Will the Dell XPS 8300 transplant to a new case?

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rlg5150

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Apr 26, 2012
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Will the innards of a Dell XPS 8300 fit in a new case? I read there could be issues with the front panel connectors but I never did get a clear answer as to whether or not it would actually be a problem.
 
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Here are some photos that should help:
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217dbd33faed1b821254d856155f8770_zps53d848f4.jpg

e5673d134d63b8b61584f54d609c2f12_zps8c67b064.jpg

201cd1216a95ae2b2fcffdd6ccc200fd_zps324e0803.jpg

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Yes, you may have trouble determining the position of the case connectors with the new case. If this is your case: http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-8300/pd and power supply is 460w, I wouldn't change anything. Too many things can go wrong when amatuers start messing with oem equipment. No offense intended, but if you don't have alot of experience and your dell still has some warranty, I would leave it alone except maybe adding a newer video card that will run with the 460w ps, which is pretty good for oem. The connectors on the new case will be individually labeled, but the dell connector isn't. I don't know if you can find an individual pin diagram from the dell website.
 
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Thanks for your answer. So the leads on a new case would be different from the one on the Dell case?

The reason I'm wanting to swap cases is because the case was free (friend upgraded and is giving me a case) and there is basically no airflow in the Dell case. I'm wanting to upgrade the PSU and GPU, but I'm afraid of the new components getting too hot. The stock 6770 already runs over 80C when gaming at 100% fan speed.
 
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Also, couldn't I just see which lead wire is going where on my current case and write down where it goes on the motherboard? For example, follow the power switch wire down to the motherboard and plug the new power switch in to that one?
 
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I'm still a little bit confused as to what problem I might have. Will the front panel leads on the new case not plug in to the motherboard or will I just have a problem of knowing where to put them?

I'd also like to thank you for all your help and add that no, I didn't buy this XPS 8300. I traded a laptop for it. I know the pros of building vs. prebuilt but why scrap this whole PC and build a new one right now? I'd rather slowly build one over the next few months by replacing parts. Starting with a case, lol/.
 
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Yes
It's a micro atx board
The I/O plate is removeable
The motherboard connectors are standard and labeled
Front Panel header pinout, no reset on the Dell
powerconnection.gif
 
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Unfortunately, that pinout isn't correct for the XPS 8300. Found this out the hard way last night when trying to do the same thing as the OP. 🙁

There is, however, a pinout guide printed (very small) on the mobo itself. I was able to use that to decipher the layout and make this guide (below).

8300pinout.jpg


Note: I am fairly certain that the 2 pins directly below the power button are for a reset button, as is indicated on the mobo. However, because the XPS 8300 has no reset switch, and I personally don't like having one enabled on my new case (Corsair 600T), I chose to ignore it.

Note 2: For anyone wondering, once I figured out the I/O pinout, everything else was cake. I was able to transplant the innards of my XPS 8300 over to my Corsair 600T case with no issues--even the mini wifi card. The only thing I replaced from my current 8300 config was the power supply, scrapping Dell's 460w PSU in favor of a Corsair AX750. It booted up right away. Just make sure to write down what goes where when you are disconnecting the Dell. :) The only hiccup I ran into was an error message at bootup telling me the case fan was not connected (because I used the connectors on the Corsair case, instead of plugging them into the mobo). In hindsight, I will probably move the rear exhaust fan connector back to the mobo so I don't get that error every time I boot up, and leave the top/front fans plugged into the Corsair controller.

This is a work-in-progress for me. Next stop: new video card! Currently using a GTX 560 -- upgrading to a 660 Ti shortly.
 
