The fan on the power suply to my comp has packed in, iv been told that its easier to replace the whole power suply than just the fan, the thing is to get the power suple box out il have to just about totally strip down the whole comp taking mother board out so what im considering is geting a new case.

Thing i want to know is will the mother board etc fit into the new the case its a packard bell imdedia. Do the cases use standard layouts inside for the motherbard fixings etc

 

Without seeing it, it's impossible to be certain, but they didn't used to be standard. How big is the motherboard? (I'm assuming it's an ATX PSU BTW). How many mounting holes are there, and where are they (look carefully). The very fact you need to get the motherboard out to change the PSU makes me suspicious - why do you need to take it out?


M

 

I agree - normally no need to remove motherboard - just take out 4 screws at the back - put your hand under it and it drops into the case.

Disconnect from hard disk, cd and floppy and remove power from motherboard or 2xpower for P4.

Then screw new one in with 4 screws and put power connectors back in.


If you have to remove the m/board then its a compact case and board with a custom power supply unit.

 

having to strip it down completly was a bit of a exaduration it should go straight in but the inside of me comp is caked in dust i wanted to strip down & give it a clean. Im not sure of exact M/board specification but theres som pics of it below.

I would really like a new case this 1 looks plain and crap, but after iv thought about it a bit more iv realised about the power button and 2 USB sockets are on the front.

Any ideas of how much hastle it would be fiting everything into a new case if it is at all posible.

 

The answer to your question is yes; the system board will fit. Some Packard Bells used a low profile PSU which can be difficult to find but the majority used a standard form factor ATX PSU. I would recommend buying a cheap replacement power supply and fitting that. If you want to find the full specification of your machine go to www.pcservicecall.co.uk

Simon

 

i had a look @ that site and found out me comp specification, it says it is a Columbia ll mother board.

i know it would be alot easier to just replace the PSU but i fancy a new case plus you can geta new case with a PSU already fitted for a few extra quid.

 

It looks like a miniATX board, so in theory at least it should fit in a standard case.

M

 

thanks for your help i found out what mother board it is (ATX 24.4 x 22.9 cm) but im not gonna bother with new case will just get a new power supply and fit that. I only really wanted new case for the window with neon lights in lol, but i found a kit from PC world for £20 i can add if i decide too which will give me that.

 

M

 

I changed the fan on my PSU - replacement £6 from PCWorld - was a dead simple job IIRC.......

Pete The Biker

 

i went to PC world today to get a new PSU cheepest one they had was £30, and the old woman who was trying to help me didnt know what it was so couldnt see if had anymore in stock. Will try local comp shop tomorow.

 

Got me self a Q-tec 450WP dual gold fan today from local computer shop for £20 just fitted it only took me 20mins, hardest part was getting the floppy drive connector off.
Got a bit panicy as I saw a flash wile I was spraying the air duster stuff on to get rid of the crap but seems to be working fine.

 

The Columbia was a Gigabyte GA-8 board

 

Now you're all experienced, why don't you swap out the motherboard just for a bit of fun?


M

 

Believe it or not i actually do it on a regular basis at uni but we always leave the power suplies in.
Just fealt a bit un easy doing it to my computer sein as i payed so much for it, if i broke anything on this id be screwed, unlike uni were most of the time spent is thinking of ways to make them blow up.

I forgot to mention when i was replacing the CPU the original screw to keep it in place wouldnt fit the new unit and there was no new 1s with it, bit daft really. Luckily me dad has a extensive collection of screws lying about were i managed to find som too fit.