MaxPow 400W Case, Good Case?

[oNiceGuy]

I recently ordered it to replace my dull looking Dell case, I bought 2 years ago. It came out to $38.00 for the SIL-0212-4HL -- 10-Bay Silver ATX Window Case w/400W PS case.

It looks really nice for the price, are their any reviews on this case? What is everyones overall feel to the case and powersupply? Does it only look good on picture?

Link To The Product

Thanks in advance,

ng

 

[jarsoffart]

You'll need a converter for the power supply to work with the Dell motherboard. The dell motherboard holes may not even line up with the places for screws on your case. Dell cases/motherboards/psu's do not follow the ATX design, so swapping cases most likely won't work.

 

[oNiceGuy]

Just great .... Well, at least their is a chance it could work? Power converter? Are those expensive, and which do you recommend?

Thanks!

ng

 

[kamper]

not to be offensive but I'd have to agree with jarsoffart and say that this is a bad idea all together

its very unlikely that you're going to get the motherboard into the case (by conventional means, at any rate) and probably a bad idea to use any power supply other that the dell supplied one for your mobo. If you must though, it would be a much better idea to move the dell power supply over and get rid of the one that comes with the case. The dell will be much higher quality (you shouldn't ever really use a ps that comes with a case for $38 total, I'm sure everyone here will tell you that) and it will solve some of your compatibility issues.

But really, I'd say when you buy a Dell you're committing to not being able to upgrade mobo, case and ps (at least) until you build a completely new system

 

[jarsoffart]

ATX to Dell Adapter

I would advise to go with kamper's suggestion of moving the Dell PSU, if you do stick with your case swapping endeavor. The bundled power supply will almost certainly be worse than the Dell and you will forgo the 15 dollar adapter. Dell cases also have that heavy plastic shell, which I think goes to reducing vibrations and dampening noise.

 

[oNiceGuy]

Bummer, ... Hey, what if I were to change the motherboard? There have got to be other p3 Mobo's for reasonable prices that are compatible with my P3 1ghz, 256RD ram?

I really wanted to use the 400w ps because the dell one is only 215 I believe. So would a Mobo be my best shot?

ng

 

[pspada]

While the case is not bad, the powmax power supplies are nothing but trouble. I had one of these 400w ones, and it had to be replaced 4 times in 6 months - once shorting out several other components in the process.

Try one of these Raidmax cases with power supplies. I've used quite a few of them and had no problems. One dead power supply out of the box, but they swapped it out instantly.

 

[oNiceGuy]

Ok...I ran SySoft and below you can see my system information, please comment

Hopefully, my motherboard can be used with a regular power supply. On a side note, i'm thinking about getting more Ram in my system, I know it's RD ram, but are there different kinds, and if so, which would work best with the system below.

Thanks!

---------------------------------------------
ng


SiSoftware Sandra

System
Manufacturer : Dell Computer Corporation
Model : XPS1000
ID : 57X74XXX-XXXXXXXX-000XXXX-X2B9XXXX

System Chassis
Manufacturer : Dell Computer Corporation
Can be locked : No
Version : MT
Asset Tag : XXXXXXX

Mainboard
Manufacturer : Intel Corporation
MP Support : No
Model : VC820
Version : AAA15481-401
Serial Number : XXXXXXXXXXXH14XXXXXX
System BIOS : 51-2300-000000-00101111-030199-

On-board Devices
Ensoniq ES1373 Audio Device : Unknown
Intel 82559 Ethernet Device : Unknown

System Memory Controller
Location : Mainboard
Error Correction Capability : ECC
Number of Memory Slots : 2
Maximum Installable Memory : 1024MB
BANK0 - J6J1 : RIMM RAMBUS RDRAM 256MB/18 @ 356Mt/s

Chipset
Model : Intel Corporation 82820 820 (Camino) Chipset Host Bridge (MCH)
Bus(es) : X-Bus AGP PCI USB i2c/SMBus
Front Side Bus Speed : 1x 133MHz (133MHz data rate)
Maximum FSB Speed / Max Memory Speed : 1x 133MHz / 2x 399MHz
IO Queue Depth : 6 request(s)

