I agree with Lou. Two of the most important parts of a computer are the case and power supply, so if you can swing it at this time, ( eg bad economy right now), consider going first call on these two items:
Case: 1) should provide good airflow with plenty of fans. As a general rule, a case that keeps components cooler will add to their life, including keeping cpu, disk drives, video cards, etc. as cool as possible. 2) should provide quite operation. The better cases have insolation on the inside of the case to reduce noise. 3) should provide easy access to assemble a new system from scratch, or to add/exchange new items, like add another fan, hard drive, etc. Its nice if the case has trays that allow items like disk drives to mounted and the the drive can be slid in and out of the case. Also thumb screws are easier to work with than screw drivers. Power supply: 1) should balance the electrical load to avoid spikes or low power outages. 2) should run cool and quite. 3) should provide reliable, even, clean, flow of power to all components of the computer. Here's a pretty good case and power supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129061 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371021&cm_re=antec_650-_-17-371-021-_-Product Regards, LelandJ On 12/10/2010 12:58 PM, Lou Syracuse wrote: > There haven't been a lot of changes to the size of motherboards. ATX has > been the defacto-standard size for years. But there ARE others out there. > Do you have a specific motherboard/barebones in mind? Any idea what > brand/model your case is? > > What HAS changed is the amount of heat internal components produce as they > have gotten faster. Good airflow through the case is critical. As long as > the case you're using isn't so small it is crammed full of cables and has > good airflow you should be fine. Some prefer to use aftermarket cooling > fans/systems, but unless you are into over-clocking you don't need the > latest liquid-cooling gadgets on the processor. > > I have built my own desktops for a long time, it is only way to get the > components I want. My latest i7/950 rocks! > > Lou > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On > Behalf Of Ken Kixmoeller (ProFox) > Sent: Friday, December 10, 2010 10:24 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [NF] Build your own > > Hey Hardware Dudes -- - -- - - - > > A few years ago, I bought a "bare bones" kit and "built" a computer > that has been my development machine for some time. The power supply > died, and a replacement one is about the same cost as a new bare bones > kit, so I decided not to replace it right away. > > I am considering the possibility of doing it again for a Linux box. > the question is: I have this perfectly-good case from the last one. > How can one tell whether a new motherboard would fit into the old > case? Or, how can I select a new motherboard that will fit? Worth it? > > Ken > [excessive quoting removed by server] _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[email protected] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
