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Reusing an old Gateway Case

B

B-Sal

Weaksauce
Joined
Jun 26, 2010
Messages
101
I want to rebuild my moms PC for her sometime soon so I have found all the hardware minus a case. I always liked the way her old gateway looked and I think I wanna reuse it. The only concern I have is heat issues caused by the small size of the case. Below is the support page for the model she currently has and a picture of the inside of the case.

Support page
http://support.gateway.com/s/PC/DX400/1014104R/1014104Rnv.shtml

Inside
GM5420_IV2.jpg


So I'm going to put an 80mm or 92mm in the back and I think I'm going to Jerry rig a 120mm in the front where the hard drive bay is. I'm going to get rid of that cage and put the hard drive under the CD drive. Do you think heat will be an issue with the new hardware I want to put in?

Here's all the hardware I'm buying. I may also reuse my old 8800gts if the integrated graphics don't cut it (I doubt that though because she will be doing mainly office work).

Heres a Newegg wishlist with all the hardware. Thanks in advance for all the help. :D

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=21567205
 
You may want to take a peek inside before you commit to it. I had a Gateway given to me and I noticed when working on it that the front panel connectors used a single plug for the power/ reset and LEDS. You could break the plug and solder new connectors to it but that would really be two much work. Personally I would skip the CX600 and go with a CX430 and Carbide 200 case and call it a day. Both are on sale right now for $35 each after rebate.
 
Did you look under the hard drive cage at the inside of the front of the case? There should be a small fan mounting point there... I once had a similar Gateway case and used that mount to improve cooling. It pulls from under the front panel.

I do agree with B-Sal that you will probably have a hard time swapping a new motherboard in there - and if you can possibly swing a few dollars more you should just go for a new case. I can understand wanting to reuse the original, as it does look nice from the inside, though - if you want to try and make it work I'd go ahead but keep in mind that in the end you may be looking for a new case out of pure frustration..... and the new case will use nice 120mm or 140mm fans to be both cooler and quieter.

It'll also be much roomier inside for ease of assembly and adding future upgrades.
 
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