A Pseudo Retro Conversion
LENGTH OF TIME: 1-2 HOURS
LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY: EASY
THE CONCEPT
THIS IS A strange build for a number of reasons. We decided to do this because the case is really interesting. We were perusing various retailers on the hunt for a decent chassis to build in for this issue, and came across this sweet little ITX number: the Raijintek Pan Slim. It’s an odd case style-wise, reminiscent of the early ’90s PCs on which you’d stack a chunky CRT monitor. So, we set to task requesting one.
It took a while because we didn’t have a direct relationship with Raijintek, despite having reviewed a few of its cases in the past (samples from Newegg), but after reaching out to the company, the PR got back to us, and we started to discuss the build. Usual questions were asked: “What will the coverage look like?” “What are you planning on building with it?” “How many readers do you have?” And so forth. Once we’d cleared all those checks and balances, we got to discussing the case itself.
Why is it so weird? Well, apart from its nostalgic throwback appearance, it’s clearly listed everywhere as an ITX chassis. The PR, however, turned around and informed us that, with a reasonable dollop of elbow grease, it could be converted fairly easily to support ATX. Also, although the chassis doesn’t technically support AIO liquid coolers (it does support two 120mm fans), again, with a little effort, you could make that a reality, too. And so, like a 200lb marlin, we were hooked, lined, and sinkered.
PARTS GALORE
of “What chassis?” was answered, so the next problem
