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I want a cool tower!!!

Sweet Chaos

Sweet Chaos

Android Enthusiast
Heya everyone. I have an HP PC that I bought from Best Buy a little while ago, and I want to get a badass glowy tower to put it in =D

How do I go about getting one that I know will work with my stuffs? Like, how do I pick one that I know my innerds will fit in?

And any recommendations of cool ones for reasonable prices? I'm thinking some kinda black with pink setup, but I'm open to other cool things, too =D I know ibuypower.com has some nice ones (as I was looking at building my own PC before nabbing my HP from Best Buy) but I dunno if those prices are competitve or reasonable as I haven't looked elsewhere, and I also don't know how to tell if it'll fit my stuff. I'm most concerned about the drives and USB slots and stuff...

**EDIT**

BTW, my senior year of high school I built a computer EVERY DAY as my start to one of my classes... so I'm a little embarassed that I can't answer this question on my own... so take it easy on me =(
 
Most important is motherboard form factor, then number of hard drive bays and cd drive bays. Next, since the old power supply probably won't fit into a new case, you need to make sure all the power connections are correct in the new case/power supply... Actually if you want glow stuff, you'll probably have to get the P/S that comes with the case..

Its easy to mess up stuff tranferring a computer to a new case. Even if all the above matches, if the spacers between the motherboard and case aren't perfect, you can short the board. I've done it before with no problems, but it can be a pain.
 
So how do I know if everything is going to match up? I paid a lot of money for my PC, the last thing I wanna do is mess anything up =(
 
If HP used standard parts then you'll be alright. If, like Dell, they use custom mainboards and power supplies then these likely won't fit an aftermarket case. Give us a model name/number and we may be able to tell.
 
S C do you just want lights and stuff when you say glowy tower. Because if your pc as is is ok performance wise the much cheaper alternative is to just paint it, cut a hole for a window and put some CCFL or LED lights in there and you're done for a fraction of the cost. As well as the DIY pride
 
Yeah, my comp is great performance wise. I have to say, for a PC purchased from Best Buy the thing is awesome. It plays every game I throw at it without issue (I've actually had WoW and Aion running at the same time and both games ran as smoothly as could be) but I digress...

I kinda want like, clear or lights or.. I dunno lol. Something cool. I'll take a look on ibuypower and see if there's anything that tickles my fancy to give you an idea of what I'm thinking about.


I'm at work right now and I can't remember the exact model number of my computer but I'll post it when I get home. It's a HP Elite m9500f or something like that. I know it's discontinued at this point because a lot of people were having problems with it (that I figured out how to fix.. muhahaha!) but I'm sure there's still some info on the interwebs about it.
 
Aside from the motherboard form factor, the biggest obstacle is the power connectors from the case to the motherboard. HP and others usually use a single multi pin connector that they can connect at the factory by plugging in a single connection. An after market case usually uses separate connectors for each, power switch, HDD led indicators, reset switch among others. Everything else is a non issue as the other parts are all non proprietary.
 
What I was thinking about was something like this. Scroll down to Thermaltake V9 Gaming Case and click the purple option. I don't mean that EXACT case, but something with the clear side and light up inside and coolness, ya know? I'd rather pink or purple lights but I'm just trying to give ya's an example =)
 
Unless you are comfortable cutting off the power connectors and rewiring the HP connector in, any non HP case is not going to work. I have done it before with an older HP, the trick is knowing what wires go where. You can usually look at the motherboard by the power switch connectors and figure out which wires match the connectors for the new case.
 
I'm definately NOT comfortable doing that =( I guess I'm just gonna have to ship my pc out to one of you to do for me! (lol jk.. kinda)
 
Sweet Chaos said:
What I was thinking about was something like this. Scroll down to Thermaltake V9 Gaming Case and click the purple option. I don't mean that EXACT case, but something with the clear side and light up inside and coolness, ya know? I'd rather pink or purple lights but I'm just trying to give ya's an example =)
Click to expand...

Link doesn't work, takes me to an unavailable page on that site

Biggest problem i see like others is that HP uses MB that are made specifically for their pc's. I had to replace one once for some lady at work and i ended up having to get it from ebay for 80 bucks and it shipped from china.

Let us know model number though when you can (mine is very similar, its a elite m9500y)
 
Booo. Well the tower itself is purple and the side wall is clear and the lights on the inside are blue. It's mighty perdy =D
 
Sweet Chaos said:
I'm definately NOT comfortable doing that =( I guess I'm just gonna have to ship my pc out to one of you to do for me! (lol jk.. kinda)
Click to expand...
I'm game, :D
NightAngel79 said:
Biggest problem i see like others is that HP uses MB that are made specifically for their pc's. I had to replace one once for some lady at work and i ended up having to get it from ebay for 80 bucks and it shipped from china.

