Will Asus/MSI Mobo Fit in Dell 1100 Case?

[8Runner]

Thanks for all the replies, especially the one's shooting down my Dell and it's Celeron. As such, I have decided to swap Mobos using the Dell 1100 Micro Tower Case. Which brings me this question: Will an Asus or MSI Motherboard fit in a Dell 1100 Micro Tower Case? If not, what aftermarket Mobos will?

Thanks,
Sean

 

[SidVicious]

Thanks for all the replies, especially the one's shooting down my Dell and it's Celeron. As such, I have decided to swap Mobos using the Dell 1100 Micro Tower Case. Which brings me this question: Will an Asus or MSI Motherboard fit in a Dell 1100 Micro Tower Case? If not, what aftermarket Mobos will?

Thanks,
Sean

Yes

By using powertools, it's possible to fit a standard motherboard into a nonstandard case, a desk or even a ceiling if you accurately drill holes through 'em.

 

[8Runner]

?????? Was that the answer, or was it meant to be funny. Sorry if I didn't get it. So you're saying I would need to custom make holes in the mobo to align w/ the holes in the case?

 

[SidVicious]

?????? Was that the answer, or was it meant to be funny. Sorry if I didn't get it.

Both

So you're saying I would need to custom make holes in the mobo to align w/ the holes in the case?

Yup, Dell cases and mobos are non-standard, the mounting holes on a standard ATX mobo won't match the mounting holes on a Dell case, unless you drill those holes yourself.

 

[joefriday]

Yes, a microATX board will fit in the case, however:

1. The Dell cooling solution will have to be scrapped (obviously).
2. The usb header, audio, and power/pwr led/hdd led plugs are proprietary: you'll have to do some cuttling and splicing.
3. Check the pinout of the power plug for the Dell power supply. Earlier Dells used to have a proprietary power supply, although I believe Dell has long since done away with that. Still it never hurts to check. The Dell support website has an online service manual that will give you the pinouts of the plug
4. Don't plan anything huge.....the Dell power supply is only rated for 250 watts...

 

[joefriday]

?????? Was that the answer, or was it meant to be funny. Sorry if I didn't get it.

Both

So you're saying I would need to custom make holes in the mobo to align w/ the holes in the case?

Yup, Dell cases and mobos are non-standard, the mounting holes on a standard ATX mobo won't match the mounting holes on a Dell case, unless you drill those holes yourself.

Since when? It is using a standard mATX mobo.

 

[SidVicious]

?????? Was that the answer, or was it meant to be funny. Sorry if I didn't get it.

Both

So you're saying I would need to custom make holes in the mobo to align w/ the holes in the case?

Yup, Dell cases and mobos are non-standard, the mounting holes on a standard ATX mobo won't match the mounting holes on a Dell case, unless you drill those holes yourself.

Since when? It is using a standard mATX mobo.

Forever, a standard ATX mobo won't fit a mATX case.

 

[joefriday]

Never mind. I now have proof that Sid is just full of BS on this topic.

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/basdt_b110?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

see for yourself. Just zoom in....It's all standard mATX pattern. ANY mATX board will fit in there.

 

[SidVicious]

Never mind. I now have proof that Sid is just full of BS on this topic.

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/basdt_b110?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

see for yourself. Just zoom in....It's all standard mATX pattern. ANY mATX board will fit in there.

For starters, I'll just quote myself and highlight the important bits :

a standard ATX mobo won't fit a mATX case.

That link you provided is useless, I don't see any measurements overlayed on top of those highly pixelated images. You might as well linked a hand drawing made by a pre-school kid, 3/8th of an inch can make all the difference when trying to fit a screw into a hole.

 

[joefriday]

You obviously can't navigate a webpage. Step 1: click on little image on the right-hand side of page of case with side off. Step 2: click on the now enlarged image of case with side off to zoom in. Step 3: compare screw locations of mobo to that of any matx board. Step 4: stop posting in threads if you don't know a damn thing about the topic at hand.

Just FYI for you sid, the OP never said anything about using an ATX board. That's your own delusion, not his. mATX is a standard too ya' know.

 

[uber_g]

ugh





burn




8O

im sleepy

 

[SidVicious]

You obviously can't navigate a webpage.

Might as well claim that I use my TV remote control to make phone calls and dry my cat in a microwave...

Again, that flash enhanced page still won't give ANY measurement relative to the EXACT location of the mounting holes. Your guess may be as good as mine but I stand my ground, the mounting holes won't match, we're talking about a frickin' proprietary Dell case here !

stop posting in threads if you don't know a damn thing about the topic at hand.

I'll get right on that after I figure out why I did'nt buy a Dell instead of building my own 'rig, the overclock and watercooling system happened by accident !

