Is my old PC case still compatible with modern stuff?

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

Meh, I like my things massive and modular as hell.

Well, you are the Mod Man.

Yup, I've really been hit with a big case of my namesake's original meaning coming to the surface in the past few months.

It seems that I've started a ton (And actually succeeded with a few) of projects this year compared to where I hadn't done anything like this in quite some time.

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

Damn, that would eat up my front vertical HDD sled.

Maybe not, looking at the front view with the face removed, I see 4 bigger plastic clips, and 4 smaller ones just inside those. There might be a fan cage in there.

Oh and the Little metal mobo screw mounts should be movable, but I can't seem to get the plastic cover on that side of the case off.....

I'm guessing that all I'd have to do is squeeze and pull towards me to remove them or should I just leave them alone until I make sure?

Usually there are 2 kinds of mobo standoffs. Threaded hex ones, and cheaper ones made from a folded bit of metal so it ends up being kinda square. If you have the square kind, you should be able to pinch them vertically or horizontally and pull them out.

As for the plastic mount supports, I don't know if they're removable at all unless I snap them off to make room for new plastic mount clips.

I've only ever seen supplemental plastic mounts in one machine, but it was one that snapped into a hole on the board, not one on the tray that was part of the case, so I dunno there. That's why I suggested a junk mobo for practice. If you accidentally shear off a tiny surface mount resistor getting supports in the right places, no biggie.

Well after some more research I've found that it was actually a mount for one of those huge old mobo speakers, but with some finagling it'll be no sweat to mount a few mini fans in the cavity to add the same amount of extra air flow form one large fan.

Also after a few hard knocks and a little exploring I've managed to pry off the case from the other side.

Dust........So Much DUST.........

After attacking that living mass of debris with a vaccum it's nice and clean and I can now move around both the plastic and metal screw wells freely to the other mounting brackets on the case with no problem.

[Hobie-wan]

Well after some more research I've found that it was actually a mount for one of those huge old mobo speakers, but with some finagling it'll be no sweat to mount a few mini fans in the cavity to add the same amount of extra air flow form one large fan.

Ah, wasn't thinking that the speaker might be in there. Sometimes they're clipped to the bottom face of the case.

Also after a few hard knocks and a little exploring I've managed to pry off the case from the other side.

Dust........So Much DUST.........

Yeah, my parents were still working on the upstairs of the house when then had the an old PC that became mine. As such there was a lot of dust in the house. After it was mine, the PC started acting up. I opened up the power supply and there was soo much dust I don't know how it hadn't burst into flames.

After attacking that living mass of debris with a vaccum it's nice and clean and I can now move around both the plastic and metal screw wells freely to the other mounting brackets on the case with no problem.

Cool. Being able to move the standoffs solves one major problem. Now as long as a DVD whatnot drive will fit in there without interfering with other stuff.

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

Well after some more research I've found that it was actually a mount for one of those huge old mobo speakers, but with some finagling it'll be no sweat to mount a few mini fans in the cavity to add the same amount of extra air flow form one large fan.

Ah, wasn't thinking that the speaker might be in there. Sometimes they're clipped to the bottom face of the case.

Also after a few hard knocks and a little exploring I've managed to pry off the case from the other side.

Dust........So Much DUST.........

Yeah, my parents were still working on the upstairs of the house when then had the an old PC that became mine. As such there was a lot of dust in the house. After it was mine, the PC started acting up. I opened up the power supply and there was soo much dust I don't know how it hadn't burst into flames.

After attacking that living mass of debris with a vaccum it's nice and clean and I can now move around both the plastic and metal screw wells freely to the other mounting brackets on the case with no problem.

Cool. Being able to move the standoffs solves one major problem. Now as long as a DVD whatnot drive will fit in there without interfering with other stuff.

I never had a speaker in that spot, apparently the previous owner or Dell themselves removed or never put one in mine to begin with for some odd reason.

I should really take apart my old Dell power supply and clean it (I'm going to preserve all the parts to make myself a nice slim DOS machine with them later on) up, but I'm afraid that I'd kill myself on residual electricity. It is dirty as hell, though.

