Moving Lenovo think center to a new case

[ED209]

Hello All,

I am a bit unsure of where to post this so mods if its in the wrong section please feel free to move it.

I have a old Lenovo PC which has a E8400 processor, 4GB of ram running windows 10 but as its a SFF PC i have had to put in a low profile gpu (AMD 5450).

I upgraded my GPU in my gaming rig a year or so ago and thought about putting it in the Lenovo as my son plays minecraft on the PC but it doesnt run very well with the gpu.

My question is does anyone know if its possible to move everything to a new case so i can fit in my old GPU? (radeon HD 5830 1GB). I have a spare 500w Corsair PSU i can use as it requires 2 x 6 pin for power but due to this PC being a lenovo the back plate (fixed to case) and mobo layout doesn't match a standard case.

Also not too sure if the motherboard whole mountings are the same either.

 

[JonSmith]

In some cases this will be possible. ATX, micro-ATX, mini-ITX all have compatible mounting holes.

First thing, I would make sure the power supply connections are the same. On Dell PCs of that vintage, they used non-standard pinout on the ATX-24 pin header and you will destroy the motherboard if you use a standard ATX PSU. You may be able to find a service manual for the existing PSU online.

Secondly, you will need to check that the mounting holes line up as well as the backplate hole.

You can just leave the backplate off, however I prefer to create one if possible. Plastic from a butter/ice cream tub lid is pretty stiff and easy to cut with a stanley knife. I've found this more than adequate for a homebrew backplate.

 

[The-Plethora]

There seems to be a few different models of think centre so I can't be sure exactly which one you have, is there a seperate model number?

If you can post a picture of the inside of the case we can tell you for certain. A lot of manufacturers use custom designed motherboards and others use standard ATX / MIcro ATX boards.
I wouldn't worry about a back plate, I just took some old PC bits home from work and that had a back plate that was fixed to the back of the case. Just go on ebay and type "IO shield" and look for one that will fit (there are loads there).

 

[ED209]

I will post a picture up later as im stuck at work at the moment.

the motherboard layout is not a standard one as the PCI slots are up the top left of the motherboard rather than the bottom left

just found this on google images, the current gpu is in the top right next to the HDD

Will need to check to see what model it is exactly