Do I need a new ATX Case?

[Guest]

Hey all--

I'm just about to upgrade my system, and I'm wondering if I can save money by not buying an entirely new case. I have an Enlight 8254901 w/ a 250W powersupply, and I'm going to buy a Gigabyte GA-7ZX mobo and an AMD Thunderbird 750 or 800Mhz processor to go in it.

The thing is, I've been told the AMD chips (like the T-bird) should have a 300W power supply. I was thinking of buying an Enlight 7237 w/ 300W PS, but it's $55 and I'm trying to shave as much money off the purchase cost as possible.

Any way I could slide that GA-7ZX into my existing Enlight? Same form factor, and does the T-bird *really* need a 300W power suppyl? What's the worst thing that could happen if I run it off a 250W one?

TIA,
-netwerkboi

 

[juice]

I would just keep the case and power supply for now and later on you can replace the power supply with a 300 watt.
Good Luck.

 

[madmike]

Check the size of your new mobo and measure up the case. You shouldn't have any trouble determining whether or not it will fit. As far as the PS goes, I think a 250W unit is marginal. It really depends on the other equipment in your box. If you have a HDD, floppy, CD/DVD, CDRW, and AGP video, you're pushing it. You could check the power requirements of all the components and do the math... I think too many people overlook the PS when they upgrade. A good PS will contribute alot to a more stable system. I just got an Antec 300W PS for less than $40 from Neutron.com for my T-Bird upgrade. Considering what I spent on RAM, mobo, processor and HDDs, the $40 was peanuts.