Dell case swap help

[bigtankthepounder]

I have a friend who has a pretty good dell. He wants to put his internals into a different case( for better cooling and appearance) I was just wondering if it would be an easy swap job? It seems like it would be as easy as putting the internals in a new case but i wasn't sure.
thx

[Mesaeus]

Dell often uses non ATX psu's that have ATX-like plugs. So if you want to move it, make sure the psu transfers too and don't try to change it with an ATX psu unless you're sure it will work.

[Cricket]

Dell's also use a one piece front panel header connection instead of the individual connectors that regular ATX cases use. The Dell motherboard doesn't specify which pin is for what function. Trying to connect them all correctly will be frustrating.

Actually, I wouldn't even bother.

Cricket

[kevinf]

but dont Dell, HP, and other computers use proprietory form factors for their motherboards

[JNasci7906]

i know that in my dell the mobo is smaller and doesnt have the same openings to fasten to a new case...for reference i have a dimension 4500...bout 2 years old now...also i dont think that you would be able to connect the power switches and the like (from what i looked at) it seems dells have done some "creative" things in order to prevent swapping like that...who really knows though.

Nash

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by kevinf but dont Dell, HP, and other computers use proprietory form factors for their motherboards

No, some of their motherboards actually follow the ATX form factor layout...but the power connection may be wired differently. The HP I use at work has a proprietary motherboard with a riser/daughterboard, but I had a HP that had a ASUS motherboard that followed the ATX layout. I don't know if the power supply motherboard connection was wired differently though. Both were PIII 500MHz systems.

Cricket