Switching to a new case for a prebuilt computer

blaze077

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Jul 30, 2015
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I currently have an HP Compaq Elite 8300 SFF computer. It has an i7-3770 and 8 GB DDR3 RAM. In order to improve my gaming experience, I got the EVGA GTX 1050 Ti SC, but it just didn't fit in the case. From all the reviews I read, it was suggested that it generally fits into SFF cases, so I wouldn't have to spend more on a better PSU or a case. Otherwise, if I was spending so much, I could have very well bought a 1060.

My question is: is there a case to which I can shift all of my computer parts into without any compatibility issues? Only thing I'm worried about is having to buy a new motherboard and/or power supply, defeating the whole point of buying the 1050. I am aiming for an inexpensive case.

Thank you.
 
Solution
Sorry.
that motherboard is a strange form factor and most cases will not house it without modification (dremel and lots of cutting and drilling). the power connections will also need an adapter
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Cm38TW/evga-geforce-gtx-1050-ti-4gb-sc-gaming-acx-20-video-card-04g-p4-6253-kr
that is the wrong card you needed one of these
Low profile cards. examples only, more available, not an endorsement shop around
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Dw4NnQ/gigabyte-geforce-gtx-1050-ti-4gb-oc-low-profile-video-card-gv-n105toc-4gl
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Hnhj4D/msi-geforce-gtx-1050-ti-4gb-video-card-gtx-1050-ti-4gt-lp...

R_1

Expert
Ambassador
Sorry.
that motherboard is a strange form factor and most cases will not house it without modification (dremel and lots of cutting and drilling). the power connections will also need an adapter
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Cm38TW/evga-geforce-gtx-1050-ti-4gb-sc-gaming-acx-20-video-card-04g-p4-6253-kr
that is the wrong card you needed one of these
Low profile cards. examples only, more available, not an endorsement shop around
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Dw4NnQ/gigabyte-geforce-gtx-1050-ti-4gb-oc-low-profile-video-card-gv-n105toc-4gl
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Hnhj4D/msi-geforce-gtx-1050-ti-4gb-video-card-gtx-1050-ti-4gt-lp
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/vVp323/zotac-geforce-gtx-1050-ti-4gb-low-profile-video-card-zt-p10510e-10l
they will come with shorter rear slot plates to fit the case you currently have. I do not think there is a 1060 in that size
 
Solution

blaze077

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Jul 30, 2015
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Thank you for the input, xPhaze. I did some thinking, and have decided to buy a case, PSU, and a mobo. I saw various deals and believe the overall cost will be less than $100. I'm fine with such a buy as long as the case and PSU last me for ~4-5 years.
Below is what I intend to buy. If anyone could give their thoughts on each of the parts below, it would be appreciated.

For the case, I have decided to go for an ATX Mid-tower one. I'm aiming for a case under $50. This is my preference for now. It's about $48 on Amazon. A mid-tower case should be able to accommodate most computer parts, as I read online. I know for a fact that I'm never going to go the SLI way so I'll always use only one graphics card at a time. Do people tend to change their cases very often? If not, then I believe a mid-tower should last me 4 years easily. If anyone has better recommendations, then do tell.

For the motherboard, I'll be happy with one that lasts me even a year since I only need a temporary one (LGA1155). Trying to go cheap on this (< $30). In a year, I'll probably invest in a new CPU, so I'll need a LGA1151 one, and I would rather invest at that time than now. Ebay seems to have some good deals on this. I found the Dell Y2MRG for about $25.
Compatibility: Case: It seems that it's a micro ATX mobo, so it should fit into my ATX case.
RAM: It has DDR3 SDRAM. My prebuilt also has DDR3 RAM so I should be able to use that.
GPU: It has 1 PCIE x16 slot which should be sufficient for any graphics card I decide to buy.
HDD: Has SATA ports so my Seagate HDD should be fine.
I think that's all I need to be worried about.
An alternative is ASUS P8H61-M LX but it's $39. I'll probably go with the $25 one since I can't find any major differences.

Finally, the PSU. I'm going for this (550W 80+Bronze for $35). Recommendations are welcome.

I bought my 1050 Ti for $160 and the MSI version of it is already down to $130 so I believe prices will go down even more. I'll probably switch out the GPU with a 1060 3GB due to the drop in prices around Black Friday. Would the 1060 be compatible with the PSU I intend to buy?
Total: 48 + 25 + 35 = $108 (Yay for free shipping). Some Black Friday Magic can bring it down to less than $100 and voila.
Sorry for the long post and thank you!
 

xPhaze

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Dec 15, 2012
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Okay, if you're wanting to with that route and willing to use eBay, here are my thoughts.

Firstly, you can get a motherboard for as low as $15 there. Just take a look at this filtered search:
https://www.ebay.com/b/Motherboards/1244?LH_PrefLoc=3&_sop=15&Form%2520Factor=ATX%7CMicroATX%7CMini%252DITX&LH_ItemCondition=1500%7C2000%7C2500%7C1000&Socket%2520Type=LGA%25201155%252FSocket%2520H2&Expansion%2520Slots=PCI%2520Express%2520x16&_sacat=1244&rt=nc
Can probably go even lower with the 'used' filter checked.

Look for shipping from US (assuming you're in the US), new or tested to be working, and supporting DDR3 and SATA II (which they should all have). If specs aren't listed or if you want to double-check, just google for the computer name the part was pulled from, eg. "Dell XPS 3800" from the one you found. I'm pretty sure they will all have a 20 or 24-pin power connector but I'd check that also. (it's the biggest/longest connector on the board, usually in white or black and you can count the pins from the pictures)

Cases can definitely go on sale for Black Friday/Cyber Monday and some retailers like Newegg run sales for it all month. Mid-tower is good for your purposes and a decent case will indeed last you 4+ years. You can also check prices of cases and other parts here: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/case/#t=3&sort=price&page=1
Rosewill is a decent budget brand; it's Newegg's own brand. That case seems okay. You can probably find a comparable one in the $30-40 range especially for Black Friday/Cyber Monday.

I did a quick mockup of your system (with a 6GB 1060) on PCPartsPicker and it came out to about 300W total with case fans and all parts and stuff. So the 550W PSU will be great and will be future-proof for when you upgrade. Corsair is a great brand of PSU as well.

Some cheaper cases also come with crappy PSUs, which might be good enough for your current setup and will save you a bit of money.
 

blaze077

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Jul 30, 2015
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Thanks for the input again. I asked a friend yesterday and bought the Asus one already, because he said I shouldn't go with motherboards from other computers and that the Asus mobo should be compatible with the other components I am going to buy. The deal was ending soon so I kinda panicked and just bought it. In retrospect, I should have bought one of the mobos you linked to.

For the case, if it's as you say, then I'll definitely wait for better deals. Now that I know the PSU is decent as well, I'll simply wait a bit for that as well. I intend to keep the case and PSU for quite some time so I definitely want to get a decent one.
Fingers crossed for the 1060 going down in price. I already saw a bunch of them go down to $185-188 so should go down a bit more by BF/CM. It seems I'm all set.

Thank you for the help.
 

xPhaze

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Dec 15, 2012
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I agree with that 100%. I'm currently using a desktop I put together salvaging a motherboard from an old Dell prebuilt system. Because the Dell case had some strange extra grounding pin for the power connector and the motherboard had a slot for that, and the new case does not have that pin, it stops booting with an error message right after POST and I have to hit F1 to continue. It's usually little things like that that may be incompatible with other hardware, but who knows, there could be other things you discover later on that don't work like they should.