Dell XPS 700 case - BTX to ATX conversion

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Honda Mugen PC Case - Dell XPS 700 - BTX to ATX conversion

This is my first project log and case conversion ever, so probably won't be all perfect. The first mistake I know I've already made was not taking pictures from the start and before I actually started the conversion.

So the story is I got a XPS 700 case as a freebie, only to realise when I opened it up it's a BTX case. Having done some research and checked few other conversion threads, I decided to give it a go, since I really liked this case. And it was much better than one I had at that time.

Old case
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Started off by getting a Lian-Li PC60 Motherboard Tray with back panel. Then took all the bits out of the XPS case in preparation. At this point the project got stuck for good few weeks, as it involved cutting out a large portion of the back of the case, to accommodate for the inverted expansion cards slots.

So when I finally got cutting it involved some drilling to get rid of the rivets holding the back panel, then cutting off the metal pieces that were in the way of the Lian-Li tray.

Before I fitted the Lian-Li tray, that had to be drilled and taken apart as well, as it just would not go in as one piece. Once in place, I used some screws and standoffs to join it back together.

So... here are the pics from the moment the tray was in place, to completing the build to make sure everything fits right and works.

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Now in the next coming week or two, I am planning to take it all apart again knowing it all fits in, and gave the case a proper clean, since it's been out of use for some time and doesn't look as good as it could be. And the cooling has to be updated. Can't bear the look (and sound) of the Gigabyte CPU cooler anymore.
 
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Thanks guys. That was the only way to convert that case with reasonable time and effort. I saw someone's log doing it the way you won't be able to tell it's converted, but it took ca. 6 months.

Just need to sort out the cooling as it runs a bit hot without any case fans ;)
 
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The power switch is a dell proprietary board and cable. I got some info on the connections used, but will need to find some more time to do this as I'm not that good with electronics.

And the cooler is driving me nuts. So what it was given good scores at performance, if it's so freaking loud!
 
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The power switch is a dell proprietary board and cable. I got some info on the connections used, but will need to find some more time to do this as I'm not that good with electronics.

Power switches are just 2 cables. Wire red to red and black to black, and you'll have the stock case switch with a standard plug on it.
 
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Well here's the board, and the switch, with 6 cables ... lol

The board also controls the 2 sets of LEDs at the front, Audio jacks, USBs and IEEE 1394.

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Oh what joy ...
 
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Done some digging and apparently I need this board from XPS 730.

In my XPS 720 the cables from the front panel go straight to Dell Motherboard. In 730 the went to intermediary board which was then wired to mobo. Also found a thread on some other forum with custom wiring and wiring diagrams.

There is hope
 
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This thread is not dead yet. As a matter of fact is has become much more then just a conversion. The case will be modded heavily over the next few weeks. I have been ordering some custom parts etc, also speccing up some upgrades, and getting the LED switch designed and sorted.

Got a rotary switch and started to put the LEDs together, but I'd have good 20 wires running around to power and control this thing.

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So ... I've decided to design a PCB board (my first) to manage all the LEDs and colour combinations. With some help, I got this:

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Also got an etching kit from Maplin. Will get the board done and tested this weekend. Then hopefully the part will start coming through :)

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My 3rd and so far best attempt on transferring the print onto the board ...

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Not sure if my iron doesn't get hot enough or the paper I've used isn't too good. :/
 
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Used CD permanent marker to trace the missing bits.

Here's the board around 1h in the bath:
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1.5h:
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and cleaned result:
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Few imperfections from where I've used the marker pen, but tested with a multimeter and it works!

Drilling and mounting diodes next ...

In the meantime, cables as being prepared by shakmods:
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looks sick, you havent by change got a pinout for the back led's, im doing this myself and have figured all the front ones but the back ones are difrent, and all my cables are black, listing colours wont help ;)
mod on!
 
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Hey. Here's how my back LEDs look. Not sure why yours are all black. Maybe if you assume they are wired in the same order? I am 99% sure they are just the same as front panel.

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RED = +
White = RED LED
Blue = BLUE LED
Green = GREEN LED
Brown = Ground

The only difference I just noticed is the extra 6th black wire, but I remember from reading somewhere else that other than that they were the same.
 
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