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Moving pc to new case

Neil P

Neil P

pfm Member
My pc is in a cheap and cheerful case... I'd like to move it to something which is easier to open for cleaning, has more room (mine seems a bit cramped inside).

Any case recommendations?
Is transferring the innards easy enough?

The power cables inside seem to have multiple unused plugs of different types... Is it possible to replace with cables of just the correct type and length? Or does that mean a new power supply?

Can post pics and spec later.
 
If a standard mainboard/form factor you’ll have no issue, you just need to identify the type. Look for phrases like ‘ATX’, ‘mini-ATX’ etc.
 
I've been using a Fractal cases for a while, ATX and mini ITX. They're well thought out and no slicing of hands but premium prices! It's the time of year for new models across all of the manufacturers so there might be old stock around for discount.

Mid Tower Cases available at Overclockers UK - Upgrade your chassis

Overclockers UK’s range of mid tower PC cases are a popular form factor for gaming PCs thanks to their ample space for high-end hardware and great style.
www.overclockers.co.uk www.overclockers.co.uk
 
I like Lian Li cases but there are loads of good ones. My son just bought a Fractal North which is amazing and nice looking as well.
 
mercalia said:
if it aint broke leave well alone. just get a Datavac electronic duster for blowing all the dust out. Last a life time and better than pathetic aerosols which stand no comparison to the gale these devices can deliver
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Metro-220-240-DataVac-Electric-Duster/dp/B003BZCOKK?tag=pinkfishmedia-21
Click to expand...
I added a hard drive and Blu-ray drive and the wiring is a nightmare.... Could just be my lack of skill! Have started getting bios screen and Blu-ray drive missing ... A think a loose cable, or a drive pushing against a connection
 
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If you are feeling splashy get a modular power supply.

As for cases look to spend over a hundred for something half decent.

I like be quiet, I have a hyte y70 touch but the y60 is also very nice. Designed to show the innards though so cables will want to be neat lol
 
Another vote for Fractal. Not the cheapest but excellent quality and design and a case is something well worth spending money on IMHO. I have a Torrent which is fantastic in terms of airflow, temperature and keeping itself clean. Also they make performance cases without any impress the teenagers bling.

It's perhaps worth noting that the modern trend in cases (especially gaming cases) is for high airflow designs. That is, they are very open with a lot of vents to promote airflow the idea being that the best balance of cooling vs noise comes from airflow + large fans at slower speeds. Should be silent (or very, very quiet) in normal use but does mean the fans will spin up when pushed. These designs work much better overall than older designs from 5 to 10 years ago in my experience, assuming you are doing something that requires efficient cooling (gaming, solving Einstein's field equations, training your AI clone to attend meetings for you, etc. :) )

Important to understand the airflow design of the case and get all the fans in the right direction -- a surprising number of builds including from reputable builders/suppliers get this wrong and you end up with compromised performance. Also keep the filters on the inlet sides clean or it will get noisier and hotter surprisingly quickly.

Personally, I always get full size cases as I never move my PC once assembled and the extra space makes working on it much easier. Truly silent and/or very small cases gets more complicated, especially if you have a big graphics card, and I would defer to others with experience of that.

That Nexus bloke on YouTube will have a gazillion reviews to watch.
 
I’ve used cases from Corsair, Fractal, Phanteks and be quiet! for various pc builds, and prefer the be quiet! ones by a long way. Very good build quality, everything fits really nicely, useful accessories and generally very well thought out. Lots of details on their website and availability from the usual decent outlets in the U.K. like Scan, Overclockers etc. Shop around and check Amazon too as prices do vary.

Modular power supplies allow you to fit only the cables you actually need, which can be surprisingly few in a modern pc build, as opposed to having them all hard wired from the supply, resulting in the need to find space to bundle loads of wires out of sight.
My current pc uses the be quiet Dark Power Pro 12 1200 watt, which is silent and efficient.
 
Graham B said:
I’ve used cases from Corsair, Fractal, Phanteks and be quiet! for various pc builds, and prefer the be quiet! ones by a long way. Very good build quality, everything fits really nicely, useful accessories and generally very well thought out. Lots of details on their website and availability from the usual decent outlets in the U.K. like Scan, Overclockers etc. Shop around and check Amazon too as prices do vary.

Modular power supplies allow you to fit only the cables you actually need, which can be surprisingly few in a modern pc build, as opposed to having them all hard wired from the supply, resulting in the need to find space to bundle loads of wires out of sight.
My current pc uses the be quiet Dark Power Pro 12 1200 watt, which is silent and efficient.
Click to expand...

Thanks - modular power supplies sound like what i need ... i have thick bundles in my case, and i suspect the new drive/bluray drive are busing against a bundle and nudging a connector.

The spec when bought was:

Processor (CPU) - Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-9400F (2.9GHz) 9MB Cache
Motherboard - ASUS® H310M-A R2.0: Micro-ATX, DDR4, LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM) - 16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card - 6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st M.2 SSD Drive - 256GB ADATA SX6000 Pro PCIe M.2 2280 (2100 MB/R, 1200 MB/W)
1st Storage Drive - 2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
Power Supply - CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling - CoolerMaster Hyper 212X (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler Black Edition
Sound Card - ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless Network Card - WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options - MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS

Since then the network card was swapped, Bluray added and an additional HD added.
 
Neil P said:
Thanks - modular power supplies sound like what i need ... i have thick bundles in my case, and i suspect the new drive/bluray drive are busing against a bundle and nudging a connector.

The spec when bought was:

Processor (CPU) - Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-9400F (2.9GHz) 9MB Cache
Motherboard - ASUS® H310M-A R2.0: Micro-ATX, DDR4, LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM) - 16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card - 6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st M.2 SSD Drive - 256GB ADATA SX6000 Pro PCIe M.2 2280 (2100 MB/R, 1200 MB/W)
1st Storage Drive - 2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
Power Supply - CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling - CoolerMaster Hyper 212X (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler Black Edition
Sound Card - ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless Network Card - WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options - MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS

Since then the network card was swapped, Bluray added and an additional HD added.
Click to expand...
A modular power supply makes a big difference to the clutter inside the case, the only downside is removing the old one and it's cables but if you're changing the case at the same time it shouldn't be a problem. You can give everything a good clean and dust, which never hurts either!

There are plenty of sites that will calculate the required psu output for your pc build, and going over the required minimum wouldn't hurt and will be ready future upgrades too. Seasonic, Corsair and be quiet! all offer these, and make good quality products that should be efficient and reliable. I haven't plugged in the above components to check anywhere, but the current 450w supply probably doesn't have a huge amount of spare capacity, so I'd be tempted to go for something like a Seasonic Focus or Corsair RM series modular supply of between 600-800w. The be quiet! Pure Power 12 range is also fully modular and gold rated for efficiency. They will be £5-10 more expensive than the Seasonic or Corsair units, but have a 10-year warranty and will be properly quiet and reliable.

The only be quiet! case that will accommodate an optical drive is the Pure Base 600, which is £90 for the metal sided version or £100 for glass-sided. Fractal offer the Design Core series which will also accept the blu-ray drive for a quite a bit less, and that should still be solid and easy to build in. There are other manufacturers with products that will suit - a lot of CiT cases have optical drive bays on the front, but I've never tried one of those.
 
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