[mrpooh3]

Hi,I hope I have put this in the correct section! I have decided to keep my current PC and upgade with a better one this time next year,my problem is that my current case fans are wonky and I think my atx power supply is on it's way out.I have decided to change my budget (x-blade)PC case because you can buy a budget case with fans and PSU included.I was just wondering how difficult it is to swap cases and what type of case I would need?How many case fans should be installed?my current motherboard is a micro atx,could I just put it in a micro atx case?My current set-up is as follows > Mainboard :Asus P5N-MX
Chipset : nVidia GeForce 7050
Processor : Intel Pentium E2180 @ 2000 MHz
Physical Memory :4096 MB (2 x 2048 DDR2-SDRAM )
Video Card : NVIDIA GeForce 7050 / NVIDIA nForce 610i
Hard Disk : Hitachi (250 GB)
DVD-Rom Drive : TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-S203P
Monitor Type : LG Electronics W2234 - 22 inches
Network Card : MCP73 Ethernet
Manufacturer : System manufacturer
Processor : Intel Pentium E2180
Number of Core : 2
Support : Socket 775 LGA
Cache L1 : 2 x 64 KB
Cache L2 : 1024 KB
Voltage VID : 1.326 V
FPU Coprocessor : Present
Device Audio : MCP73 High Definition Audio
Network Card : NVIDIA nForce Networking Controller
Here is my current voltage,temp,fans> Hardware Monitoring : Winbond W83627DHG
Voltage CPU : 1.39 V
+3.3V Voltage : 3.34 V
+5V Voltage : 4.78 V
+12V Voltage : 12.25 V
Processor Fan : 1834 rpm
Processor Temperature : 30.5 °C
Mainboard Temperature : 27 °C
Power/Aux Temperature : 16.5 °C
:
Hardware Monitoring : ACPI
Thermal Zone : 30 °C
:
Processor : Thermal Diode
Intel Pentium (Core 1) : 46 °C
Intel Pentium (Core 2) : 45 °C
:
:
Hard Disk Monitoring : S.M.A.R.T
Hard Disk Hitachi HDT725025VLA380 : 38 °C
I was wondering what kind of wattage I would need for my PSU as I intend to install an internal multi card reader and another DVD-writer to my new case.How about cooling,Will I need to add any additional fans to my case?etc,etc.I only really use my pc for surfing ,watching video streams doenloading music.I Don't use it for gaming..If anyone can provide any help it would be greatly appreciated as I intend to do this this weekend.

Edited by mrpooh3, 16 December 2009 - 06:05 PM.

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I was just wondering how difficult it is to swap cases and what type of case I would need?

It's a piece of cake as long as you take your time, make sure you have discharged all the static electricity from your body and think before you do something. It's pretty much like that measure twice and cut once thing.

You can either use a Micro ATX or a regular ATX, it doesn't matter. You might want to go with a straight ATX case based on the size of your hands and ability to work in tight places. Personally, I hate the Micro ATX cases because of their small size, but that's up to you.

Just be careful here, because you'll need to match the power supply to the case specs. So don't go trying to throw an ATX power supply in a case designed for a Micro ATX power supply.

How many case fans should be installed?

It sounds like you aren't overclocking, so cooling doesn't need to be drastic. I like a minimum of two for the case, one in the front and one in the back. But these days you can pick up an affordable case that includes 3 or 4 case fans for a very reasonable price.

I was wondering what kind of wattage I would need for my PSU as I intend to install an internal multi card reader and another DVD-writer to my new case.

I plugged your specs into a power supply calculator and it spit out 314W. But keep in mind, they are labeled as 'generic' and just provide a ballpark figure. I don't like to go anything under 450W, but that's up to you. It will give you a little head room if you should decide to add additional HDD's at some point.

How about cooling,Will I need to add any additional fans to my case?

Nope. You aren't doing anything extreme, just the normal web surfing, email, etc. My media server only has 2 case fans, sits upstairs in a spare bedroom and has a couple more HDD's than your machine.

[Spyderturbo007]

I was just wondering how difficult it is to swap cases and what type of case I would need?

It's a piece of cake as long as you take your time, make sure you have discharged all the static electricity from your body and think before you do something. It's pretty much like that measure twice and cut once thing.

You can either use a Micro ATX or a regular ATX, it doesn't matter. You might want to go with a straight ATX case based on the size of your hands and ability to work in tight places. Personally, I hate the Micro ATX cases because of their small size, but that's up to you.

Just be careful here, because you'll need to match the power supply to the case specs. So don't go trying to throw an ATX power supply in a case designed for a Micro ATX power supply.

How many case fans should be installed?

