Btx motherboard (dell) and case help

[toasty99]

I found a Dell Inspiron t3600 LGA 2011 motherboard for only $65. It is from what I can tell a btx motherboard unfortunately however. So if i buy any btx case, I should be able to insert it no problem, put in an Xeon e5 1650 and be good to go right? Now obviously the problem is that I can't find any btx cases that would ever fit my Radeon 7950 since it is around 11 inches long. Any suggestions/advice for possibly modifying an atx case or some other option I'm not seeing?

 

[USAFRet]

I found a Dell Inspiron t3600 LGA 2011 motherboard for only $65. It is from what I can tell a btx motherboard unfortunately however. So if i buy any btx case, I should be able to insert it no problem, put in an Xeon e5 1650 and be good to go right? Now obviously the problem is that I can't find any btx cases that would ever fit my Radeon 7950 since it is around 11 inches long. Any suggestions/advice for possibly modifying an atx case or some other option I'm not seeing?

The money and time spent trying to modify an ATX case to accept a BTX motherboard would be better spent in just getting an ATX motherboard to start with.
And you may run into other issues, like non-standard PSU and case connections.

A $65 motherboard that you can't use is a waste of $65.

 

[toasty99]

The problem with that is an atx LGA 2011 motherboard costs over $150. So I'm saving lots of money doing it this way as long as I can find a case for this on eBay. I don't care how it looks by the way, it can be an ugly old Dell case as long as it supports a normal psu and I can fit my GPU in.

 

[USAFRet]

The problem with that is an atx LGA 2011 motherboard costs over $150. So I'm saving lots of money doing it this way as long as I can find a case for this on eBay. I don't care how it looks by the way, it can be an ugly old Dell case as long as it supports a normal psu and I can fit my GPU in.

Its not that the case will support a regular PSU, but will that BTX motherboard?
Some Dell have proprietary connections that do not work with a regular ATX spec PSU.

 

[toasty99]

It is from a Dell t3600. Any way to know for sure if it is proprietary?

 

[USAFRet]

It is from a Dell t3600. Any way to know for sure if it is proprietary?

The spec sheet does not specify:
https://www.in.tum.de/fileadmin/user_upload/RBG/Datenblaetter/Dell/Workstation/Dell-Precision-T3600.pdf

But this review from Anadtech seems to say yes, a custom Dell board
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5769/dell-precision-t3600-review-dells-new-enterprise
"Motherboard Dell Custom with C600 Chipset"

What that level of customization is? Who knows, until you have it in hand.

 

[toasty99]

http://m.ebay.com/itm/8HPGT-Dell-Precision-T3600-Socket-LGA-2011-DDR3-Motherboard-/282400798975?hash=item41c06638ff%3Ag%3AnWsAAOSwCU1YxIYj&_trkparms=pageci%253A172bcabe-0cd6-11e7-b03c-74dbd180ae5d%257Cparentrq%253Ae7efb5a815a0a62286149b09fffc140c%257Ciid%253A1

Based on the photo on eBay that looks like a normal 24 pin connector... Right?

 

[USAFRet]

http://m.ebay.com/itm/8HPGT-Dell-Precision-T3600-Socket-LGA-2011-DDR3-Motherboard-/282400798975?hash=item41c06638ff%3Ag%3AnWsAAOSwCU1YxIYj&_trkparms=pageci%253A172bcabe-0cd6-11e7-b03c-74dbd180ae5d%257Cparentrq%253Ae7efb5a815a0a62286149b09fffc140c%257Ciid%253A1

Based on the photo on eBay that looks like a normal 24 pin connector... Right?

Yeah, probably.
I'm not seeing any front panel headers, though.

 

[toasty99]

http://m.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Optiplex-745-760-755-740-330-320-Case-For-Parts-/122040021783?hash=item1c6a26f317%3Ag%3AhewAAOSwTuJYwWau&_trkparms=pageci%253Adbcadfdf-0cd6-11e7-a58d-74dbd180a8f7%257Cparentrq%253Ae7f4be4115a0a606358a4926fffc4a43%257Ciid%253A2

So this is the cheapest Dell case I seem to be able to find for this. Even if the front panel is proprietary it should be the same for all Dell computers from that time right?

The only thing I'm not sure about other than that is trying to fit a Radeon 7950 in there.

 

[USAFRet]

http://m.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Optiplex-745-760-755-740-330-320-Case-For-Parts-/122040021783?hash=item1c6a26f317%3Ag%3AhewAAOSwTuJYwWau&_trkparms=pageci%253Adbcadfdf-0cd6-11e7-a58d-74dbd180a8f7%257Cparentrq%253Ae7f4be4115a0a606358a4926fffc4a43%257Ciid%253A2

So this is the cheapest Dell case I seem to be able to find for this. Even if the front panel is proprietary it should be the same for all Dell computers from that time right?

The only thing I'm not sure about other than that is trying to fit a Radeon 7950 in there.

No guarantees on the connection issue.
Or the fitting of the 7950.