Swap Out A Case?

[JPEG Shooter]

Would it be so hard to swap out a computer case for someone that kinda knows what they're doing? I built a couple of computers in the past, but that was been many, many years ago.

I have a computer that I bought about 8 years ago from a company that would build what you wanted based on their list of components. The computer has worked great and I've been very happy with it. Except for the case. I picked a case that I have never liked and am thinking of replacing it.

The mobo is an Asus P5Q-Pro and I think the biggest card is the GPU, which is a AMD Radeon 4670. I put in a sound card but there are no other cards. 2 spinners, a DVD drive and floppy are the only other components. So really it's a pretty simple set-up.

The case is huge, loud (has a 240mm side fan), and you have to open a door to get to the on button, DVD, floppy, and media card slots. I would like something smaller, much quieter, and no door on the front. Just a plain, jane case... no fancy shape, no fancy lighting... just a nice, quiet box.

Any advice/comments?

Any recommendations on a case.

Thanks.

 

[Austinian]

Would it be so hard to swap out a computer case for someone that kinda knows what they're doing? I built a couple of computers in the past, but that was been many, many years ago.

Not hard, just work carefully and avoid zapping the components with static electricity.

I used to do this myself, except I'd buy a refurb PC then swap its parts into a case I liked better.

I have a computer that I bought about 8 years ago from a company that would build what you wanted based on their list of components. The computer has worked great and I've been very happy with it. Except for the case. I picked a case that I have never liked and am thinking of replacing it.

The mobo is an Asus P5Q-Pro and I think the biggest card is the GPU, which is a AMD Radeon 4670. I put in a sound card but there are no other cards. 2 spinners, a DVD drive and floppy are the only other components. So really it's a pretty simple set-up.

The case is huge, loud (has a 240mm side fan), and you have to open a door to get to the on button, DVD, floppy, and media card slots. I would like something smaller, much quieter, and no door on the front. Just a plain, jane case... no fancy shape, no fancy lighting... just a nice, quiet box.

Any advice/comments?

You can fix loud fans with an inexpensive fan controller. Just keep an eye on the internal temperatures after you make your adjustments.

Any recommendations on a case.

I'd look on Newegg for cases that please you, then look at the description and user reviews to see if your components will fit in it. Lots of cases to choose from!

Thanks.

Good luck with your choice.

 

[JPEG Shooter]

Would it be so hard to swap out a computer case for someone that kinda knows what they're doing? I built a couple of computers in the past, but that was been many, many years ago.

Not hard, just work carefully and avoid zapping the components with static electricity.

I used to do this myself, except I'd buy a refurb PC then swap its parts into a case I liked better.

I have a computer that I bought about 8 years ago from a company that would build what you wanted based on their list of components. The computer has worked great and I've been very happy with it. Except for the case. I picked a case that I have never liked and am thinking of replacing it.

The mobo is an Asus P5Q-Pro and I think the biggest card is the GPU, which is a AMD Radeon 4670. I put in a sound card but there are no other cards. 2 spinners, a DVD drive and floppy are the only other components. So really it's a pretty simple set-up.

The case is huge, loud (has a 240mm side fan), and you have to open a door to get to the on button, DVD, floppy, and media card slots. I would like something smaller, much quieter, and no door on the front. Just a plain, jane case... no fancy shape, no fancy lighting... just a nice, quiet box.

Any advice/comments?

You can fix loud fans with an inexpensive fan controller. Just keep an eye on the internal temperatures after you make your adjustments.

Any recommendations on a case.

I'd look on Newegg for cases that please you, then look at the description and user reviews to see if your components will fit in it. Lots of cases to choose from!

Thanks.

Good luck with your choice.

Thanks, Austinian. I appreciate your response.

 

[kelpdiver]

it's certainly doable, but it's enough hassle that frankly I wouldn't do it for an 8yo box. Much more likely to do it for a machine I just bought that only had ugly case options (like the Dell XPS 9xxx, or the Cyperpower offerings).

There is a real chance of frying a part that was already marginal and the thing not booting, and troubleshooting a faulty short in an old computer is an exercise in futility. Just disconnecting/reconnecting and blowing off the dust may expose the fault. There is also a very remote chance that the form factor of this old system wouldn't match a new case.

