Some choice quotes from some of the articles in that link
"It seems that starting after September of 1998 Dell defected from the cause of industry standardization and began using specially modified Intel supplied ATX motherboards with custom wired power connectors. Of course they also had custom power supplies made that duplicated the non-standard pinout of the motherboard power connectors."
and
"If you do decide to upgrade the motherboard in your Dell system (purchased on or after 09/98)_then there is a simple solution, just make sure you replace both the motherboard AND power supply with industry standard ATX components at the same time"
and
"PC Power and Cooling now makes a version of their high performance 300W ATX power supply with the modified Dell wiring for about $110. Note that the internals are identical to their industry standard high performance 300W ATX supply (approximately $84), only the number and arrangement of wires has changed."
and
"At first I thought that if all they did was switch some of the terminals around, then I could use a terminal pick to remove the terminals from the connectors (with the wires attached) and merely reinsert them into the proper connector positions, allowing me to use the Dell power supply with an upgraded ATX motherboard in the future. Unfortunately if you study the Dell main and auxiliary connector pinouts I've listed here and compare them to the industry standard ATX pinouts listed earlier, you'll see that not only are the voltage and signal positions changed, but the number of terminals carrying specific voltages and grounds has changed as well."
Dells position on the matter
"The company has now provided us with its official position on this in the form of the following statement:"
"EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Dell does not make generic ATX boxes - this is well known throughout the industry. Customers that would be affected by this are up graders, and the reality is that only a very small percentage of users will actually attempt this type of upgrade. We have made many improvements to the original ATX standard to meet the growing needs of customers over time. Companies like Intel are helping to drive an industry standard specification surrounding this.
Dell is catering for its customers needs by using components that keep prices low so the majority who do not upgrade get a better price. We made changes to better the product not to simply reduce costs, but to improve quality and reliability levels as well as to help meet regulatory requirements in certain instances..."
“… Additionally, Dell's motherboards have custom form factors to optimise for the best cooling solutions, emissions control, and for quick and easy serviceability…”
The rest is well worth reading. They say current motherboards use standard power supply connectors, but have non-standard motherboard form factors.
If you go here
http://www.pcpowerandcooling.com/pro...lies/index.htm and look at the links on the left, it say "power supply selector 'including dell'" lol. If you follow the link it gets into ATX and "Dell ATX" etc
JP
Linear Mode
