Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (
More info?)
I've run AT/ATX boards for your K6 and 1gig Athlons before.
At the time everything was changing over to ATX there were
boards that had both power connectors so you could connect
either the AT or ATX power supply to them. The boards were
AT form factor tho without the I/O ports mounted on the back edge
of the MB. I have at least 2 motherboards still (1 functioning) that
have the dual power connectors. My 7 year old runs a K6 500 on
a DFI board with dual connectors and I've also run a Soltek dual
connector board and think I had a Gigabyte board like that.
Presumably there were some P3 boards like that also. How long
they kept that setup, ie. how fast a CPU they would support, I dunno.
You can DL PDF manuals that have sketches of the boards you might
be wondering about to see if they have the dual connectors.
Alternatively I have seen cases with the standard ATX I/O shield knockout
that would cover AT or ATX. Presumably from about the same time when
the manufacturers wanted to cover all the bases. I trust you've already
taken a look at the construction of the back of your case.
I also run 8 drives, CD, CDRW, floppy but swapped them to an ATX case
eventually.
Another thing to consider; unless you're running redundant PSs.....
AT power supplies may not run your drives AND even a reasonably modern
CPU at the same time. That may be a factor forcing you toward an ATX system.
I ran 8 drives & floppy & CDROM & K6 450 on a 220watt PC Power & Cooling Silencer
in an AT case for a long time. Had to upgrade the PS when I went even with
a 1gig Athlon tho. I just looked at an old 300watt PS I have. It runs +3.3V at
4 (f-o-u-r) amps, decent 30A on the +5V rail, and 12A (your drives will hate you)
on the +12V rail.
Thus a more modern faster processor, even if you can find the right MB with
AT connections may force you to a meatier PS for the processor alone, not
taking into account the drives. Chances become remote that you could find
an AT PS with enough wattage/amperage to run the system AND the drives.
You could get a small cheap ATX case/mb/CPU/RAM/PS and run your 68pin
external cable (or even a 68pin ribbon cable) to your old AT case with the drives
in it if you really want to. That'd keep everything cooler at least.
Then again.... you may be an artisté with a Dremel.....
On 10 May 2004 09:33:59 -0700, eljainc@ameritech.net (Mike McWhinney) wrote:
>Hello,
>
>Does anybody know of any P3 or P4 motherboards that will fit in an AT
>case.
>Currently we have a K6 500Mhz 3D-Now processor on an AT motherboard
>and are interested in upgrading to something significantly faster. I
>realize that most mobos are now ATX. We have a bunch of drives in our
>existing AT full tower case (I think it is 8 drives plus a 3 1/2"
>floppy).
>
>I am thinking now that it is best just to scrap what we have and
>upgrade to ATX case/P4 board, but I thought I would just ask the
>question to see if people have found a simpler solution.
>
>Regards,
>Mike McWhinney
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