Dell proprietary kit

[toastrack]

I know for sure that Dell used to use their own proprietary "interpretation" of the ATX standard in their PC's which made upgrading them a real pain.
Does anybody know if this practice has ceased or they are still doing it.
Also, what other companies are doing the same thing with their pre-builds?

 

[Reefsmoka]

I have a Dell Inspiration 4600 and have have upgraded it quite abit! A new PSU, HDD, Graphics Card, Sound Card, Processor Heat Sink and a Memory upgrade. Its more of a self build than a Dell now . The only things that are original are the Motherboard, Processor, Optical Drives and Case.

 

[Ian]

I've got a Dell running as a server here and that has been upgraded with plenty of standard components.

I can't confirm the power supply or motherboard, but they do look standard too. I'd be very surprised if it isn't all ATX standard now (as its cheaper!).

 

[toastrack]

The problem a couple of years ago was that their power supplies and motherboards looked like they were standard ATX, however the power connectors on both used a proprietary Dell Pin out which meant that introducing either a standard motherboard or Power supply into the equation would result in disaster. Also I think the ATX form factor of the mounting stand-offs in the cases was different which would require a degree of modification simply to mount a standard ATX motherboard. I'd just like to know before making a decision to buy how much work would be involved in a motherboard upgrade for any one of these major manufacturer branded PC's if I decided not to upgrade through them in the future.

Reefsmoka. You have upgraded a power supply in a Dell? Thats quite a recent model as well. No problems there then I guess. Do you know what model the motherboard is? and if its ATX form factor mounting?