# How to Refit a Dell XPS 710?



## jdcrutch (Dec 5, 2004)

Howdy. I paid a bundle for a Dell XPS 710 less than three years ago. The power supply died two days after the 1-year warranty expired. The motherboard followed nine months later. Now, after just over a year, the replacement motherboard has kicked the bucket. I don't want to waste any more money on Dell components that don't last more than a year or two. But I also don't want to waste the big aluminum case, the processor, etc.

Can anybody tell me what modifications I'd have to make in order to put an aftermarket MoBo in the XPS case? 

I've never built a computer before, but I've gotten a lot of practice pulling out all the components and replacing them, so I think I could do it with a good set of instructions. Can anybody steer me to some?

Finally, if I put a non-Dell motherboard into the XPS 710 case, what other components will I have to replace? Will the memory I bought from Dell work in another motherboard, or is that proprietary? (The boards say Samsung, so I'm hoping.) I have 4 boards that say "1GB 2Rx8 PC2 - 5300U - 555 12 - E3" on them, if that helps.

The specs for the XPS 710 are at http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/xps710/en/OM_EN/html/appendix.htm#wp1057811. 

I have the 1Kw power supply now (probably a needless upgrade, but the second 750w PSU died and I thought I'd see if the extra wattage made any difference. Since I don't have several graphics cards, it probably won't). 

If you need more info about my system, please tell me what you need, and I'll post it.

Thanks for any help!

Regards,

Jim Crutchfield
Long Island City, NY


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## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

From what I can tell, the 710 uses the BTX format, which is unfortunate, as that makes the case incompatible with most current motherboards. The BTX was designed to replace the ATX standard, but never came into wide use by any other than some OEM'sThis Wikipedia article will explain the differences better than I can.
All of your add-on cards and peripherals (memory, video, drives) are compatible with ATX motherboards.


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## jdcrutch (Dec 5, 2004)

Thanks for the info. I was aware that the XPS 710 didn't use a readily-replaceable motherboard. What I'm wondering is whether or not the 710's case can be modified to accept an ATX board; if so, whether or not it's worth the trouble; and if so, how to do it?

That case seems like a lot of metal just to recycle, and I like the way you can remove and install most components without a screwdriver. It also has lots of big, quiet fans, which I'd like to keep if possible.

Anybody ever tried refitting one of these bad boys?

Thanks again.

Regards,

Jim Crutchfield
Long Island City, NY


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Btx format is backwards from Atx, the ports in the rear are on the opposite side of the PC, if you install a Atx board in a Btx case the monitor would have to hook into the front of the PC for example, then the front ports USB, Audio, Power Button lights are all in a special Dell plug and front panel board that a retail board won't support, best solution is to spend the $50-$90 on a decent retail case. Ya gotta love Dell engineering

The fans and other components will transfer, but all decent cases come with decent fans, look at the Antec 300, 900 and Coolermaster Centurion series cases.


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