Has anyone ever tried putting a sff optiplex 390 motherboard (or something of similar size from dell) into an ATX chassis? I'm putting together a gaming computer for a friend, and the cheapest way to get a sandy bridge i5 system is via these old optiplex systems all over ebay.
The one in question is the small form factor version as can be seen here.
And this is a better look at the motherboard I believe is inside.
There are larger versions of this config, but these sff variants tend to be cheaper. I guess I can always hack something together if it doesn't quite line up with the atx motherboard mounts but I was just curious if anyone had tried doing something like this before.
Looks like it has standard motherboard mounts up to the point of the CPU socket but after that you may need to drill and tap out some holes for standoff in that area.
Most micro ATX cases should be able to accommodate it but cable routing grommets may be blocked. When I get home I can throw together the board overplayed in a case, you can get a better idea whether its going to fit or not.
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Ya it looks like it's quite a bit wider than standard ATX, but the 4 leftmost mouting points look like they line up with ATX spec, but I guess I could figure out how to drill new holes if they don't. Have you ever tapped out motherboard mouts for something like this before?
If the leftmost holes do line up, I think I should still be able to fit it in the old NZXT case I have (lexa I think it's called?). My thought was that if it hangs too far to the right that I can just cut out the 5.25" drive bays to make more room. and leave the 2 rightmost mount points hanging.
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I do have a tapping kit but I believe stand offs vary from case manufacture to another. I can recall if they are imperial or metric.
