dell case help

[dortmund371]

can i put my custom pc parts into a dell demension atx case. are the dells so custom that it is not posible.

 

[joefriday]

What is your exact Dell model?

 

[Lionhardt]

same ?...

 

[AdamBomb42]

A cheap $25 case is better than a dell case.

 

[Ycon]

Oh, youre so smrt...

 

[delluser1]

You would probably be better off spending $40 or $50 on a new case.
Dell cases use a tray for mounting the motherboard, so the mounting holes are likely to not line up.
Dell motherboards are not standard ATX and the I/O is different, so the rear I/O panel would require modification.
The front I/O of Dell cases also uses a Dell proprietary connection, so the header would have to be changed.
More modifications than it's worth. :roll:

 

[choknuti]

A cheap $25 case is better than a dell case.

Actually no. We have a lot of them at work (the dells) and they are quite well built. Remember that these are not targeted at the enthusiast market.

I guess you haven't cut your fingers on a 25$ board yet haven't you?

 

[AdamBomb42]

The company I work for also uses Dell (I estimate in the thousands) and I agree that they do a fine job with Dell parts. When you start talking about upgrading the mobo, psu, etc., it's time to get a different case.

 

[lostandwandering]

With Dells I can't tell any more. I have two newer ones an 8400 and a 4700. If you look at pictures for both it appears that any new part will fit fine. Dell stopped using proprietary PSUs in their newer systems, this means that tin snips are no longer required!!!! :lol: I looked at one of ASUS' mobos and aside from a few EXTRA pin holes to attach to the tray everything lines up. The 8400 is a clamshell and screw-less design so IMO it's very appealing to upgrade(aside from the countless Dell logos on the front and side). I have heard that these situations are not the case though with older Dell models.

So as joefriday asked; what model do you, the OP, have?

 

[joefriday]

Dell cases use a tray for mounting the motherboard

Only true for the Dimension models using the clamshell case.

so the mounting holes are likely to not line up

.
From my own experience, that's only true with the mobo tray out of the Dimension 8xxx series of clamshell case.

Dell motherboards are not standard ATX

You're right. Almost all of them are standard mATX

and the I/O is different, so the rear I/O panel would require modification.

Barely true for the Clamshell cases, not at all true for the non-clamshell designs.

The front I/O of Dell cases also uses a Dell proprietary connection, so the header would have to be changed.

Very true. In clamshell cases this is the biggest hurdle, in the non-clamshell cases it is much, much easier and rather straight forward.

More modifications than it's worth. :roll:

That's really up the OP to decide.

 

[nocteratus]

Better with a new case...

@ work I have a Dell PC with a dead PSU, and the only PSU that'll fit into the case is a 250w PSU from Dell...

Unless you want to cut you Dell case, you can't put a different PSU!

 

[lostandwandering]

Better with a new case...

@ work I have a Dell PC with a dead PSU, and the only PSU that'll fit into the case is a 250w PSU from Dell...

Unless you want to cut you Dell case, you can't put a different PSU!

As I said before, that's not necessarily true. It all depends on what system he has. With their recent cases, they stopped using proprietary PSUs. The newer ones actually have the cut outs for the powere switch on the back of the PSU which means that no tin snips are required. My Dimension 8400 has the space for the switches while my 4700 doesn't even have a cover over the back of the PSU, just the back of the case flush against the PSU. The new 9200 and E520's are the same to the best of my knowledge.

 

[joefriday]

Better with a new case...

@ work I have a Dell PC with a dead PSU, and the only PSU that'll fit into the case is a 250w PSU from Dell...

Unless you want to cut you Dell case, you can't put a different PSU!

As I said before, that's not necessarily true. It all depends on what system he has. With their recent cases, they stopped using proprietary PSUs. The newer ones actually have the cut outs for the powere switch on the back of the PSU which means that no tin snips are required. My Dimension 8400 has the space for the switches while my 4700 doesn't even have a cover over the back of the PSU, just the back of the case flush against the PSU. The new 9200 and E520's are the same to the best of my knowledge.

