Will this ancient ATX case work for a modern ATX system?

[cpams322]

I bought a custom-built system from Cyberpower back in 2005 with an Apevia X-Dreamer 2 (II) case...

http://www.apevia.com/productsInfo.asp?KEY=ATXB4KLW-BK
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144026

I really like it. Built like a tank. Have it sitting in my attic. I have a scaled down version of the above (no transparent side panel, no top fan, no lighted button rivets on the fact & no alien grill on the side fan). Otherwise, it is the same exact thing.

I have plans to gut it an build a modern system with it. The mobo that's in it right now is an old Asus P4P800SE, so I know it will accept a 12 x 9.6 ATX mobo. But even so, would it be too old for some reason (any reason) to build a modern system with it?

Mind you, I realize that it was not built for max airflow like many of today's cases are. But I'm not a gamer in the slightest sense so I don't think this will be a problem.

 

[faalin]

I dont see why it wouldnt work, as long as your ok with the temps of the system. If it gets the job done and you can live with it then it will work.

 

[salerhino]

Everything should fit and work without any problems.
Downsides are that it doesn't take 12cm fans on side/top/front and it has PSU positioned on top, but as you said, if you don't mind these, it will work ok.

I also have 1 modern PC in old case(10+years old).

 

[Mark RM]

My personal system is in a Lian-Li case circa 2002. The only things I really had to do was install a front panel for proper USB 3.0/3.1 access.

I also modified my case for a radiator the day I bought it way back then, but that's not required.

 

[cpams322]

Downsides...PSU positioned on top

Interesting. I didn't know bottom-mounted PSUs were more preferred to top-mounted PSUs these days.
What is the advantage/attraction to a bottom-mounted PSU?

 

[Mark RM]

just puts the weight on the bottom of the case and changes things around so hot air doesn't head through the PSU... but in reality if you get a proper PSU, this doesn't make a lick of difference.

 

[cpams322]

I just read another post on an old thread that says one advantage is that, being on the bottom, the intake fan of the PSU is pulling in air from the outside if the case instead of the inside, meaning it cools better. I can understand that for sure.

just puts the weight on the bottom of the case and changes things around so hot air doesn't head through the PSU but in reality if you get a proper PSU, this doesn't make a lick of difference.

What should I look for in a PSU to make top or bottom mount not matter much?

As far as it only taking 8cm and not 12cm being a downside, I definitely agree with that.
I'm also thinking it would not be too hard or too expensive to mod mod the case to take 12cm, though. But without the case right in front of me, I can't say for sure. I'll have to take a closer look once I'm ready to start buying components. Right now, I'm just in the "dreamer stage". lol

 

[jankerson]

I bought a custom-built system from Cyberpower back in 2005 with an Apevia X-Dreamer 2 (II) case...

http://www.apevia.com/productsInfo.asp?KEY=ATXB4KLW-BK
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144026

I really like it. Built like a tank. Have it sitting in my attic. I have a scaled down version of the above (no transparent side panel, no top fan, no lighted button rivets on the fact & no alien grill on the side fan). Otherwise, it is the same exact thing.

I have plans to gut it an build a modern system with it. The mobo that's in it right now is an old Asus P4P800SE, so I know it will accept a 12 x 9.6 ATX mobo. But even so, would it be too old for some reason (any reason) to build a modern system with it?

Mind you, I realize that it was not built for max airflow like many of today's cases are. But I'm not a gamer in the slightest sense so I don't think this will be a problem.

It will work, but I would get a new case with better airflow and cable management options. Plus it will have updated front panel connections for USB etc.

I just dumped 2 old cases lately, both were 12+ yeas old and for the most part looked the same inside as yours does, pretty much same setup.

 

[cpams322]

I never thought of the cable management aspect. Will have to look into that further.

As far as USB ports, I'm not worried about that because the case has 2 x 2.5inch floppy bays. Internal USB drives are cheap on ebay if you buy directly from Chinese sellers. Just got one last week and it works very well. $8 for 2x 2.0 ports and 2x 3.0 ports. $4 for a cheap Dodocool/Ulanson PCIe USB 3.0 Controller.

You can also get media dashboards for less than $20

Mind you, I'm just wanting to build a system I can call my own. Nothing uber fancy.

 

[jankerson]

Here is one that I moved out of the said 12 YO case, terrible airflow, no filters, no cable management just like yours.

All the parts I took out and cleaned up.

In the new case, A Fractal Design Focus G.

And the other one, taken out of the same model case as the 1st one and out in a Fractal Design Focus G.

 

[Mark RM]

I just read another post on an old thread that says one advantage is that, being on the bottom, the intake fan of the PSU is pulling in air from the outside if the case instead of the inside, meaning it cools better. I can understand that for sure.

just puts the weight on the bottom of the case and changes things around so hot air doesn't head through the PSU but in reality if you get a proper PSU, this doesn't make a lick of difference.

