help with ATX case

I am used to Super 7 (and earlier) motherboards and AT cases, and now that I have an ATX case sans motherboard, I am finding things not quite as familiar as I expected. The case came fully assembled but has no documentation at all.

1. The power supply is only 320W and doesn't bear any UL or CSA logo. So I want to get a quality 480W unit and keep the 320 watter as a spare. Are all ATX power supplies alike, or do I have to match one to my case?

2. Where would the IDE connectors on the motherboard be, if they are usually in about the same place? I don't want to use 26-inch cables unless I really need to go that long. I want to find out how short I can get away with.

3. The case has 4 spaces at the drive bays for 80mm fans. There are no holes for outside air, though there are side fans. (The side fans are set to exhaust but can be turned around.) Which way(s) should drive bay fans be oriented for best results?

4. What can be done for cooling besides lots of fans? No cutting holes in the case though. I don't have either the tools or the expertise to do it.

5. There are some metal plates in the drive bays right behind the plastic drive bay covers. How are these properly removed?

6. What is the best way to remove the I/O and slot cover knock-out plates without shedding blood over sharp edges? On my AT cases, non-holed slot covers were ******* on and I/O knock-out plates came off very easily. But the ATX case seems to jealously guard its plates.

 

Hi Hotaru: Well, you didn't say what size case, atx comes in mini, mid & full towers. The cable length needed will depend on which size case you have, where the board mounts in the case, and which bays you use.

The IDE drive headers are usually, if not always, located on the right side of the board in about midway between the top and bottom. Look at the board you plan to buy, If you cant see it in person, you should be able to find pictures of it online.

A mid tower case is about 16 inches tall, and 18 inch cables should do the job.

Put a screwdriver on the knock outs and hit it with the heel of your hand. Works for me. After getting one corner loose, pull and twist a couple of times. If you're worried about cutting yourself, grab 'em with a pair of pliers and twist.

Take the front case cover off and grasp the metal inserts with those pliers, bend it back and forth, should come right out, only small attachment tabs on case.

I don't know about a case with no holes for outside air, are you sure? What about the back of the case? No holes there? I think if there is no way to get outside air in, I'd start looking for another case.

Every case I've seen takes air in through the front, the openings are behind the front cover and the air comes in through the bottom between the plastic cover and case, you should see this if you have to take the plastic cover off to mount a CD drive.

My understanding of best practice is to have air flow come in the front and go out the back. You don't want the fans working against each other.

There are a lot of other cooling solutions on the market, get a catalog or go online. Besides lots of fans, there is liquid cooling and even some sophistcated chemical coolers used by the overclockers. For the average user though, a good heat sink and fan on the CPU and adequate air flow through the case with fans sucking air in through the front and fans blowing air out the back will keep the temperatures within the parameters published by the MFGs.

I ran a mid tower case with one 80mm fan blowing into the case in the front and one 80mm fan blowing out the back, along with the power supply fan, the temperatures were witin limits.

 

The case is a mid-tower. At first there were no motherboards I had in mind, but there is one now. There are some pics available, and using them with a measuring tape it looks like only 15-inch cables are needed.

There are indeed no holes on the front of the case. There are plenty of holes on the back, and it is optional to put a 60mm fan there. Four 80mm fans can be mounted on the front despite lack of holes there. There are 2 side-by-side fans on the side of the case (the side facing the card slots). They can be set to blow out (default) or in. And of course I've got the power supply fan(s).

It looks like you might not have to take off the front panel to install CD drives. I have not yet figured out how to get it off. I have seen interesting ways of doing it in Tandy, Compaq, and Packard Hell cases (all of them LPX-ish), and I was hoping a non-proprietary ATX case would hold no secrets.

 

Well, No holes in front? Maybe you can set up a decent air flow with side fans blowing in and rear fans blowing out.

Usually the front cover is held on by tabs that stick through slots in the metal case. You can release the tabs by pressing them to the side from inside the case beside the drive cages.

Good luck.