.NET Colors (sorted by rough color type)

Transparent	Hex Code: n/a
White	Hex Code: #FFFFFF
Snow	Hex Code: #FFFAFA
FloralWhite	Hex Code: #FFFAF0
Ivory	Hex Code: #FFFFF0
LightYellow	Hex Code: #FFFFE0
SeaShell	Hex Code: #FFF5EE
Cornsilk	Hex Code: #FFF8DC
OldLace	Hex Code: #FDF5E6
Linen	Hex Code: #FAF0E6
LavenderBlush	Hex Code: #FFF0F5
Beige	Hex Code: #F5F5DC
LemonChiffon	Hex Code: #FFFACD
LightGoldenrodYellow	Hex Code: #FAFAD2
PapayaWhip	Hex Code: #FFEFD5
BlanchedAlmond	Hex Code: #FFEBCD
AntiqueWhite	Hex Code: #FAEBD7
MistyRose	Hex Code: #FFE4E1
PaleGoldenrod	Hex Code: #EEE8AA
Khaki	Hex Code: #F0E68C
Bisque	Hex Code: #FFE4C4
Moccasin	Hex Code: #FFE4B5
Wheat	Hex Code: #F5DEB3
NavajoWhite	Hex Code: #FFDEAD
PeachPuff	Hex Code: #FFDAB9
Orange	Hex Code: #FFA500
LightSalmon	Hex Code: #FFA07A
DarkOrange	Hex Code: #FF8C00
Salmon	Hex Code: #FA8072
DarkSalmon	Hex Code: #E9967A
LightCoral	Hex Code: #F08080
Coral	Hex Code: #FF7F50
Tomato	Hex Code: #FF6347
OrangeRed	Hex Code: #FF4500
Red	Hex Code: #FF0000
SandyBrown	Hex Code: #F4A460
Tan	Hex Code: #D2B48C
BurlyWood	Hex Code: #DEB887
Yellow	Hex Code: #FFFF00
Gold	Hex Code: #FFD700
Goldenrod	Hex Code: #DAA520
DarkGoldenrod	Hex Code: #B8860B
Peru	Hex Code: #CD853F
Chocolate	Hex Code: #D2691E
RosyBrown	Hex Code: #BC8F8F
IndianRed	Hex Code: #CD5C5C
Crimson	Hex Code: #DC143C
Firebrick	Hex Code: #B22222
Brown	Hex Code: #A52A2A
Sienna	Hex Code: #A0522D
SaddleBrown	Hex Code: #8B4513
DarkRed	Hex Code: #8B0000
Maroon	Hex Code: #800000
Gainsboro	Hex Code: #DCDCDC
LightGray	Hex Code: #D3D3D3
Silver	Hex Code: #C0C0C0
DarkGray	Hex Code: #A9A9A9
Gray	Hex Code: #808080
DimGray	Hex Code: #696969
LightSlateGray	Hex Code: #778899
SlateGray	Hex Code: #708090
GreenYellow	Hex Code: #ADFF2F
LawnGreen	Hex Code: #7CFC00
LightGreen	Hex Code: #90EE90
PaleGreen	Hex Code: #98FB98
MediumSpringGreen	Hex Code: #00FA9A
SpringGreen	Hex Code: #00FF7F
Lime	Hex Code: #00FF00
Chartreuse	Hex Code: #7FFF00
DarkSeaGreen	Hex Code: #8FBC8B
LimeGreen	Hex Code: #32CD32
MediumSeaGreen	Hex Code: #3CB371
ForestGreen	Hex Code: #228B22
SeaGreen	Hex Code: #2E8B57
Green	Hex Code: #008000
DarkGreen	Hex Code: #006400
YellowGreen	Hex Code: #9ACD32
DarkKhaki	Hex Code: #BDB76B
OliveDrab	Hex Code: #6B8E23
Olive	Hex Code: #808000
DarkOliveGreen	Hex Code: #556B2F
DarkSlateGray	Hex Code: #2F4F4F
MediumAquamarine	Hex Code: #66CDAA
LightSeaGreen	Hex Code: #20B2AA
CadetBlue	Hex Code: #5F9EA0
DarkCyan	Hex Code: #008B8B
Teal	Hex Code: #008080
MintCream	Hex Code: #F5FFFA
Azure	Hex Code: #F0FFFF
Honeydew	Hex Code: #F0FFF0
AliceBlue	Hex Code: #F0F8FF
GhostWhite	Hex Code: #F8F8FF
WhiteSmoke	Hex Code: #F5F5F5
LightCyan	Hex Code: #E0FFFF
PowderBlue	Hex Code: #B0E0E6
PaleTurquoise	Hex Code: #AFEEEE
LightBlue	Hex Code: #ADD8E6
LightSteelBlue	Hex Code: #B0C4DE
LightSkyBlue	Hex Code: #87CEFA
SkyBlue	Hex Code: #87CEEB
Aquamarine	Hex Code: #7FFFD4
Aqua	Hex Code: #00FFFF
Cyan	Hex Code: #00FFFF
Turquoise	Hex Code: #40E0D0
MediumTurquoise	Hex Code: #48D1CC
DarkTurquoise	Hex Code: #00CED1
DeepSkyBlue	Hex Code: #00BFFF
CornflowerBlue	Hex Code: #6495ED
SteelBlue	Hex Code: #4682B4
RoyalBlue	Hex Code: #4169E1
DodgerBlue	Hex Code: #1E90FF
Blue	Hex Code: #0000FF
MediumBlue	Hex Code: #0000CD
Lavender	Hex Code: #E6E6FA
Thistle	Hex Code: #D8BFD8
Pink	Hex Code: #FFC0CB
LightPink	Hex Code: #FFB6C1
Plum	Hex Code: #DDA0DD
HotPink	Hex Code: #FF69B4
DeepPink	Hex Code: #FF1493
PaleVioletRed	Hex Code: #DB7093
MediumVioletRed	Hex Code: #C71585
Fuchsia	Hex Code: #FF00FF
Magenta	Hex Code: #FF00FF
Violet	Hex Code: #EE82EE
Orchid	Hex Code: #DA70D6
MediumOrchid	Hex Code: #BA55D3
MediumPurple	Hex Code: #9370DB
BlueViolet	Hex Code: #8A2BE2
DarkViolet	Hex Code: #9400D3
DarkOrchid	Hex Code: #9932CC
DarkMagenta	Hex Code: #8B008B
Purple	Hex Code: #800080
MediumSlateBlue	Hex Code: #7B68EE
SlateBlue	Hex Code: #6A5ACD
DarkSlateBlue	Hex Code: #483D8B
Indigo	Hex Code: #4B0082
DarkBlue	Hex Code: #00008B
Navy	Hex Code: #000080
MidnightBlue	Hex Code: #191970
Black	Hex Code: #000000

