Keep the case?
Last response: in Systems
Greetings all, new to the forum, and kinda new to this building thing.
About 10 years ago we had a Gateway and kept swapping parts out until that couldn't be done anymore. We did the same thing later on a Dell xps system that kept us going 'till we bought the bullet and got an Alienware in 2005. Now its going into 2010 and we are looking at getting a new computer, however; what we'd like to do is start swapping out parts again until its dead. What I have found thus far in our readings is that we have missed the boat on parts and should pretty much scrap it.
So its a full tower Aurora 1.5 chassis, will the new Asus atx boards fit this thing?
Here is our first question: can we keep anything of the old system that would work on a new motherboard, or once we get a new motherboard everything else must go? Second, what we would like to keep is stuff like the old hard drive and the optical drives, we've got room for two more optical drives in there. Third, will that case keep the newer stuff cool? We need to get new fans anyway all way 'round, its noisy as heck!
I know its convoluted questions, help where you can please.![;)]( ";)")
About 10 years ago we had a Gateway and kept swapping parts out until that couldn't be done anymore. We did the same thing later on a Dell xps system that kept us going 'till we bought the bullet and got an Alienware in 2005. Now its going into 2010 and we are looking at getting a new computer, however; what we'd like to do is start swapping out parts again until its dead. What I have found thus far in our readings is that we have missed the boat on parts and should pretty much scrap it.
So its a full tower Aurora 1.5 chassis, will the new Asus atx boards fit this thing?
Here is our first question: can we keep anything of the old system that would work on a new motherboard, or once we get a new motherboard everything else must go? Second, what we would like to keep is stuff like the old hard drive and the optical drives, we've got room for two more optical drives in there. Third, will that case keep the newer stuff cool? We need to get new fans anyway all way 'round, its noisy as heck!
I know its convoluted questions, help where you can please.
More about : case
For a system 5 years old, the CPU and graphics card are almost certainly worthless for a new system, and the CPU is probably incompatible with whatever new motherboard you'll get. So you can pretty much write those off.
PSU that old is usually a 300W-400W job that can't power modern graphics cards, although on an Alienware system maybe it's a little better. At best, it should barely be able to squeeze by with a decent card.
Older hard drives will still work, but they'll probably be IDE or at best SATA 1.5, so they'll be running at least 2X slower than current data transfer speeds, if not 10X slower. So they've got uses, but they're best used as secondary storage drives.
Optical drives face the same problems with speed, and you'll really notice it if you try to install or play modern programs that run into several gigabytes.
In short, the case and maybe the PSU are the only things worth keeping in most systems that old -- and if that computer still works, you're probably way better off just keeping it intact as a "second" computer and building a whole new one from the ground up.
PSU that old is usually a 300W-400W job that can't power modern graphics cards, although on an Alienware system maybe it's a little better. At best, it should barely be able to squeeze by with a decent card.
Older hard drives will still work, but they'll probably be IDE or at best SATA 1.5, so they'll be running at least 2X slower than current data transfer speeds, if not 10X slower. So they've got uses, but they're best used as secondary storage drives.
Optical drives face the same problems with speed, and you'll really notice it if you try to install or play modern programs that run into several gigabytes.
In short, the case and maybe the PSU are the only things worth keeping in most systems that old -- and if that computer still works, you're probably way better off just keeping it intact as a "second" computer and building a whole new one from the ground up.
Best solution
Agreed and the points made by capt_taco and shubham. I do suggest investing in all new parts, if your budget allows it. I've had clients and friends come to me complaining about old dying parts that they opt to put in their newer PCs. Not saying that that will happen to you, but the hassle is just something to consider. 5 years in computer time is centuries.
Chances are, if you can afford an alienware product, you should be able to build a DIY system for much cheaper (provided your economic situation has not changed). And if you want advice, you can always follow the format shown on the "how to ask for help" sticky and the home brewers shall come to your aid.![:D]( ":D")
Chances are, if you can afford an alienware product, you should be able to build a DIY system for much cheaper (provided your economic situation has not changed). And if you want advice, you can always follow the format shown on the "how to ask for help" sticky and the home brewers shall come to your aid.
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