Having trouble finding out information....

[Matthew_Lee]

Heyy
So i'm new to this forum.
Just a quick hello

Anyway, this week i've decided to upgrade my computer....
It's not a new model... Sony Vaio PCV-RX302

I want to change the case, because the case all the hardware sits inside right now is really small. i want to create a more "modern" style computer with L.E.D lights and cathodes etc.
How do i know what type of case my computers hardware will fit into?
My motherboard is an ASUSTeK if that helps?
I just seem to find very little information for this pc

help please?
thank you guys.

 

[alex24]

Welcome to OcUK forums!

Is all you want to change the case?

Sony haven't sold desktop PCs for a while, so that must be a fairly old PC. Your money would be SO much better put towards a new one altogether.

Remember, LEDs, cathodes etc only work when you have the hardware to show off in the first place! Take a look in the new builds gallery and see for yourself...

So in short, save up and you could get yourself a nice new PC from OcUK, or, if you're up for it, build one yourself! Much more fun.

To answer your question (as some people are pretty determined on things before they even ask), your PC most likely, from my experience, will have a M-ATX or ATX motherboard (will fit in almost all cases) but also a non-standard power supply. I've seen a lot of Sony machines with non-ATX PSUs, so you'd most likely have to replace that. Also, if the board isn't well marked or is absent of documentation, you may have a tricky time wiring up the indicator lights and switches to a new case. It's not a simple straight swap all the time unfortunately.

 

[Matthew_Lee]

Wow, well that pretty much answered my question lol.
Dont get me wrong, the computer runs nice and fast..
it's just these new cases are so appealing!
all the blue led's etc!
and explain to me more about this ATX thing?
i keep seeing it pop up everywhere with the cases...

 

[Tealc]

ATX is a form factor, or size specification of motherboards. Cases will be built specifically to provide housing for a range of motherboards. Mid size cases and up will fit ATX motherboards.

The only you have is probably more towards the mATX size, which is a little smaller.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATX

Have to agree with Alexhull24 here you would be totally wasting your time re-housing your old machine in a new case. From a quick search you have a Pentium 4 1.8Ghz with a GeForce 4 MX440.

Even spending a few hundred pounds on components or a pre-built system on this site would make such a big difference to you and would give you some scope for the bling that you like.

 

[rjk]

hi Matthew

welcome to the forums

as the two members above have already mentioned, the hardware used in your sony unit will likely be proprietry, non standard. meaning it would be difficult to integrate into a new case.

for the time being, you could always buy an antec 300 case with some led fans to put in the front and maybe a 500w corsair power supply

this way you would be able to transfer the core components of your system into this case and have the system up and running.

in time you can upgrade your board/cpu/memory and graphics card
we do a bundle range that you could look at. this would ensure you get a totally compatible base for a new system. choose a bundle that suits your needs

obviously you would only need to upgrade your gpu if you are a gamer, worst case scenario is that you will have an AGP card and would need to get a pcie one.
if you arnet gaming then you could look at the i3 bundles as they have quite adequate onboard graphics.