Near-Final

I was able to install an older 3COM network card I had in storage, get it to work in DOS, and configure Windows 3.11 for Workgroups with Microsoft's TCP/IP to get it on my home network. It works! I since downloaded Internet Explorer 3.0 and an old Netscape version (Firefox not available for Windows 3.11) from oldversions.com. I also installed old versions of Macromedia Flash plugin, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Goldwave (for audio editing), and JASC's Paint Shop Pro. Everything works lightning fast for Windows 3.11. It's amazing how fast older operating systems can be when coupled with hardware newer than their intended usage. It completes similar tasks in Windows 3.11 faster than a Pentium 4 can accomplish them in Windows XP.

I also ran MemMaker on each one of my four boot configurations to optimize loading modules in upper memory and free more conventional memory. These configurations include gaming with EMS, gaming without EMS, complete DOS (doskey, CD-ROM driver, etc.), and complete Windows (CD-ROM, network, etc.). My gaming configs result in 604KB free of conventional memory, while my complete configs are between 560KB and 580KB of free memory. I took all of my old batch files, custom menus, etc. from my original retro PC and copied them over. Now the PC is complete software wise, but I'll be doing benchmarks and diagnostics on it just to test everything for the long haul. I definitely want to see the exact performance marks for the 266x CF card over UltraDMA-33.

Since many of the old games I have on this system use the default PC Speaker instead of a sound card, I ran a cable from the motherboard's PC speaker pins to the input on the sound card. Only older sound cards such as the Sound Blaster 16 ISA I am using have an input for the PC speaker and support a separate volume control for it. I reduced any possible RF noise on the line with the cable passed through and wrapped once around ferrite cores at each end. The quality of the sound output through Klipsch speakers dedicated to this PC is amazingly clean. Those old Sound Blaster 16 ISA cards had a surprisingly high signal to noise ratio given their date of manufacturing.

I still have acrylic fan grills (tribal-design) on order to replace the metal ones, but here's some pics of the near-final PC. These are both with and without the blue EL lights powered on:

Painted Ribbon Cable

For floppy and IDE cables, the "round" ones out there are not really round, but rather ribbon cables stuffed into a round sheath. Some might actually have individual strands (as with some higher end round cables like Antec), but cheap ones are often just regular ribbon cables that are crushed and compacted into a round sheath. Therefore, I really dislike these cheaper round IDE cables. They just look and feel cheap. The quality round cables are rarely sold in a simple black color; even the pure black ones are not as simple looking as I'd prefer.

However, I've always enjoyed the look of the black, flat ribbon cables Asus includes with their motherboards. They seem so much more elegant and aesthetically pleasing when compared to "round" ribbon cables. Flat ribbon cables also have the added ability to lay flat against a surface, and make folds when changing direction or position. More importantly, flat ribbon cables can be shortened to any length, because adding a connector is simple with the right crimper and connectors.

Unfortunately, it's nearly impossible to buy black ribbon cable that is flat. I've tried to buy them individually, and I've tried to buy it in bulk. The consumer is out of luck here.

