MicroTower Gaming Case

[MarkD_1205]

Hey Guys:

I've got a micro tower about the same size as the guy who started this thread and I'm curious about replacing the power supply. My case is 13 3/4" high, 7" across and 17" deep. How will I know which psu to buy? None of the specs on any power supplies have the size dimensions and so I'd hate to have to order and return one. Is there any way to determine this? I've also got the same issue with a video card. I'd like to use the Radeon 4830. My mobo is a microATX nvidia 7050/nvidia 620i. How can I be sure the Radeon 4830 isn't too big?

Thanks.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

The micro tower cases can accept an ATX power supply.

What you have to check is the length of an ATX power supply.

If the psu is going to be mounted in the top rear of the case and an optical drive is going to be mounted in the top front of the case, then you have to check measurements of both items to make sure there is enough room for the two items plus cables.

If the psu is going to be mounted in the bottom rear of the case and hard drives are going to be mounted in the bottom front of the case, then you have to check measurements of both items two make sure there is enough room for both items plus cables.

Some of the newer video cards can be quite long. For those you need the check to see if there is enough room from the back of the case to a hard drive cage or anything else that might be in the bottom front of the case. You'll have to go to the manufacturer's web site to find out the dimensions of your particular card.

I stopped in at a Fry's Electronics store this morning to see what's new. I looked at all of the pc cases on display. Those micro Tower cases seemed pretty small. You might want to consider a mid-tower case.

 

[Onus]

What case is it?

 

[MarkD_1205]

The micro tower cases can accept an ATX power supply.

What you have to check is the length of an ATX power supply.

If the psu is going to be mounted in the top rear of the case and an optical drive is going to be mounted in the top front of the case, then you have to check measurements of both items to make sure there is enough room for the two items plus cables.

If the psu is going to be mounted in the bottom rear of the case and hard drives are going to be mounted in the bottom front of the case, then you have to check measurements of both items two make sure there is enough room for both items plus cables.

Some of the newer video cards can be quite long. For those you need the check to see if there is enough room from the back of the case to a hard drive cage or anything else that might be in the bottom front of the case. You'll have to go to the manufacturer's web site to find out the dimensions of your particular card.

I stopped in at a Fry's Electronics store this morning to see what's new. I looked at all of the pc cases on display. Those micro Tower cases seemed pretty small. You might want to consider a mid-tower case.

Reply:

I'm not sure; it's an ACER model and nowhere on the website (or in any of the bloatware) does it specify the type of case. However, it's comparable to many of the shorter towers you might see at Best Buy or other retailers - so it's a somewhat common size. Obviously, it's not a shuttle box or a dell "slimline" form factor but it's shorter than a mid tower. It's dimensions are: 7"W x 17 3/8"D x 13 7/8"H (close approx.). Per JohnnyLucky's suggestion, I measured the distance between the front of the card slot (for the potential graphics card) and realized I have just over 8" of depth room before I get to where the hard drive sits outside of the tray in which it is mounted. I've got four slots and my "C" drive is on the bottom tray. If I can move it to one of the upper floors that would help but I'm not sure as there are designations for "master" and "slave" drives (primary, secondary also?). As for the power supply, I'm fairly confident that I can fit another one in there without disrupting the optical drive operation, as I have a few more inches of room there and the existing stock psu is approximately 6"W x 5 1/2"D x 3"H. If the width and height of most ATX psus are the same than I can handle an inch or two increase in depth.

As I mentioned, I'd like to get the Radeon 4830 but I'm not sure how many amps are required on each 12v rail. Fortunately, AMD has tested and listed psus which should work. Also, since my mobo has only PCIe 1x16 (not 2.0), I'm wondering if it would still be worth it to get such a card - would the performance difference be significant? I always thought any thing would be better than on board graphics.

My alternative, if my upgrade plans are not feasible would be to get a bare bones kit (with a midtower case) and start again - which would cost about an extra $150 vs. ugrading current rig.

Thanks for any suggestions, hints, etc.

 

[MarkD_1205]

What case is it?

