seen that, and it is pretty awesome. I haven't moved forward on any console-pc project yet, but my initial plan was to have a case that evoked the look of a top loading console such as PSX, Dreamcast, Saturn, but that which had its own look that was not a 100% copy of any of them/case mod of one of them. Unsurprisingly, I haven't found anything pre-made that seems like it fits the bill. Many PC cases that are presented as in a "game console style" look more like PS2s or xbox 360s, which already look like pc towers, aka not what I'm interested in. I realize most game console designs since the dawn of time are boxes of some sort, but like the curves of the dreamcast, what I'm looking for should be more stylized and have more personality than a rectangle with 6 flat sides
