Computer Question

legion · 09-09-2018, 02:49 PM

So my laptop died and I decided to salvage the CPU, memory, and hard drive to build a desktop computer. I got a hold of an ASRock IMB-170 motherboard and a chassis to put it in.

I'm having trouble figuring out what power supply to run. I know I want something in the 400-500w range. The chassis is big enough to fit just about any power supply. The problem is the motherboard is a mini ITX form factor and is powered by a single 4-pin 12 volt connector, not the standard 20/24 pin configuration. I'm having trouble finding a power supply that will work for sure without having the 20/24 pin connector hooked up. I also need to power one SATA hard drive and one PCIe video card.

Any advice?

John Rogers · 09-09-2018, 05:44 PM

Why did it die? I would suggest just getting a new PC.

dad911 · 09-10-2018, 06:35 AM

Search diy PC bench supply. will tell you how to make PC supplies turn on. For example, I use older pc supplies for plastic printer and arcade games, have to jump two wires and put a load on the 5v.

legion · 09-10-2018, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Rogers

Why did it die? I would suggest just getting a new PC.

I did get a new laptop, but the parts in my old one were valuable enough that I decided to build a desktop out of it.

legion · 09-10-2018, 09:10 AM

Well, it seems that I can jump two pins on the standard 20/24 pin atx connector and that should work. I just don't know if that's a good idea...

VincentVega · 09-10-2018, 10:39 AM

I'm a bit out of the loop with the mini-itx stuff, does one of these work?

legion · 09-10-2018, 11:23 AM

It uses one of the ATX 12V 4 pin to power the processor and the motherboard. The problem is, that won't supply power unless the main power connector (20 or 24 pin) is also hooked up to something telling the power supply to supply power. My motherboard has no provision for the main power connector.

VincentVega · 09-10-2018, 12:32 PM

thanks, interesting issue. I'm learning something.

Something like this work?

legion · 09-10-2018, 12:40 PM

That one wont' work because it goes to what looks to me to be a six pin PCIe connector.

I was thinking that this might solve my problem:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N8Q0TOE/?coliid=I27QHGFICRJZ05&colid=2032DNG1ATX9N&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

Most of the power supplies come with a bag of connectors

legion · 10-13-2018, 05:24 PM

It's alive! It's alive!

legion · 10-14-2018, 04:04 PM

Nothing?

I was amazed that when I plugged it in, it worked. It booted right into Windows and thought it was my old laptop. I uninstalled all of the laptop-specific programs (mostly--see below). I installed an old video card I had laying around and was surprised that worked as well. It runs a LOT faster than my old laptop.

So I still have recovery and factory reset partitions on my hard drive, which are no longer appropriate as they would restore back to a laptop-specific configuration. Is there any easy way to wipe these partitions and make them part of the main partition?

93nav · 10-14-2018, 08:17 PM

I did not realize you could do this. What chassis/case did you use? How did you determine what motherboard would work with the laptop chip?

Thanks

legion · 10-15-2018, 04:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 93nav

I did not realize you could do this. What chassis/case did you use?

I used a Thermaltake ATX chassis.

https://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-Computer-Chassis-Pre-installed-CA-1D5-00S1WN-00/dp/B00PDDMN6S/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1539606023&sr=8-3&keywords=thermaltake+atx+case

Quote:

Originally Posted by 93nav

How did you determine what motherboard would work with the laptop chip?

When I pulled the processor from the laptop mother board, I did a google search of the numbers printed on the side. This gave me the exact processor model/revision. Once I had that, I did another google search and I found a website that gave me a list of compatible motherboards.

http://www.cpu-upgrade.com/CPUs/Intel/Core_i7_Mobile/i7-3720QM_(PGA)_motherboards.html

Then I went to ebay and found such a motherboard (they are no longer being sold new in my case). The seller I went with appears to be in the business of dismantling computers and selling the parts on ebay. They claimed to have tested the motherboard and offered a warranty. I paid a little bit of a premium over other sellers, but I was also looking to not have a hassle as it turned out to be about two months between when I had the motherboard and when I had the rest of the computer together.

When I was putting together the case, I looked up the schematics for the motherboard and was able to figure out what cables to use on the motherboard. As I hadn't opened a computer case in over 20 years, all of the cabling was different than what I remembered. I took my time, quadruple-checked everything, and went off and did research when I didn't understand something. In the end, I basically prayed that it would work the first time I started it up. I was somewhat surprised that I didn't waste a bunch of money on a project where I ended up ruining something critical.

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

Seriously, the worst thing to figure out are the audio cables.

legion · 10-16-2018, 10:06 AM

I'm getting audio through my monitor!

I didn't realize that the monitor I bought had speakers or DVI supported audio or that my video card supported audio through DVI. I fired up Duke Nukem just to test the video card and was pleasantly surprised when I had sound as well. I was going to buy some separate speakers....

I haven't tested the USB ports or the audio ports on the front of the case yet, but the power switch on the front of the case is working, so I wired something correctly!

Seriously, I've never had a project like this go so smoothly.

Oh, and I went with a Thermaltake power supply with the 24 pin jumper I posted above.

legion · 10-17-2018, 05:52 AM

So now it's telling me that my copy of Windows in not authentic. Digging through the documentation, it tells me that this may occur if I haven't used Windows in awhile or I changed my motherboard (both are true in my case, as it took some time to research and plan the repair). It tells me to contact Windows support, but the link takes me to another FAQ, and the link on that FAQ takes me back to the first one.

legion · 10-20-2018, 02:15 PM

Anyone know of a way to get a discounted Windows license? I didn't think fixing my computer would result in an additional $120 cost for software I already own a license for.

biosurfer1 · 10-20-2018, 02:38 PM

Hm, which version of Windows? There used to be a 1-800 number you could call and they would ask you a couple questions then give you the activation code. Just tell them you had a failure and had to reinstall Windows and don't have the box anymore.

legion · 11-02-2018, 05:23 PM

So I finally had a few hours and decided to spend them on the phone with Microsoft. They ended up charging me $40 for a "replacement product key". I can live with that.