I need to change my case but am wary, so need advice :)

[idrisguitar]

basically my current pc is used for a studio and has a horrible problem. I cannot screw my sound card in, meaning its very unstable and whenever i want to change cables i have to open the pc and hold the card in place while i pull them out and plug them in, plus on random days the studio wont have sound because magically the soundcard has come out of the pci slot.

im suprised the sound card is still working.

instead of buying a new computer, the cheaper and more hassle free route would probably be switching the case right?

i want to know which case will help me fix this problem but more importantly,

how do i switch the motherboard and processor and fans etc. (i know how to switch the hard drive easy and pci and ram i have installed many times before so im not a totally ignorant to the inside of a pc

but a whole mother board and proccessor transplant (if you want to call it that) is something im not totally sure about.

I REALLY HOPE YOU CAN HELP because this would solve so many annoying problems im having with the studio.

 

[Deathawk]

You would just unscrew the motherboard and the raisers. Then you screw the raisers into the other case, put the motherboard in and screw the motherboard into the raisers. It's not hard once you get the concept.

 

[idrisguitar]

i hope so,

im sure i will be able to get my head aorund it,

just incase, is there anything particularly difficult, or any commonly made mistake that you could point


for example say this case

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/110843/rb/25601677055

how do i know which case is compatible with my motherboard,

its a standard asus motherboard i think in a standard case at the moment.

also does it matter what wattage the new power supply is in the new case? that wont affect the proccessor, mobo or anything else that i am transferring over.

or can i even just knck the power supply from the current case as wlel and put it into the new case (which by the way the one im looking at has two fans in it already.)

so yeah my main concern is compatibilty with the cases, and psu

hope you can help

 

[Nitestick]

you can swap the power supplies fairly easy if you prefer your current one to the one in the new case. there are four screws at the back holding the psu in and that is all. other than that you may have a little trouble manouvering the old psu out and the new one in. swapping the other components is pretty easy. just be sure to know where anything unplugged plugs back in and to make sure the standoffs (previous poster mentioned "risers", they are the same thing) are installed if necessary, as not all cases need them but most do. keep yourself "grounded" to one of the cases to avoid damaging anything with ESD, that just means make sure you are in contact with the metal of the case. finally (probably should have been first ) make sure the power is disconnected or switched off at the wall/power supply.

 

[ricanflow]

Or you can use an external sound interface, they give better sound quality anyways. I got s studio as wel and use a phonic helix board digital usb mixer.sound interface and its great.

 

[idrisguitar]

i dont want to spend to much in correcting this problem and my soundcard is tried and tested, i love it.

thanks for the advice guys,

but again can you tell me wha case would i be looking for,

i have a standard asus motherboard (fairly recent) with pci-e and its seems to be a pretty standard existing tower.

 

[Nitestick]

an ATX midi tower is probably what you want

 

[idrisguitar]

midi tower or mid tower (or is it the same thing? )

sorry for being stupid

you guys are a great help

 

[Ellothar121]

Go to the website that you plan on buying your case from, and find one that you like. Then, go to newegg and see if they have it. If they do, check the motherboard compatibility. If it says ATX, then I think you're good to go.

 

[WorldIndustries]

Any ATX tower will work (Make sure it doesn't say mATX, your motherboard may be too tall to fit.)

Since you're working in the audio field, I recommend getting something along the lines of an Antec Solo. It has features specially made to eliminate noise. This is a godsend if you want to get rid of unwanted studio background noise, and PC's can sometimes get on the noisy side.