Question HP elitedisk to mid tower

[Nipper76]

Hey kids.

I wanted to build a little gaming rig on a budget with my nipper for his birthday.

I've found a refurbished HP elitedesk with a I5-4590 at a very decent price (I think) and from what I can see, the processor will go nicely with a GTX 1060.

The only thing is I want to have to change the case from a horizontal one to a vertical mid tower atx case with funky lights.

Now is this possible? Or is the mainboard going to be a different layout?

Can I switch the mainboard? Or is the chip going to be integrated?

The system I've found looks very much like this one.....

HP EliteDesk 800 G1 - SFF - Core i5 4590 3.3 GHz - 4 GB - HDD 500 GB Specs

HP EliteDesk 800 G1 - SFF - Core i5 4590 3.3 GHz - 4 GB - HDD 500 GB overview and full product specs on CNET.

www.cnet.com

Thanks in advance team 😊

 

[Alabalcho]

With your HP model and serial number, go to HP' support site, and look for service manual. Or just crack open the thing, and see how the components are laid out, what is the connection to the front panel, etc. You can also post a picture link here.

 

[Nipper76]

I haven't purchased it yet... was just seeing if it was possible without too much drama

 

[AllanGH]

The front panel connector headers look like they could be fairly close to standard, but the motherboard power connectors are decidedly proprietary. You could find (or make) adapters for those, I would assume.

Depending on case drillings, you should be able to mount the motherboard with standoffs and hit the majority of motherboard mounting holes. Whether or not it will be enough for adequate support of the MB is an open question. (From the looks of the MB, 6 of the mounting holes should be dead-on, or relatively close, but close probably won't get it for you, if you have a case that is sparse on MB mounting drillings.)

It might be worth the attempt, if the price for the refurb is excellent. If it's not such a great price, you would probably be better-off doing a ground-up micro-ATX build.

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

I agree with AllanGH --- because of the proprietary nature of many prebuilt computers I'd recommend building a new PC with a retail tower case and motherboard of your choice, or buy a prebuilt or custom-built tower PC if you don't want to build it yourself.

 

[Nipper76]

Found these videos which I think pretty much answers my question....

They might be of use to someone else

View: https://youtu.be/gUKnFo4o8ho

View: https://youtu.be/C70nmtTFPuw

 

[AllanGH]

I didn't watch the videos, but I assume that their mere existence means that they had success with the project. I'm sure that, if you decide to go-ahead with it, yourself, you'd have similar results.