Custom rig advice Please

DoomtrainUK · 21 Mar 2011 at 22:17

hello there, my first question is how does one determine the make and size of my motherboard? im making a new rig but want to use my existing mobo

2. i need a recommendation for a case within the £100 price preferably lower and preferably screw-less for this setup:

Motherboard size: micro ATX (90% sure thats the size) it was a dell factory spec xps

PSU: Corsair HX850w (850 watts)

GPU: palit geforce 580 gtx

3. do you think i require extra cooling for this setup? i have a standard dell xps fan

4. does the term screw-less literaly mean you can fit all the hardware without screws, bit of a silly question but i dont want to take chances

and thats about it for now looking forward to hear from the amazing techheads here and thanks

Lemin · 21 Mar 2011 at 22:43

Download cpu-z & run it, then look in mainboard section.

Coolermaster CM-690 II Lite Dominator Case - Black [RC-692-KKN3]
This Week Only Offer
was £62.99 inc VAT
£57.98 inc VAT
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-212-CM&tool=3

DoomtrainUK · 21 Mar 2011 at 23:18

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Im assuming that link is for a case that fits my criteria?

cheers.

TerryH · 21 Mar 2011 at 23:32

You have a palit geforce 480 gtx , which is a great card but pretty big too, I would chose a big case, Micro ATX cases rarely have space for big cards.

Screw-less just means most adjustments like HD slots, CDROM, Expansion card slots and case-lid need no screws, however you still use them for motherboard and PSU and maybe the fans.

Terminator1612 · 21 Mar 2011 at 23:52

Never personally came across a case yet that was totally 100% screw-less. At the very least the motherboard will require screwing into place.

As mentioned above, I take screw-less to mean that most (with a few exceptions) parts can be installed or removed without the need to use screws.

Jamiman · 22 Mar 2011 at 00:04

Try the Inwin Griffin. Great case, and got a 4870 in it atm

It's narrower than normal cases, but fits an mATX /ATX nicely

Lemin · 22 Mar 2011 at 08:07

Yes, big case for gfx card & only mobo needs screwed in. Mobo will fit easy.

DoomtrainUK · 22 Mar 2011 at 10:33

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ta for the replys, so if i get a case designed for a bigger mobo will my micro atx go in? is there a case that has fixings for different sizes? im worried that mine wont fit in a bigger case, the gfx card should be fine though so thats cleared up

also: what are the screws on the mobo that have no coil? they have a smooth dome shape with a small hole in the middle, no idea how to get them out

ewarwoowar · 22 Mar 2011 at 10:45

Dell motherboards tend to be "Only fit 1 case and thats the case its in"

So don't be surprised when you try and get it in another and it don't fit

CreAtiv3 · 22 Mar 2011 at 10:46

DoomtrainUK said:
also: what are the screws on the mobo that have no coil? they have a smooth dome shape with a small hole in the middle, no idea how to get them out

If your talking about the motherboard tray then that sounds like a pop rivet to me?
Drill straight through the middle to remove it.

Lemin · 22 Mar 2011 at 10:58

I thought all micro ATX mobo's were the same.

pcAnywhere · 22 Mar 2011 at 11:10

Lemin said:
I thought all micro ATX mobo's were the same.

All standard m-ATX mobos have the same stand-off locations - the issue is that Dell don't always use standard m-ATX mobos.

@ OP. Can you post up more details about your current PC? You said it's "a dell factory spec xps" but what year was that? Anything that would help us to identify the case/mobo would be great.

Also - consider getting a new mobo. The Dell mobos (in general) don't allow overclocking and often have a restrictive number of ports / slots etc. Perhaps you can post up your CPU specs as I'm sure the people here could recommend an alternate and better mobo.

DoomtrainUK · 22 Mar 2011 at 11:13

CreAtiv3 said:
If your talking about the motherboard tray then that sounds like a pop rivet to me?
Drill straight through the middle to remove it.

how does that work? sounds like id be drillng a 6 inch crack into my motherboard :S, do they go back in?

DoomtrainUK · 22 Mar 2011 at 11:37

pcAnywhere said:
@ OP. Can you post up more details about your current PC? You said it's "a dell factory spec xps" but what year was that? Anything that would help us to identify the case/mobo would be great.

ok il try

2010 Dell studio xps 8000

Mobo - intel p55 express ( not entirely sure as my google image searches dont match up, in terms of size by eye and number of slots - ports, it resembles a mini itx but is probably a smaller mini atx

Intel i7 860 @ 2.88 ghz

PSU: corsair hx850w ( not fitted)

Geforce GTX 580 (not fitted)

6gb ddr2? ram 2 gb + 1 - 2gb + 1 config

Lemin · 22 Mar 2011 at 11:41

Download cpu-z & run it, then look in mainboard section. It will tell you what mobo you have.

http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z/versions-history.html

DoomtrainUK · 22 Mar 2011 at 11:58

Ok ive pretty much come to the conclusion this motherboard isnt enough, if any1 would be kind enough to recomend a mobo and case that would be good for overclocking my gtx 580

case preferably within 100 quid

i dont know about mobos so il just see wot u have to say

cheers

pcAnywhere · 22 Mar 2011 at 12:27

@ OP - I think ram will actually be DDR3 as I'm pretty sure the i7 memory controller only supports DDR3.

Gigabyte GA-H55M-UD2H Intel H55 for £69.98 inc VAT would be a good start point. Although the P55 has a few more features, the cost increase is significant. As this is a micro-ATX format you can install it in any case that supports either ATX or Micro-ATX motherboards. The GTX580 is a beast of the GPU so that is likely to be the limiting factor.