Just FYI for you sid, the OP never said anything about using an ATX board. That's your own delusion, not his. mATX is a standard too ya' know.

And you're deluding yourself into believing that Dell would follow such things as industry standards, they truly want their "dear valued customers" to upgrade on their own using 3rd party parts !

 

[joefriday]

You know what? Fine. Let's put a wager on this. How 'bout loser pays for this guy's motherboard?

 

[zultdush]

i cant believe what I'm seeing here,
I'm going to have to agree with Sid 100%. I think everyone has missed the entire statement hes made.

"Again, that flash enhanced page still won't give ANY measurement relative to the EXACT location of the mounting holes." -Sid

your guessing while that motherboard is 1/8Th an inch against the bottom of the case that you can swap out for another board and hope it to fit? are you serious?

your already talking about looking up wiring diagrams for the non standard power plugs and cutting and splicing for basic wiring like power buttons and LEDs. do you really think someone with half a brain who is trying to do this mod will actually succeed? hes trying to save him the embarrassment of purchasing a mATX board when he can purchase a cheap midtower and a full ATX.

PSU in that dell is the best. so after he mods the power plug and fits everything in there (if it fits.. IF) we can wait for it to burn the mobo out.. then he can order another and start again i don't remember dell winning any OCing awards for top PSUs with stable rails..

are you next going to say that every thing on a full ATX will be the same as mATX? that your not skimping out on features to provide a smaller board?

oh and lets talk about cases since were talking about small.. have you looked in that dell case? its crammed full of crap. i bet it has lovely air flow. in fact I cant wait for those nice hot summers in Hawaii to pick up and take care of the heat problem I'm sure that will be in the mail for him. that case is sheet metal with plastic over the top. have fun feeding it dremel wheels too.

start out right, don't do this fly by night crap. telling him it wouldn't fit is the strongest way we can say "are you trying to waste money"?

I cant believe this has to be my 2ND post since moving to this forum.
too the guy who asked originally about putting a board in that dell case. look, i can see why you don't want to buy a new one.. shipping must be murder. that's the best case that can be made against what you want to do. after you realize this wont work out, your going to have to ship some more stuff at expensive costs. do it right the first time and save your self a real head ache.

a wager? *sigh* why don't you help this guy rather than go in patterns of circular logic. fits or doesn't.. hes not gonna win regardless. dell stacked this deck when he bought it. lets try and find him some cheap shipping instead.

<3
jamie

 

[joefriday]

your guessing while that motherboard is 1/8Th an inch against the bottom of the case that you can swap out for another board and hope it to fit? are you serious?

Yes, because I know it is a standard micro ATX board. I've already found conformation of this for the Dimension 2400, and I know it's true on the Dimension 4500 that I own. This b110 is an evolution of the dimension 2400/3000 case, and since the b110 is still using the same motherboard that came in last year's dimension 3000 (and I know this because I purchased my parents a 3000 last christmas), I'm positive that this is a standard size mATX board, and that any standard mATX board will fit in the case without problems. Wiring of course is a different story, which is clearly stated in my first post to the OP. It is up to him to decide if he can tackle those obstacles set before him, not you. The question was only "will it fit", and the answer is yes, it will.

 

[zultdush]

yea well you can technically chew glass, yet if someone asked me, it would be something to advise against. chewing dells is just as unhealthy.

i dont understand why your pushing him to install it in a doomed setup to begin with. regardless of the arguments presented here, hes not going to gain anything by swapping that board out is he? no.
well actually hes going to gain one hell of a headache.

i can see why you advise your parrents to get a dell.. thats brilliant considering with a good extended warranty they will always have a lacky on hand to swap out bad parts ( a friend of mine did that work.. its contract, 32$ a job and you'd be supprised the amount of work coming in. its alot.)

now what i dont understand is how any of this helps the original poster. You are trying to advise him to install an aftermarket board in a small case, with poor cooling and layout. with a PSU that may not connect without pinlayout arrangement. oh and the PSU SUCKS.

realize what you said previous, watch out cause the wattage is a meager 250watts? was that it? oh and i can only wonder what the 12v+ rail looks like. that psu was meant only for the board in the box it came with. IF that.

so again we are at a point where you say it will fit and im saying it doesnt matter. for sid, you, and I, this discussion is a test of knowledge and skill.. for the 8runner guy this is his computer. you can be right or wrong, but no matter which way you slice it: 8runner looses.

 

[joefriday]

You make the assumption that the OP is not keen on electrical knowledge. What right do you have to assume that? I know I'd rather have someone tell me only the facts, and let me form MY OWN opinion, rather than spread FUD to discourage any idea that I may have. :roll:

And I'm not pushing him to install anything. I told him, cut and dry, the information he was seeking. I didn't say "go for it, it is what you need!", I just answered his question.

