I decided to put that 25 year old case (6 - large bays, 5 - small, 24" tall), to use. I stripped it down (everything), cleaned it, sanded, and paint. I am getting most of my stuff from a store, but I am always looking for used stuff.
1. I got a Corsair CX500 ($65) power supply, really cool look and all, mounted real easy. Then my first problem, the mail power jack for the motherboard didn't fit the used motherboard.
2 I was checking out the clearance center of my favorite computer store, found a Gigabyte GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 mother board $100). Since my present computer is old, I don't care what kind of CPU I put in.
3. Expensive! ($170) I selected an i3 2125, it has 3.3GHz which I thought was a fair speed.
4. Found some Patriot 2x2 DDR3 1333MHz ($25), again I thought was a fair speed.
5. A used 320G hard drive ($55) that takes the SATA connections.
6. Since my DVD drive where out fast, I got a new one for $32 bucks
That stuff went well, now I run in to the difficult stuff. The front face of the case I am making from 1/4" plywood. Trying to remember stuff I took out (a long time ago), and what I like to have. The mother board has 4 USB on the back, but I want a bunch on the front. I still need to figure out the on/off switch. Oh yeah, the status lights, power, power on, HDD working, etc.…
So, I guess first need for help is, what am I going to put on the front panel. I like to have USB’s, maybe a fan controller, the power switches and lights?
What’s you suggestions and advice?
I could take pictures if needed.