Let us know model number though when you can (mine is very similar, its a elite m9500y)
Click to expand...
(in case you didn't see my edit^)
Sweet Chaos said:
Booo. Well the tower itself is purple and the side wall is clear and the lights on the inside are blue. It's mighty perdy =D
Click to expand...
LOL, sounds like it. My daughter would love that. When i switched out MB in that HP i was talking about i don't recall the connectors for power button, led lights, etc... didn't think they were different....
Will know better when you let us know model number
 
Yeah def. I get out of work in about 3 minutes so I'll post the info in a little bit. Thanks everyone for all the help so far!
 
NightAngel79 said:
LOL, sounds like it. My daughter would love that. When i switched out MB in that HP i was talking about i don't recall the connectors for power button, led lights, etc... didn't think they were different....
Will know better when you let us know model number
Click to expand...

The Power switch, Reset, HDD LED connector on HP and Dell as well as any mass produced use a single connector with all of the wires connected so that the assemblers only need to plug in one connector. They usually have a ten pin connector, two rows of five. All after market cases use separate plugs for each Power switch, reset, and HDD LED connection. I have never seen them match up without cutting and soldering the HP connector onto the new case wires.
 
Gnomad said:
The Power switch, Reset, HDD LED connector on HP and Dell as well as any mass produced use a single connector with all of the wires connected so that the assemblers only need to plug in one connector. They usually have a ten pin connector, two rows of five. All after market cases use separate plugs for each Power switch, reset, and HDD LED connection. I have never seen them match up without cutting and soldering the HP connector onto the new case wires.
Click to expand...

And you may very well be right. When i replaced the MB in that HP i don't really remember. Once we know model number that will be easy to figure out, i fear your probably correct though.

Sweet, you should get a case and new motherboard. Should be able to re-use all your other parts
 
NightAngel79 said:
First off SWEET rig, anyone else interested here's a link to her specs:
Sweet Chaos' specs

Looks like he was right, the power connector wouldn't work unless you mess with it. Not that big of a deal to me as long as you can at least get the power button one plugged in
Click to expand...

Only 2.6GHz? That's disappointing, my hexa core is at 2.8GHz right now, but thats another topic.

I'm not sure if this case would work with your parts, (I would check normally, but at 12:45 A.M. my brain just shuts down pretty much), but it's a really good case, I'm using it right now.
The cooling is good with the outer case fans, and you can cycle between red, blue, green LED's or a combination of the three on the fans, and an "off" setting as well (of course). In terms of eye candy and usefulness it's a really good case, so if it does work with your parts I would highly recommend getting it.
 
NightAngel79 said:
First off SWEET rig, anyone else interested here's a link to her specs:
Sweet Chaos' specs
Click to expand...
Thanks! I'm pretty proud of my girl. She treats me well, even though I tell her to do some pretty crazy stuff sometimes =p

Oh, and whatever video card it says is in there isn't the actual card. The card that came with it was apparently not compatible with something else (I was assuming the motherboard) and was causing a lot of problems so I got a new one. I don't remember exactly what it is. **EDIT** Just looked. She's now got an ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series graphics card.

ToastPwnz said:
Only 2.6GHz? That's disappointing, my hexa core is at 2.8GHz right now, but thats another topic.
Click to expand...
Hey shush! I got it over a year ago, back in the day when i7 processors were barely more than a thing of our imaginations =p Lol

ToastPwnz said:
I'm not sure if this case would work with your parts, (I would check normally, but at 12:45 A.M. my brain just shuts down pretty much), but it's a really good case, I'm using it right now.
The cooling is good with the outer case fans, and you can cycle between red, blue, green LED's or a combination of the three on the fans, and an "off" setting as well (of course). In terms of eye candy and usefulness it's a really good case, so if it does work with your parts I would highly recommend getting it
Click to expand...
Did you post a link? I didn't see one :/
 
Sweet Chaos said:
Either that didn't make ANY sense or it went completely over my head lol.
Click to expand...
:rolleyes::p
ToastPwnz said:
Only 2.6GHz? That's disappointing, my hexa core is at 2.8GHz right now, but thats another topic.
Click to expand...
He said this^
So i said 'are we playing the mines better than yours game?' Essentially; yours is 2.6? Well mine is 2.8 and hexa! So there!
And i threw in the 'i wanna play' so as not to come off as a smart*ss (well not too much) LOL:D:p
 
Sweet Chaos said:

Thanks! I'm pretty proud of my girl. She treats me well, even though I tell her to do some pretty crazy stuff sometimes =p

Oh, and whatever video card it says is in there isn't the actual card. The card that came with it was apparently not compatible with something else (I was assuming the motherboard) and was causing a lot of problems so I got a new one. I don't remember exactly what it is. **EDIT** Just looked. She's now got an ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series graphics card.


Hey shush! I got it over a year ago, back in the day when i7 processors were barely more than a thing of our imaginations =p Lol


Did you post a link? I didn't see one :/
Click to expand...

Wonderful proof of why I should not be on the computer after midnight. :o
Newegg.com - Thermaltake Element G VL10001W2Z Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
 
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