What Kind Of Case would Ii buy?

[Dove19983]

Ive heard of AT and ATX cases. Right now I have a hp Pavilion and Im wanting to get out of that little case so I can have more room for upgrades. What case would I need so that my motherboard would fit?

[Kuasimodem]

What you need is a MidTower ATX case that will support microATX motherboards too. Here (http://www.directron.com/inwins508iw.html) is one that does, but there are many out there.

Just look for a midtower that lists both ATX and microATX as motherboard form factors.

[Goldwingnut]

WARNING!WARNING! DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!

HP Pavilions use a proprietary power supply. Standard power supplies won't work. If your current power supply is FUBAR, be sure to get an HP compatible PS with that case.

I got mine from www.voltexcomputers.com (http://www.voltexcomputers.com) for $45 delivered.

It's like this one,but not identical:
http://www.voltexcomputers.com/cases/cas0001.htm

A problem with this cheap Chinese case: the MB sits flat on the case. I had 6 rubber washers laying around from another project, so I used those to space the board away from the metal case.

And it doesn't have the HP power supply.

[Dove19983]

What makes the pavilion not work with other PS's?

[Goldwingnut]

I haven't checked, but it's probably a different arrangement of wires on the PS/MB connector.

What happens if you use a conventional PS on a Pavilion is, it starts up, runs about one minute - not quite long enough to boot - then shuts down on its own.

[Dove19983]

Will a HP PS fit in a normal case without mods?

[Brangwen]

Dove:

I don't know, but I would think if the screwholes (and fan exhaust) line up for mounting it in a non-HP case, then it will. If not, then you'll likely need to modify a little. Doesn't sound like too daunting a task! Might be kind of fun. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Good luck.

Brangwen http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif


[This message has been edited by Brangwen (edited 05-26-2001).]

[Goldwingnut]

Update on Pavilion Proprietary PSes:

If you look at the PS connection to your pavilion, with the tab that locks it in place on the right, You may see one missing wire on the right side of the connector - third wire position from the top. ATX PSes have a white wire there. Missing on my HP Pavilion 6535. On the bottom of the right side there is a brown wire. That's orange on my ATX PSes.

The Pavilion proprietary PS uses different mounting holes than ATX standard PSes. Mine is held in place with one screw.

[This message has been edited by Goldwingnut (edited 05-26-2001).]