Chipset Hub Interface
Type : Hub-Interface
Version : 1.00
Number of Ports : 1
Width : 8-bit
Full Duplex : Yes
Multiplier : 1x
Speed : 4x 67MHz (268MHz data rate)

Logical/Chipset Memory Banks
Bank 0 : 64MB ECC RDRAM 9-1-1-1R 7-1-1-1W 8/7CL
Bank 1 : 64MB ECC RDRAM 9-1-1-1R 7-1-1-1W 8/7CL
Bank 2 : 64MB ECC RDRAM 9-1-1-1R 7-1-1-1W 8/7CL
Bank 3 : 64MB ECC RDRAM 9-1-1-1R 7-1-1-1W 8/7CL
Speed : 2x 355MHz (710MHz data rate)
Multiplier : 2.66x
Refresh Rate : 1.95µs
Power Save Mode : No
Fixed Hole Present : No

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module 1 : Samsung MR18R 082GAN1-CK7 220A8300 256MB/16 (144Mx18) ECC RDRAM RIMM PC714-45 (CL2-2 upto 372MHz)

Environment Monitor 1
Model : SMSC M10x/14x LPC
Version : 0.01
Mainboard Specific Support : No

AGP Bus(es)
Version : 2.00
Speed : 67MHz
Current Data Transfer Rate : 4x 67MHz (268MHz data rate)
Side Band Enabled : Yes
Fast-Writes Enabled : No
Aperture Size : 64MB

PCI Bus(es)
Version : 2.20
Number of Bridges : 2
PCI Bus 0 : PCI (1x PCIClk)
PCI Bus 2 : PCI (1x PCIClk)

LPC Hub Controller 1
Model : Intel Corporation 82801AA 8xx Chipset LPC Interface Bridge
ACPI Power Management Enabled : Yes
Random Number Generator Enabled : No
Random Number Generator Support : Yes

LPC Legacy Controller
Type : SMSC LPC v1
Version : 59.01
Number of Enabled Devices : 5

USB Controller 1
Model : Intel Corporation 82801AA 8xx Chipset USB Controllers
Version : 1.10
UHCI Interface : Yes
Channels : 2
Speed : 48MHz
Legacy Emulation Enabled : No

System SMBus Controller 1
Model : Intel 801xx SMBus
Version : 0.02
Speed : 16kHz

Expansion Slot(s)
J4E1 (1h) : PCI 32-bit +3.3V PME FullLength InUse (Intel Corporation 82820 820 (Camino) Chipset PCI to AGP Bridge)
J4D1 (2h) : PCI 32-bit +3.3V PME FullLength InUse
J4C1 (3h) : PCI 32-bit +3.3V PME FullLength Available
J4B1 (4h) : PCI 32-bit +3.3V PME FullLength InUse
J4A1 (5h) : PCI 32-bit +3.3V PME FullLength InUse
J5E1 (5h) : AGP-4x 32-bit +5V Shared FullLength

Port Connector
J1L1 - USB1 : USB - None / USB
J1L1 - USB2 : USB - None / USB
J1K1 - COM A : Serial Port 16550A - None / DB-9 pin female
J1J2 - LPT1 : Parallel Port ECP/EPP - None / DB-25 pin male
J1M1 - Keyboard : Keyboard - None / PS/2
J1M1 - PS2Mouse : Mouse - None / PS/2
J5G1 - Floppy - None : None - Floppy Disk / None
J8H1 - PRI IDE - None : None - ATA / None
J7H1 - SEC IDE - None : None - ATA / None
J1L1 - LAN : Network - None / RJ-45
J1E1 - VIDEO INTERFACE PORT - None : Video - None / None
J1G1 - GAME : Joystick - None / DB-15 pin female
J1G1 - Audio Mic In : Audio - None / Mini-jack
J1G1 - Audio Line In : Audio - None / Mini-jack
J1G1 - Audio Line Out : Audio - None / Mini-jack
J1F1 - CDIN - None : Audio - CD-ROM Sound Input / None
J2F1 - Telephony IN - None : Audio - None / None
J2F2 - AUX IN - None : Audio - None / None
J7B2 - Wake On Ring - None : None - None / None
J7C3 - Wake On LAN - None : None - None / None
J9G2 - SCSI LED - None : None - None / None
J8G2 - Control Panel - None : None - None / None
J7L1 - Power Supply Fan - None : None - None / None
J3M1 - CPU Fan - None : None - None / None
J7B1 - Configuration Jumper - None : None - None / None
J8H2 - USB Front Panel : None - None / None

