In the near future i'll be basically constructing a "new" PC. By "new" I mean a new motherboard, CPU, memory, and anything else i'd need with a completely new motherboard. I could use some advice about certain parts as I have some questions.
I'm currently using a stock Dell Inspiron 546 with its original motherboard (microATX). I hope to be able to use the current Dell case and just swap out the current motherboard (an AM3 one) for a MicroATX Intel motherboard. I want to use at least an Ivy Bridge or perhaps Haswell in the future if that CPU turns out to be a good one for Dolphin. From what i've read it should be possible to swap out the motherboard for a new one, i've not seen anything to really contradict this being possible anyways. Though if anyone would like to weigh in and offer any advice i'd appreciate it. I'd rather use this current case if possible though, I don't have a lot of money to spend and would like to reuse as many components as I can.
For reference, here is a diagram of the current MicroATX AM3 motherboard inside the Inspiron 546-
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/sy...780_c9.jpg
As i'm looking to use my new components in Dolphin, i'll be overclocking. And to do that i'll need a decent heatsink. Though I'm unsure whether i'm going to have any trouble actually fitting the cooler inside the case i've got. It's not the slim design of 546 but it's also smaller than a standard ATX case. I couldn't find any dimensions of the case online so I measured by hand, the width is almost exactly 6.75 inches (which translates roughly to 171.45mm). I don't know exactly how much more thickness a motherboard plus a CPU would add to that though so I might not have much clearance.
Many of the coolers that people seem to recommend are around 160mm or taller. One specifically i've heard people mention is the Thermalright HR-02 Macho, which is said specifically to be 162mm tall. Would that cooler be able to fit in my case? There are smaller ones like the Cooler Master Hyper N520 (which I know nothing about). I'm not really sure whether I can find a decent cooler within my size restrictions. Any advice for smaller heatsinks that would provide good cooling for overclocked i5 models would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
I'm currently using a stock Dell Inspiron 546 with its original motherboard (microATX). I hope to be able to use the current Dell case and just swap out the current motherboard (an AM3 one) for a MicroATX Intel motherboard. I want to use at least an Ivy Bridge or perhaps Haswell in the future if that CPU turns out to be a good one for Dolphin. From what i've read it should be possible to swap out the motherboard for a new one, i've not seen anything to really contradict this being possible anyways. Though if anyone would like to weigh in and offer any advice i'd appreciate it. I'd rather use this current case if possible though, I don't have a lot of money to spend and would like to reuse as many components as I can.
For reference, here is a diagram of the current MicroATX AM3 motherboard inside the Inspiron 546-
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/sy...780_c9.jpg
As i'm looking to use my new components in Dolphin, i'll be overclocking. And to do that i'll need a decent heatsink. Though I'm unsure whether i'm going to have any trouble actually fitting the cooler inside the case i've got. It's not the slim design of 546 but it's also smaller than a standard ATX case. I couldn't find any dimensions of the case online so I measured by hand, the width is almost exactly 6.75 inches (which translates roughly to 171.45mm). I don't know exactly how much more thickness a motherboard plus a CPU would add to that though so I might not have much clearance.
Many of the coolers that people seem to recommend are around 160mm or taller. One specifically i've heard people mention is the Thermalright HR-02 Macho, which is said specifically to be 162mm tall. Would that cooler be able to fit in my case? There are smaller ones like the Cooler Master Hyper N520 (which I know nothing about). I'm not really sure whether I can find a decent cooler within my size restrictions. Any advice for smaller heatsinks that would provide good cooling for overclocked i5 models would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.