It sounds like you aren't overclocking, so cooling doesn't need to be drastic. I like a minimum of two for the case, one in the front and one in the back. But these days you can pick up an affordable case that includes 3 or 4 case fans for a very reasonable price.

I was wondering what kind of wattage I would need for my PSU as I intend to install an internal multi card reader and another DVD-writer to my new case.

I plugged your specs into a power supply calculator and it spit out 314W. But keep in mind, they are labeled as 'generic' and just provide a ballpark figure. I don't like to go anything under 450W, but that's up to you. It will give you a little head room if you should decide to add additional HDD's at some point.

How about cooling,Will I need to add any additional fans to my case?

Nope. You aren't doing anything extreme, just the normal web surfing, email, etc. My media server only has 2 case fans, sits upstairs in a spare bedroom and has a couple more HDD's than your machine.

[mrpooh3]

thanks for all the helpful info spyderturbo007.I have decided not to get a micro case as you say they could be awkward to work with because of space(I have big chubby hands).I am going to buy an anti-static wrist-strap to work on it and get an ATX case that also can be used for micro atx boards with a psu between 550 and 650 watts and now I don't need to worry about installing loads of fans either.there are a few guides around so I should hopefully be ok.Again,your advice is greatly appreciated!(I am a Novice PC User!).

Edited by mrpooh3, 17 December 2009 - 06:38 PM.

[Spyderturbo007]

No problem. Let me know if you need any help when you do the actual swap.

[mrpooh3]

thanks spyderturbo,Unfortunately being so close to christmas I have decided to leave it until the beginning of next year,money's tight However I will get back in touch when I get the new case and keep you updated.Merry christmas to you and to all at geeks to go!

[mrpooh3]

Happy New Year! I have got a new case,unfortunately it did not come with a PSU or any fans However I am awaiting a 650 Watt ATX PSU and will buy a couple of fans next week.My new case has 2 spaces for 80mm fans in the front at the bottom of the case and one space for a 120mm rear fan at the back of the case near the top.It also has a vent for a 80mm side case fan.I don't know which way to go about having inlets and outlets.I was going to have the front two sucking air in and the rear as an exhaust but I don't know what the side fan should be,inlet or outlet?I would like to put a 3.5 internal card reader in which I already have purchased(it says it works with USB bus power)A 3.5" internal USB 4 port hub type thing and another DVD Writer(Have not got these yet) but was wondering if my MOBO will support all this extra stuff and will there be enough connecters etc,etc.My MOBO is a budget ASUS P5n-mx.The internal card reader uses a 9 pin connecter the same as the connecters for the two front USB ports and the front Audio jacks.My current case has two usbs in the front and four on the back and as I say I am worried I will not have enough places to connect all these 9pin type connecters!

Edited by mrpooh3, 05 January 2010 - 12:29 PM.

[Spyderturbo007]

Personally, I like to have the exhaust at the back and the intake at the front of the machine, as you indicated. I would use the side fan as another intake. If you use it as an exhaust, some of the air pulled in from the front, is going to get sucked out the side before being pulled over the components.

As for the card reader, your motherboard looks like it supports two USB 10-1 connections labeled as USB56 and USB78 in the manual I found here. Check out page 33 for details. The rear USB's are connected directly to the motherboard, so you don't need any 10-1 connections. The front audio jacks do use a 10-1 connector, but it's AAFP, not USB, so you are fine there. Basically, you'll have two on the motherboard for you to use and both of the current front USB's should only be using one of the 10-1 connections. That would leave one free for your card reader.

Crack open the case just to be sure.

Edited by Spyderturbo007, 05 January 2010 - 03:00 PM.

[mrpooh3]

thanks Spyderturbo007,I am going to do as you suggested two intakes on the front,one side intake and one rear exhaust,That sorts the fans out.I was wondering which way they face but it turns out they have arrows on the sides of the fans to let you know which way the air flows,Silly me! I would really like another couple of internal USB sockets on the front of the case(I hate using adapters),can you advise me if it will be possible to add any along with the stuff I already have...if so,could you recommend an internal usb?The one on E-bay that I am looking at does not tell me what type of connecter it has and if it has the 10/1,like you said earlier I won't beable to install it as my MOBO won't have any connections left.I bought an anti-static wrist strap and the front panel on my new case comes off with 6 plastic bolts for easy installation of the front fans so hopefully it will be a piece of cake like you said..Again,thanks for all the help! PS. I realised my PSU has only 4 molex connectors and that would mean not enough power connectors for the case fans.The fans I have purchased have pass through molex connectors though and I was wondering if it would be ok to use these to daisy chain all the fans together?the reason I ask is that I read somewhere it is not advisable to daisychain fans.

