reubild or upgrade?

[crittergeek928]

Hi all,
I was given an older Gateway. It has a 20GB HD, 128RAM, P3, 32 bit, Creative sound blaster audio PCI 128D, running Windows Me. I can't find the cpu speed. The CD-ROM is IDE-CD R/RW 8x4x32. The case says ATXSTF Fed Performance 1000. It has a 200W power supply. I would like to upgrade, if any of these parts are re-useable.
I would like to build a pc for the future. I am not into gaming. Unless you count solataire. I use the web a lot, e-mail, and some photo editing that requires more memory than my old windows 98 has. I've done a lot of reading about pc components. It seems the majority of what I read is meant for ultra gaming pc's. Any suggestions for components that would make this pc work well for me?
Thanks,
Frasher

[flanzig1]

If the case is a tower case, I think you could reuse it. Other than the CD-Rom and the floppy drive, nothing else would work with a new mother board.
If you want to build, what kind of budget are you looking at?

[786ARS]

if that is an ATX case, then you can salvage it, but im betting it'll be an AT case, and therefore non-salvagable.

[crittergeek928]

Thanks for your replies. I do appreciate the help. Is there a way to tell if it is an AT case or an ATX? On the back of the case it does say ATXSTF Fed Performance 1000. Does that mean it is an ATX case, or not? It is a tower case. As far as a budget, I don't really want to go above $1000. I just don't want to get more pc than I need, since I don't play the power hungry games. But I do love speed when surfing the net!
Frasher

[crittergeek928]

If this helps at all, the case looks identical to this one on ebay, as far as I can tell anyway:
http://tinyurl.com/q2q9n

What do you think?

Frasher

[blue60007]

Measure the size of the motherboard. ATX boards are either 12" x 9.6" or 9.6" by 9.6". Why not just buy a new case? You can get one dirt cheap....and a $1000 budget gives you plenty to work with. Dump the CD drive too....you can get a DVD-RW dirt cheap. I would keep the old one together - while slow, it ain't useless.

[crittergeek928]

I measured the motherboard and it is 13" x 8.5". So am I correct in assuming that it is going to be a heck of a lot easier to buy a new case and mobo? Can I use the 200W psu, or do all cases come with their own ps? Any recommendations on brand of case? I like the way this one opens up. Very simple to get in and out of.
Frasher

[786ARS]

a 200w mobo is near useless, its better to get a case you want w/o a psu and get a psu seperate. as for types of cases, i find cases with removable mobo trays a lot easier to use.

[blue60007]

I think those are AT dimensions...so this case isn't going to do you any good. The 200W power supply is AT as well. Anything built in the last number of years is ATX. 200W would be too weak for anything modern anyways. One good case/PSU combo is the Antec Sonata II (w/450W Antec PSU). Other than Antec, very few case makers bundle decent power supplies - most are junk.

[crittergeek928]

Thanks for the help! I appreciate you sharing your wisdom. I'm sure I'll have more questions as it looks like I'm building a pc! Sounds like fun!

Frasher