Compatibility issues

[Saruke]

Hey everybody I have a question that I hope some of you might know the answer to.

Recently I bought some new pieces of hardware for my comp (motherboard, processor and ram) To my chagrin the new motherboard is too big for my computer case which means that I can't install it and the 300 bucks I spent on upgrades is wasted.

My question is, would it harm my computer if I took out my old processor and ram from my old motherboard and put in the new processor and ram on the old motherboard? I have no idea if their compatible but I'd like to give it a shot if it won't hurt my comp.

Also if anyone has a cheap solution for my original dilemma I would be grateful.

 

[BoroVC]

Why don't you just buy a new case?

 

[kineaesth]

Hey everybody I have a question that I hope some of you might know the answer to.

Recently I bought some new pieces of hardware for my comp (motherboard, processor and ram) To my chagrin the new motherboard is too big for my computer case which means that I can't install it and the 300 bucks I spent on upgrades is wasted.

My question is, would it harm my computer if I took out my old processor and ram from my old motherboard and put in the new processor and ram on the old motherboard? I have no idea if their compatible but I'd like to give it a shot if it won't hurt my comp.

Also if anyone has a cheap solution for my original dilemma I would be grateful.

I thought you left?

 

[Saruke]

you guys may be insensitive but you know your stuff

anyway, how much does a case cost and where do I find one? Cause when I talked to the guy at best buy about buying just a comp case he looked at me like I was a f**kin' weirdo

 

[Druckles]

A case can cost anywhere between ?10 and ?200. It seriously does vary quite a lot. If you were English, I'd point you at scan.co.uk, but not being, most people would probably point at newegg, or whatever it's called.

This is a list of cases. I'd say a ?50/$100 case would probably what you'd be looking at.

 

[Crash]

If your new mobo is better than your old one, go for the new case. I'm guessing that your new mobo may have more expansion slots, or better cooling, and that will pay off in the long run.
New cases range from just your basic box, to plexiglass windowed cases, to pre-power supplied cases, to pre-liquid cooled cases. It all depends on how much you want to spend.
As Druck said, New Egg is pretty good, I bought the majoriy of my stuff there.

 

[Saruke]

how hard is it to take out all the stuff from my old comp and put it in a new case? Cause that sounds hard. I should mention that I'm not that technically skilled and have only taken apart my comp and put it back together once.

and also how do I find out if my motherboard will fit in a case to avoid the same problem from happening twice?

 

[BoroVC]

how hard is it to take out all the stuff from my old comp and put it in a new case? Cause that sounds hard. I should mention that I'm not that technically skilled and have only taken apart my comp and put it back together once.

Well installing the motherboard is probably the most awkward thing but even that isnt too hard. And since you were gonna replace the mobo anyway, you wont be doing anything you werent going to do anyway.

With regards to the size, most mobos are ATX form factor and so are most cases so just look out for that. Stay from Micro ATX because with less room in your case, less air can circulate.

 

[Druckles]

A case can cost anywhere between ?10 and ?200. It seriously does vary quite a lot. If you were English, I'd point you at scan.co.uk, but not being, most people would probably point at newegg, or whatever it's called.

This is a list of cases. I'd say a ?50/$100 case would probably what you'd be looking at.

My edit limit expired within opening up this thread and clicking "Submit changes". Heh.
I was attempting to make the URL more obvious...

how hard is it to take out all the stuff from my old comp and put it in a new case? Cause that sounds hard. I should mention that I'm not that technically skilled and have only taken apart my comp and put it back together once.

and also how do I find out if my motherboard will fit in a case to avoid the same problem from happening twice?

As to the fitting part, the only thing you'd potentially have to do extra is swap over the power supply, which isn't that difficult. Most of the building a PC happens around the motherboard, so even if you upgraded your whole PC except your motherboard and case, it would only consist of unplugging and plugging in things. Pretty straightforward stuff. I'd recommend finding someone who's built a computer before to help you, though, if you can. It would certainly be useful if you have any apprehensions about it.

And you find out by getting the dimensions of your motherboard and comparing them to the dimensions of the case that should be given to you on the website.

Cue example from someone else

 

[Saruke]

so no matter what kind of case I buy if it's big enough to fit my motherboard everything else will work too?

My motherboard dimension are 13" x 9.5"