Performance Tips
Notice 224 : SMBIOS/DMI information may be inaccurate.
Warning 2507 : Mainboard has too few memory slots. Upgrading the memory may be difficult or expensive.
Warning 2508 : All memory slots are full. Upgrading the memory may be difficult or expensive.
Tip 2 : Double-click tip or press Enter while a tip is selected for more information about the tip.

 

[ToxicWaste]

Is it still under warranty? If it is, don't mess with it...

Dude, you got a Dell!

(Sorry, I just couldn't resist...)

 

[Farmer]

Originally posted by: oNiceGuy
...Mainboard
Manufacturer : Intel Corporation
MP Support : No
Model : VC820
Version : AAA15481-401
Serial Number : XXXXXXXXXXXH14XXXXXX
System BIOS : 51-2300-000000-00101111-030199-...

As far as I know, the VC820 is an ATX formfactor Intel motherboard that uses the old i820 chipset (the first Intel chipset that supported RDRAM, I believe, the VC820 of which was a Slot 1 PIII board). I actually am using right now it's sister board, the CC820 (same design, except included something they called a Memory Translator Hub so SDRAM could be used instead of the at-the-time relatively expensive-as-hell RDRAM. Also translated into terrible RAM performance).

I hope that helps you out some, seeing as how the VC820 is a standard ATX board, not some proprietary Dell POS.

Heh, on a side note, this brings back memories when RDRAM was considered the dominant high performance RAM interface. Boy, that was short lived. In fact, I believe PC Gamer stated in 2000 that DDR was the 'dark horse.' This horse ain't so dark now, is it?

EDIT: Here's a link to a VC820 review and photo. Compare with your mobo.

 

[oNiceGuy]

I checked out that Motherboard on the intel website, i'm going to try my luck and see if the Motherboard fits into the case. My Dell Warranty is up and the case doesn't provide adequate cooling.

I sure hope it works

btw...I also thought, RD ram was going to be the next big thing back then; why was it short lived. I thought they were faster. I'm going to purchase another 256mb RD ram, are their certain speeds that my motherboard only accepts due to the ram in it?

Thanks, My case should arrive within four days!

ng

 

[oNiceGuy]

Ok I received the case...

I transfered everything and the system seems to be working fine. Although I couldn't use the other power supply, only Dells. I'm going to try and find a local store that offers the "power" adapters.

For the most part, I'm trying to do the stealth mod and figuring out some motherboard jumper cables that came with the case.

I saw the intel manual (internet) for this board and it shows where to add the "PowerSw" , "Reset"...The case came with a few

others that I have no idea on where they go. They are shown as Power+ Power- and are 1 pin jumper- there others that show

vcc1 ground1 data1 and a second string as well. I will update with pictures to clear this up.

For the meantime here is my mobo documentation-I couldn't find anything with vcc1 etc.. The two front LED's on the case

are also not changing colors.

 

[pspada]

The power +- and VCC connections and such are for front USB ports - but I kinda doubt that the Dell mobo has headers on it, depending on how old it is.

 

[Farmer]

As far as I know, at the time of the VC820, motherboard USB headers had just started coming out, and some more full-featured boards at the time I believe had 1.1 headers. But, both the VC820 and CC820 were plain-vanilla Intel boards, so I doubt it has USB headers (I know the CC820 has none).