Stuck with cases and motherboards?

Question

I'm thinking of building my own desktop PC, as buying bits is cheaper heres what I got so far:
Intel Celeron D352 CPU 3.2 GHz
Maxtor 160 GB HDD
Samsung 1GB RAM
NEC 18x DVD/RW
Asrock motherboard

This is my first time and im just trying to find compatible things which so far all the above are but I was wondering because the Motherboard comes with a Intel 865G graphics chipset, could I replace it with a Nvidia GeForce 7300 GT 512MB?
Also its a Micro ATX and I don't have a clue what case I would get.
I want to buy all from microdirect.co.uk to make it easy and would like you help. Also what kinda memory is the in-built graphics card?

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/(14287)Asrock-motherboard-775i65G-i865G-skt775-on.aspx
http://www.microdirect.co.uk/(14491)Intel-CPU-Celeron-D352-32GHz-533FSB-S775.aspx
http://www.microdirect.co.uk/(18817)160GB-Maxtor-DiamondMax-Plus-20-2MB-Cache.aspx
http://www.microdirect.co.uk/(8948)Samsung-Original-1024MB-DDR400-PC3200-RAM-memory.aspx

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/(14876)NEC-Optiarc-AD5170A0B-Black-18x-DVD-RWRAM.aspx
http://www.microdirect.co.uk/(21222)NVIDIA-GeForce-7300-GT-512MB-AGP.aspx

Also can you tell me if I need anything else?
If so what and can you give me the link to it?

Please only give links from microdirect.co.uk

I have given a link to the motherboard here it is again:
http://www.microdirect.co.uk/(14287)Asrock-motherboard-775i65G-i865G-skt775-on.aspx

Answer 1

Micro ATX means that it's smaller than a full ATX, but it's backwards compatible, so nothing to worry about.
Any ATX or µATX case will do the trick.
You will also need a PSU. The motherboard power connector is 20-pin - newer PSU's are 24 pin, some accommodate both.
The in built graphics will borrow upto 96Mb of your 1Gb of RAM. Once you insert a graphics card, and possibly change a bios setting (may be automatic) the on board graphics will be disabled.
The card you're looking at and your mobo are both AGP despite previous answers - but I suspect you already knew that!
Other things not on your list (you may already have them):
- monitor
- keyboard
- mouse
- operating system: Windows or Linux.
Copies of XP or Vista may be installed on a single PC only, and this will make a major addition to the cost.

Other considerations = my predjudices:
Celeron's do not feature on tomshardware.com - it may be more prudent to consider a more mainstream CPU...

You are steering away from future proof with your choice of motherboard. It's good that it has no fans, and it has on board network but you should consider a board that has PCI-E rather than AGP, takes DDR2 rather than DDR, and has a 24 pin rather than a 20 pin power connector.
There are other factors, but AGP cards cost more than equivalent PCI-e cards, and it is unlikely that newer cards will even be available in AGP. No big deal now - but in 18 months?
I'm tied to DDR and there appear to be more bargains for DDR2 available...
If you gat a µATX case, you will be constrained when you ever want to upgrade the mobo.
Although you may find a bargain 20 pin PSU now, it will be useless when you come to upgrade...

Compare prices/alternatives at http://www.scan.co.uk/todayonly/

Enjoy it!

Answer 2

Buying bits is very little cheaper then, say, Dell if you want a copy of Windows. If you are going to use Windows you need to budget for that also! But building it yourself is more interesting. If you live in my area I would help you out (for a fee) if it all goes wrong.

Build the computer without the additional graphics card first. You can add one later.

Micro ATX is the smallest common motherboard form factor so will likely fir into any case. Make sure you get a case with an integrated power supply or buy a separate power supply. You may need extra stand-offs to mount the motherboard. You can get these from Maplins (I don't know about Microdirect for these). I recommend you use all the mounting holes on the motherboard so it does not flex too much when you plug things in.

These days not all motherboards support PATA as well as SATA. Make sure your hard drive and DVDRW are compatible.

Answer 3

865G chipset has the Intel Extreme Graphics that is ok for 2D and video but SLOW for 3D graphics like games. It just shares (or steals) from system RAM. The chipset only supports AGP, thus you can not use PCIe graphics card. BUT 7300GT has an AGP variant.

Micro ATX board is small and easy to fit in most PC cases. A 380W-450W power supply should run cool and give you elbow room for upgrades. With 2x512Mb ddr 400 RAM (matched pair for dual channel mode) you can complete your build.

Answer 4

There must be NO screws sticking up below the motherboard region after all. this could blow the motherboard if it contacted it. Are you confident you're mounting the motherboard properly? in case you utilize the suited spacers there must be no obstructions to setting up it. If there are, substitute the case.

Answer 5

Yup, as soon as you insert anything "graphics-cardy", the built-in graphics card will be overridden.

You seem to be on a budget, don't forget that AMD CPUs are cheaper than Intel for the same (relative!) performance!