Building a New CPU? Can i REUSE old tower???

[6a9x3li]

okay guys, i am new at this forum so bare with me pls.

im currently running on an old comp i have that is only 600 mhz.. Lols everything in it is decent except my mother board/processor??

im just wondering can i reuse my old tower?! or how can i tell what will fit my tower actually? im a noob -_-

what will i need to rebuild a new cpu??

i want new hard drives, gfx card, (can i use the same sound card??), i know imma need new ram etc.. what else would i need to get a new cpu running?!

 

[Atomic Rooster]

You may be able to use your old tower. Is it a prebuilt system like a Dell or Gateway? With those, it's usually best just to get another case. They are fairly proprietary and sometimes hard to fit new parts in them.

 

[JogaBonito1502]

Also you need to figure out the form factor (proper term?). It could be matx or atx. If it's matx you will be limited on the pieces you can use because some may not fit. But if it's atx you're fine as matx fits in atx.

 

[6a9x3li]

wow, dude.. im not even sure lol

well my tower right now is a no brand i guess?? it was not a prebuilt system by dell etc.. but my brother in laws friend did build it for me 8 years ago..

how do i find out if its matx or atx??

 

[JogaBonito1502]

Hum...do you know what it is called or any information on it? That's all we really need, then we can look it up for you.

 

[6a9x3li]

i honestly cant find out what its called.. the tower has no name/#s of anything what so ever.. the inside of my tower does look like everything was pieced separately though.

heres a picture of what it looks like my tower has inside of it..

 

[Atomic Rooster]

To be on the safe side, when selecting the parts you need for a new build, have a look at some mid-tower cases. You may find something you really like and you'll be sure it works with the new components.

There's a nice sticky at the top of this section called **New Build Guide**. It will give you a good idea of what you will need to look for.

 

[bullzi]

looks atx to me..

 

[A True Folder]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

what will i need to rebuild a new cpu??

You will need a silcon wafer preferably 45nm or 32nm and millions of dollars worth of Microengineering technology.

The cpu is the processor chip, not the tower/case.

how do i find out if its matx or atx??

You measure the m/board

heres a picture of what it looks like my tower has inside of it..

Go back to the wiki page where you got that picture, on the right at the top is a list of form factors and measurements for each.

Given the age of your pc I would suggest the only components reusable are likely to be the optical and hard drives, though they should also probably be replaced due to age.

 

[6a9x3li]

so i cant just buy a new mother board and stick it in?! i think mines for sure is an ATX bcus it has the same power supply box and everything as it does on wiki lols.. and what do mean by optical??