How can you tell if a case is ATX?

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

I've got a couple of old computers around, and I wouldn't mind
building them up with new motherboards and other innards. How can
I tell if they are ATX cases, and will accept the new
motherboards? Is there a simple way?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

"Al Smith" <invalid@address.com> wrote in message
news:12l3d.134695$Np3.5609779@ursa-nb00s0.nbnet.nb.ca...
> I've got a couple of old computers around, and I wouldn't mind building
> them up with new motherboards and other innards. How can I tell if they
> are ATX cases, and will accept the new motherboards? Is there a simple
> way?

The PS/2 ports attached to the mainboard? The case had better have
corresponding holes to allow you to connect your keyboard and mouse. -Dave

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

Al Smith wrote:

> I've got a couple of old computers around, and I wouldn't mind
> building them up with new motherboards and other innards. How can
> I tell if they are ATX cases, and will accept the new
> motherboards? Is there a simple way?

A) An ATX case has only 7 (max) expansion card slots.
B) An ATX case has a ~2" x ~6" slot above the 7th expansion slot.
C) An ATX case has a low current, momentary SPST on/off switch on the
front panel, which connects to the motherboard (not to the PS.)
D) An ATX power supply will have one 20-pin (two rows of ten) connector
to the motherboard.
E) An ATX case will have its keyboard and mouse connectors as part of
the above described ~2" x ~6" slot in the case. No separate holes.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

Matt wrote:

> >> A) An ATX case has only 7 (max) expansion card slots.
> >> B) An ATX case has a ~2" x ~6" slot above the 7th expansion slot.
> >
> >
> > The hole is "above" all the card slots (as the case sets like a tower).
> > It is close to 44.9mm x 159.2mm.
>
> Yikes! The "I/O Aperture" is supposed to be 1.75" x 6.25".

A) Is not a slot above the 7th expansion slot above *all* of the slots
on an ATX case?
B) Is ~2" x ~6" not close enough to identify that the case is ATX rather
than AT?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

Matt wrote:

> > A) Is not a slot above the 7th expansion slot above *all* of the slots
> > on an ATX case?
> > B) Is ~2" x ~6" not close enough to identify that the case is ATX rather
> > than AT?
>
> I won't get into a meta-argument with you unless you insist.

That answers my questions. Thanks.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

>>I've got a couple of old computers around, and I wouldn't mind
>>> building them up with new motherboards and other innards. How can
>>> I tell if they are ATX cases, and will accept the new
>>> motherboards? Is there a simple way?
>
>
> A) An ATX case has only 7 (max) expansion card slots.
> B) An ATX case has a ~2" x ~6" slot above the 7th expansion slot.
> C) An ATX case has a low current, momentary SPST on/off switch on the
> front panel, which connects to the motherboard (not to the PS.)
> D) An ATX power supply will have one 20-pin (two rows of ten) connector
> to the motherboard.
> E) An ATX case will have its keyboard and mouse connectors as part of
> the above described ~2" x ~6" slot in the case. No separate holes.

Great, thanks, that's the answer I was hoping for -- clear and
complete, I mean.

I'm not that thrilled with my new case. It's a no-name case that
came with a 420 Watt power supply, and only cost $35, but to some
extent, you get what you pay for. The sheet metal is very thin. My
five-year old Dell case is just about twice as heavy, which says a
lot about the difference in thickness of the metal used in the two
cases.

I had another case, even more solid than the Dell, from an old P2
computer, but it didn't occur to me that I might be able to use it
with a modern motherboard. But I'm guessing now that it is an ATX
case, and that I could have bought a new power supply and put all
my modern parts into it, and gotten a more solid (and quieter) box
as a result. I would have had to give up multimedia plugs on the
front panel, but I probably would have done this had I known the
new parts would fit.

Mind you, the case I'm using isn't a terrible case (I like the
buttons and the lights), it's just not as solid as the Dell or the
other box. I am going to stick with the flimsy case for a while,
and if it still bugs me after a few months, I will think about
transferring the guts of the computer to the older, more solid box.

 

[APWPG]

?

 

[g-unit1111]

This thread is from 2004. Do not bump old threads.