Hi there,
I am somewhat perplexed on how to go about rebuilding a new,updated computer,so I have a few questions.
I have about a four year old CSCOMET ATX Computer case with a 300W PSU I purchased at pcinfinity online. it was pretty much ready to go except I installed a few Cd ROMs,and PCI cards…Well, The ECS (Eliteboard) Motherboard failed and I have been using my friends Compaq with an ATHLON 1.2 GHz with 256 pc100 SDRAM,and so looking forward to rebuild a new, faster, and updated computer.
With newer hardware (Hard drives,Cd-ROMs, pci-e cards,More powerful CPU’s)….
The main Question is:
Is it necessary to purchase a brand new ATX case, or will a 600W PSU fit into my old existing case, and just add more fans? I would like this new system to be energy efficient if possible,but not overheated. Or just bite the bullet and buy a new case with power supply already installed.
Reuse my old cd-ROM drives, an 80 GB hard drive, or do they also become obsolete with use of new Mobos?
I stripped everything off the old Mobo except my power and LED plugs.
I have two 3.5″ bays (one for Floppy and the other maybe for a front USB,A/V input, since the original case did not come with it,only a floppy space)
I also have Four regular slots for CD-ROM drives.
I have a case side fan, The PSU has a fan, the CPU should have a fan and I think there are case holes to insert more fans.
How many fans are necessary for a cool environment when I’m thinking about a 600-650w PSU, One,maybe two 120 GB Hard drives-internal, one CDROM and one DVD-RW, Intel E 6600 CPU, One PCI-E card,maybe a sound card if not onboard,and an E-Sata plug in for an external hard drive to store all the data and use the main hard drive for Applications?
There are sites I can go to to check the wattage needed,but maybe someone could give me an idea about my case. Also Looking for onboard e-sata in the back of Mobo. (I heard it was maybe faster than USB2.0 on the External hard drive. So when I buy an external,I was told to make sure it has both e-sata and USB connections)
When my Mobo crashed before, First I thought it was my PSU,I replaced four fans and every time, the fans would spin,then shut off. I jumped the power button switch on the Mobo and the fans started and stopped. the con census was that the Mobo crashed.
I would hate to go through all this, then have the power switch button fail, that’s the only reason why I thought I should buy a new case,and also the 80 or 120mm fans.
Thank you all so much for your patience!