Motherboard upgrade on prebuilt system???

[BioluminescentBeetle]

I have a Compaq Presario Media Center SR1950NX that I would like to upgrade. Upgrading the CPU and RAM are possible, but would not get me a much better PC capable of running most games. This is where my question comes in. The motherboard is a micro-ATX form factor that is 9.6 in x 9.6 in. I am wondering if it would be possible to put another motherboard of the same form factor in and still have it work. Thank you and have a great day.

[rEkmAInc1csBnlM6C85H]

Hello Red Apple, Welcome to the forums.

 

From some quick searching it looks like the case conforms to ATX standards so yes you can put another motherboard of the same form factor inside.

 

As far as upgrading goes if you are upgrading the Motherboard, Ram, and CPU all together the only issue could be the power supply. The power supply may be too weak or lack the required connection for newer hardware, as you systems is from 2006 it is very likely the power supply will need to be upgraded.

 

But you can absolutely reuse the case for any micro-ATX system you plan to put inside.

[BioluminescentBeetle]

28 minutes ago, Andrew 1337 said:

But you can absolutely reuse the case for any micro-ATX system you plan to put inside.

I am kinda new to this whole PC building thing, so I would like to ask, can you use a slightly smaller or larger board, so long as it is micro-ATX?

[MadmanRB]

While this may be possible do keep in mind there are a few possible caveats:

1 form factor: while yes if the motherboard is microATX sized that doesnt mean its microATX and the rest of the machine will comply to the ATX standard.

This includes things like power supplies, front panel connectors, internal layout and such.

A lot of the time these OEM machines use proprietary parts so it may be wise to open up your machine and see what kind of cables are used.

 

2 Airflow: if you intend to make this into a gaming PC keep in mind that a lot of those cases have rather poor airflow and not meant to take on heating parts like graphics cards, you may have to mod the living hell out of that thing to make sure what you put in there doesnt fry like an egg.

 

3 Size: related to point number 1 but this does matter.

A small form factor case simply cant take regular form factor parts and so if you want to pop in a graphics card this may have a limiting factor.

If this is one of those slim PC's your options are limited.

If this is a mid size tower then we may have something but its not guaranteed that you wont bump into issues.

 

It would be nice to have photos here, as sure linking your model is a good starting point but knowing its externals and internals will help determine if you can mod this into something awesome or not.

[rEkmAInc1csBnlM6C85H]

33 minutes ago, Red_Apple115 said:

I am kinda new to this whole PC building thing, so I would like to ask, can you use a slightly smaller or larger board, so long as it is micro-ATX?

Smaller yes, larger no (Anything larger will technically not be micro-ATX anymore).

 

In all honesty if you are doing a major upgrade like this you may be better off getting a new case; or an entire new pre-built system.

[Shreyas1]

27 minutes ago, Red_Apple115 said:

I am kinda new to this whole PC building thing, so I would like to ask, can you use a slightly smaller or larger board, so long as it is micro-ATX?

All mATX boards should fit in an mATX case, other components may vary though; make sure that the PSU, connectors, etc. isn't some proprietary stuff.

 

However, make sure that other things are compatible as well before adding a new motherboard. For one, make sure that you get new RAM ( i am assuming that you will be getting a newer motherboard ). Also, if you plan to change out the graphics card or cpu cooler, you need to make sure there is enough space to fit those in as well.

 

To be completely honest, due to the specs on that system, I would just start a new build, maybe take the storage from the old one.