Please don't try and downplay a Dell just because you feel the need to flex your mighty e-penis. My parents just wanted a better computer than the Compaq 4000 they purchased in 1997. Only Dell could offer the excellent deal they got. And what's this crap about tech support? Do you honestly think that if there was a problem with the computer, they wouldn't call me first? I'm sorry, but I don't need someone to hold my hand to fix a computer.

Please let the OP make up his own mind about what is best for HIS computer. Thank you.

Joe

EDIT: I suppose I should change "last Chrismas" to 2 Christmas' ago, as it was in December of 2004. Nary a problem yet.

 

[SidVicious]

Wiring of course is a different story, which is clearly stated in my first post to the OP. It is up to him to decide if he can tackle those obstacles set before him, not you. The question was only "will it fit", and the answer is yes, it will.

Just like a motherboard would fit a into a dishwasher but fail to connect with it...

Seriously, zul (Welcome to THGC! ) pointed out the obvious, getting a real case and a real PSU would do the trick, why grasp at straws unless you enjoy being an antagonist despite all odds ?

 

[joefriday]

Funny, what model of dishwasher has standoffs inside it to mount a mATX motherboard?

 

[SidVicious]

Funny, what model of dishwasher has standoffs inside it to mount a mATX motherboard?

I rely on you to point one out, after all, you're the resident Dell modding expert, I am blinded by the shining beacon of wisdom that you are !

 

[joefriday]

Finally, some respect for my authority in this topic.....

 

[zultdush]

I'm really insulted you consider yourself any form of expert. You have polluted the knowledge in which Sid and I pride ourselves on.
I also consider personal attacks on me to be childish and uncalled for.

dell downplays itself and even you have spoken my points for me.
you said so yourself it was a weak psu. 250watts and weak 12v+ rail are not the base in which you build a functional system off of. those are stats of a system soon to burn out under its own power needs.

realize when i commented on dell and their repair abilities i was speaking from fact. my friend was a contracted tech for them.

realize that when I said they would have great tech support I meant it. they do. they replace anything within warranty. it was no attack on your skills ( tho lacking and in need of refinement) i was assuming you advised them out of inability to assist them due to perhaps distance? i now realize that you must live at home to provide such round the clock technical know how.

you still don't get what is going on here. you are helping someone to fail. I am trying to help them find the right information. it must be nice to wish others to failure. I pity you and your shallow way of looking at others. 8runner needs solutions Not problems like you.

8runner, if you want real help. message Sid or I.
<3
Jamie

 

[joefriday]

With all due respect, what knowledge is that? Neither one of you knew that the Dell used a regular mATX design. The only retaliating facts you've come up with are those that I laid out for you in my first post to the OP, and you freely admit that point. Just because you are knowledgeable about most aspects of computers, does not mean you are 100% on the mark in every category of this hobby. The same of course applies to me: If this guy asked about what water cooler he should get for his awesome gaming rig, I would never have bothered to reply, because that is not a topic I am familiar enough with to give an intelligent, truthful reply. Modifying Dells, though, specifically these very models that we are discussing, is something that I am quite well versed upon. I've done a lot of research on this topic, as it is something I myself have been thinking about pursuing.


I'm sorry I misunderstood the portion of your post about Dell support. I really did think you were downplaying their support team. Once again sorry about the misunderstanding. To clear up your confusion on my habitation, although a little bit personal and definitely off topic, no, I don't live at home, lol. I'm living comfortably with my wife in Omaha, NE, while my parents live about two hours away in Northeastern NE.

You know, the PSU can be changed as well. There isn't any sort of proprietary sizing that would prevent one from upgrading to a better, more powerful aftermarket unit (I know this because I have one out of a Dimension 2400 sitting in my closet right now, waiting to go into a project build).

Sincerely yours,

Joe

 

[zultdush]

thats cool I missunderstand stuff too. I think we have a bigger picture problem though.

my main points dont really stem from things you pointed out. I dont really care about pin layout. but i do know thatobviously LED's and powerbuttons arnt marked off and its part of a larger harness like plug. and you didnt need to point out the psu either. trust me I know they arnt that powerful. thats my fear here.. its like your probably right that he can get it in there no problem, but what after? thats what im afraid of.

for all intense purposes he gets the board to fit with no major issues with size. what then do we do when the psu isnt powerful enough?(never mind the 20pin connector.. i was just throwing it back at you cause you mentioned it.. i had no idea really if they did or not touche at that lol )
ill tell you something funny, I bought an unltra X connect cause I heard they were good a year or so ago.. well they suck now.. rails are stable but damn it they blow for OCing.. so I dropped it in an old barton w/medium tower.. well I couldnt get the psu to fit. for what ever reason it wasnt like.. fitting i can show you what I had to do. it involved a dremel.

