Need a case to house a Dell Precision T3500 Motherboard

[EllieThePurpleFuzzy]

Trouble is this motherboard is HUGE it makes my X79-UD3 look tiny so i guess it's a E-ATX?. it's height is fine it'll fit in going side ways but the motherboard is a limosuine and is quite very long.

i have a case budget of about 40-60 quid but this is for new and used, and i'd like a case with good ventalation as i'd likely want to use a non reference 7950. and a case with vents at the top and a one with the PSU at the bottom.

one idea i had was the thermaltake snow commander case but i dont know if that is big enough, just the idea came from a friend who has it and says it's absolutely massive.

(this is a build for a friend who has to use his lower end i3 laptop for now)


Build is this for anyone curious

Xeon X5650
8GB RAM
Non Reference 7950
2x 500GB HDD

 

[Thelosouvlakia]

Do you have board dimensions? Can't tell but it looks like HPTX to me from the photos online

 

[EllieThePurpleFuzzy]

Apparently it's a BTX motherboard but once i find me a measuring tape i'll give an exact measurement :].

 

[Wraith]

Ohh big boards gonna need a big case! What makes it worse is that it's a Dell mobo which lets face facts could be any size.

but here are all the form factors and the T3500

 

[EllieThePurpleFuzzy]

okay i have the measurements

13 inches wide and 12 inches tall

Soooooo it looks like it's a E-ATX board

 

[Wraith]

Do you have a spare case laying around you could check the screw offsets against... I have a horrid feeling those screw holes are not going to line up right with any "off the shelf" cases.

 

[EllieThePurpleFuzzy]

Do you have a spare case laying around you could check the screw offsets against... I have a horrid feeling those screw holes are not going to line up right with any "off the shelf" cases.

i checked with a CIT vantage and a good amount of the screw holes line up just fine :].

trouble is EATX cases seem very out of budget, though if there was a case that would allow removal of a tray or two (gonna take a little case modding if i use a ATX case i guess)

 

[Wraith]

i checked with a CIT vantage and a good amount of the screw holes line up just fine :].

trouble is EATX cases seem very out of budget, though if there was a case that would allow removal of a tray or two (gonna take a little case modding if i use a ATX case i guess)

You can always tap and add your own stand offs should you need to for the extra holes, and yes I have a distinct feeling a bit of modding is going to be required to get that board to fit most ATX cases, EATX are a specialty not to mention a rarity these days. Good luck with it and keep us updated with it. Any help modding you know where we are.

 

[Thelosouvlakia]

What about this? http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products/chassis/shinobi-xl#specs

 

[barnsley]

Dell motherboards (in my experience) are the same size as normal motherboards but with certain standoffs in different places. You might run into problems.

 

[EllieThePurpleFuzzy]

i dont mind doing a little modding, infact im very welcoming to it, and cause it's a friends build i guess i do really want to make it special for him, plus i've been wanting to do a little modding for a bit of time now :].

one small idea i had was cause the CPU is positioned in a very odd place, i had an idea to get like a 212 EVO and hopefully if the CPU aligns with a vent at the top i can do a little push-pull cooling.

you know i could start a build log for this since it is effectively going to be a new build owo~, hmm.

what do you guys think?

 

[Thelosouvlakia]

Would be very interesting! Go ahead!

 

[EllieThePurpleFuzzy]

Hella sure , and i'll just update it from time to time cause this build will take a long long time. (i'm saving up :'D)

 

[Wraith]

I'm looking forward to how your going to attach an evo 212 to that board. I have a Dimension C521 and they don't have standard CPU cooling mount holes on their boards..

 

[EllieThePurpleFuzzy]

I'm looking forward to how your going to attach an evo 212 to that board. I have a Dimension C521 and they don't have standard CPU cooling mount holes on their boards..

I can give it a go but hey if not i still got the little heatsink that came with it.

it is adorable but it's gonna be weird working in some cooling for it owe

 

[Wraith]

I can give it a go but hey if not i still got the little heatsink that came with it.

it is adorable but it's gonna be weird working in some cooling for it owe

I like your enthusiasm kudos to you, look forward to seeing what you do with this.

 

[JLR]

Dell motherboards (in my experience) are the same size as normal motherboards but with certain standoffs in different places. You might run into problems.

I have also seen this before, but if you fancy a challenge go for it.

 

[EllieThePurpleFuzzy]

I'll just gather pictures of the motherboard and certain case ideas and that, i looked at one or two of the Project builds threads and i want to make my own build log not seem so...uh

bare?

 

[dewd.wut@gmail.com]

Might a make a suggestion... A Dell T3500 Chassis? They have 2 nice PWM temperature controlled fans, solid steel construction all round, and easy access side panel. Also designed very well to sit horizontally or vertically!

You could probably pick up a barebones one with a decent stock 525w PSU for $80 or so on eBay, or get one thats completely empty for cheaper and add a PSU from a Dell T5500 (875w 80+ Silver rated with 2x PCIe power connectors) for about $40-50. Thats what I did and it works great!

The problem with using this motherboard in a standard case / psu is the awkward positioning of the power connectors.

My specs for a dell t3500 complete set for $350:
Xeon w3550 3.06ghz quad /w HT
6gb DDR3 RAM
120gb SSD
160gb 7.2k HDD
GTX 560TI
875w PSU

 

[EllieThePurpleFuzzy]

Guys would this case do the trick?

aka the cooler master cosmos?, my friend LOVES this case and i read it can support EATX motherboards?.