Small Form Factor case for Dell Optiplex 980

[deejayburnout]

Evening Peeps

I am considering getting one of these Dell Optiplex 980 small form factors for my Mrs so she can have her own Plex mediaserver for all her shows, but the case is ugly and i would like to change it to something else.

Firstly, what would the motherboard size be. i have no idea.

Secondly, would the PSU need to be replaced if i transplant the board to a new case. it looks like one of those Dell tiny ones.

Advice appreciated

[GuidoLS]

It looks to be mATX, but like most Dell boards, it's probably not 100% standard. It *should* fit in any mATX capable case, although all the install holes may not be used, and there's the outside possibility the backplate won't line up. That's a common downside of all the box store machines (Dell, HP, Compaq, etc)

As for power connector, it's a micro-24pin connector - you can get adapters from any number of suppliers and just use a standard PSU. I've not dealt with the 980 for any length of time, but Dell's SFF boxes can be a little loud when they warm up, specifically from the PSU. They don't overheat, or throttle, or shut down, but you'll know they're in the room with you.

They're decent machines, but if you're already looking to change out the case and PSU, you might want to see if you can just piece together a new machine entirely, because you won't be reusing either piece.

[deejayburnout]

I am hoping to use the same PSU but not sure if it would fit in a new case or not.

Bummer if the mobo and case are not standard. Might be worth just removing all the components and spraying case black.

[Psycownage]

If you have not already bought the dell, why not build yourself? I put one together for the same price on partpicker but can't post the link as I do not have enough posts yet:

CPU: Intel Core i3-4170 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor (£87.08 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: MSI H81I Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard (£50.17 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Blue 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£19.50 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital AV 250GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£18.97 @ CCL Computers)
Case: RAIJINTEK Metis (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case (£36.58 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green 380W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£38.81 @ More Computers)
Total: £251.11

the i3-4170 should outperform the i5-650, (both are dual core hyperthreaded but i3-4170 is newer & has a faster clock)

then you can choose whichever case takes your fancy, the one in the build comes in many different colours and should have enough cooling if no GPU is required, if more storage options are required look at the Fractal Design Node 304

[BobF64]

Looks more like a BTX format board, so the PSU size is the least of your worries.

Notice how the connectors are on the right side, not the left.

You can buy BTX cases, and I'm sure I recall some BTX/ATX dual purposes cases, but no idea where youd get them as self builds pretty much all use ATX of one size or another.