After researching and dumping too much of my time into something trivial to others, I found a simple solution that some have already known. Vinyl spray paint. I purchased a can of gloss black vinyl & carpet spray paint from my local automotive store, then pulled out a spare 80-conductor IDE cable to give it a shot. After taping off the connectors with blue painter's tape, I discovered that vinyl paint is really the best way to go! It bonds to the ribbon cable, looks better than the no-gloss black ribbon cables from Asus, and doesn't flake or peel when bent, twisted, and scratched. Whoot!

Here's a pic of the one I painted (80-conductor, dual drive) with Duplicolor Vinyl & Fabric Gloss Black, compared to an Asus cable (40-conductor, single drive). I also painted the various color connectors black with a paint marker, except on their pin side where they won't be visible.




Sleeving

As with any PC mod project, sleeving always seems to take longer for me than any other step. May be it's because I put so much love into my cabling, or may be it's because I now solder each connector when splicing or shortening cables. Either way, this step took even longer for this project because the black sleeving I used wasn't 'black' enough for me. It is nice sleeving, but one layer doesn't seem to black-out the color of the cables enough for my tastes. So all of my cables have two layers of sleeving.

Here's the results:

Component Housings

As with any mod I do, I painted the component housings (CD-ROM, FDD, and a junction box) semi-gloss black. This gives it a nice, satin-like finish, without being dull or shiny. I masked off the plastic LED covers of the floppy faceplate, and didn't bother painting the CD-ROM faceplate since it was already black. I did have to later apply some hand glaze to the CD-ROM faceplate to polish a little "wet look" into it to match everything else. For now, here are the painted covers and faceplates:




EL Lights

Since I strongly feel that CCFLs and clear acrylic cases are poor combinations, I'm opting to go with a little bit of EL lighting for highlights. It's a subtle glow around just the light strip/wire itself that adds a nice touch to clear cases. Of course my other alternative is to go UV with UV CCFLs, but I'm really bored with the whole UV craze. I'd much rather have something that looks like it came from the movie "Tron" than something out of a really bad Rave party.

The kit itself, both powered off and on:



Since the inverter for the EL lights emits a high-pitch whine, I decided the encase it inside my own enclosure. The whine seems to be curtailed when the bottom of the unit is sealed by a dense mat or rubber, along with some weight or pressure on the top to keep it sealed. Therefore, I put both molding tape and part of a rubber mouse pad under it, then stuffed it into an enclosure with foam to reduce the shrill sound leakage. I didn't want to use a clear enclosure here since the use of all the foam.




Voltage Conversion

For such a simple issue, this is by far one of the greatest portion and challenge of this project. The problem: many high-end, modular power supplies do no supply a -5V wire (white) to the motherboard, meaning they are unable to generate -5V at all. It isn't needed for newer motherboards, because only the old ISA bus (its controller) utilizes -5V. Some mid to low-end power supplies still offer this -5V output, but I have my mind set on an Enermax, SeaSonic, or PC Power & Cooling. I purchased an Enermax Liberty 400W for this project because of both its good build quality and its use of modular cables. Although I will be cutting and splicing cables as I see fit, I still enjoy the modular output design.

To accommodate my choice, I need to design and implement a separate device to output -5V to the motherboard. After some research, I discovered that an electronic component known as a 7905 voltage regulator will take in -12V (already supplied by a PSU) and output -5V. The only problem is, this is a PC board mount style component with connections that should be soldered. To make it worse, the voltage regulator itself is not enough for reliable operation. It needs capacitors on both its input (-12V) and output (-5V). And if that couldn't get any worse, I was never good at soldering and ditched the notion of it many years ago.

Fortunately, with the help of the community members at Electronics Forum, plenty of online research, electrical design software (KiCad), and many purchases at my local Radio Shack store, I was able to fabricate this voltage conversion unit, and even make it looks presentable in the process. Furthermore, I learned to embrace soldering and pick up hobby electronics.

I first double-checked the simple design in KiCad. It was complicated for me, being an electronics noob, so I wanted to make sure it looked right with those on Electronics Forum first.



I then tested everything in a breadboard before actually soldering together components. Instead of my KiCad plans, I decided to go with 22µF capacitors on both the input and output to ensure stability.



I used a clear acrylic card holder box as the housing of the unit to keep in line with my case's clear theme. I drilled holes in the side for binding posts, and larger holes at the ends to help with ventilation.



Top (component side), bottom (soldering and wire side), finished with lid off, and finished with lid on:




Power Supply

The power supply is one of the last components I'll have completed. The -5v issue, conversion from ATX to Dell proprietary power connector, and even sleeving have delayed it. I found a great reference for converting to/from Dell's proprietary power connector on someone's personal site. Here's what I've done so far with the Enermax Liberty 400W PSU for this build:




System Preview

Here's a quick shot of the front-panel pcb before I modded it. I ended up removing (desoldering) components, cutting down the height of it, and then painting it black as shown later. I did remove the front-panel audio and USB connectors before taking this image.



A couple shots of the partially-installed PC in the modded Sunbeam UFO case: