this post was submitted on 15 Jun 2025
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My first PC ever built is sort of unusable in its current state, and there are a few things I could do:

  • Update necessary parts and keep it as a retro-media-compatible PC/nas/server. I love how it has a floppy drive!
  • Get rid of it and save money

If I wanted to replace it, I would need to get at minimum:

  • motherboard
  • ram
  • CPU

I'm hoping I can keep using the following parts, some of which have been updated over the years:

  • pcie 2.0 graphics card
  • 500 W power supply
  • monitor / peripherals
  • optical / floppy drives
  • SSD / HDD
  • ATX case (the original case and motherboard PCI slots never lined up quite correctly...) Cooler Master centurion (?)

I've never done anything like this, and last time I built a PC was in 2006. I lack a lot of knowledge...

  1. Is my case likely to be compatible with a modern motherboard?
  2. Can I buy a modern motherboard/CPU that will be compatible with this other stuff?
  3. Would it be less expensive to buy another used PC and use its motherboard/CPU ?
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[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)
  1. Case is fine even if a little dated. ATX is called a standard just for these types of things.
  2. Monitor and peripherals are good, power supply could use a refresh and the SSD, HDD I would relegate to secondary drives and just get a new SSD.
  3. You could look for a used PC, some of the local shops have some decent deals but I personally would avoid any office PC unless you're just going for a very budget PC or just want to get a cheap CPU. All that proprietary parts and usually non-standard, underpowered PSU isn't going to be great.
[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

I've been bitten before by these non standard things.. thanks for the reminder.