• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Looking for a Dell-like Case

I

iBran

Weaksauce
Joined
Mar 19, 2004
Messages
69
My girlfriend wants a case that looks like a Dell. No, she doesn't WANT a Dell computer... she just likes the looks (and the silence) of a Dell. I got her a silver-grey Antec SLK2600 a few months ago, but it's loud... and "ugly".

Does anyone know who makes Dell's cases? Or any cases that look kinda like a Dell? It just needs to be black, or black/grey or black/silver.
 
il bet u could go to a big company, and they might have spare computers, u could offer to buy a ell one for cheap and just gut it, sell parts on ebay or here and then use the case...
 
Dell makes their own cases. They're just platic and steel, but I don't think they've had an aesthetically pleasing case since the case for the Dimension 8100.

Have you looked at the Antec Sonata? Granted, it's not quite like a dell, but it's black, and I like its looks a lot better than the current Dells'.

If you must have one, try to find somewhere that specializes in old or used comps. They might be able to hook you up with these Dell cases.

And Dell cases are silent because they don't have good cooling capabilities. Dell computers use 1 92 mm fan for outtake and the CPUs are passively cooled.
 
wha?their cpus are passively cooled? what does that mean? and it doesnt sound like a very good idea
 
Originally posted by BiGWooDy
wha?their cpus are passively cooled? what does that mean? and it doesnt sound like a very good idea
Click to expand...

Dells, in making quieter systems, have just a heatsink on the CPU and have a 92 mm fan sucking the hot air out of the case.

Passively cooled CPUs means just the heatsink.
 
If she is hell bent on wanting a dell case, go to ebay and find one, then use a zalman with two good 92mm fans, one in the front for intake and one behind the cpu for out. That should cool it enough and be quiet.

And even though Dell uses propietary mobo's and psu's, thier cases use standard atx mounts, and the backplanes do pop out so you can change it.
 
Dell doesn't make their own cases. They buy from original design manufacturers in Asia. For similar cases, look at Chenbro, Enlight, and AOpen's offerings.
 
Originally posted by xonik
Dell doesn't make their own cases. They buy from original design manufacturers in Asia. For similar cases, look at Chenbro, Enlight, and AOpen's offerings.
Click to expand...

Sorry to go off topic but, who makes Dells motherboards?
 
Dell makes some of their stuff. This includes some of their mobos, cases, etc. They make all of their higher ended stuff themselves, and then their cheaper stuff they use asus or whatever. If you want a dell like case that is quiet I would suggest the 3700bqe. It is very quiet, and I think it looks alright. It comes with a 120mm rear fan and a mount for a 120mm fan in the front. I went ahead and put a vantec stealth 120 in the front and its pretty quiet. Add a zalman heatsink for the cpu, and it should be nearly silent.
 
case != silence...dells are silent because they run way too hot, they push the equip to their temp limits...
 
Why don't you just silent her current system with different fans and a different hsf.
 
last I checked Dell cases were made by Palo Alto, but that was a long time ago, and I'm sure they may use a different company for their other/latest cases. But the fact is that if you research hard enough, you will be able to find the OEM for their cases.

As far as their mobos are, last I checked they were made by Intel, but when I am saying "last I checked," I mean a while ago. But AFAIK, they still use Intel mobos, many that are from Intel's retail line, just slightly modified (no audio, diff. BIOS, little things like that). If you look at Intel mobo line, most of their mobos are designed for OEMs
 
i have a spare dimention 8200 case laying around.
they are pretty much atx, but the mobo standoffs are really weird, and the motherboard is on a steel tray (weighs like 15 lbs :-D) which attaches to the case with some notches. I had a dell mobo in an atx case, just had to rewire the front panel connectors a bit.
 
Dell gets away with 'passively' cooling the CPU by having a huge HS ducted to a fan blowing out. So basically the air comes in a different vent in the back, gets nice and warm by cooling the rest of the MB, then gets sucked through the CPU HS, through the duct, and out the back.

Then, if the computer's too close to the wall, it goes BACK in the intake vent, over the MB, then CPU HS, etc. That's probably another reason they run hot--the intake and exhaust are right next to eachother.
 
Originally posted by Teancum
Dell gets away with 'passively' cooling the CPU by having a huge HS ducted to a fan blowing out. So basically the air comes in a different vent in the back, gets nice and warm by cooling the rest of the MB, then gets sucked through the CPU HS, through the duct, and out the back.

Then, if the computer's too close to the wall, it goes BACK in the intake vent, over the MB, then CPU HS, etc. That's probably another reason they run hot--the intake and exhaust are right next to eachother.
Click to expand...

I'll vouch for that -- Just looked at the innards of a new 3.0 Ghz Optiplex.
 
Shoot, why don't you just find a girlfriend with a better taste in computer cases.

:D

Palo Alto used to have the contract on Dell cases, but Dell might have an OEM agreement with them not to reproduce the case.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top