After looking at some mobos with Dr. Cirno, today we should be able to comfortably fit in a Micro ATX or with a little management (and praying to God) a full ATX motherboard.

[Hobie-wan]

I never had a speaker in that spot, apparently the previous owner or Dell themselves removed or never put one in mine to begin with for some odd reason.

Yeah, mobos transitioned to having a little buzzer on the board instead of using discrete speakers.

I should really take apart my old Dell power supply and clean it (I'm going to preserve all the parts to make myself a nice slim DOS machine with them later on) up, but I'm afraid that I'd kill myself on residual electricity. It is dirty as hell, though.

To play it safe if you don't know how to make sure its discharged and what not to touch inside, just take the PS outside with a can of air. Just do a bunch of short bursts from the fan side and any openings you can poke the straw into. Since its plastic you'll be fine and it will help.

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

I never had a speaker in that spot, apparently the previous owner or Dell themselves removed or never put one in mine to begin with for some odd reason.

Yeah, mobos transitioned to having a little buzzer on the board instead of using discrete speakers.

I should really take apart my old Dell power supply and clean it (I'm going to preserve all the parts to make myself a nice slim DOS machine with them later on) up, but I'm afraid that I'd kill myself on residual electricity. It is dirty as hell, though.

To play it safe if you don't know how to make sure its discharged and what not to touch inside, just take the PS outside with a can of air. Just do a bunch of short bursts from the fan side and any openings you can poke the straw into. Since its plastic you'll be fine and it will help.

I knew about the buzzer being on mobos, just find it odd that Dell would still leave in the mounts, etc... for it. I guess I just got lucky to have some room to rig up a fan mount courtesy of Dell clearing out their old cases with (At the time) newer boards.

I'm finally gonna have to get myself a can of compressed air to clean out the PS. I've been holding off on it for a while to be honest as $5-$7 for a can of air is pricey for a broke guy like me.

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

Also just out of curiosity does anyone have a broken or spare/for parts black Sony CRX220A1 CD-R/RW burner?

I know that when this drive was sold new in stores that it came with both a black Bezel, Tray and Drive door along with the beige set in the box. My burner works great and I see no need to throw away a perfectly good CD burner that I could use in my new machine (As my secondary drive of course), so it'd be appreciated if anyone could help me out by providing me with the black bezel/tray etc....

Yellowing CD R-RW Drive.JPG (35.62 KiB) Viewed 368 times

Perfectly good drive, horribly aging beige plastic.

Anyhow, if anyone can help me out, thanks!

[Hobie-wan]

Also just out of curiosity does anyone have a broken or spare/for parts black Sony CRX220A1 CD-R/RW burner?

I know that when this drive was sold new in stores that it came with both a black Bezel, Tray and Drive door along with the beige set in the box. My burner works great and I see no need to throw away a perfectly good CD burner that I could use in my new machine (As my secondary drive of course), so it'd be appreciated if anyone could help me out by providing me with the black bezel/tray etc....

All of my older spare drives are gray or beige too, though the Sony I've got is a 140, not a 220. If you're getting vinyl dye anyway, just do the bezel and tray cover too. IMHO it will look interesting to have a white tray hiding inside.

For the can of air, ask your parents to buy one what you can borrow with the condition that you'll clean out their PC for them first. Just remember, hold all fans still when using canned air. The whizzing siren sound is neat, but spinning them that fast kills the bearings.

[DrCirno]

I'm finally gonna have to get myself a can of compressed air to clean out the PS. I've been holding off on it for a while to be honest as $5-$7 for a can of air is pricey for a broke guy like me.

Just bring it by my place, I have an air compressor for these things. :V

[Hobie-wan]

I'm finally gonna have to get myself a can of compressed air to clean out the PS. I've been holding off on it for a while to be honest as $5-$7 for a can of air is pricey for a broke guy like me.

Just bring it by my place, I have an air compressor for these things. :V

Just be careful it doesn't blow too hard. It is possible to blow surface mount stuff right off a board. Not that a PS will have surface mount, but just a general precaution.