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RoachycaL

RoachycaL

RoachycaL

Soldato
Joined
2 Jan 2006
Posts
3,152
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Newcastle Upon Tyne
Modding a DELL Server case?

I just bought this thing off ebay becuase I REALLY liked the look of the thing :P But I may well need some help!

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Well I was wondering if some of you guys could help me out! It looks like it will only take extended ATX boards and I was wondering if its possible to mod the thing so it will take my standard ATX board. I was also wondering about the PSU - in the picture there is an ATX motherboard connector so I think it should work and also my mate said the front LED/Power connectors could be different but from the look of the second picture I can see a front connector dangling down and it looks to me like a normal front connector.

Anyway guys - what do you think? And what do you think I could do to it if it wont support my board?

Oh yeah and the guy said he didnt know what formfactor it was

RoachycaL :)
 
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Someone actually bought a Dell case, for a custom cuomputer :eek: I thought my Dell maniak friend was the only one who wanted to do this. :p

I know that case well, its Dell's typcial workstation case, except they've now changed the front panel. They havnt revised it all that much as its now missing the door and has 'airholes' below the 5 and a quaters, usb is in the same place and floppy drive is hidden up at the top as always.

Inside the case its a stnadard Dell jobbie, can be quite loud will all fans fitted, and the door wont open fully. As for the PSU you can give it a shot, but I doubt it will work - if it does its a bonus. The case cant be seperated from the PSU as the PSU acts as the case floor, take it off and you'll break the case. If you really do want to do it, it will take some major modding work - and at the end of the day, it'll still be a Dell case.

This case has been used by Dell to hold a what looks like a standard ATX mobo, but it may be one of Dell's own mobo's, so its hard to tell. Judging from the Xeon stikcer, it probably had eATX inside it, so again, you'll need to do some good measuring a mod the steel insides. The mobo will need mounting approx half way up the case to make it match the pci slots and I/O sheild plate etc...

It's a case with modding potential, but is restricted by what Dell has decided to do with it, add ontop of that its covered with the usual bright green stuff and restricted door opening etc... In factory, the door is snapped on last I believe as its hard to work on.

I would have thought the front connections should work - but its Dell, who knows, if they can prevent you from doing this kind of thing then they will. Be very careful when trying to move that PSU out (if you decide to) - like I said, you could seriosuly damage the case or hurt yourself. If the included psu doesnt work (which is rated @ 460w MAX - its prob a 360w or something), you need to mod in your own PSU, and if you want to mount it at the top, there will be little airflow. Where ever you decide to put a new PSU, your going to need to do a lot of modding.

Certainly an orginal idea, and could be interesting, but for what reason, I dont know! Its cases like that, that Im glad CM, Lian-Li and Silverstone stay away from! :eek:
 
RoachycaL said:
Ok thanks for the reply. Im just wondering why you think the PSU wont work? It has an ATX connector and thats all it needs for the board Im going to use in it
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Dell often use proprietary stuff, and their cases (as you will see) are no different. They are desinged with Dell, and Dell only in mind - gives Dell more business from customers as they have to go back to Dell to get Dell only parts. Even if they buy through a middle man it still has to be 'Dell' made.

So their PSU's are often the same, proprietary. As you can see, the PSU doesnt conform to the ATX design, and is a completly Dell designed, otherwise you fitting a computer in this case wouldnt be an issue, you wouldn't even need to mod! So it may work, but Im not sure if it will. Just because it has 20pins, doesnt mean it will like non-Dell stuff. Good luck though.

Can I ask why you like the case though - and are you seriously going to mod the hell out of it? :confused:
 
Ah ok I see what you mean. Well I decided to get the base becuase I have never seen anything like it before and I liked it :)

I understand what your saying about it but someone else told me I will definatly be able to get it working with a standard ATX board so I'll hold him to it
 
RoachycaL said:
Ah ok I see what you mean. Well I decided to get the base becuase I have never seen anything like it before and I liked it :)

I understand what your saying about it but someone else told me I will definatly be able to get it working with a standard ATX board so I'll hold him to it
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Ok, well good luck fitting the mobo then :)

You seen anything like it before?! Once you've seen one Dell, you seen them all! They all look alike :p
 
iv come across a couple of the dell cases they used in early pentium 4 machines

they are a nightmare
they have weird green buttons which you press to release different bits the only problems being that they dont release or lock properly

does your case have the weird psu positioning
(rotated so its parallel to the motherboard)
very restrictive in terms of what board and heatsinks you can put inside

make sure you get a normal psu

good luck
 
lol yeah bit of bad news - lets just say its probably lying all mangled in some landfill right now :(

Basically what happened was I got the damn thing and saw the PSU wouldnt work, the board wouldnt fit without a HUGE moderation (literally remaking the back) and the power button and HDD LED all linked to some stupid cable which was built for 1 DELL motherboard.

I was in the process of taking the front off to pull these cables out in hope of putting a switch in from another machine and the whole front snapped off. There was literally no way of using it without putting a huge amount of time and effort into it which I simply didnt have. Basically it wasnt worth it :( I wouldnt of been able to sell it either becuase its only built for one DELL board.
 
RoachycaL said:
lol yeah bit of bad news - lets just say its probably lying all mangled in some landfill right now :(

Basically what happened was I got the damn thing and saw the PSU wouldnt work, the board wouldnt fit without a HUGE moderation (literally remaking the back) and the power button and HDD LED all linked to some stupid cable which was built for 1 DELL motherboard.

I was in the process of taking the front off to pull these cables out in hope of putting a switch in from another machine and the whole front snapped off. There was literally no way of using it without putting a huge amount of time and effort into it which I simply didnt have. Basically it wasnt worth it :( I wouldnt of been able to sell it either becuase its only built for one DELL board.
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Hehe, I knew that'd happen. I did say it would take a lot of moderation to make it work, so you would have needed to be prepared - and yes, as the PSU wouldnt work, you'd need to rework the back. Dell cases are cheaply built which explains your problems. You may have been able to sell it, but thats probably the reason that the seller is trying to shift them all on that well known auction site anyway!

What are you going to do with your male friend who 'definatly' told you that it'll work with a standard atx board? ;)

Get a Silverstone, Lian Li or CM and experience some really nice cases :)
 
Lol I dont know what Im going to do :P Probably nothing - hes on another forum. Well it was really for my other system, this one has a Coolermaster Stacker which I love to death. My other pc should be ok for the moment - I'll probably let you guys know when and which case Im gonna get for it :cool:
 
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