Will it fit?

Ritchie888

New Member
Hey guys,

Just a quick question in regards to small form factor computers and just general computer building.

I am looking at getting one of these computers off ebay for rather cheap (as you can see):
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/IBM-THINKCENTRE-S51-SOCKET-775-DESKTOP-PC-COMPUTER-DVD_W0QQitemZ320440158882QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Computing_DesktopPCs?hash=item4a9bb8caa2

I'm a big fan of Lenovo/IBM (I own a Thinkpad) and wish to follow the Lenovo/IBM trend for building a PC.

You'll notice that the link is to a 'blank shell' in that it has a motherboard and an optical drive but not much else.
I was hoping to be able to put in my own processor and graphics card, RAM, HDD, sound card, etc, and build up my own high spec PC for a smaller price than building completely from scratch, however, I have the following questions:

1) I wish to put in a dual or quad core Intel processor. Having a look online I can see that they should fit the 775 socket which was previously used for a pentium 4 processor. Would this work as easy as matching the socket and fitting a new processor and heat sink?

2) Will the graphics card and sound card fit the small form factor chassis? From the pictures provided I can see that there are 2 expansion slots which would take a graphic and sound card but what should I take into consideration when choosing them i.e. size?

3) The motherboard has integrated graphics. If I was to put in a graphics card (dedicated) would it take over from the integrated graphics, add to the integrated graphics, or simply not work at all due to integrated graphics already being installed?

Any other things I should take into consideration would be much appreciated :)

Regards,
Ritchie
 
It's a hard call on the socket. Many old 775 boards are not compatible with Core 2 processors due to some voltage regular thing. However seeing that it only supports DDR (not 2) ram, it probably won't support core 2 CPUs.

As for the graphics card and the sound card, it should work as long as it fits in the case. You can't get any high end graphic cards because a) it won't fit. b) it'll overheat. c) the powersupply won't take it.
 
DO NOT BUY!!!

its is just the case, cd drive, and a mobo. to put in a duo or quad u would need a new motherboard. and then u would probably need a new case to fit a cooler in there, and the power supply wouldn't support it. and no high end graphics card would fit, i highly doubt it even has a pcie slot, its probably agp, and agp card are expensive and they are crap.
 
cheers for your opinions guys, I sort of figured that would be the case, the ebay idea was a passing thought.
I'm just trying to get a type of thinkcentre shell which I can build on to make a suitably high spec computer, without having to spend big bucks.

Any suggestions?
 
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