Edited by mrpooh3, 08 January 2010 - 01:46 AM.

[mrpooh3]

hi,I received my power supply today but they gave me a different psu than the one I asked for.it is a winpower as p650,it has no switch on the back and instead has two scokets a male and female on the back,will this PSU still be ok to use with my mobo?

[Spyderturbo007]

Do you have a link to the power supply? I looked it up on google and couldn't seem to find any information on a WinPower p650.

[mrpooh3]

Hi SpyderTurbo...Again thanks for taking the time to help,I hope I am not annoying with all these different questions!I have found the company I bought it from and a pic of a PSU that I think is the same one but I don't see the model number anywhere,so I can't be 100% sure if it is exactly the same as mine > http://www.internetc...noem-p-649.html My rear 120mm case fan arrived Today,I just need another couple of 80mm's which I will order up on Friday when I get paid.I have an idea about getting a front USB 4 port panel on the front 3.5" bay.I was going to get one of the front panel usb ports that has a normal usb type plug and just run it through the case and plug it into a spare back port.This is the one I am considering > http://cgi.ebay.co.u...Vie...s=I&otn=1 PS.will it be okay to use the pass through 4 pin molex power to connect the 4 fans to save a power connecter or is this unadvisable?

Edited by mrpooh3, 12 January 2010 - 01:55 PM.

[Spyderturbo007]

Hi SpyderTurbo...Again thanks for taking the time to help,I hope I am not annoying with all these different questions!

No problem, glad to help.

I have found the company I bought it from and a pic of a PSU that I think is the same one but I don't see the model number anywhere,so I can't be 100% sure if it is exactly the same as mine > http://www.internetc...noem-p-649.html

I've never seen one with the additional male connector on the back, but according to the description everything looks fine.

I have an idea about getting a front USB 4 port panel on the front 3.5" bay.I was going to get one of the front panel usb ports that has a normal usb type plug and just run it through the case and plug it into a spare back port.

You can do that if you want, but it might look a little cheap.

How many front USB ports are you looking to have? Doesn't the case have any built into the front?

PS.will it be okay to use the pass through 4 pin molex power to connect the 4 fans to save a power connecter or is this unadvisable?

Not sure what you mean here? Are you talking about connecting the fans directly to the molex connector straight from the power supply? If so, that is not a problem. I like using all the connections on the motherboard first, since they are typically monitored by the BIOS. That way if one of the fans kicks the bucket, the BIOS will report a fan failure during POST.

[mrpooh3]

Hi SpyderTurbo007,I currently have two USB's on the front,I sometimes use a small 4 port converter/Adapter but do not like to keep this hooked up all the time incase it gets knocked and damages the port...thats why I was considering the internal front panel as I would like maybe 4 or more ports on the front.....Sorry,I did not describe what I meant with the fans too well.The fans I have purchased has two molex connectors,1 male and 1 female for (pass through power).I have linked to a pic of a similar style fan > http://www.evertek.c...t.asp?auto=2367 .I was going to connect 1 fan to one power connector and then use molex m/f extension cables to connect(daisychain)the four fans together rather than use 1 power connecter per fan as I won't have enough.In my old case the fans don't connect to the MOBO even though it supports fan monitoring and I just used the old case as a guide as to which fans to get,however my current case just has two fans.PS.I am considering upgrading my graphics with a PCI card and was hoping you could also give me some advice on this SpyderTurbo007....I have this in the Hardware components forum > http://www.geekstogo...MI-t264985.html

Edited by mrpooh3, 13 January 2010 - 11:58 AM.

[Spyderturbo007]

You could throw one of these in an available PCI slot and use the front panel header to power the USB front port panel you linked to above. That would keep you from having to run the cord from the front panel 4 port outside the case. But that's up to you if you want to spend $37 to keep things looking neat and tidy.

Multiple fans on the same molex connector will be fine. The only problem I have with that setup is that if for some reason power is lost to that PSU output, all the fans in the case shut down. That is going to lead to quick hardware overheating and failure.

The new case fans should use the MoBo connections as their power source. How many fan connections do you have on your MoBo?

As for the video card, I'm not the best person to ask about that one. Video cards aren't one of my strong suits because I'm not a gamer or own a HTPC. Most of the PC's I deal with are in business environments and don't require anything other than an onboard video card. One thing I've read, is that you have to be careful with video cards that support HDMI output due to the HDCP handshake issues between the card and the TV depending on your source. That was a year or so ago, so the issues may have been resolved by now.

[happyrock]

what kind of budget for a video card do you have...
are you a gamer...if so, what games do you play...
with that info I can give you recommendations for a video card