Is it possible?

[Gepidae]

Hey, I was wondering if it was possible to take all the pieces that came with my Dell Dimension and transfer it over to a lian-li pcII 7 plus case? Has anyone done it or knows if it could be done?

Thanks

 

[MustISO]

Depends on the model. A lot of times Dell uses proprietary plugs for the front panel connectors. The rear panels are sometimes very different as well. Open the case and take a look around.

 

[MadMan2k]

It might be possible... we moved some prebuilt systems into cheap custom cases a few times when their original power supply died. I don't know why you'd want to waste a nice lian-li case on a dell personally, but it's up to you...

 

[Gepidae]

Specifically a dimension 8400, does that help? Mainly because I wanted this case for my new build BUT in order to save money Imma buy stuff I can use at this moment before buying the other pieces

 

[Zepper]

The contacts can be removed from the shell for the front panel connectors and the contacts from the LL connectors put in to suit or you can use what comes on the LL. The bigger problem is that they make custom drawer fronts and bezels for the optical drives, but if yours happen to be generic then you can use them otherwise they won't have any fronts on them - not good for opticals. And the I/O ports arrangement on the back of the mobo may not fit a standard I/O shield and the one in the Dell case may not be transferable to the new case as it may not be a separate piece. But I've heard that Dell has gone with a lot more standard stuff to shorten product cycle times and the expense of customized parts.

From the pix I just looked at, it shouldn't be too difficult - they use generic optical drives and it looks like the I/O shield is removable and about standard dimensions. It does have a proprietary CPU cooling solution, but looks like it wouldn't be too hard to mod for use in a std. case.

.bh.

 

[Gepidae]

Thanks for your time. I dont suppose me taking pics and posting them here would do any good? And what do you mean by "It does have a proprietary CPU cooling solution, but looks like it wouldn't be too hard to mod for use in a std. case." What exactly has to be done? Sorry for asking details but I am new at doing all this

 

[Zepper]

I found a review of the 8400 with extensive pics - that's what I'm going from. There is lots of plastic ductwork in the 8400 that won't work in a standard case so you'll have to rig a fan mount for the CPU heatsink or use a Zalman bracket to aim a fan at the heatsink. Go to http://www.mechbgon.com and look at his system building guide if you don't understand the other stuff. http://www.frontx.com has some info on moving contacts around in connector shells. Look in the help or FAQ section.

.bh.