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Replacing the 630i motherboard with a non-Dell...?
*If* one were to replace the XPS 630i's motherboard with one from Nvidia's 700i series, would the following be possible?
- Keep the 630's chassis lighting because the master I/O board isn't being replaced and Nvidia supports ESA.
- Retain the current boot drive's programs and data (new OS required).
- Keep current Q6600 CPU, but possible upgrade to 45nm CPU in the future.
Just curious if any or all of the above could be done, thanks.
Davet50
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May 2nd, 2008 16:00
Rambler358
526 Posts
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May 2nd, 2008 17:00
FSIam
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May 2nd, 2008 18:00
I don't have the 630 but :
1 ) who knows !!
2 ) data : yes, but keep them in a separate folder that windows doesn't delete during the OS installation, and anyway I would make a backup; programs should be reinstalled; new OS ? ( non dell I assume you mean ) not really but it isn't legal so I won't say anything more :manwink:
3 ) yes, of course, if the new board allows it
Bliff
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May 2nd, 2008 19:00
I'm also wondering about this,
So are you guys saying that you WOULDN'T be able to keep your OS and data if you swapped mobos? I thought the OS was stored on the HDD so wouldn't everything still be there?
Davet50
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May 2nd, 2008 19:00
A motherboard is a major system componet and as such i believe a OS reinstall would be necessary. No comes the legal part..Legaly you cannot use the Dell disk as this is tied to the motherboard/bios. would it work possibly. So one would more than likely need a new Os.
As to weather the lights would still work..that would depend on how well the front I/O panel can interface with the motherboard. The processors would migrate as long as the new board has a 775 socket..
Rambler358
526 Posts
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May 2nd, 2008 19:00
The nVidia mobo I was thinking of the is the 780i. In relation to my first question, I guess it would depend on if the 780i motherboard had the master I/O connections on it compared to Dell that has a seperate board for those connections.
Now, if I was to go with a Dell 730 mobo it may be a more simple plug-n-play method, as the 730 also has a seperate master I/O board. If that's the case, I *should* be able to retain chassis lighting *if* the 630's master I/O board can connect to the 730's mobo. This should also allow keeping my existing OS and not have to buy a new copy. But I guess no one's really sure of the capabilities of the 730 board yet, so there's still a lot of ifs there.
Sean_M_28
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May 5th, 2008 18:00
Rambler,
I did a bit of research and it looks like the Master I/O board uses an internal USB connection. The pinout itself looks exactly like the one on most motherboards that allow you to connect front usb ports. I would be willing to be that the master i/o board would work.
Also, you should be able to swap out the motherboard and not have to reinstall the OS. I would uninstall the Nvidia system software before you do the swap though. Then just install the new stuff. I would also do a backup before you did any of this, just in case.
Rambler358
526 Posts
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May 5th, 2008 19:00
That's actually great news if that's the case. Though I'm thinking it may be better to use Dell's ESA software for the chassis lights. I think nVidia's software should be common across its boards anyway. I guess there's only one way to find out though.
But the big question I had was - do nVidia's boards have their Master I/O integrated on the motherboard itself? Dell uses a seperate master I/O board, so I'm not sure if it's compatible that way.