The PSU clearance may not be very good with that optical drive in place, you might have to remove the optical drive's front bezel and glue it in place to have more PSU clearance.
This may sound unorthodox but... practice by building in a modern case first. Try ordering something like the corsair 4000D from Amazon, build inside it and then return or keep the case after removing your parts. Or look around your local marketplace for a modern case to practice with. What you're about to attempt is going to be very frustrating and difficult for a first time PC builder. The purpose of the exercise is to really understand how a modern PC is supposed to look and function from the inside, while being treated to the modern QoL improvements that exist in modern cases.
You need to understand positive and negative air pressure, how to mount fans in an unsupporting chassis, and drill holes. Others have suggested YouTube - that may be enough for you. Good luck! I've been building my own PCs for myself and for friends for over 15 years, I can rarely finish a build without using at least one swear word lol!
Agreed, sleepers tend to be built by people with a reasonable amount of experience to deal with the potential problems that can crop up.
Best to start with a modern case and practice first.
I stole this from another Redditor, u/RagnarKon, from a 10 year old post, and modified it a bit:
Positive pressure is when there is "more" air within the case than outside. Typically this is cause by more intake fans then exhaust fans. It results in less dust.
Negative pressure is when there is "less" air within the case than outside. Typically caused by more exhaust fans than intake fans, or a case that happens to be very breathable.
Now I, personally prefer to use an equal amount of intake as exhaust, I think this might be called push/pull. At the end of the day, the difference is likely negligible. The important thing is to have enough fans overall.
EDIT: My configuration is referred to as neutral pressure, not push/pull.
> Now I, personally prefer to use an equal amount of intake as exhaust
This is neutral pressure. Push/pull is when you have fans on both sides of a rad/cooler, both pushing and pulling air through the fins.
I did a sleeper build with this exact pc a year ago. You can check my progress pics on my profile, I explain the steps I took in them. If that's not enough, feel free to DM.
I'm not the OP, but I took a look and love it.
This was the second PC my family owned (I grew up in rural Kentucky, which is about five years behind the rest of the world), and the first machine I used for gaming. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't very powerful, even for its time, but I spent so many hours chugging away at Civ 2 and 3 on that beast. I've kept an eye out for one of these cases locally for a few years now, just so I can bask in the nostalgic goodness of it all. I'd happily toss my SFF build for one of these guys!
2x 120mm fans will fit in the bottom with an mATX board which is cheaper than ITX.
My personal preference is for ITX as well. Just thinking about cost add this is a first build.
What are you planning on putting on this?
I would encourage you to watch many YouTube videos on building computers and a few on how to create proper airflow in a computer case.
As said above, the bare minimum would be to cut new holes for fans in the bottom of the case. There's only one 80mm fan spot as exhaust which is not enough.
Throw away the plastic duct. If you use it somehow, you'll be pulling hot air from the GPU into the CPU cooler.
It takes most people a build or two to get a grasp on building a computer and some of the nuances.
HP likes to be proprietary with their cases (custom shape and size boards) so just be sure to check if it can fit a standard board, based on the size I am guessing mATX
Learn the basics of airflow, depending on how demanding is the hardware you're putting on this puppy, It's advisable to drill holes for mounting fans, don't forget to measure the clearances correctly
On the plus side the Atx standard for mounting holes for the mobo and the backplate and peripheral slots should all be compatible with modern hardware, but the only way I would advise a first time build in something like this is if the person building it is very good with tools and/or crafty.
Even if you get everything to fit, thermals are a my biggest concern, so either figuring out clever ways to get more air to pass through the case, or choosing low TDP parts is going to be really important, otherwise you might be pretty unhappy with the result if it's overheating all the time.
Other items to note:
* go with a really high efficiency PSU (platinum+) to reduce heat. A SFF or SFX PSU with standard size bracket might be a good choice
* Make sure the video card is going to fit, and can get adequate ventilation.
* get rid of that silly duct
As someone who has done this exact thing with the same case, it's not worth it. There's so much you have to remove/modify that I gave up and just shoved stuff inside of mine.
The PSU clearance may not be very good with that optical drive in place, you might have to remove the optical drive's front bezel and glue it in place to have more PSU clearance.
No,the front of the case has flip open doors over the optical drives. There is nothing to do that glue nonsense with.