What should I look for in a PSU to make top or bottom mount not matter much?

As far as it only taking 8cm and not 12cm being a downside, I definitely agree with that.
I'm also thinking it would not be too hard or too expensive to mod mod the case to take 12cm, though. But without the case right in front of me, I can't say for sure. I'll have to take a closer look once I'm ready to start buying components. Right now, I'm just in the "dreamer stage". lol

Any top tier PSU won't blink or deviate if temps climb to 40c inside a case. Not sure if Tomshardware PSU test includes a hotbox but the ones at [H] and jonnyguru do.

For the exhaust fans on my case I changed to 120's at the rear and bottom (you read that right) using this
https://www.amazon.com/Nexus-80mm-92mm-120mm-Converter/dp/B002C7IQ1O
I just added a couple noctua 120's

For the front of the case it had spots for two 80's and I had no room for adapters, so I went with NF-A8 FLX .

I think I paid almost 300 bucks for this brushed aluminum Lian Li case back in the day with it's noise dampening foam and dust catchers etc and I have no intention of giving it up. It's first build was an Athlon XP 2000+ ... oc'd of course. It now houses an MSI gaming Pro, Ryzen 1700x and 64 gigs of RAM, m.2 drive, a seasonic modular PSU and a basic 2Gigabyte RX 560 (I don't game myself). Currently just have four hard drives in it and an old optical drive and a floppy (yep).

I added USB 3.0, a fan controller , 5V fused DC power, card reader, front eSATA in one 5 1/4 inch drive bay and changed the primary exposed ports over to one USB C and one USB3.1 from the ancient USB 2.0 ports with their bad cabling.

It's so plain Jane compared to cases today... which is exactly what I like about it.

 

[jankerson]

Yeah, I remember those.

They were the cats meow back in the day.

 

[cpams322]

I'm into plain jane, too. But mostly, I'm into practicality and something easy to clean. And I don't like a lot of lights!!!! I like to salvage what I can for reuse. In fact, just 3 weeks ago, I took an old DVD-R drive I had, a couple of acrylic product boxes and some JB Weld and some other misc. junk I salvaged and built myself a drawer for the extra optical bay in my PC that I can store little PC-related nick-nacs in...

I love it!

 

[cpams322]

@jankerson. that first PC looks like it was in a fire! lol

But those Fractal Focus G PCs, those are friggin' gorgeous! Nothing like my Frankenputer lol

 

[jankerson]

@jankerson. that first PC looks like it was in a fire! lol

But those Fractal Focus G PCs, those are friggin' gorgeous!

Very hard to clean and they are over 12 YO cases (had 2 of them) and with no filters.

Thanks, the cases aren't really expensive either.

I got both of mine on sale for like $40 each.

My main system is in a Cooler Master Master Case 5 Pro.

 

[cpams322]

Ya know, that's exactly why I don't like most of the newer cases I see (even if they look great). I see a lot of netting and honeycombing and that stuffs a real bitch to clean. They look great, but I'm not into that dust bunny detailing with brushes and Q-tips.

 

[jankerson]

Ya know, that's exactly why I don't like most of the newer cases I see (even if they look great). I see a lot of netting and honeycombing and that stuffs a real bitch to clean. They look great, but I'm not into that dust bunny detailing with brushes and Q-tips.

Canned air.

The filters work very well, I just use a paint brush and canned air for the outside etc.

Hardly anything gets inside the case that a short blast of air won't fix, positive airflow and the filters keeps out the dust.

The filters remove easy, just pop off the front and top and blow them out, the bottom one slides out easy.

 

[cpams322]

OK, but another thing I see on modern cases is no 3.5" bays for internal USB hubs. Take your Fractal, for instance. Where would things like that go on a case like that?

 

[jankerson]

OK, but another thing I see on modern cases is no 3.5" bays for internal USB hubs. Take your Fractal, for instance. Where would things like that go on a case like that?

Some of the cases have external 3.5" bays still.

Just have to look at the different cases and see what has what.

I don't need external 3.5" bays, but I do need 5.25" bays for the DVD drives.

 

[Mark RM]

You can also get 5 1/4 bay hub adapters and such of course. 3.5" to 5.25 adapters are also a thing.

 

[jankerson]

You can also get 5 1/4 bay hub adapters and such of course. 3.5" to 5.25 adapters are also a thing.

I have a ton of those still around.

 

[cpams322]

Well, when the time comes, I'll pull out my case and see what's what. I may very well end up just buying a more modern case if I can find what I need.

Buying everything new and not salvaging bits and pieces from other PCs can end up cost double what you can buy pre-built and quadruple if bought used.

The only reason I haven't built my own yet is because I have gotten amazing deals on refurbished or used pre-built systems the last few years without hard drives. And when I found out how to activate a Win 7 key on OEM PCs shipped with Vista, not having to buy the OS saves a TON of money!

But I'm getting tired of these pre-built systems.