Computer possibilities; Building a computer?

Question

Hypothetical Example: someone owns a computer and they bought it way back in 1999. And maybe they have gotten a computer since then, but they don’t want to just waist a perfectly good computer, even if it is really old. Would it be possible (hypothetically) for this person to purchase a mother board, processor, hard drive, memory, ect. and create a modern computer using the old exterior to keep it in? How hard would something like that be for the average person? How hard would something like that be for the average person who could get a hold of an old friend who worked in the computer industry for several years?

Basically I’m a cheep guy and don’t support giving my money to billionaires, and it would be cool just to say I “built” my own computer kind-of.
How cool would that be; someone comes over and starts making fun of your computer because it looks old. But then you turn it on and it kicks butt.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Answer 1

It shouldn't be impossible, as long as the casing conforms to standards.

The few form factors out there, MicroATX, ATX, FlexATX and BTX.

You can read more about it at Form Factor ( http://www.formfactors.org/formfactor.asp )

If you want to keep the exterior, you have to first find out what form factor is your casing first.

After finding out your casing form factor, you then search for a compatible motherboard. Let's say your casing form factor is an ATX, you then search for an ATX motherboard.

After finding a suitable motherboard, you will have to find what processors is supported by the motherboard. You can find this out by visiting the motherboards website ( http://www.motherboards.org/ ).

Not too sure where you are located, but in Singapore where I am, all our motherboards manufacturers will at least provide an IDE cable, for those who prefer IDE hard drives. Same goes for the CD/DVD drives.

For those who are unsure, we usually recommend a bundled package ( which is, the motherboard comes with the processor installed ), to save you the headache of figuring out which processor is suitable for which motherboard.

For power supply, it's also based on the form factor itself, and the specs of your PC. If it's a high end PC, don't expect a 250W power supply to work.

For the RAM, it again depends on what your motherboard support. If it supports dual channel, read through the motherboard manual properly in order for your PC to be working at its best.

Answer 2

Well it sounds like the only thing you are looking to hold onto is the case. If that is true then go for it, you just have to make sure that all your components will fit inside the case, but if you are just being cheap you might as well spend the extra couple bucks on a new case. The case is actually probably one of the cheapest parts of building a new computer. If you are going to completely re-build the thing might as well do it right. Basically building the computer is like putting legos together. You get the motherboard and you plug everything into the right place and you are good to go. You could probably use the ram and maybe some of the old disc drives from your old computer depending on what you want in your new machine. I'd recommend that you write down all the specs from your computer and take it to a computer shop (fry's is actually a pretty good place to start) and just ask them what they have that is compatible with your stuff and see what is worth keeping and what isnt.

Answer 3

Well its definitely possible, you just have to make sure the old case is an ATX compatible case, if its not, then you won't be able to put in your mobo. Also before you want to start, you should also consider getting a new power supply unit also, because the modern parts such as procs and video cards draw lots of power compared to parts a few years back. And make sure your old case has a good airflow, old computers did not have to worry much about heat, but new parts all run much hotter than their ancestors, so make sure the processor, hard drive, video card gets enough airflow inside the case so that it will be able to operate in a stable condition. Building your own computer can be a bit more costly than buying one from HP or Dell, but you get much more freedom and choice when you build your own rig, and its possible to build a rig with less than a 1000 dollars.

Answer 4

I recently built a pc the same way your talking about.

If your old computer has at least 512 mb of ram, its a keeper for the next pc, although newer ram will run much faster, but you can add to your new computer pieces at a time! You can keep the cd or dvd drive for the new pc, power supply if you dont intend on getting a high end graphics card, or 4 hard drives. Basically with a new motherboard cpu and hard drive, you can have an up to date computer, and down the road if you want to add to it, start with the power supply, then you can move up to graphics cards, sound cards, extra hard drives, bigger and faster ram........
You can get some descent bare bones kits from tiger direct for a very nice price.....

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_tlc.asp?CatId=31

Hope this works for ya, good luck with your project!

Answer 5

There is some problem.

First old computer using the AT power supply. Nowadays we use ATX power Supply. Then You cannot change the processor instead of changing motherboard.
You have to buy a new motherboard, processor and Ram. You can use your old HDD. But that HDD may be having only 10GB Capacity. But now Seagate selling 500GB HDDs.
After purchasing New board where should we fix it?. Coz, Old cabinet definitely will not set to the New board. So you have to purchase New Cabinet also.

You can use your Old mouse, Old KeyBoard, Old monitor, Old HDD and Old CDRom thats all. For mouse and Keyboard you have to buy a converter(PS2)

Answer 6

Great idea!
But the hardest part of building a computer is the compatibility (alot of parts don't work with other parts) I've built a computer before and it's very straightforward. There are plenty of sites to help you out (check google).