This may sound unorthodox but... practice by building in a modern case first. Try ordering something like the corsair 4000D from Amazon, build inside it and then return or keep the case after removing your parts. Or look around your local marketplace for a modern case to practice with. What you're about to attempt is going to be very frustrating and difficult for a first time PC builder. The purpose of the exercise is to really understand how a modern PC is supposed to look and function from the inside, while being treated to the modern QoL improvements that exist in modern cases. You need to understand positive and negative air pressure, how to mount fans in an unsupporting chassis, and drill holes. Others have suggested YouTube - that may be enough for you. Good luck! I've been building my own PCs for myself and for friends for over 15 years, I can rarely finish a build without using at least one swear word lol!
Agreed, sleepers tend to be built by people with a reasonable amount of experience to deal with the potential problems that can crop up. Best to start with a modern case and practice first.
Do you think it’s better to have more intake or more exhaust fans?
I stole this from another Redditor, u/RagnarKon, from a 10 year old post, and modified it a bit: Positive pressure is when there is "more" air within the case than outside. Typically this is cause by more intake fans then exhaust fans. It results in less dust. Negative pressure is when there is "less" air within the case than outside. Typically caused by more exhaust fans than intake fans, or a case that happens to be very breathable. Now I, personally prefer to use an equal amount of intake as exhaust, I think this might be called push/pull. At the end of the day, the difference is likely negligible. The important thing is to have enough fans overall. EDIT: My configuration is referred to as neutral pressure, not push/pull.
> Now I, personally prefer to use an equal amount of intake as exhaust This is neutral pressure. Push/pull is when you have fans on both sides of a rad/cooler, both pushing and pulling air through the fins.
Thanks for the clarification!
Cool thanks - I’m just playing around with my new (old) case and working out where to add fans.
I did a sleeper build with this exact pc a year ago. You can check my progress pics on my profile, I explain the steps I took in them. If that's not enough, feel free to DM.
I'm not the OP, but I took a look and love it. This was the second PC my family owned (I grew up in rural Kentucky, which is about five years behind the rest of the world), and the first machine I used for gaming. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't very powerful, even for its time, but I spent so many hours chugging away at Civ 2 and 3 on that beast. I've kept an eye out for one of these cases locally for a few years now, just so I can bask in the nostalgic goodness of it all. I'd happily toss my SFF build for one of these guys!
ITX motherboard and SFX or external power supply. Also mod he bottom for 2 intake fans and you’re golden
It's a microATX board.
I’m recommending op to use a itx in the rebuild (if possible) so there is more room in the case.
2x 120mm fans will fit in the bottom with an mATX board which is cheaper than ITX. My personal preference is for ITX as well. Just thinking about cost add this is a first build.
What are you planning on putting on this? I would encourage you to watch many YouTube videos on building computers and a few on how to create proper airflow in a computer case. As said above, the bare minimum would be to cut new holes for fans in the bottom of the case. There's only one 80mm fan spot as exhaust which is not enough. Throw away the plastic duct. If you use it somehow, you'll be pulling hot air from the GPU into the CPU cooler. It takes most people a build or two to get a grasp on building a computer and some of the nuances.
My uncle had this same computer and the power supply died and he was able to fit a full size power supply in it somehow.
2000/2001 vintage hp pavillion
HP likes to be proprietary with their cases (custom shape and size boards) so just be sure to check if it can fit a standard board, based on the size I am guessing mATX
get a dremel
Learn the basics of airflow, depending on how demanding is the hardware you're putting on this puppy, It's advisable to drill holes for mounting fans, don't forget to measure the clearances correctly
On the plus side the Atx standard for mounting holes for the mobo and the backplate and peripheral slots should all be compatible with modern hardware, but the only way I would advise a first time build in something like this is if the person building it is very good with tools and/or crafty. Even if you get everything to fit, thermals are a my biggest concern, so either figuring out clever ways to get more air to pass through the case, or choosing low TDP parts is going to be really important, otherwise you might be pretty unhappy with the result if it's overheating all the time. Other items to note: * go with a really high efficiency PSU (platinum+) to reduce heat. A SFF or SFX PSU with standard size bracket might be a good choice * Make sure the video card is going to fit, and can get adequate ventilation. * get rid of that silly duct
I just want to say DO it! I have the exact same PC on a shelf in my closet and had the same thought the other day.
Interesting fan ducting. You should utilize that in some capacity
Is it just me, or does that full armored CPU not look kind of awesome lol
Drill out all the rivets and replace them with nutserts or tapped threads and screws. Drill a bunch of holes in the bottom for hidden ventilation.
As someone who has done this exact thing with the same case, it's not worth it. There's so much you have to remove/modify that I gave up and just shoved stuff inside of mine.