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Casing

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I'm new to PC DIY and I need help. I own a DELL PII 233 that comes with a 440LX chipset. I don't know the mobo brand. Intend to upgrade to i815E chipset and ASUS CUSL 2 mobo. I was wondering if new mobo will fit into casing and is my 200w power supply sufficient? Thanks for any help.

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Depends on the model. Is your machine a desktop or tower unit? A lot of Dell desktops have a custom format, no other mobo will fit. If you post the model number I'll find out.

Regarding the PSU, hmm :tongue: . My advice would be to replace it... For three reasons.

1. 200w may not be enough (you might get away with it though).
2. The thing is obviously ancient :smile:
3. PSU's cost very little, it's worth it for peace of mind.

CHANGE THE POWER SUPPLY. CHANGE THE POWER SUPPLY. CHANGE THE POWER SUPPLY.

Whew, OK, here's why:
Dell's use a propriertary powersupply. While it looks like a normal ATX supply, and will plug into a standard ATX connector, the leads are different and will instantly fry a non-Dell motherboard. I would recommend a nice Enermax, in the 350 - 431 watt range. It would bolt right into the Dell Case. If it's a Dimension (which is actually a <A HREF="http://www.arstechnica.com/reviews/4q99/pa-600/pa-600-1..." target="_new">Palo Alto ATCX </A> case), the ATX board should bolt right in. If it's a Optiplex, it won't.

Thanks for info. Needed it. :smile:

But I did some research over the weekend by downloading mobo manuals from Asus site. Found one that actually fits the iron casing (supporting the I/O ports), i.e. CUSL2-C, unlike CUSL2. I believe the iron casing which holds the I/O ports can also be changed if necessary.

BTW, my DELL is a Dimension XPS D233.

Thanks to gbates2b and camieabz. Will definitely change power supply.

Also, in course of research, I found an intel development site which gives info on the ATX Form-Factor standard (quite old). I don't have link on my laptop. I'll post it later for anyone who is interested.
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