I see what your saying about attacking something that may not be entirely correct. I think what happens with people like Sid and I is that we see posts all day (not just here.. ) about things just like this with OEM computers. OEMs have a purpose Ill grrant you that and they are good for something.
the tech support and easy call warranties are what make them good for the avaerage joe... (or the above average joe in your case lol<3) so its like Im gonna assume you and I can agree that most people are due for a headache taking things out and putting things in an OEM. not many are going to be stead fast as you and learn the wonders of the dell platform.. they dont look into things this close and you can guess why. people buy dells for them to work and sit there untouched.

so now we come to this pass: I really dont think its wise for him to drop any board in this box. my fear is when the PSU goes or doesnt work, he'll be buying a new one. when he buys a new psu, shipping is going to be lethal on its own.. combined shipping is going to hopefully help him out. what if the psu he gets doesnt fit in the dell case? what if it does but it adds too much heat?(the dell psu being very low power may have never added to heat issues within the case) again I only know what ive seen, and ive seen it pretty hot in a dell case before. could a microtower also add to the heat? i think so, i think hes going to havce issues getting cables and everything else setup so that airflow will work best.

trust me, the best reaction from an overall point would be to say it doesnt fit. it stops this dead in the water. i hope you can understand why hardware people like sid and I would have an inclination to do that. yea sid is a lil harsh and he dished out some humor. laugh lol.. and be happy.

what socket is the CPU in this dell Joe? im too lazy to look it up and Ive no doubt you know already im looking now for a mobo, psu, and midtower cheap yet reliable.
<3
Jamie

btw: i just woke up lol. my partner just got a call and let it go to the answering machine.. omg loud. im glad shes up.. I however am probably going back to sleep lol..

 

[joefriday]

The B110: Socket 478, intel 865GV chipset, supports 800 fsb, integrated intel "extreme" graphics II, of course no agp. Decent for an office machine or video encoder.

About the PSU, have you read this thread? The 250 watt unit is no slouch. It will perform well for what he will start out with (2.53 GHz Celeron D, mATX mobo). As long as the guy doesn't use too much graphics card he will be fine with his new mobo (it seems that the OP is only looking to get a board with AGP/PCIe, not do a platform change to dual core or anything of that nature). As I mentioned in my last post, if the power supply does become a problem, all he has to do is replace it an aftermarket power supply, as the Dell unit uses the standard dimensions of a power supply. Do you know of a decent image hosting site, so that I can post pics of how the Dell PSU in this case is exactly the same dimensions of any other standard power supply? A new Thermaltake unit would slip in there just fine.

You are correct about the 12v rail: 14 amps. Not good enough for cutting edge, but its fine for socket 478 and Celeron D. It was even fine enough for higher-end Dells that use hyperthreading prescotts at 2.8 GHz, DVD burners, and 512 mb of ram. The OP made mention in another post about switching to Northwood P4. That would actually lower the power consumption of the cpu, freeing up more watts for a graphics card.

Honestly the biggest hurdle will be figuring out the front panel wiring. It's not nearly as bad as Dell used to make it (you should see how crazy my Dell 4500 is), but it is something to consider. That and to figure out how he wants to cool it. An 80-90 mm exhaust fan along with standard intel hsf will work fine; it just won't be as quiet as it used to be.

If the OP wants the EASIEST route, all he has to do is find a motherboard out of a Dell Dimension 4600 on ebay (cheapest), or purchased through Dell (very expensive). It has AGP, is socket 478, and will literally fit right in and hook right up to his B110, no modifications required. It will even be more of an upgrade, as I sports 4 ram slot instead of two, has dual channel support, and has 2 SATA hookups. Here is a link to one on Ebay right now. The price is cheap enough too! It doesn't say the seller will ship to Hawaii, but perhaps the OP can sweet talk him into it. What's even cooler about going this route is that your Dell OEM Windows XP CD will treat this like a regular Dell, and install wiindows without ever making you go thorugh product activation. Who knows, it might just be similar enough that you won't even have to reinstall windows XP at all, it may just update itself for the SATA controller, and whatever audio chip it's using (of course drivers will probably need to be downloaded from Dell's support site, not too hard at least). To top it all off, the 4600 uses the exact same 250 watt power supply as used in the B110. I'm sure that will make everyone happy in this thread.

The standard cooling solution for the Dell is more than adequate for the original configuration.

I still don't think that spreading FUD is the best approach to a topic like this.