I had a Dell that i gutted to make a decent computer and was left with a MoBo thats not ATX (to old for BTX too btw). Well its time to upgrade the CPU and that i was thinking of putting the CPU in the Dell MoBo for a server. BUT since its not ATX i cant use any of the cases that i have so i was thinking of building one (practice so i can get practice in so i can built a case for my lan rig im planing when money allows it).

But i was wondering what things i have to consider and where i should start. Do i have to worry about static or grounding anything? Would it be easier to chop up an old case?

Here are the specs so far:
1.8 P4
1gig RD DDR
64mb GeForce2 MX440
and probly a 60gig HDD to start
Thats all i got at the moment beside cheapy PSUs but i dont want to use one.

Thanks
Sniff

Most likely the Mobo is Mini ATX . Also as for the building your own case from scratch http://forums.pcapex.com/showthread.php?t=36925 He didnt build it totaly from scratch he had a mobo tray. But you could prolly make one pretty easitly or cut it outa your dell.

yeah. from My experience most dell mobos are Mini ATX.

A few of the guys around here have built their own cases from scratch so as to have the smallest possible computers. I'll see if I can't get a few photos to post.

its not a mATX and i sold the dell case on eBay . Its frecking huge its like 12x12 at least and the mounting holes are in retarded places.


If you can find those pics thatd be sweet

Sniff

Quote: Originally Posted by MrSniffles its not a mATX and i sold the dell case on eBay . Its frecking huge its like 12x12 at least and the mounting holes are in retarded places. If you can find those pics thatd be sweet Sniff

The motherboard form factor standards closest to 12"x12" that I can think of off the top of my head are as follows:

eATX 12"x13"
ATX (upper limit I believe) 12"x10"

You could also look up the form factor at the following: www.formfactors.org
Please correct me on the above numbers if they're incorrect.

On the subject of the thread: Is it really hard to build a case from scratch? i.e. what steps have to be taken? Is it just getting the proper pieces of metal then welding them together, or something different?

what was the model of the Dell?

Dell dimension 8200 i think the case is long gone so i dont really have a was to verify that. But this is really , I was more curious about building my own case.


Thanks for the info so far
Sniff

Building one from scratch isnt too hard... Just time consuming... Im still working on mine and I started feburary. As for chopping up old cases. The things that I've kept and put in my case are: HD bays, CD bays, and the I/O frame where the PCI screw in. Other than that I've been just using aluminum Angle pieces and sheet aluminum to construct my case.

Hope that helps...

if you want to build a case from scratch. those dell 8200s have a tempan for the motherboard. i would suggest calling up spare parts and seeing if you could order that and then you could mount that tempan plate to your "home-made" case. and thus creating the right screw holes.

That is a good idea.

IM THE DELL MASTA-HOE

LoL, man i see alot of dell stuff on here. but im always glad to help.

BTW: those TEMPAN plates also come with the propriety IO shield for the dell mobos. so if you did it right it will look great and not a chop job.

yeah, I have a dell 8200 laying around somewhere which i intend to turn into a cheap server/backup machine once i can get a hold of 128mb of RDRAM. And since I've tinkered with the insides a bit, I know the mobo pretty much by heart, and to me it looks like a microATX dealie with a 2-slot riser card attached. If you want, i can borrow a friend's digicam and take pics.

You mean pictures like this...

yep, me and 2 other of my close friends built up a couple of cases. here is mine

DFI Ultra-D (sli mod)
A64 3500 (250*11=2750)(1.55volts)
1gb PC4000 VX gold (3.1 volts)
2x BFG 6800 Ultra (modded bios)
74GB raptor
250GB data drive
DVD dual layer burner

everything is custom built except the I/O shield. The mobo is lasered out of .375" red acrylic, the 5.25 bays are .250" acrylic and the hdd bays are .250" acrylic. The Side panels are .250" smoked acrylic (I will have a clear one on Monday so you can see the innards....) The case is made from Purple Heart wood. The wood isn't painted or stained, it is the natural color with just a clear gloss on it. I laser etched in the DD logo and my DD clan name. The triple fan guard is something I came up with for the 3x bix rad.

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nice case killer ...i have allways liked purpleheart wood.

Thats a nice job on that case CPUkiller cant wait to see the insides.

So i take it that there really isnt and thing to take into consideration when building a custem case. Just plan it out and take my time to do it right. My main concern is static but it seems that its not an issue.

Thanks so far keep them coming folks

Sniff