As already noted, the main threat is electro static discharge on something that doesn't like it. Unplug the power, wait a while, where the static wrist band. Pull off all the card components. Disconnect the power cabling. Depending on the case, either the PS or the MB has to come out first. An 8 year old PS is even dodgier than an 8yo computer in general. It would likely be more practical to get a new PS to go with the case.

One hard bit is getting all the minor connections (power, turbo buttons, LEDs, case USB ports) reconnected properly with the new case. Take pictures before you pull them, find the manual (online may be better - zoomable!) for the old and new case.

 

[Ken Seals]

One hard bit is getting all the minor connections (power, turbo buttons, LEDs, case USB ports) reconnected properly with the new case. Take pictures before you pull them, find the manual (online may be better - zoomable!) for the old and new case.

Excellent point! I like to put larger labels on these cables up a ways from the connectors. Unless you have the manual for that motherboard, take close up photos of each side of the connector bank where all those little cables attach so you can get them on the right pins.

 

[Austinian]

bmoag brings up a good point about the age of your old PC.

Eventually it's likely to have problems; you might consider finding the right case for yourself and building a new PC into it at your leisure; that way you have all-new up to date parts, manuals to aid in the installation and setup, etc.

And your old PC is still available to access the Internet in case any problems come up, and run any ancient software or devices that aren't supported any more.

 

[JPEG Shooter]

it's certainly doable, but it's enough hassle that frankly I wouldn't do it for an 8yo box. Much more likely to do it for a machine I just bought that only had ugly case options (like the Dell XPS 9xxx, or the Cyperpower offerings).

There is a real chance of frying a part that was already marginal and the thing not booting, and troubleshooting a faulty short in an old computer is an exercise in futility. Just disconnecting/reconnecting and blowing off the dust may expose the fault. There is also a very remote chance that the form factor of this old system wouldn't match a new case.

As already noted, the main threat is electro static discharge on something that doesn't like it. Unplug the power, wait a while, where the static wrist band. Pull off all the card components. Disconnect the power cabling. Depending on the case, either the PS or the MB has to come out first. An 8 year old PS is even dodgier than an 8yo computer in general. It would likely be more practical to get a new PS to go with the case.

One hard bit is getting all the minor connections (power, turbo buttons, LEDs, case USB ports) reconnected properly with the new case. Take pictures before you pull them, find the manual (online may be better - zoomable!) for the old and new case.

Yeah... you've got a point. Too risky. Thanks for your input.

 

[JPEG Shooter]

One hard bit is getting all the minor connections (power, turbo buttons, LEDs, case USB ports) reconnected properly with the new case. Take pictures before you pull them, find the manual (online may be better - zoomable!) for the old and new case.

Excellent point! I like to put larger labels on these cables up a ways from the connectors. Unless you have the manual for that motherboard, take close up photos of each side of the connector bank where all those little cables attach so you can get them on the right pins.

 

[JPEG Shooter]

bmoag brings up a good point about the age of your old PC.

Eventually it's likely to have problems; you might consider finding the right case for yourself and building a new PC into it at your leisure; that way you have all-new up to date parts, manuals to aid in the installation and setup, etc.

And your old PC is still available to access the Internet in case any problems come up, and run any ancient software or devices that aren't supported any more.

I'm definitely rethinking this. Glad you guys have pointed these things out. Thanks.

 

[Austinian]

bmoag brings up a good point about the age of your old PC.

Oops, wrong poster. It's kelpdiver with the good point here. I was thinking of another thread.

 

[TriBeard]

Swapping out a case in and of itself isn't a problem at all. It sounds like your PC was/is a custom built one with, i assume, off the shelf parts, which should make moving it all into something new easy. In fact, I'm going to be moving my computer over to a new case after christmas just because I want to update the look of my rig. If all you want is an aesthetic upgrade, there's no reason to not do it. Just get yourself a well lit room, take pictures of where everything hooks up and move stuff over one part at a time. make sure the PC is unplugged, and just touch the case itself before you touch anything else in it (to discharge any static on your person) and you'll be fine.

However, the only consideration I would have is that your PC is rather outdated. It seems like it might be nearing the end of it's useful life for photo editing and whatnot, though it might still make a good web browsing PC/general use box. I would consider potentially just upgrading to a newer machine and getting the case you want at that time either by building it yourself or having another one made. If this isn't something you want to/can afford to do however, there's no reason to not move the components to a newer case to make your experience using the PC more enjoyable.