Recase an Acer Aspire X1700 X1800 desktop PC

mjf · Nov 24, 2011

Once upon a time I bought and Acer Aspire X1800 (basically the same as X1700). It seemed a good idea at the time. Now it would be a low end+ capable PC.
- Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300
- 4 GB Ram, 1 TB HDD, DVD drive.
- Nvidia 9500GT graphics card
- lots of USB 2 ports, firewire, eSata, serial, Realtek audio.
- PCIe x1 expansion slot

Good 2nd PC but:
- VERY cramped. No room for extra fan cooling.
- HDD and Graphics card have very little ventilation and get very hot! The graphics card is shoved up against the top of the case.
- Vertical mounted DVD unit sounds like a jet engine
- Difficult to get at the HDD
- low power (220W) PSU starting to make noises. Didn't meet eXtreme PSU calculator minimal rating.

One partial solution to the heat - take the side off and use a fan

With moderate effort I took it apart and moved it across to a Thermaltake V4 with 450W PSU. Cost me $73. Added a PCie x1 sata card (<$30). Added a 128 GB SSD with the 1 TB HDD.

Side by side comparison

May be able to use the PCIe slot for a USB 3 or extra sata port card?????

ge2champ · Jun 6, 2012

Question

Hey, how to disassemble an acer aspire x1800? I mean, what tools did you use to remove those screws in the dvd rom if I'm not mistaken. It is impossible to use a normal size screwdriver. And based on how it looks like, the dvd rom must be removed first to remove the whole motherboard.

mjf · Jun 7, 2012

Hello ge2champ,
1) Pull the sata and power cables from the DVD/HDD cradle
2) When you open the front flip door you will see two Philips screws holding the cradle. You need a Philips type screw driver. You can carefully remove the complete front flip door. You will also need to unplug the connector for the front panel LEDs and power switch.
3) Again Philips type screws need to be removed that hold the DVD and HDD in place. Remove the HDD with a little care not touching the circuit board because of electrostatic damage.

I have the X1700 service manual but can't upload it because it is a 8.7MB PDF. I also can't locate a link. The X1700 is virtually identical to the X1800.

I will comment that the recasing keeps temps way down from the little box. The DVD horizontally mounted is quite! You can add a PCIex1 card to give you say USB3 or other Sata ports.

The front panel connector to the Motherboard will need to be directly connected with the new case connectors.

ge2champ · Jun 11, 2012

Ok, thank you mjf for the reply. I'll try it later when I'm finished working on my projects.

ge2champ · Jun 12, 2012

Can you send me please the pdf file using email? My email is *** thank you so much for the help and sorry for the trouble.

mjf · Jun 12, 2012

I found a link
https://content.etilize.com/User-Manual/1012961757.pdf
I suggest you delete your personal email.

ge2champ · Jun 14, 2012

Thank you so much for the help and sorry for the trouble looking for a link to a source. :thumbsup:

mjf · Jun 15, 2012

Glad to be of help. My son uses the recased system and runs the odd game or two (!!!!!!!) without overloading the PSU and frying the graphics card. With the higher rated PSU you could easily upgrade the graphics card.

ge2champ · Jun 16, 2012

Yeah, that's what I have in mind. I need to upgrade my graphics so that I can use Photoshop smoothly. Thank you again mjf.

ThrashZone · Jan 8, 2014

This is practically the same machine as I have,
I've been thinking of doing this for mostly the same reason photo shop 3d features,
It's one thing to think about it but you have pictures of it

Wickedly cool,
I've never had any overheating issues though ?
Cheers.

mjf · Jan 9, 2014

In doing this I needed to dispense with the card reader. On a hot day the HDD was nudging 50C (too hot) and now that's back to 30C max. The graphics card was replaced since my son likes to play the odd game or two! I bought a PCIe sata card and run an SSD for the OS and the HDD for data.
You are far better of building your own PC than some OEM junk though.

ThrashZone · Jan 11, 2014

I never use my card reader,
I was also playing with the idea to remove the media center chip/ what ever the cable t.v. is supposed to be connected to on my present machine ?
oem junk ?
Well this is a fresh install from a oem disk but the equipment is most certainly lacking in decent spec's

Cheers.

markdominic · Mar 31, 2014

may i know what gpu do you have...

verm71 · Apr 17, 2014

Nice work on the recase. Is this specifically on a x1700? I am potentially looking at recasing a friend's x1800 due to a bad power button. It seems the x1800 has no metal i/o backplate, only port holes lined up in the plastic case. This is going to be a problem, I think, isn't it?

mjf · Apr 17, 2014

@Verm71
My recase was actually on an X1800. I managed to get hold of an X1700 service manual and it looked virtually identical. You are correct about the lack of I/O backplate. I found you don't really need it and I couldn't be bothered building one up.
I did upgrade the graphics card since I last commented.
@markdominic
sorry I didn't notice your question.
I used a Gigabyte GT630 (1GB DDR3). Nothing flash and fairly cheap but better than what was in the original.

verm71 · Apr 29, 2014

Cool. And as far as the motherboard standoffs go, they're pretty much in standard places to match up with standard ATX cases too, then? (I'm about to pick up the x1800 to begin work on it this week).

mjf · Apr 29, 2014

I would be careful in choosing a case. I chose the Thermaltake because of cost and it was reasonable/good quality with combined case/PSU. (When I've built a PC I have used separate case and PSU)

Most important:
Whatever case you select check the detailed specs to verify that the X1800 motherboard fits. Particularly the standoff holes. You should be ok with a micro ATX capable case even though from memory my X1800 motherboard isn't exactly a micro ATX size board but the holes line up. It clearly fits into my Thermaltake V4 as the pics show.
Here is some other data re the form factor
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/pro...-LGA-775-DDR2-mainboard/207281_529179643.html

verm71 · Apr 30, 2014

Awesome. Thanks for that bit of advice. I'm looking at this case currently (probably will pick it up later this afternoon).

BitFenix.com » Products » Chassis » Comrade

Of course, also will be getting a PSU--- something in the 450-500W range should do. No expansion is being done - just a bit of reliability being added

mjf · Apr 30, 2014

Good luck on whatever you decide. Remember micro ATX mount requirements.
I'd still be looking at the budget given the limitations of the motherboard, CPU, DDR2 Ram.

I wouldn't dismiss the -
Thermaltake V4 Black Edition Case with 500W USB3.0
Comes in at ~ A$80. I guess ~US$70.

verm71 · Apr 30, 2014

Aaaahhh. Micro.... oops.that's that mAtx is, right?

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