how hard is it to change to a new case?

ringo747

ringo747

ringo747

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hi all,

at the minute i have a smallish case (dont know the make) with a Gigabyte K8NS-Pro mobo, 3 x sata disks, gfx card, x-fi sound card etc etc.. the way my existing case is made, there is not way of adding fans to the front.. i can just add two 80mm ones to the back.. my machine was build with just one disk but since i have added two more things have got very hot inside the case due to the use of only a CPU fan. Things inside the case are very cramped and im wanting to fit in another drive soon.

How hard would it be to move everything to a new case, with a fan cooling system, with more room for more drives, and something that would fit any new boards should i choose to upgrade soon? O yes, and i want a see thru side and some lights inside! Any idea of a rough cost?

Many thanks in advance
Jonny
 
I have the same problem as you.

Ordered the ThermalTake Soprano though. My case currently is very small, like small as hell, so small I have the side off so the cables can be free and not pushed in.

Anyway switching cases does take some time, if you know what your doing its simple enough. Switching all the hardware from one case to the other. Another reason I got the Soprano was because its tool free so you can just slide the harddrive in and lock it with the side lock. I don't really see any problems installing all of the hardware.

For me:

PSU, put up screw it in - 2 minutes
Mother board - Put in place, secured - 5 minutes
Harddrive - Slide in place, lock - 15 seconds
Floppy - Slide in place, lock - 15 seconds
Dvd rw and dvd - Slide in place, lock - 30 seconds
Graphics card put in place - 20 seconds
Memory put in place - 40 seconds
CPU - Think I'll just leave it attatched to the motherboard.
Sound, other small devices - 2 minutes.
Attatching cables from psu to components - 2 minutes.

Making sure everything is in place another 2 minutes.

Give it 15 minutes to transfer it all over. Thats just an estimate lol, but that is probly rushed so I wouldn't rush.
 
jonnyc747 said:
I want a see thru side and some lights inside! Any idea of a rough cost?

Many thanks in advance
Jonny
Click to expand...

Why? What is the purpose of that?
Transferring existing parts is easy enough, as long as the motherboard is "PC standards" Although check if the existing PSU matches standard ATX size and screw holes, and check cable length.
 
jonnyc747 said:
How hard would it be to move everything to a new case, with a fan cooling system, with more room for more drives, and something that would fit any new boards should i choose to upgrade soon? O yes, and i want a see thru side and some lights inside! Any idea of a rough cost?
Click to expand...

as above thermaltake soprano is quite cheap, has a very large side window, comes with 2x120mm and a 92mm fan as standard, fit atx/m-atx mobos

2 blue cathodes, fairly cheap, plug into 4-pin molex (takes 1 second :p)

moving the stuff over should take an hour AT MOST (allowing time for a bit of cable de-cluttering)

CA-014-TT Thermaltake VB1000SWS Soprano SuperMidi Tower - Silver (CA-014-TT) 1 £42.99
CA-007-AK Akasa Dual Blue Cold Cathodes 1 Inverter (CA-007-AK) 1 £8.70

Subtotal £51.69
VAT £9.05
Total £60.74

quite cheap aswell :D
 
generally a very easy upgrade! just un plug everything - remember where it all goes and plug it back in. try seeing different placements of hard disk if the case allows to get optimum airflow with good cooling and you should be sorted!
 
thats a very nice case! Is thermaltech probably the best type of case to go for?

How can I be sure that my PSU etc will fit?

I dont do much work with my PC but it be a good challenge for me to do this myself.. you guys could prob do it in ** sleep!

Can I add fan controller panels to these cases?
 
most psu's will be able to be swapped to another case but their are exceptions.

do you know what psu you have at the moment?

Fan controllers are very easy to install as they simply fit in either a 5.25 or 3.5 bay. however you may need some fan extensions as most cant reach the front of your case if they are mounted at the back. but you can buy them if you dont feel confident extending them yourself.

33L
 
ok cheers for that.. not sure what my PSU is at the moment but il try to find out.. I take it these cases suit pretty much any kind of Mobo too?

Would you like to spec me a csae same as mentioned above along with a fan controller, cables and some neons?

Appreciate u guys help
jonny
 
if, like me, you buy some coolink fans to replace the TT ones, then they come supplied with a fan controller for each fan, which take up one pci expansion slot each (as in take that space, not actually plugged into the pci port) all the fan wiring will be able to reach to the back of the case as it comes with extensions, and no, a standard fan controller will NOT fit into the front of the soprano, because of the bend in the bezel, hence why i got coolink fans:

clicky
 
When moving everything to the new case, Just remember to have the motherboard manual handy as you will probably want to know where the Power button/HD led/power led and reset button leads go.Unless you write it down somewhere :)

I Always have the manual there with me just incase.

