mobo upgrade...do I need a new case?

[Eddie G]

I have a p4 1.7ghz processor on an Asus P4 mobo. I may upgrade in the
near future and want to know if the Asus p5v800 mobo will fit in a case
this old. I know squat about this but I don't know how a mobo would
not fit inside a case but thought I'd check first.

Thanks!!

Eddie G

 

[Paul]

I have a p4 1.7ghz processor on an Asus P4 mobo. I may upgrade in the
near future and want to know if the Asus p5v800 mobo will fit in a case
this old. I know squat about this but I don't know how a mobo would
not fit inside a case but thought I'd check first.

Thanks!!

Eddie G

All Asus motherboards have a downloadable manual. Go to
support.asus.com.tw and click Download, type in the model
name and search for it, and on the returned page, click
Manual for a list of manuals.

There will be a line drawing of the motherboard in the
manual, with an X and Y dimension on the drawing. That
will tell you the exact size of what you are buying.

As a general rule, a MicroATX might be 9.6" x 9.6" and
an ATX motherboard about 12" x 9.6".

The only gotchas, are some motherboards that have a
side mounted IDE connector on the edge of the motherboard.
Some of those could use a little extra space around the
motherboard, so you can get at the connector.

You can learn more about the various standards here:

http://www.formfactors.org/devlist.asp?FFID=1&CatID=1

HTH,
Paul

 

[Dave]

I have a p4 1.7ghz processor on an Asus P4 mobo. I may upgrade in the
near future and want to know if the Asus p5v800 mobo will fit in a case
this old. I know squat about this but I don't know how a mobo would
not fit inside a case but thought I'd check first.

Thanks!!

Eddie G

If your processor is P4, your motherboard is ATX format. 99.9% of
motherboards sold are still ATX format, so you should be OK. -Dave

 

[Eddie G]

The P5V800 MX has dimensions of 8.6x9.6 and the P4t is 12x9.6, so I
guess I need a new case, too.

 

[Eddie G]

Other than the mobo, will all of my other components (i.e. fans) fit in
a micro atx case?

 

[beezer60]

If your processor is P4, your motherboard is ATX format. 99.9% of
motherboards sold are still ATX format, so you should be OK. -Dave

Except the P5V800 MX is micro ATX form factor

 

[Bob Knowlden]

I doubt that you'd need a new case. Most of the ATX cases I've used were
also compatible with MicroATX boards. I hope that you have documentation on
the case.

It's possible that you'd need a new power supply. The P5V800 MX uses a 24
pin ATX 2 power connector. You may be able to get away with one of the older
20 pin connectors. (It ought to plug right in, without an adapter.) I have
read of people doing that successfully, but it's not guaranteed.

You mentioned a P4 1.7 GHz CPU. I hope that you're not intending to use it
with the P5V800 MX. It's a LGA board (land grid array, Socket 775), and
incompatible with a Socket 478 P4.


Address scrambled. Replace nkbob with bobkn.

 

[Dave]

Except the P5V800 MX is micro ATX form factor
That shouldn't matter. If the case will support ATX, it should also support
micro-ATX. Some standoffs might need to be moved or removed though. I've
replaced several ATX boards with micro-ATX boards in various brands of
cases. Usually, this is due to a cheap upgrade on an extremely limited
budget, or just replacing a defective mainboard with the cheapest possible
solution to get a little more life out of the rest of the components. I'd
be surprised if you could find an ATX case that was incompatible with a
micro-ATX mainboard. Shocked, maybe. -Dave

 

[mickeddie]

I doubt that you'd need a new case. Most of the ATX cases I've used were
also compatible with MicroATX boards. I hope that you have documentation on
the case.

It's possible that you'd need a new power supply. The P5V800 MX uses a 24
pin ATX 2 power connector. You may be able to get away with one of the older
20 pin connectors. (It ought to plug right in, without an adapter.) I have
read of people doing that successfully, but it's not guaranteed.

You mentioned a P4 1.7 GHz CPU. I hope that you're not intending to use it
with the P5V800 MX. It's a LGA board (land grid array, Socket 775), and
incompatible with a Socket 478 P4.

Bob,

I would also upgrade my CPU to an Intel 820. I recently bought a new
400 watt power supply as I upgrade my GPU and my old PSU was not enough
for it.

Eddie