Building a computer outside a case.

[Ritosankho]

Hi. I have an old PC from 2007 lying around collecting dust which I would like to turn into a file server. It currently probably has a Pentium 4 and intel stock cooler. I will probably be upgrading it to core 2 quad. It will run 24/7, so I am concerned about the thermals (with the higher tdp processor). I am thinking of building it outside the case. It will be in a room with a large ceiling fan constantly running. I have seen the test benches on LTT videos where they organise everything, and tuck the psu under the motherboard. How do they do that without shouting it out? Also, is it a good idea to do what I am doing?

Thanks in advance.

[Dutch_Master]

What you need is a test bench. Here's one possible source:

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-pc-test-bench.html

 

Hunt around for the best deal, I've seen them for sale at 20 USD in the past but apparently not anymore. You might have better luck!

[Eigenvektor]

8 minutes ago, Ritosankho said:

It currently probably has a Pentium 4 and intel stock cooler. I will probably be upgrading it to core 2 quad.

Is it a P4 on an LGA 775 socket? There are older variants on socket 423 and 478, which are not compatible with a C2Q. Also make sure the chipset/BIOS of the board supports the C2Q.

 

As long as you have a heat sink and fan on the CPU it should work fine. You can put the motherboard on any non-conductive surface and it'll run. But ideally you'd want something to keep the dust away in the long run.

[Ritosankho]

34 minutes ago, Eigenvektor said:

Is it a P4 on an LGA 775 socket? There are older variants on socket 423 and 478, which are not compatible with a C2Q. Also make sure the chipset/BIOS of the board supports the C2Q.

 

As long as you have a heat sink and fan on the CPU it should work fine. You can put the motherboard on any non-conductive surface and it'll run. But ideally you'd want something to keep the dust away in the long 

I can't find any info about the board whatsoever. It belonged to my aunt, who says that it was a prebuilt, but I can find no mention of it. The whole thing is made by Wipro (an India-based IT firm who used to make computers till 2013) and it says iValue but I could not find it in their iValue lineup of atx PCs.

The model number only brings up one result on google that it was licensed to redhat in China.

[Eigenvektor]

1 minute ago, Ritosankho said:

I can't find any info about the board whatsoever.

Post photos of the board/chipset, someone might be able to identify it. Maybe also try CPU-Z, it may be able to provide additional details.

[tkitch]

this is the nicest open bench table out there.

A number of tech tubers use this exact model.  I've got one, and it's absolutely amazing:

 

https://streacom.com/products/bc1-v2-open-benchtable/

 

 

[Ritosankho]

On 3/10/2024 at 12:49 PM, Eigenvektor said:

Post photos of the board/chipset, someone might be able to identify it. Maybe also try CPU-Z, it may be able to provide additional details.

Hi. Sorry for being late. I was wrong about the processor. It is a pentium dual core. I did not have time to open the side panel. Here's what cpu-z said

[da na]

10 minutes ago, Ritosankho said:

Hi. Sorry for being late. I was wrong about the processor. It is a pentium dual core. I did not have time to open the side panel. Here's what cpu-z said

Great, much better than a Pentium 4. 

That 2007 BIOS won't support Core 2 Quads as those released in 2009. There might be a BIOS update/microcode update from the manufacturer website that allowws for Core 2 Quad upgrades but you really do not need that for a file server. The Pentium chip is fine, and if you need a bit of a higher clock, odds are it'll take an OC of well over 800mhz.

[Ritosankho]

10 minutes ago, da na said:

Great, much better than a Pentium 4. 

That 2007 BIOS won't support Core 2 Quads as those released in 2009. There might be a BIOS update/microcode update from the manufacturer website that allowws for Core 2 Quad upgrades but you really do not need that for a file server. The Pentium chip is fine, and if you need a bit of a higher clock, odds are it'll take an OC of well over 800mhz.

I won't  upgrade. That'll samve me some money. But the voltage and frequency controls are all greyed out in the bios. I did try to enable them by doing random things in the bios, but after that it wouldn't post. I had to reset the bios.