ATX case?

[GremlinHater]

Ok, I got this case and I'm thinking of using it to make another computer for my parents but I don't know if it's ATX or propietary or what. I think it looks like it's big enough and shaped right to be ATX but how can I know? Is there a way to find out?

 

[Lord Evermore]

Put a motherboard in it. If the connectors fit the back panel, and the standoffs line up, it's ATX.

 

[GremlinHater]

Um, well, that is certainly a solution albeit a pain in the butt one. I was looking for a more convenient one, your solution, appreciated as it is is like someone asking are ferrari's comfortable to sit in, and the solution being to go buy one and test it. Yeah, i know the analogie might not match up, but you get the idea.

 

[Budman]

Look at the power supply,if it doesnt have a on off switch then it's atx.

 

[GremlinHater]

Now that's the stuff , ty, gonna go check it out, I should have remembed that.

 

[Budman]

look at the power connector that goes to the mobo,if it's 1 peice it's atx, if it's 2 connectors side by side with black ground wires in the middle then it's AT.

 

[Lord Evermore]

My ATX PSU has an on-off switch though, so that's not a total solution.

The power connector is really the easiest one (the power connectors are labelled P8 and P9 in AT). Plus, most PSUs say ATX and a revision number on them. Or you could just look at the layout of the IO shield on the case and the connectors on an ATX motherboard (really you don't need a mobo even, just see if the ports are stacked or not, since AT used separate cable connected ports; but it still might have a proprietary IO shield matched to the motherboard originally used). Or check the power button, if it goes to the PSU then it's AT, if it goes to a connector hanging loose, it's ATX.

 

[Budman]

My ATX PSU has an on-off switch though, so that's not a total solution.

Yes but does the switch go to the power supply?

Only an AT power supply has a power switch connected to it directly,ATX system power switches go to the motherboard not the PSU directly.

 

[stultus]

There is a power switch on some ATX power supplies (and on every one I've ever purchased - maybe it's a quality issue?), so your proposed method to determine case specs by that is flawed.

As stated, compare to a computer you know is ATX and look at the I/O shield (which generally is the same, or close enough to compare by) or read the PSU.

But I'm interested in your statement that ATX power switches are hooked up only to motherboards. Can you clarify that?

 

[Chaotic42]

Originally posted by: Budman

My ATX PSU has an on-off switch though, so that's not a total solution.

Yes but does the switch go to the power supply?

He means that there is a switch, on the PSU itself, that can turn the power on/off. You turn the system on with a switch wired to the motherboard, but if the PSU switch is on, there is power flowing. That's why you can have the *computer* off, but plug in an NIC or something, and have its light come on.

 

[Lord Evermore]

The power button and the power switch. Different things. Power button connected to the mobo is for "soft off", which means the motherboard still has power to support things like wake-on-LAN or keyboard/mouse power-on. The switch on the back of even many cheaper PSUs is a full cut-off switch, just not as clunky as the ones on AT supplies. The very cheap power supplies, and even some of the more expensive, don't always have the switch. My preference for the switch is that the system is still grounded (I assume) even when you flip it off, whereas having to unplug the power cord to turn the mobo off completely removes the ground.