Turning Old Gateway into Micro ATX

[rjdld31]

Hello,

I have an old Gateway DX4850-27EU that I would like to continue to use but put into a micro atx case. I am an average user that will mostly use it for emails, netflix, music, and random gaming.

I basing the build around the Intel i5-2300 sock LGA1155, which I will reuse from the old desktop.

What can I reuse the power supply and ram from the old desktop?
What motherboard do you recommend?
What case would you recommend?

Not really looking to spend that much and hoping since its an outdated computer I may be able to find some bargains. I did visit pcpartpicker.com, but I just have no idea what is good/bad.

Thank You

 

[Obakasama]

Sounds like quite a little project. Bunch of things to consider but depends on what you want to do with the system and what your needs are.

By keeping the CPU you may as well keep the RAM (compatibility reasons), but it will restrict you to specific motherboard chipsets. Check the compatible products tab: https://ark.intel.com/products/52206/Intel-Core-i5-2300-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_10-GHz

The Windows licence of a prebuilt PC is locked to the motherboard (typically). In changing the motherboard you'd need to also get a new Windows licence. You can reuse the hard drive.

With respect to the case it depends what you want. There are factors like cooling, bays and connectivity, but what it looks like is subjective.

Upgrading the power supply would be good for safety. I'm hesitant with prebuilt power supplies being used for a long time, so a bit of quality there is good for peace of mind.

Given the generation of hardware it'll be the used market more than new. Difficult to say what's available; may just have to get what's available. But PCPartPicker has an inbuilt compatibility check which is handy as a rough guide.