ATX Case?

[Wangel]

I'm building a new system. Here is what I have:

Epox EP-7KXA+
Athlon 950
Crucial 2x 256MB CAS 2 PC133 = 512 Total
Leadman 400 Watt Power Supply
ATI Radeon 64MB AGP DDR VIVO video card

I'm confused over the case. I have my old very large tower case that I bought about 7 or 8 years ago for my old 486/50 computer. I do not think it is a ATX case. What exactly is an ATX case? Can I modify this case? What modifications are necessary?

 

[Wangel]

Bump Please

 

[Hanky]

ATX is a completely "new" mainboard/case design (opposed to AT). They did it to move the CPU socket closer to the PSU in order to use the PSU for CPU cooling. Also an ATX board has the COM/LPT and so on connections onboard while you had to use the slots for them when using an AT board. Your case (most likely an AT case) needs a lot of modifications if you want to use an ATX board in it, so I'd recommend to buy a new case!

 

[Bignate603]

buy a new case and then use your old one to hold your old system. You never know when you need a second box. Oh and personally i would buy an enermax powersupply with the dual fans. While you may pay more they are very nice power supplies and mine actually saved my system once when there was a short from a bad fan connection. The molex shot sparks and the powersupply cut out. Refused to boot for a little but in about half an hour it was back up and running.

 

[Wangel]

The specs for the Leadman are:

400W ATX Switchable (115v or 230v) Power Supply (Model #LP-6100D)
Available Wattage: 400 Watts
Low Noise Design
Short Circuit Protection
Over Voltage Protection
Thermal Overload Protection
Dual Ball Bearing Fans
Dimensions: 165mm (d) x 150mm (w) x 85mm (t)
NOTE: Power Cable is NOW Included!!!

Since this power supply is about half the cost of the Enermax, I decided to go with the higher wattage (since I will be adding many many devices). From the specs, it appears to have two fans and short circuit protection similar to the enermax.