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839
case swap
hey everyone. if anyone sees this that would be cool.
I have a dell xps 8100 pc, and would like to swap out the case for a Cooler Master MasterBox Q300L. Would it be possible to basically take the guts out of the xps case and put them into the MasterBox Q300L. Does anyone know if the mobo and psu will fit?
Any help is appreciated.
redxps630
7 Technologist
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10.9K Posts
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December 24th, 2022 19:00
This case supports microATX.
8100 mobo is microATX and uses standard 9 pin front panel FP1. Psu is also standard ATX.
Caveat: case front IO has usb 3.0 only. 8100 board is too old to have usb 3.0 socket. You need to install usb 3.0 adapter card in order to use case FIO usb 3.0.
PS this is a legacy XPS model along w 8300/8500/8700.
Ant787
6 Posts
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December 24th, 2022 20:00
Thanks, i will try out the case, and later move a custom build into it.
redxps630
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December 24th, 2022 20:00
8100 chassis fan header is standard 3 pin non-PWM (next to PCIex16 slot). When you plug new case fan into that header you may or may not get a boot error from bios. This is because bios does not know chassis fan has been replaced. It expects a certain range of fan tach read back to consider the fan working normally. If the new case fan spins too slowly for Dell bios, it will give an error which you can press a key to continue boot.
Tesla1856
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December 24th, 2022 20:00
I still have an XPS-8300 (currently in closet, waiting for a use).
Based on that, I can knowledgably say that upgrading or moving a XPS-8100 motherboard is not worth the trouble.
I don't think its even UEFI-based. SATA is likely only SATA-2/300 speed, there is no native NVMe-SSD support, no native USB-3.0 ... the list goes on. Definitely can't run Windows-11 without a no-TPM hack.
If you can't afford a new computer (or parts for a new custom build) you can pickup a refurbished 4-digit Optiplex (but not older than 3-4 years old please). Like a 5050, 5060 something like that.
Ant787
6 Posts
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December 24th, 2022 21:00
Thanks for all of the quick responses!
This has been very helpful.
redxps630
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December 25th, 2022 09:00
New case power button will work if you connect its Pwr +/- wires to 8100 FP1 pin 6/8.
Ant787
6 Posts
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December 25th, 2022 09:00
Will the power button work? or will i need to use the one from the xps?
Ant787
6 Posts
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January 6th, 2023 17:00
I have one more question...
I have been working on installing the mobo to the new case, but the cpu 4-pin doesn't reach... but the pci 6-pin does. would that wreck my mobo/psu if i turned it on with the 6-pin pci in the 4-pin cpu slot?
this is probably a really dumb question/idea.
Ant787
6 Posts
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January 10th, 2023 19:00
The case swap is complete. it was relatively painless minus the 2.5 ssd installation...
also i checked the pinouts for the pci 6 pin, and came to the conclusion it would fry the mobo if i powered on like that so i ran to radioshack (yes it still exists) and got a startech extension cable for the cpu 4 pin.