Exactly as you said it. Also, to Nocteratus, what's wrong with cutting the case if it's your household PC if there's no warranty to worry about? I understand this is a business PC that you mentioned which is a different scenerio as you may not have authorization to mod a Dell, but for a home user, it's pretty easy to just enlarge the hole on the back of the case for the PSU switch.

Also, newegg has this PSU for sale:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817174026

Works great in that Dell you're talking about without modification, and for a paltry $17, it's a steal (Hipro is a decent oem brand).

 

[Jake_Barnes]

Better with a new case...

@ work I have a Dell PC with a dead PSU, and the only PSU that'll fit into the case is a 250w PSU from Dell...

Unless you want to cut you Dell case, you can't put a different PSU!

Not necessarily true. My brother donated an older optiplex 270 to me (he retired and went laptop) - I put in a PC Power & Cooling 410w PSU - and it works great. Made for Dell replacements. Fit like the old dell PSU - exactly! Great 2nd/wife PC - free is good (except for some upgrades).

http://www.pcpower.com/products/power_supplies/selector/dell.htm

 

[choknuti]

That's just it isn't it. For a company that has a contract with Dell or the average Joe who only upgrades at the Dell showroom their solution is perfect isn't it? What matters is not the price features IMO the main factor is if it provides the relevant solution to the problem.

Me? I wouldn't touch a Dell case for home use. But then again I'm not an average Joe and I cut and Mod all my cases.

 

[AdamBomb42]

The point I was really trying to make is that Dell cases (or should I say most of them) are not made to support non-Dell upgrades. If this person is to be changing major parts in the computer it would be better IMO to get a cheap case (unless his budget permits better than cheap) and not have to worry about compatibility issues. And yes, I have cut my myself on plenty of cheap cases.

On another note; I like the FMA avatar.

 

[nocteratus]

I'm not saying that all Dell case are like that.

And whats wrong with cutting the case?? nothing other that cutting metal.

And I got a Dell Dimension E520 @ work right now and if I want to change PSU they won't be any problem because the back will allow me to change it without cutting the case.

It'll depend on the case he has right now!

Only a warning !

 

[sweetpants]

Dell cases use a tray for mounting the motherboard

Only true for the Dimension models using the clamshell case.

so the mounting holes are likely to not line up

.
From my own experience, that's only true with the mobo tray out of the Dimension 8xxx series of clamshell case.

Dell motherboards are not standard ATX

You're right. Almost all of them are standard mATX

and the I/O is different, so the rear I/O panel would require modification.

Barely true for the Clamshell cases, not at all true for the non-clamshell designs.

The front I/O of Dell cases also uses a Dell proprietary connection, so the header would have to be changed.

Very true. In clamshell cases this is the biggest hurdle, in the non-clamshell cases it is much, much easier and rather straight forward.

More modifications than it's worth. :roll:

That's really up the OP to decide.

Sorry, you're wrong in almost every one...

Optiplex use the clam shell design
Optiplex use the motherboard tray
Most are mATX, but for every desktop there are more than 1 form factor, usually 4.

This also depends on the LOB they're in. Let's say an optiplex, majority of them will be mATX because they are business line computers but again for every model there are about 4 form factors depending on the chassis type.

Optiplex = business (usually)
Dimension = home (usually
Latitude = optiplex equivalent in notebooks
Inspiron = dimension equivalent in notebooks...

When you take a look at the level of customization when you look at
Inspiron vs Latitude
and
Optiplex vs Dimension this becomes apparent.

 

[delluser1]

I shouldn't have based my answer on the clamshell design, though they are the models ( D8400, XPS Gen 3) that most people ask me about.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Try putting an Abit motherboard in a D3000 case without a drill.
__________________________________________________

The Dell motherboards in my machines are larger than standard ATX, so not mATX.
_________________________________________________________________

Try swapping the motherboard from an XPS 410 into a XPS 400 case without the use of tinsnips.
____________________________________________________________________________

Quote:
More modifications than it's worth.