Reply:

I'm not sure; it's an ACER model and nowhere on the website (or in any of the bloatware) does it specify the type of case. However, it's comparable to many of the shorter towers you might see at Best Buy or other retailers - so it's a somewhat common size. Obviously, it's not a shuttle box or a dell "slimline" form factor but it's shorter than a mid tower. It's dimensions are: 7"W x 17 3/8"D x 13 7/8"H (close approx.). Per JohnnyLucky's suggestion, I measured the distance between the front of the card slot (for the potential graphics card) and realized I have just over 8" of depth room before I get to where the hard drive sits outside of the tray in which it is mounted. I've got four slots and my "C" drive is on the bottom tray. If I can move it to one of the upper floors that would help but I'm not sure as there are designations for "master" and "slave" drives (primary, secondary also?). As for the power supply, I'm fairly confident that I can fit another one in there without disrupting the optical drive operation, as I have a few more inches of room there and the existing stock psu is approximately 6"W x 5 1/2"D x 3"H. If the width and height of most ATX psus are the same than I can handle an inch or two increase in depth.

As I mentioned, I'd like to get the Radeon 4830 but I'm not sure how many amps are required on each 12v rail. Fortunately, AMD has tested and listed psus which should work. Also, since my mobo has only PCIe 1x16 (not 2.0), I'm wondering if it would still be worth it to get such a card - would the performance difference be significant? I always thought any thing would be better than on board graphics.

My alternative, if my upgrade plans are not feasible would be to get a bare bones kit (with a midtower case) and start again - which would cost about an extra $150 vs. ugrading current rig.

Thanks for any suggestions, hints, etc.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

You listed the case length from front to back as 17 3/8 inches. If that is the measurement inside the case, then it is the same depth as the Antec 300 case. The Antec 300 is a mid-tower case that is popular with gamers. You'll have a tight fit but you should be okay:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042&Tpk=Antec%20300

Last Saturday I went to Fry's Electronic store here in Phoenix. I took a good look at the Antec 300. There was a CoolerMaster Centurion 590 next to the 300:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119152

They were both the same size. Click on the links and take a look at all the photos. If the interior layout looks like either of those two cases you should be okay.

 

[MarkD_1205]

Nope. Both of those cases look just a bit larger than mine, especially since they've each got seven card slots and mine has only four on the bottom (the top one being the PCIe x16 slot). The INSIDE of my case looks a lot like the Dynapower ATX MicroTower Mini Case which can be found on New Egg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811138072&Tpk=ATX%20Micro%20Tower%20case), although the outside of mine has the standard horizontal optical drive design. Heck, if you thought the midtower might be too small, then I could have a real problem as my case is probably smaller than those you mentioned. Thanks.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Your case: 7"W x 17 3/8"D x 13 7/8"H

Antec 300 case: 8.1"W x 18.3"D x 18"H

Dynapower case: 5.8''W x 14''D x 13.5''H

Your case is designed for an mATX motherboard. Antec case is designed for a standard ATX motherboard. That's why 4 rear slots on yours and 7 rear slots on the Antec. It's depth from front to back that is similar.

In the photos of that Dynapower case there is no hard drive cage in the bottom front. Is your Acer case like that too? If the bottom front is empty, then the case can accomodate larger video cards. The longest video card of any type is 14 inches. There would be three inches left over. The more typical length of larger video cards is 11 inches.

 

[MarkD_1205]

I think the answer here will be settling for one of the shorter video cards if I still intend to use this case. I measured just under 9" from the front card slot to where the hard drive hangs out of the cage and is plugged into the connector; and, yes, the lowest of the hard drive cages would conflict with anything in the pciex16 slot. I think I'll be OK with maybe a 9600GT until my next build as the newer cards are all longer.

Thanks.

Your case: 7"W x 17 3/8"D x 13 7/8"H

Antec 300 case: 8.1"W x 18.3"D x 18"H

Dynapower case: 5.8''W x 14''D x 13.5''H

Your case is designed for an mATX motherboard. Antec case is designed for a standard ATX motherboard. That's why 4 rear slots on yours and 7 rear slots on the Antec. It's depth from front to back that is similar.

In the photos of that Dynapower case there is no hard drive cage in the bottom front. Is your Acer case like that too? If the bottom front is empty, then the case can accomodate larger video cards. The longest video card of any type is 14 inches. There would be three inches left over. The more typical length of larger video cards is 11 inches.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Well, I guess that settles it.

Good Luck!

 

[MarkD_1205]

By the way, do you know how much performance is affected by running a pcie 2.0 x16 capable card on an older pcie 1x16 mobo/rig? I suspect it's merely a speed thing, but would appreciate your take on this.

Well, I guess that settles it.

Good Luck!

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Unfortunately I do not know the answer to your question. Perhaps one of the other forum veterans can answer.