# Wolf in Sheep's Clothing (a.k.a. WTF DO YOU HAVE IN THAT DELL!?)



## Red_Machine (Aug 6, 2013)

Hey guys, I had a crazy idea for a system build based on some stuff I've seen on here.







Now we all know this case, we all know what it's like inside and I'm sure quite a few of us have used one or twelve over the years.  We got a Dimension 4700 in at work that is due for disposal and I want to salvage it for the case.  I love these old grey and black Dimensions, so much nostalgia.  I've got the crazy idea of gutting it and putting in not just some modern components, but over-the-top crazy powerful ones.

I'm not gonna be buying anything current.  I already have an Ivy Bridge rig with a GTX 580 for gaming, but I always wanted a Nehalem i7 rig and a GTX 480.  I was thinking of trying to grab a cheap used i7 9xx series and getting the other parts as cheaply as I could.  Maybe look for an older water cooler like my Thermaltake Water 2.0 for it, because I suspect cooling will be an issue with this case.  Ziptie some extra fans to it, clean it up a bit and viola.  Something nobody will suspect. 

Any thoughts?


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## newtekie1 (Aug 6, 2013)

LAN party sleeper.  I like.


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## shovenose (Aug 6, 2013)

The good part? I know for a fact it's standard MicroATX and uses a standard PSU  Space for three HDDs if you mount one in the front 3.5" bay in addition to two 3.5" HDD trays mounted vertically inside the case. You've also got two normal external bays. Only thing you'll have to do is modify the front panel connections.


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## Red_Machine (Aug 6, 2013)

The USB connector is standard, I've swapped mobos on a Dimension 1100 before and didn't have a problem.  Plus I have a SoundBlaster Audigy with a compatible front panel audio connector I can use.


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## Xenturion (Aug 6, 2013)

Cooling is definitely going to be a challenge with an X58 system and a GTX 480 in there. Although, if the left panel is indeed perforated like in the image, it might not be too tough. Think you might have some video card length-clearance issues as well against the HDD bays, but I might be mistaken.


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## Vario (Aug 6, 2013)

Always thought an Apple IIe would be a great ITX setup with a flat screen, so the monitor hole could hold more components. (power supply?)


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## FreedomEclipse (Aug 6, 2013)

I think if you wanted to go crazy - you can add water cooling, though it might be limited to 2x120mm/140mm rads.

It would be funny just to see how OTT you can make it. Its a DELL, but not a DELL as we know it!


Throw out them optical drives and stick a bayres in there.

ALSO

Im not sure how big the dell logo is on the side but what you can do is tap little holes in the circle its in making sure not to damage the logo then put a 200-220mm fan on the side.


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## a_ump (Aug 6, 2013)

i recently built a p4 rig with 2gb ram and a 8800GT in it out of an old old gateway 2000 case. I'm talking 800mb master HD with a 457mb slave drive lol. Its cool though, people will think piece of shit(granted mine isn't great) but really is a diamond in the ruff


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## d1nky (Aug 6, 2013)

FreedomEclipse said:


> I think if you wanted to go crazy - you can add water cooling, though it might be limited to 2x120mm/140mm rads.
> 
> It would be funny just to see how OTT you can make it. Its a DELL, but not a DELL as we know it!
> 
> ...



if its meant to be undercover, id rip the front of them disk drives off and glue them to the front of the bay res, if thats what youre planning.

cooling is the biggest issue, and doesnt the PSU sit at the top which would be another problem.  

just fit what ya can in it, some fan brackets are probably needed, ideally modded to vital places.


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## FreedomEclipse (Aug 6, 2013)

d1nky said:


> if its meant to be undercover, id rip the front of them disk drives off and glue them to the front of the bay res, if thats what youre planning.
> 
> cooling is the biggest issue, and doesnt the PSU sit at the top which would be another problem.
> 
> just fit what ya can in it, some fan brackets are probably needed, ideally modded to vital places.



In that case, you might as well get some 3.5" hotswap 5.25" bays at the top. remove the part of the frame that held the original hard drive previously and stick a 240mm rad there. 

I think it would be a squeeze but it could definitely work. space might be VERY tight though. depending on how 'fat' the case is maybe a 180mm rad would be more appropriate.

stick a 180mm Silverstone AP on the end of that rad and it will channel air directly at the GPU

Just looking at this pic for reference.


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## brandonwh64 (Aug 6, 2013)

I had one of these for a while with a I7 setup crunching but airflow was the worst. It was the EXACT dell case


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## Red_Machine (Aug 6, 2013)

That's a pretty good idea, actually.  Torrent box and cruncher.  It's small enough to fit on my desk beind my monitor, too.


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## FreedomEclipse (Aug 6, 2013)

Water cool it and turn it into a NASbox.

Why you would ever need a watercooled NAS is beyond me but we are enthusiasts right?? everything we do is supposed to be OTT


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## Red_Machine (Aug 6, 2013)

I could grab a pair of 4TB drives and stick them in there for all my file storage needs and have a small SSD (like 64GB or something) screwed into the case as the boot drive.  This is shaping up to be something functional as well as lolworthy.


