Unfortunately, despite being notoriously similar, their widths differ (just in case you thought you could simply swap boards willy-nilly! HAH!). Thankfully, Dell stayed reasonably consistent with the same front panel design concept through the 2000's until the 9xx series: Mic jack / Headphone Jack / Diagnostic lights w/power button in the middle / USB port / USB port. Just replace the front panel and/or the cable, and it should solve your problem. Note: If you're here from Google because you're getting the "Air Temperature Sensor Not Detected!" warning in your otherwise unmodified box, to the sound of fans louder than anything from a Mission Impossible film, don't bother reading on. Still, read on - there are even MORE caveats which result in other combinations that don't work. On the motherboard requires a cable to the I/O plate, though your I/O plate may not have the receiving plug (in which case, see the section below on the R434D diode from the newer Optiplex 960). This means you will have to take the temperature sensor into account with your new board or front I/O plate, namely, whether it's on the motherboard or the front I/O board. Why Dell couldn't just hard-wire it into the motherboard and leave it at that is anyone's guess. The air temperature sensor diode on nearly all Dell boxes of this era is either built directly into the front panel I/O plate, or is on the motherboard connected to the front panel I/O plate with a two-wire connector. Whatever the case, let's examine the problems associated with mixing and matching Dell front panels: Different types of air temperature sensors: Either that, or you'd wind up bending some pins.
Though the front panel connector pinouts stay relatively similar throughout the early-mid 2000's (changing more or less upon the introduction of the redesigned Optiplex 9xx series), Dell's engineers made SURE to phuck up the pinout when you least expect it, leaving you with a "Warning! Air Temperature Sensor Not Detected!" message which you could never clear (press F1 or die!) on POST, followed by the sound of a Douglas DC-6 throttling up for takeoff as the motherboard defaults your fans to Spaceballs' Ludicrous Speed. No sweat if going from one Dell box to another, right? Problem is, Dell's front panel ribbon cables and front panel boards are proprietary. Now, BTX isn't that hard to deal with, if you simply stick with BTX boards. So, without further delay: Dell front panel I/O boards Either that, or I just enjoy working with stuff that frustrates me. I've also taken an interest in the general engineering of the Dimension and Optiplex boxes of this era, due to the engineering similarities and BTX form factor.
Due to the BTX form factor, not much actually swaps into them, and I'm sure the XPS fellows here know what I'm talking about.įor better or worse, I just acquired an XPS 700 myself. If you've ever tried mixing and matching 10-year-old Dell BTX motherboards with Dell BTX cases from the same era, this is for you. Everything you wanted to know about old Dell boards that you really didn't care about in the first place Foreword