Fitting a new mobo to a dell case...

Nietzschean

Anyone done this?
have a precision 530 and looking at replacing the mobo with a newer one to support faster ram/usb2.0/etc...

Creamy Goodness

it's generally not done because dell use non standard designs for their cases (ATX).

duridian

If your system is the one on this page:

http://cadence.advanstar.com/features/previews/2001/DellPrecision530/

then I really think it would be a hell of a hard job to fit a normal (read non-Dell) motherboard in there, not to mention all the other problems like the proprietary psu, front panel connectors, non standard motherboard tray etc, etc. Would be better off getting a new case and psu.
The drives you could reuse(except the floppy which has a proprietary front bezel) but the Dell version of Windows may not transfer well onto non-Dell hardware so you may have to wipe and start from scratch. (Dell's Windows discs will not install on any other brand either as it detects the non-Dell bios and refuses to go on).
As you can see upgrading a Dell is not 'easy as Dell' .

Redrocket

ive done it before. the only problem i found was that you know the way the ports on motherboards are different?? like some have onboard sound and some dont and some have spdif and some dont?? you know what i mean... i couldnd mount the motherboard properly because the current holes were un-moveable. i just got an angle grinder out, cut out the old backplate, mounted the board, epoxied the plate that came with the board and all was sound!
but that was p2 board i replaced on an old white case, the cases before the black ones. the black ones look more complicated

VeVeX

Originally posted by duridian
Dell's Windows discs will not install on any other brand either as it detects the non-Dell bios and refuses to go on.

Thats not 100% true. I dont know about previous versions of windows but the current Dell XP disc will install on 'other' machines. I know cause I've done it, all with different security keys of course .

Explosive_Cornflake

These guys were trying it before.
Worth a look anyway.
http://www.techseekers.net/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=633

Mac daddy

Originally posted by VeVeX
Thats not 100% true. I dont know about previous versions of windows but the current Dell XP disc will install on 'other' machines. I know cause I've done it, all with different security keys of course .

That is true i have intalled a dell version of windows installed it on a packered bell laptop fine have had no problems with it-

Redrocket

i dont know about the os installing on different hardware. but i remember having trouble installing power dvd on the machine with the new board. it said it wasnt a dell machine.