quick question for someone who's new.....

[howlingblue]

Basically, I got an old computer case, motherboard, and power supply from my school, because they were dumping them off (sans the memory) to people who wanted them....

However, the motherboard is very old, and the specs suck..... (only supports P3 processors, can read a maximum of 512 MB of RAM, you get the idea...)

Obviously, I'm gonna replace it, but the form factor for the original board was ATX, and most of the motherboards I see are Micro ATX.

The question is, can I put a Micro ATX board inside that case, or am I gonna have to replace the case (which was the main reason I got it)

Also, (and I definitely feel like a newb for asking this) on the back of PC cases, there's an aluminum piece that the ports on the motherboard fit into, so that there's no open spots in the case, right? Just to make sure, motherboards come with that piece, don't they?

 

[Harvey]

You can find plenty of ATX cases, and many of them have mounting holes for microATX boards. If you have the metal piece for the back of the case, check to see if it snaps in and fits the opening correctly.

Your bigger problem will be that SD-RAM is two to three times the price of DDR RAM so it may not be worth spending the money for this build, instead of applying it to a newer set of components, especially when the P3 machine you'll get will still be pretty slow compared to newer setups.

You didn't say where you are, but if you're anywhere near a Fry's Electronics, here's an example of how the same money may get you a much better machine.

Sempron 3100+ CPU and ECS nForce 3 250 motherboard for $80

Maxtor 200 GB SATA drive for $70

1 GB Kinston PC3200 DDR RAM for $70

Your case, power supply, vid card, etc. are the same for either build.

Hope that helps.

 

[mechBgon]

Obviously, I'm gonna replace it, but the form factor for the original board was ATX, and most of the motherboards I see are Micro ATX.

The question is, can I put a Micro ATX board inside that case, or am I gonna have to replace the case (which was the main reason I got it)

MicroATX motherboards have the same slot placement and the same overall location for the I/O shield that's got all the ports on it. They usually have one difference from full-ATX motherboards in terms of where the bolt-down holes are in the motherboard itself, but full-ATX cases should have holes for both setups. You'd just need to move a standoff to accomodate the microATX hole layout.

Also, (and I definitely feel like a newb for asking this) on the back of PC cases, there's an aluminum piece that the ports on the motherboard fit into, so that there's no open spots in the case, right? Just to make sure, motherboards come with that piece, don't they?

Unless you get a refurbished motherboard or a true OEM one, it should come with the I/O shield, yeah. Check that your case has a removable I/O shield so you can put the new one in there. You can scope out precisely what your new mobo comes with by looking at the photo spreads at Newegg.com, for reassurance of what accessory items it comes with.

Bigger picture: the power supply in an old tired-out Pentium3 system is probably not suitable for anything you're likely to want to build. Make sure the case accepts normal ATX power supplies before you get into this too deeply. Modern motherboards, microATX or full-ATX, will be wanting an ATX2.0 power supply with the 24-pin main cable, 4-pin ATX12V secondary cable, and possibly a PCI-Express video-card power cable if you get a decent video card. all-around suggested PSU for single-GPU systems.

 

[howlingblue]

thanks for the help, and especially for the picture guide, lol....

I get the feeling I'll be needing it when I get to assembly......

EDIT: btw, how do I know that the slot that the power supply is in supports ATX? (I'm reasonably sure, because the power supply itself has ATX on it in a couple of places, but might as well continue asking the obvious)

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: howlingblue
thanks for the help, and especially for the picture guide, lol....

I get the feeling I'll be needing it when I get to assembly......

EDIT: btw, how do I know that the slot that the power supply is in supports ATX? (I'm reasonably sure, because the power supply itself has ATX on it in a couple of places, but might as well continue asking the obvious)

Any chance you could post some photos of the power supply from the side and the rear? http://pics.bbzzdd.com is free and used a lot around here, if you need a place to upload the pics to.

Glad you liked the photo guide