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jeepster4me
11-13-2007, 04:18 PM
Hi there, :rolleyes:

I was not sure where to put this post,I was searching for general hardware,but....

OK, pour a cup of coffee,(or whatever) be patient,and try to understand all my long-winded jargon, as I am not a CPU technical wizard,just a rookie. I am somewhat perplexed on how to go about rebuilding a new,updated computer.

I have about a four year old CSCOMET ATX Computer case with a 300W PSU I purchased at pcinfinity online. it was pretty much ready to go except I installed a few Cd ROMs,and PCI cards...Well, The ECS (Eliteboard) Motherboard failed and I have been using my friends Compaq with an ATHLON 1.2 GHz with 256 pc100 SDRAM,and so looking forward to rebuild a new, faster, and updated computer.

With newer hardware (Hard drives,Cd-ROMs, pci-e cards,More powerful CPU's)....
The main Question is:
Is it necessary to purchase a brand new ATX case, or will a 600W PSU fit into my old existing case, and just add more fans? I would like this new system to be energy efficient if possible,but not overheated. Or just bite the bullet and buy a new case with power supply already installed.

Reuse my old cd-ROM drives, an 80 GB hard drive, or do they also become obsolete with use of new Mobos?

I stripped everything off the old Mobo except my power and LED plugs.

I have two 3.5" bays (one for Floppy and the other maybe for a front USB,A/V input, since the original case did not come with it,only a floppy space)
I also have Four regular slots for CD-ROM drives.
I have a case side fan, The PSU has a fan, the CPU should have a fan and I think there are case holes to insert more fans.

How many fans are necessary for a cool environment when I'm thinking about a 600-650w PSU, One,maybe two 120 GB Hard drives-internal, one CDROM and one DVD-RW, Intel E 6600 CPU, One PCI-E card,maybe a sound card if not onboard,and an E-Sata plug in for an external hard drive to store all the data and use the main hard drive for Applications?

There are sites I can go to to check the wattage needed,but maybe someone could give me an idea about my case. Also Looking for onboard e-sata in the back of Mobo. (I heard it was maybe faster than USB2.0 on the External hard drive. So when I buy an external,I was told to make sure it has both e-sata and USB connections)


When my Mobo crashed before, First I thought it was my PSU,I replaced four fans and every time, the fans would spin,then shut off. I jumped the power button switch on the Mobo and the fans started and stopped. the con census was that the Mobo crashed.

I would hate to go through all this, then have the power switch button fail, that's the only reason why I thought I should buy a new case,and also the 80 or 120mm fans.

Thank you all so much for your patience!:bow:

Sterling_Aug
11-13-2007, 05:53 PM
Most ATX cases will let you install any power supply you can find. They all fit fine.

Lgbpop
11-13-2007, 06:30 PM
Adding to what Sterling said, your best best is usually to buy the case and PSU separately to ensure getting a quality PSU. Unless the case is made by a company that also "makes" their own PSUs, the unit that comes with the case invariably is cheap garbage.

Also, since the price of a good, powerful unit is so affordable - DON'T try to save money by buying Joe's SuperDuper 750W AtomHeartMother model for $9.99. You'll soon regret it. Buy a good brand, one rated at least 500W, 600W is better. ;)

BTW - No such thing as too many fans! :D

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/2328/fannagemq3.jpg



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