re-casing a Dell 4300 Dimension

I'm looking for the smallest PC case available that a Dell Dimension 4300 m/b, h/d, slots, and fan/power supply can fit in. Eliminating the optical and floppy drive is not a problem, but room for the DVD would be considered.  Are there any vendors out there that sell generic cases that can allow for a custom config of the internals? I'll be seaching and shopping the net, but any reply with this kind of info will be MUCH appreciated.

jbntx

Welcome to HotHardware, jbntx! If your 4300 has the motherboard shown below it looks like it should fit into a standard ATX case...at first glance. But then if you look more closely it appears that the standard ATX mounting holes are absent as this board is mounted to a tray. Damn Dell! It might take some extensive modding to fit this gem into a non-dHELL case.

the question is whether his psu will fit? Isn't normally the problem with manufactured systems is their proprietary psu's?

Worst case you will have to upgrade the motherboard and PSU. My mom has a old Dell that did fit in a micro ATX case though? You could drill out holes and stick mounts in the motherboard tray for the odd holes on the motherboard.

Thanks, Super Dave...  The only cases I've found thus far (that "probably" wouldn't need a drill bit) are atx cases that are maybe 2" shorter than the original Dell case. One post below claims they might have been able to cram this stuff in a mini-atx case, but I'm not in a hurry and and the end of this whole project, I might actually have the luxury of a large enough cabinet to store the original tower. (My pre-planning is based on hooking the system up to a 47" flat panel TV and being able to store the tower hidden from sight with the other components. We obviously don't want our living room to look like a tech lab... it's a good thing I agree with my wife on that. 

thanks for your reply, nelsoncp21.   You make a good point on the PSU and it seems to be a major concern to be sure. The post below by bob on the cob claims the possiblity that his mom's dell got crammed into a mini-atx case. RE: to my reply to super dave. thanks again!

thanks for your input, bob_on_the_cob, if you can come up with any more details on the old Dell that fit in a micro ATX I would appreciate it. That certainly might help a great deal. also, RE: the reply to super dave... thanks again

Dell uses standard power supplies now for all its systems but they do have non standard placement of where the power cord connects or where the screws that hold the PSU are located, so you might be better off replacing the power supply if you find a case that will fit the I/O panel [which is just a bit different from a standard I/O panel]. just my 2 cents.

I recently worked on a bunch of Dell optiplex and precision workstations that were donated to my local church and there were a lot of dead power supplies I had a hell of a time finding cheap power supplies that would fit the Dell cases for these systems that were given away to needy families.

digitaldd: Thanks for the post and the advice based on your experience with the Dells... I always consider anyone's 2 cents might be worth a lot more than 2 cents to me. Thanks again!