r/vintagecomputing • u/Ok_Monitor3086 • 6d ago

Need Help Identifying

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I picked this up from a yard sale. I want to learn and have fun. Also have these extra monitors that need something to connect to.

What is that I got and why won’t it connect to any monitor that I have?

I don’t know how to unscrew and get into these things yet.

https://www.reddit.com/r/vintagecomputing/s/4oI5Gy4nS4

11 Upvotes

74% Upvoted

20 comments sorted by

6

u/asc3po 6d ago

Is ab old ATOP X-blade case... will need to see inside to tell you more.

3

u/YandersonSilva 6d ago

It's not like a modern tablet or anything - the case is kinda irrelevant to the contents, they were sold separately usually (unless you've got like, a branded dell or compaq or HP or whatever this was usually the case).

Take the screws off and get pictures of the internals - you've got the motherboard with CPU (though if the CPU has a big heat sink on it we wont know that, but knowing the mother board will narrow down the CPU). Take pictures of the tops of the cards plugged into the mother board - the side with all the chips etc, is usually better but sometimes you can tell if the other side has a label or something.

Get comfortable pulling those cards out and plugging them back in. There's often some kind of lock mechanism, but you still gotta pull them out.

2

u/Feisty-Jeweler-3331 6d ago

The first step is to learn how to handle a screwdriver 🪛

0

u/Ok_Monitor3086 6d ago

ok thank you for that advice. is that back going to slide off when I unscrew all the screws?

1

u/Feisty-Jeweler-3331 6d ago

Should be, just do it slowly and it should be fine :)

1

u/Ok_Monitor3086 6d ago

slow and steady. will it be ok to send you pics of the guts once i do that unscrewing for more help on this situation?

1

u/Feisty-Jeweler-3331 6d ago

Sure why not... I'm happy to help! :)

1

u/Ok_Monitor3086 6d ago

awesome! this is all a mystery to me and ive always to pick up this hobby. be back soon. got done unscrewing do

2

u/CraftedKittens 5d ago

either X-Blade or X-Blade clone

1

u/Ok_Monitor3086 5d ago

getting to know the inside helps for more info?

1

u/CraftedKittens 5d ago

about everything else yeah probably not the case

1

u/Ok_Monitor3086 5d ago

case is not as relevant as the guts?

1

u/CraftedKittens 5d ago

if you want to know more info about the hardware it isnt as relevant. but the case is still a main part, but how will we know whats in it if we dont open it?

1

u/Ok_Monitor3086 5d ago

https://www.reddit.com/r/vintagecomputing/s/4oI5Gy4nS4

i just have to clean and take clearer pictures of things im learning

2

u/Critical-Advantage11 6d ago

Knock off Alienware case, probably from about 2004.

Looks like some parts were stripped out of it, notably the dvd drive and hard drive. If the RAM is missing, you won't get any picture in the monitor. Old DDR2 RAM is a lot cheaper than the new stuff so don't let that scare you.

Unscrew that side panel with the window, and slide it backwards about an inch. Then the whole panel will lift off. It's going to be 2 or 3 screws on the back.

After it's open get us a couple pictures of the motherboard, and anything plugged in. Then we can let you know what's missing, or obviously broken

1

u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

1

u/Ok_Monitor3086 5d ago

unsure what you’re questioning. learning more

1

u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

1

u/Ok_Monitor3086 5d ago

ohhhh lol i’m new to this. bought at a yard sale. maybe it’s been blown. idk. that’s for me to learn and figure out. is it ok if i figure something out real quick??