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Leave it to Dell to change the wheel
I use a front panel 10-1 connector from an old D4700 for breadboarding systems, matches the pinout I provided, didn't think they would change that
Good info, thanx
 
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Just wanted to thank the community for the information. Was extremely helpful. My son wanted a GTX 770 for gameplay so we used that as an excuse to upgrade our xps 8300. Purchased a Corsair 200R and the 750M PSU. The XPS fit nicely into the new case with lots of room. The cabling worked very well. Appreciated the diagram above for the final stage hooking up the front interface connections, power switch, etc. Did need the splitter for additional fan connections. If I can, I'll upload a photo of the final. This was my first transplant (or build) so if I can do it I'm sure others can, too. Good luck and thanks, again, for the contributors. So helpful!

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/716/jbpj.jpg
 
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Thanks for the photo. Looks really nice!

Would it be possible for you to include a photo of the IO connections on the mobo and the 200R's IO panel?
 
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I asked this question so long ago, haha. But yea, I decided to just get a new case shortly after and just go for it (after reading on the Internet that it would likely not work). I had no problems at all. Everything fit just fine. I've since them bought a new motherboard and the i7 and RAM are the only remnants of my old Dell.
 
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I'm transplanting my xps innards into a new case. Bought a corsair 600cx and a evga gtx 660 ftw 2g w acx coolers. Didn't plan on getting a new case, but temps are too hot inside the Dell Case (which I really liked). I appreciate everyone's assistance here. These diagrams will come in handy tomorrow when my case arrives. Will post a pic or two.
 
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Let us know. Which case will it be?

Nice choice in GPU. I'm ordering a Z77 extreme3 + Win 8.1 and waiting until march for a H440, Freezer 13 CO and whatever PSU i might choose. Good luck.

 
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Success! I transplanted my xps 8300 tonight into a Corsair Carbide Series Air 540! It went way smooth. Only hiccup I experienced was with the OEM Dell wifi setup, which runs cables from the card to antenna thingies grounded to the chassis. I hid the cables and grounded them to my new corsair case, and though I'm successfully connecting, speedtest.net detected only 3 mbs speeds. I know it's the build, because my macbook simultaneously gets like 40 mbs...

I wonder if the bad wifi connect has to do with grounding the wires to the painted chassis? The Dell case grounded them to bare aluminum. Maybe if I removed paint and grounded properly I would have better luck? Either way, I may just buy a wifi card, because in the future I'll be upgrading the mb.

The diagrams did help! Would have been more or less guess work on the power connect setup without them, and that could have gone really really bad. I'll post pics later...

Specs: i7 2600, 8 gb ddr3 1333, corsair 600cx psu, corsair carbide air 540 case, gtx 660 ftw w acx coolers, soon to expand. Got the biggest case I've ever owned. Still eying that dream build sometime in the future... The a z77 looks amazing...
 
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I received my Z77 Extreme3 and I must say that it is a sexy-looking board! If you are thinking of getting a H/Z77 board, now would be the time (hell, you are wasting valuable time just reading this reply 😛) because they're going fast. Basically the only choices I had when I ordered mine were the Gigabyte mATX version of the H77-D3h, the Asus entry-level Z77, the Extreme4 and the Extreme3. I went with the Extreme3 because it was a good deal; 159.99 down to 139.99, pricedmatched to 135.99 before taxes with a $35 rebate. There were only 4 left in stock and I don't know if they're going to be restocked (given that Broadwell is looming on the horizon, I would say no, but I could be wrong).

Always been curious about the mini-card. I've only used it for a month when my lan was having problems with speed so I hooked up to the wifi which was surprisingly faster. Where do the wires go? The Dell manual doesn't give any specifics and whenever I look into the case, the wires simply disappear behind the PSU into a rainforest of wires (jeez, thanks for the cable management Dell!) What format is it? mPCIE?

 
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Hey everybody! great information here...

Im about to do the transplant tonight from my 8700 into a corsair 300 case...

My only problem is how do i get the dell motherboard internal WIFI cables out of the case without damaging anything? They swirl up to the top of the case then go into the internal plastics and i cant pull em up nor get that top piece off "Where the usb and audio plugs are"

Or should i just cut them off and get a WIFI Card?



Thanks for help!! cant wait for better airflow
 
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