Case Replacement

[stevio27]

Is it possible (at least practically) to take the motherboard out of a computer made by a big company (HP, Dell, etc) and transfer that into a custom case without any major difficulty? What would be involved in doing that? Are there only certain size cases that would work, and would there need to be anything that goes inside the case to remount a motherboard and whatnot?

[nizzy1115]

Is it possible (at least practically) to take the motherboard out of a computer made by a big company (HP, Dell, etc) and transfer that into a custom case without any major difficulty? What would be involved in doing that? Are there only certain size cases that would work, and would there need to be anything that goes inside the case to remount a motherboard and whatnot?

shure you could and it wouldnt be too much of a hassle if your comfortable with all the wireing in a computer...if you tell us what modle of the brand name machine you are considering to move, we could probably help you through it with ease

[stevio27]

It's an HP Pavilion a420n

I thought about moving it to another case so I could maybe get one with more fans slots so I wouldn't have to do any modifications myself.

[nizzy1115]

It's an HP Pavilion a420n

I thought about moving it to another case so I could maybe get one with more fans slots so I wouldn't have to do any modifications myself.

im sure you could pull it off just make sure you get an "atx" form case...the only trouble i could see you running into would be the motherboard holes not lining up, but i dont think this will be an issue here

[nizzy1115]

here's a link to the motherboard on this rig for everyone...does anybody know of a possible compability issue for this in a new case?
http://www.pcfactoryoutlet.com/Moreinfo.asp?source=&CustomerID=2005316152443-68.78.119.188&StoreID=7&Product_Id=69112

[alc6379]

If it's a standard ATX motherboard with the appropriate mounting holes and the right power connector pin-outs, it should be okay. The only thing you have to watch out for, though, is the CPU cooler. Sometimes, they use a special model that requires a special fan setup that your new case may not support. If that's the case, you're going to have to figure out some way to mount a replacement heatsink.

[Thong_Ispector]

There are almost always issuse trying to take a proprietary system and moving it to a clone case...

That picture looks like a fairly generic MB and aside from some mounting issuse should be ok..

[alc6379]

There are almost always issuse trying to take a proprietary system and moving it to a clone case...

That picture looks like a fairly generic MB and aside from some mounting issuse should be ok..

I can't really tell from the picture where the mounting holes are. If they match up to where there are holes in the case, then you should be in OK shape.