Hi there, just looking for some information before I commit to buying anything. Basically I just did my first build and it was sucessful thankfully and it was just an atx board and midi case but now I'd like to build a smaller pc for my son as he's only 11 and he'll only be using it for browsing and some minor school stuff so it doesnt' have to be anything major so what I want to know is..... If I buy a micro atx board and case, do I have to buy smaller components as in Pci network card, graphics card ect.. or will the standard components be sufficent ? Also if I buy a micro atx board, do I have to buy a micro atx case ? or will the micro atx board fit into a midi case ? I ask these questions because I remember some time ago a friend of mine had a smaller case, must have been a micro atx case or smaller even and his ethernet card failed and he went out and bought one but it was too big for the case and he ended up having to cut it down himself as he couldn't find one that would fit the case. Thanks guy's, I just want to be sure on what I'm doing before I buy Thanks
A microATX board will fit in a microATX or full ATX midi/full tower case. The problem you're thinking of though, is a slimline case, which is another thing entirely. Slim cases can only take half-height components which means you do need to get special network/graphics cards. These are relatively rare though, so as long as you avoid buying a slim case, with the exception of needing a microATX board, you're pretty safe using normal components.
Thanks again for the advice and help I've learned a lot lately and I'm enjoying it I have to say. Before I purchase something I always have to double check as you know how messy it can be to send stuff back to online stores. I hear what your saying about the slimline cases. My Father in-law purchased a slimline dell last xmas and it cost a fair bit but I wasn't too keen on it when I saw it but it's doing the job for him. Just out of curiosity, if the situation ever arises that I need parts for his slimline pc, can these parts be bought easily ? or will they probably have to be ordered from the pc manufacturer ? Thanks again
You can order slimline parts. There aren't many about, but they can be purchased (though some require a quick 5 minute modification changing brackets), but generally you are limited to lower performance stuff.
No problem, oh by the way just an FYI, I believe your signature counts as advertising which is against forum rules so you may wish to remove it
