microATX and flexATX computer building

[TheFifthMan]

Okay. About 4 years ago I built a computer for $600. Nothing special about it, just a cheap video card, 512MB of SDRAM, a 2 GHZ Celeron, on a cheap microATX board mounted on an ATX tower.

Then I went to college and had a laptop. It lasted me three years, then it died. Totally. It won't even start up anymore. I don't want another laptop, though: I spent a lot of my time in the day on the Internet when I had a project due the next day or an exam to study for.

I want to try something different: I want to build a micro, or even better, flexATX computer. I know what goes where on a motherboard, but I don't know how to make it all fit in a smaller case while still allowing for cooling and decent parts.

Important questions:
How does a video card fit onto the board? The case I'm looking at is 4" x 15" x 15".

How do I mount a DVD burner?

Anything else I should consider?

 

[PohTayToez]

If you're going for a smaller case, certain cases require specialty parts. The smallest cases require low profile cards, which are the same as normal cards only a bit shorter. Also, some smaller cases use special power supplies that are much smaller. It really depends on the case you are looking at.

 

[GOTM]

yea if you have a smaller case and things cant fit, whats the harm of getting a bigger case?

 

[TheFifthMan]

Space is at a premium; I don't have room in my apartment to have anything bigger than a microtower. And my friends love to LAN party quite often. A laptop would be great, but I know I'll take it to class and not study during the day. I'll feel more comfortable if it was more inconvenient for me to take my computer.

 

[GOTM]

look in some computer forums that are dedicated to that only.

you'll have an answer in a hour or so, maybe less, and it will be correct, lol