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## red_stapler (Aug 6, 2013)

Heh, Dell used to put P4 660s in the Dimention 4700, and those had a 115W TDP.  They used a nice shroud with a delta / panasonic server fan, and a heatpipe tower type heatsink.    If you can find one of those setups, it would probably cool an i7 adequately.






Of course, you guys are talking about crazy water cooling stuff, so carry on!


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## d1nky (Aug 6, 2013)

looking at that pics of inside, id put very small feet on it, drill a bunch of holes on the bottom, enough space for two 120mm fans in pull config.

whatever that is on the right (front of chassis) can go, replace with 140mm rad.

slimline pump/res if you can find one and fit in the bays. 

could go as far as making your own modular cables and sleeved, cut to the perfect length. solves cable management.


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## Random Murderer (Aug 6, 2013)

This will be awesome if you pull it off. reminds me of:


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## d1nky (Aug 6, 2013)

and maybe purchase some fan filters ^^


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## FreedomEclipse (Aug 6, 2013)

d1nky said:


> and maybe purchase some fan filters ^^



and some chunky rubbers from a stationary shop that can be superglued on because theres gonna be a lot of dead air underneath that case.


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## Nordic (Aug 6, 2013)

This doesn't exactly help the undercover part, but I had one of those cases that I started modding on. I never finished though. The plan was to put a 360mm radiator underneath.


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## brandonwh64 (Aug 6, 2013)

Wished I could find an old picture of mine. It was a I7-920 @ 4Ghz on a Asus Rampage II Gene


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## RCoon (Aug 6, 2013)

Private message this guy, he had an awesome rig, i7 and 580 plus all the nice stuff for a total of £450, I would have bought it if I had the money.


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## MxPhenom 216 (Aug 6, 2013)

Red_Machine said:


> The USB connector is standard, I've swapped mobos on a Dimension 1100 before and didn't have a problem.  Plus I have a SoundBlaster Audigy with a compatible front panel audio connector I can use.



It is not standard. I just rebuilt my old Dell 3000 into a file server with a new board and everything, and the USB connection had the FP audio with it too which would not work. Had to completely do away with the front panel connections. Got power button to work, but had to get a different connection.


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## Red_Machine (Aug 6, 2013)

The 4700 and 1100 are similar vintages (the 1100 had the last Pentium 4 sticker, the light blue Pentium Dual-Core-esque one), so maybe it was different by then.

I won't be buying anything just yet.  I've only just got this job and want to get a few pay packets behind me before I start buying more computer parts.  But I'll keep an eye on the FS section anyways.


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## micropage7 (Aug 6, 2013)

i always like branded case material, they usually pretty solid and thats kinda nice you make it like street sleeper. just keep the exterior like stock but beast inside


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## j0nnz (Mar 31, 2014)

Did mine and it all work out ok. I always liked the ease of access with the side panel on these things.

Was not planning on a major overhaul as it was a 10 year old 4700: Win XP Pro, CPU P4 3.4,  and I had previously installed 4GB ram, 220GB SSD, EVGA GT 240 Graphic Card, upgrade to Window 8 was about all that could be done without new hardware.

So I ran Windows Upgrade Assistant on the stock 4700 "to check ... [my] ...desktop apps and connected devices" said PC compatiable apart from software that I could do without, so bought Win 8 upgrade disc.

Failed install, CPU not compatible. Moaned to Microsoft, guy said he receives alot of these complaints, I said whats the point of an upgrade assisant that cannot even tell whether your CPU is compatible, he said there are too many cpu types for this to be done. It will however tell you that a piece of freeware you downloaded and used once in 2005 wont survive an upgrade. F**king hopeless.

So went and got some new bits for the inside.

4700 before and after







So did a bit of research then went and bought new hardware got my tools out and went to work.
The new bits
Asus GRYPHON Z87 Motherboard
Intel (BX80646I54670) i5-4670 
Zippy EMACS G1-500w (HP2-6500PE) power supply
8GB ram
Couple of case fans.
Spraypaint.








The empty case, then modified case with Dell CPU backing plate and HD drive support bracket cut out and with the new gear put in.







New stuff all fitted great, had to rewire dell power button, dells own plug and wiring, and put harddrive where floppy drive would have gone, then all good to go.

The old 3.4Ghz use to get quite warm, hence I thought I would need the additional fans with new hardware, however I dont think they are really necessary at the moment, same with the new power supply. It runs cooler (with just the stock CPU fan) and uses less power than before. But extra fans and new power supply will give more options for graphics card upgrade in the future.

Had to get new front usb/audio port as old one had been stuffed for years, got an old 2400 Dimension for $20 to get the part and decided to use its side panel. Grabbed some spraycans (paint jobs abit crappy close up, but so was the old case) and drilled a few holes and job done.

Should do me for the next 10 years.


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## Vario (Apr 4, 2014)

Looks great!   Those old cases are solid as hell.


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