D530 SFF motherboard move to an ATX case

[kanolsen]

I have a D530SFF (micro ATX), and want to move it to a standard atx case. Will there be any problems, or will it fit right in?

Thanks for any help.
Kanolsen

[Jim Tully]

If you truly have a microATX motherboard, you probably should buy a "whitebox" case that can be used for either an ATX or MicroATX motherboard (position of holes in the case to line up with holes in the motherboard). There may be HP or Compaq cases out there that will accept either type motherboard, but if so they're not advertised.

I've built several PCs with microATX motherboards in cases that will accept either motherboard. A standard case could be modified to accept a micro motherboard, but from your question I don't think you're ready for that yet.

I've found the most economical whitebox cases can be purchased from newegg.com or tigerdirect.com. I especially look for those with rebates.

You may have to purchase an I/O panel for the rear of the case to fit the Input/Output connectors on your motherboard. You might be able to salvage the one from your D530SFF case. Look this over first, as this could give you some difficulty.

[John Kirk]

Kanolsen

The D530 SFF does claim to be a uATX motherboard so it should fit a case that will mount a uATX motherboard. The D530 SFF uses a standard ATX power connector so a standard power supply should work as long as it has the 4 pin Pentium 4 power connector (most ATX power supplies today do have this connector).

The only two problems will be the front panel switches and LEDs as you will need to figure out which pins go to which switch or LED. The rear panel connectors may not be in a standard layout but if the D530's case has a removable rear connector insert you should be able to remove it and pop it into the opening in the new case.

Hope this helps.

John K.

[Matthew Popovich]

I moved 4 motherboards out of SFF cases to my old Presario cases so I could use a full size video card (Also just for fun as we use Compaq at work and these types of projects teach me a lot about the specific hardware).

Standard ATX should be fine, standard power supply is fine.

The thing to watch out for is the front panel stuff. You'll want to use the same audio and USB ports from your SFF case if possible. I haven't been able to find any add on ports that really work with the USB onboard plugs on the mother board. I have no idea what the front USB pinout is, I tried to figure it out, but couldn't. So use the original front ports. (I really wanted a nice 5.25" front panel add on thingy with firewire and USB and all sorts of goodies, but no luck).

You MUST hook up the microphone and headphone front speak ports to the motherboard if nothing else. Without it, the onboard sound will not function at all. Its standard audio ports, so any add on card or whatever will work in a pinch. The other option would be to buy a separate sound card. I haven't tried USB Headphones without the audio ports plugged in, but those might actually work without the front ports plugged in. I'll test it this week.

As far as the back panel mounting stuff. Well, that's a little more difficult. I did in fact remove the mounting panel from under the motherboard in the D530 SFF. I had to use a hack saw to cut off the mounts around the back ports to put it in my new case. It was a big pain in the rear. I only did that for one computer, as I'm totally lazy.

Please let me know if you find back panel ports that work with the D530.

[Matthew Popovich]

Also keep in mind the Small Form Factor and the Convertible Mini Tower both use the same motherboard. The only difference is the CMT has an extra PCI extender card that plugs into the side of the motherboard to make it longer and gives it an extra 3 PCI slots. You'll see where it plugs in on your motherboard, its on the side.

[Ahmad_1_2_3]

Just short the Pins of P32 (Front Panel) jumper and sound will be routed to rear panel of Mother board.

please refer to
http://www.softwaretipsandtricks.com/forum/drivers/32619-d530-compaq-no-sound-what-so-ever.html

Thanks