Quote:
"That's really up the OP to decide."

Absolutely.

 

[joefriday]

Sorry, you're wrong in almost every one...

Optiplex use the clam shell design
Optiplex use the motherboard tray
Most are mATX, but for every desktop there are more than 1 form factor, usually 4.

This also depends on the LOB they're in. Let's say an optiplex, majority of them will be mATX because they are business line computers but again for every model there are about 4 form factors depending on the chassis type.

Optiplex = business (usually)
Dimension = home (usually
Latitude = optiplex equivalent in notebooks
Inspiron = dimension equivalent in notebooks...

When you take a look at the level of customization when you look at
Inspiron vs Latitude
and
Optiplex vs Dimension this becomes apparent.

I'm not sure what you think I'm wrong about. The OP is asking about his Dell Dimension...I don't know why you're talking about optiplex here.

 

[sweetpants]

My mistake, read fast typed fast

When I read it I thought you were saying ONLY dimensions of clam shell designs and ONLY dimensions use motherboard trays, which isn't true

 

[joefriday]

Try putting an Abit motherboard in a D3000 case without a drill.

By D3000, do you mean Dimension 3000? Because that would be incredibly easy to do:

Its not an Abit, but I think a Gigabyte gets the job done equally as well.

The Dell motherboards in my machines are larger than standard ATX, so not mATX.

What models are your machines, and are they Dimension line?

Try swapping the motherboard from an XPS 410 into a XPS 400 case without the use of tinsnips.

The XPS is not a Dimension...not anymore anyway.


Have you seen my own thread on Clamshell case modifcation? I'm quite well versed on this topic:
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/Dell-case-805-250-watt-psu-Goodness-ftopict190487.html

 

[delluser1]

Try putting an Abit motherboard in a D3000 case without a drill.

By D3000, do you mean Dimension 3000? Because that would be incredibly easy to do:

Its not an Abit, but I think a Gigabyte gets the job done equally as well.

The Dell motherboards in my machines are larger than standard ATX, so not mATX.

What models are your machines, and are they Dimension line?

Try swapping the motherboard from an XPS 410 into a XPS 400 case without the use of tinsnips.

The XPS is not a Dimension...not anymore anyway.


Have you seen my own thread on Clamshell case modifcation? I'm quite well versed on this topic:
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/Dell-case-805-250-watt-psu-Goodness-ftopict190487.html

Yes and that's nice work
I have D 9200 and Xps 410, they are the same machine except for the name bezel.
No I had not seen your thread, but I will be sure to bookmark it now

 

[joefriday]

Ah, a 9200 and an XPS 410, I see now. I should have looked at your signature earlier. The OP originally asked about his ATX Dimension case. With that in mind, I threw out the possibility of it being an Optiplex or an XPS (the last time an XPS had the Dimension name attached to it was during the old slot 1 days of the Dimension XPS R-XXX and T-xxx). Since he also stated ATX, I eliminated the possibility of it being one of the newer BTX Dells, which your 9200 and XPS 410 are. That explains why your boards are bigger than standard ATX. Yes, BTX is quite large. I used to be quite a Dell enthusiast, due to their low prices and use of standardized parts (and the ability to be able to use any Dell oem XP CD on any dell this side of 1999 did hurt either). Unfortunately, after the killing off of the Dimension 1100/B110, Dell ended their era of cheap, highly modifiable mATX offerings, which made the Dell brand much less appealing to me. I'm now more of an Emachines supporter when it comes to buying a cheap OEM, for the same reasons as above.

 

[dougyfish]

Sorry to hijack this thread but I was wondering if one of you could suggest a case that would in fact take the motherboard from an Optiplex GX270? Mine has three IDE hard drives and an AGP video card (and the power supply still works... for now).

I'd like to ad a couple more hard drives using the SATA connectors. I don't care about the front USB and audio connectors. Just want more drive slots and a larger power supply. I'm willing to get a PCP&C power supply but don't know what case(s) would be the best fit.

Thanks,
Doug