I assume this is not a 4 inch slim-line case, but a regular
height desktop.  I have one that measures just under 6
inches high but still accepts full size expansion cards.
One thing that limits their usefullness is that 286 AT
cases were all 5 1/4 inch bays.  An internal 5 1/4" full
height bay typically does not leave enough room for a
cpu fan, 72 pin simm (especially some of the taller variety)
or a cache stick (COAST Module) to fit underneath it.
If the case is a narrow one, like the AT&T and NEC cases, and
has such a drive bay, even a baby AT board can't be positioned
so that the cpu or the heatsink for the voltage regulator has
clearance.
If you cut the case, make sure to remove all boards and drives
so metal shavings don't fall among the chips and solder.
I haven't had to worry about power output, your not going to
load such a system up with a lot of devices.  Even 170 watts
should work.  However, carefully check the amount of airflow
the fan provides.  286's needed very little cooling to start
with, I remember some without hard disks didn't have fans,
although I thought they were less reliable than ones that
did have them. The old fan, even if in good working order,
may not move enough air to cool a Pentium board, especially
an older one with a Cyrix 6x86 cpu or one of those huge heat
sinks on the voltage regulator.
Tom Turak

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 1999 10:56 PM

Can you put the older Pentium boards in a 286 case I am
talking about the mother boards if so how high can I go before they change
to the different case and how much would the cases run?

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