A custom gaming PC enthusiast has transformed an old Atari 2600 into a modern system, and it trades classic games for contemporary releases like GTA 5 and The Witcher 3. The retro console originally arrived in 1977, but cramming a motherboard, RAM, and an AMD gaming CPU into its ancient shell could extend its life tenfold.
Created by Reddit user J0hnnyMeh, this sleeper gaming PC brings the Atari 2600 system screaming into the 21st century. According to the creator, it features an AMD Ryzen 5 5600G processor, RX Vega 7 integrated graphics, 16GB of RAM, and an ASRock Mini-ITX motherboard.
The custom Atari 2060 system isn’t the best gaming PC around in terms of specs, but it should be able to run Witcher 3 and GTA 5. Given that similar AMD chips are capable of running Spider-Man remastered, older releases will likely run fine on this stealth machine. Of course, an iGPU is no substitute for the best graphics card, so don’t expect lofty frame rates and UHD 4K visuals.
Hilariously, the Atari project’s specs outdo the Atari VCS – an official PC that was released last year to little fanfare. The dinky rig comes equipped with 8GB RAM and a Vega 3 APU, but even a library of classic Atari games couldn’t help it make an impact on the gaming sphere.
It’s worth noting that J0hnnyMeh’s Atari 2600 was beyond repair, so transforming it into a sleeper rig has effectively brought it back to life. Plus, modern tech into it is not exactly beyond the pale, so it’s far from being a gag system. The same cannot be said for some projects, however, as this cursed beaver gaming PC is still haunting our waking dreams.
We’ll hopefully see more retro console conversions pop up soon, as stuffing new components into old shells is a neat way to upcycle old tech. Some of our favourite examples include an AMD Ryzen-powered Sega Dreamcast and a Nintendo Wii that can run Minecraft at 4K. Check your PC can run the more up to date, by taking the GTA 5 system requirements test.