Edit: oh and be careful with the motherboard. I wasn't and i knocked a small chip off it. Luckily it still works though :D
 
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jonnyc747 said:
thats a very nice case! Is thermaltech probably the best type of case to go for?
Can I add fan controller panels to these cases?
Click to expand...
jonnyc747 said:
Would you like to spec me a csae same as mentioned above along with a fan controller, cables and some neons?
Click to expand...

if you have the money then im sure everyone will say lian li pc7+, which a side window can be bought for, but it's a bomb compared to the soprano

as stated(by me :p) you wont be able to fit a fan controller behind the front bezel,so the best option is the coolink fans (as i stated), so your looking at:

FG-001-CL Coolink SWiF-922 92mm Case Fan (FG-001-CL) 1
£8.95
FG-000-CL Coolink SWiF-1201 120mm Case Fan (FG-000-CL) 2
£19.90
CA-007-AK Akasa Dual Blue Cold Cathodes 1 Inverter (CA-007-AK) 1
£8.70
CA-014-TT Thermaltake VB1000SWS Soprano SuperMidi Tower - Silver (CA-014-TT) 1
£42.99

Subtotal £80.54

VAT £14.10

Total £94.64

case, fans with rear fan controllers and blue neons
;)
 
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KadreMoD said:
When moving everything to the new case, Just remember to have the motherboard manual handy as you will probably want to know where the Power button/HD led/power led and reset button leads go.Unless you write it down somewhere :)
Click to expand...

LED's aren't necessary ;) in fact, none of mine fit on my mobo(2 pins on mobo, to the connector which needs 3, or to snap the connector in half :rolleyes: ), just power and reset, and they are clearly labeled on my mobo, i did the last install (my second) without the manual, and it's working or i wouldn't be able to type this :p

and your very lucky your mobo is alive... :p
 
bringerofdecay said:
LED's aren't necessary ;) in fact, none of mine fit on my mobo(2 pins on mobo, to the connector which needs 3, or to snap the connector in half :rolleyes: ), just power and reset, and they are clearly labeled on my mobo, i did the last install (my second) without the manual, and it's working or i wouldn't be able to type this :p
Click to expand...

I had the exact same thing with an old case i had. Some of the connectors were snapped in half because the mobo had different connectors.Aslong as their labeled on the mobo then thats ok , All mobo's ive seen havent labeled them (Older mobo's).

I just installed an old mobo into a new case and even with the manual I had to guess to where the connectors went. It was one of those online manuals that dont really tell you much :p .

bringerofdecay said:
and your very lucky your mobo is alive...
Click to expand...

It's built like a tank. :D It's been through so much abuse and its still alive and kicking somehow .
 
didnt realise the case had a door but you can always try one of the pci fan controller things - forget what they are called now!
 
cheers for all the suggestions..

perhaps the 3 fans that come with the case might just do my job! Would they run quiet enuf?

At the minute I just have one CPU fan and it revs to like 5000rpm after being on for an hr so anything has to be an improvement..

The case you recommended is real catchy and seems good for the money.

RE: leds... i know they aint essential but they look kinda cool when using with a see through side panel.. just my opinion!
 
Took me two hours to move everything from my old case to my kandalf, although i do insist on immaculate cables, no clutter what so ever. Plus i tested a few configurations of fans to see what gave best airflow/quietest noise. Took my time in doing it, didn't want to break anything expensive, i was pleased with the result in the end, it's easy when you take your time and think about it logically

pcud1.jpg
 
wow that looks well!

I just found the Thermaltake VA3000SWA Tsunami Dream SuperMidi Aluminium Tower - Silver (CA-011-TT) on overclockers site.. think i like the aluminium one better that the one mentioned above altho its a wee bit more expensive.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/cgi-b...take_Cases.html#aCA_2d011_2dTT#aCA_2d011_2dTT

You notice the blue lights appearing on the front? Is this from LEDs inside the case?
 
just read a few other posts where people said the tsunami isnt a great case.. if its not as good as the soprano which is cheaper thats cool with me!
 
The blue light on the front is built into the case. the top is a circle mirror with blue lighting around the edges, and below that is the glow from the thermaltake logo.

The aluminium version is very nice, i only chose the black because i have a black keyboard, mouse and monitor.
 
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