Acer aspire x3400 PSU Upgrade

[jot]

I have an acer aspire x3400-e3182 and was looking into upgrading its video card and its power supply. The problem is, the case is fairly small and I don't believe I can find a decent PSU that will fit in it. Right now I have an ATI 5570 installed which is probably the best my 220w psu can handle.

Can anyone recommend a case that I can transfer my hardware into? Is it possible to have an external PSU?



I checked out another forum and this guy had transferred his acer aspire x1200 into a cooler master haf912 case and upgraded his psu. (lynmachine)

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/295972-28-want-upgrade-video-card-power-supply-acer-aspire-x1200

Would that be possible for my x3400 as well? or would any case do?

Do you guys recommend a PSU and a graphics card as well? I was looking to spend from 200-300 in total including the computer case.



Here is a link to my computer specs. Only difference is, I upgraded mine to 8gb of ram.

http://www.ottawaprices.ca/Product/Computers/Desktop/Desktops/Acer-Aspire-Desktop-Computer-featuring-AMD-Phenom-II-X4-810-Processor-AX3400-E3182-id=b8d82c53-a669-4344-bb5c-9ca93cdd7ac2

Your help would be much appreciated

Thank you,

Ps. I live in Canada. Just in case the supplier suggested doesn't deliver there.

Here's a more detailed link for computer specs: http://support.acer.com/acerpanam/desktop/2010/acer/Aspire/AspireX3400/AspireX3400sp2.shtml#sup_1

 

[clutchc]

The short answer is yes, you can move the board, CPU, memory, drives to a new case. But the Aspire case has no removable I/O plate. That means you will have a wide open area at the back of the new case. You can use it that way, but be careful not to let anything 'sneak' into the opening and ground/short the components.

 

[jot]

Are you able to recommend a case that I can use? Right now i'm thinking of getting this case

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=55583&vpn=RC-912-KKN1&manufacture=COOLERMASTER

but this is a cheaper one:

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=57910&vpn=Z9%20Plus&manufacture=ZALMAN%20TECH&promoid=1015


Would it be compatible as well? or would any case do?

Thanks again.

 

[clutchc]

They're both good cases. I have the Cooler master case in the build in my signature.

The Zalman I used on a previous build for someone. Of the two, the CM is by far the roomier, better built, and easier case to work in. But the Z9 is a good case for a budget build and I would recommend it to keep the price down.

If you can come up with the exact make/model of your motherboard, you may possibly find an I/O plate available on someplace like ebay.