Question Transfer prebuilt PC parts

[A7med15]

Hi, i have lenovo thinkcentre e73 small from factor, its comes with i5 4460S and 8gb ram, i want to change the case and psu and motherboard, can i do this? I want to buy 500W PSU and lga 1150 motherboard and mid tower case.

 

[Eximo]

Certainly, the motherboard is the main factor. But if you are replacing it then the rest is just plugging the CPU and RAM in. Everything else would be new.

Now keeping the OS is pretty much a no go. OEM licenses aren't transferable. So factor that cost into your decision.

To be honest though, the i5-4460S is a bit dated, you could pick up a Ryzen 3 1200 or Ryzen 2200G/3200G. You would still be needing a new motherboard and DDR4 ram, but you would also have your complete Lenovo to sell off to make up the difference.

 

[A7med15]

Certainly, the motherboard is the main factor. But if you are replacing it then the rest is just plugging the CPU and RAM in. Everything else would be new.

Now keeping the OS is pretty much a no go. OEM licenses aren't transferable. So factor that cost into your decision.

To be honest though, the i5-4460S is a bit dated, you could pick up a Ryzen 3 1200 or Ryzen 2200G/3200G. You would still be needing a new motherboard and DDR4 ram, but you would also have your complete Lenovo to sell off to make up the difference.

Thank you But i dont want to buy another CPU,can i do what i said??

 

[Eximo]

Yes, that was the first sentence.

I would still advise against it. You gain little with a motherboard swap and stand to gain a lot more by getting a more recent platform.

If your goal is to add a video card, you really only need to swap the chassis and the power supply. To get a standard supply working with the board there are adapters out there:

https://www.moddiy.com/products/IBM-Lenovo-PSU-Main-Power-24-Pin-to-14-Pin-Adapter-Cable-30cm.html

Though, considering the cost, yes, a motherboard would be fine.

 

[tennis2]

Why do you want to get a new (used) motherboard?

 

[Eximo]

Typical SFF motherboards have proprietary power supplies, proprietary front panel connectors, proprietary fan headers, etc.

So if the intention is to swap chassis, add power supply, and install a standard size graphics card, then the easiest physical thing to do is replace the motherboard.

Only real issue with that is Windows activation, so it can be cheaper to adapt the board rather than replace it. But if a used board is cheap enough, and Windows activation isn't a big deal, then it is certainly the option that requires the least amount of effort.

My argument is given current prices, you might actually be able to track down used Ryzen parts for less then you would think. There are going to be people dropping X370 boards in favor of X570 boards. Or people with low end B350 boards upgrading as well. And the 1st and 2nd gen Ryzen chips have been on a fire sale. Anyone jumping ship to 3rd gen is going to have 1000 and 2000 series parts waiting to be sold. DDR4 is at its cheapest point in the last few years.

 

[tennis2]

Ah, indeed, I hadn't looked up a picture:

https://www.lenovo.com/au/en/deskto...inkcentre/m-series-sff/10AU/p/11TC1TEE73010AU
The PCIe x16 slot is only 40W.

We don't know what country the OP is in or how much they're expecting to pay for a used replacement mobo, but that CPU is already pretty dated. Unless funds are tight, it's probably a good idea to just put your money toward a new system.

The only thing the OP will have "wasted" money on (that can't be transferred to a new build later) is this replacement mobo though. So, if the new mobo isn't terribly expensive and it hobbles you out another year or so, it's not the worst plan.