Area 51-R5, case compatibility with R2?

The MIO board is Molex powered direct from the PSU. Why do you need a motherboard at all?

would something like this work to power the MIO board?

OK, yes, I see it now . . . thanks!

I'm aware I'm about to type a complicated post to read & follow here, bear w/ me. I owned an R2, but not anymore. If I said the right side of case has the FIO board & left side is the mthrbrd etc, if I then said your pics show a door panel LED connector & also a case LED 'latch' + contacts (prongs), simply put a panel LED portion & also a case latch portion, then is this correct?

A) The R5 right panel LED + Latch works & the left side is iffy (due to prong damage)

B) Because panels interchange, u can swap panels such that the right side always lights using either R5 panel & left side is iffy w/ either panel (we'd expect that to be true), thus both R5 panels always light up & are thus known good (I know both R5 side panels work but need to ask)

C) Neither R2 left or right panel will light up on the good RIGHT side of the R5 case, let alone on the iffy left side ... so ...

D) You swapped out the left R5 black-wire, 6-pronged latch in favor of an otherwise 'good' R2 latch & still not JUST the R2 panels but ALSO the R5 panels refuse to light up on left side of case now?  

Hmph. So, neither R2 panel will light up w/ either of the R5 latches, & neither R5 panel will light up on the LEFT w/ the 'good' R2 latch installed ??? ... hmph indeed

1) R2 & R5 panel LEDs both color-code as Wht-Blk-Ylw-Org-Brn-Brn? If so, a good sign R2-R7 case panels share the 'same' LED panel wiring setup

2) R2 & R5 do NOT share the same FIO board type though ... 

3) Both latch types are 6-wire / 6-prong & if the R2 connector-end plugs into the R5 FIO board header ok then one would think the LED, latch & FIO would all work the same, no change in design or pinout etc over R2-R7 production span (that'd make sense, yet we're here w/ an issue) 

Ok, let's call the R2 latch, its GRN wire pin1, BLK wire pin6, & as a test, I'd get paper & pen & a DVM voltmeter w/ continuity tester w/ audible alarm (or set to Ohms), probe both latch types at each end on all 6pins, jot down the results & see if they wire the same left-to-right, rather try to prove they 'share the same pinout' or not. They should, but who knows

*If they share the same pinout, the R2 type should work: report back w/ your pinout findings on both latch types

Best bet's to FIX the R5 latch prong(s), by sight, making sure they all line up the same etc, & I'm aware it's far faster to just pop the panel off time & again til the prongs all proven work, but u also could lay the panel flat on the floor, unscrew the panel LED contact-plate & if possible, manually press & physically LOOK AT the plate as it contacts the R5 latch prongs, see if the prong's being fixed & lining up etc. Or, if contact-plate can not reach that way?, unscrew / remove the panel's metal backplate, remove the LED strips + contact-plate & manually press the contact-plate to the prongs as above ... this will help u see inside as to what is up w/ the prong not making contact to the plate & go from there, fix it, dial it in etc 

Tip: try to fix your original R5 prong(s), or get the part# off of its part tag & replace it w/a new or used R5 latch. Good luck

EDIT: it's possible but unlikely the R2 & R5 panel LEDs, though they share the same color-code on the board / contact-plate, are different regardless or despite of this. Proving the R2 R5 latch pinouts are the same or not is step one & we'd go from there, since to me, swapping on the R2 latch & yet the R5 panel(s) won't light up is the 1st mystery

Edit: 'Pin 2' circled looks bad, corrrect it w/ a precision tool, 'straighten', then test, then look at 1 4 5, straighten as necessary

@Cass-Ole​ Yes so the issue is that neither of the R2 side panels work at all on the R5 case, left or right side they will not show any sign of power, even after a full reboot. The picture with the bent pins is from the left side of R5 case, they were completely smashed in when I bought the PC and I tried to bend them out as best as I could but I stopped messing with it after the bottom of the 5th prong broke off so it isn't fully attached anymore. Even with the damage the side panel still mostly works, but sometimes won't light up after powering the computer on or with it on it will just randomly lose power, and I will have to remove the panel and reattach it to get them to come back on.

I was originally intending just to swap the connector boards since it was the easiest fix, but all the ones for sale I have found on eBay are the older style colored from the R2 case, I never could find the exact same one with the black cables from my R5 case. What has me worried is why they don't seem to be getting power, I am not very experienced with small electronics and am assuming the voltage for the side panels is too low to damage the motherboard if there is a slight difference between the 2 cases, but the issue isn't bad enough I want to risk it trying to test. I'll take a look to see if I have a DVM to test the connector panel itself.

The other issue although probably unlikely could be the whole R2 computer was fried somehow and the electronics in the side panels are simply burnt out. I don't know the history of it, but the case is in really nice shape, even better then my R5 one, so I am not sure why the motherboard was pulled out of it to begin with. I'm half tempted to try putting the R2 computer back together from parts off eBay, all I need is about $200 in parts to get it running if it everything is correctly working in the case and I have an affinity for this case style so I might go down the rabbit hole to see what I can do with it.

@Valthoren​ I have an ~80%+ support success rate here, & it's late but I'm onboard, let's try to fix it sooner than later. My, your, best bet is to get the original R5 'Latch' working, w/ the original R5 side panel

Yes, currently, left side 'latches' are hard to find

On looking?, this is a right side call-it-what-u-will, I call it 'latch', pin #1 Green (GRN) is missing, IT'S A 5WIRE 5PIN RED. Right side, because, the LEFT SIDE (like your pic) has a 6th 'chassis intrusion wire', GRN Pin1 which trips the interior Theatre Lighting when MTHRBRD LEFT panel's removed (inside LED light lights up, right?)

Above: 5-wire Right vs 6-wire Left + GRN1 

On the simpler 5pin 5-wire board & (Red) connect (above left & prior pic), we have potentially a BLK Ground 6, a YLW PWR 2, then also ground an R ... G ... B ... (3-5) simple enough then to test for working RGB LEDs w/ a DVM voltmeter, heck, maybe w/ a 9volt battery? On both left or right types. Yes. Later. But ... if your R2 / R5 side LEDs are already ok (pre-test as we or I suspect all x4 side panels of yours are OK) then --> The R5 latch 'prong(s)' need addressed? I'll do this below

edit:

like an open safety pin, it should still conduct, at the top or bottom of break or both

If the R2-R7 'bent' gold metal contact prongs resemble a curved 'safety pin' design, EVEN IF the prong is cut / broken at a point?, it should still conduct back to the board-pin-wire, still, probably at the prong's top-most bulge (safety pin cap area)?. or the bottom of the break it will conduct (the open safety pin 'point', the sticker needle end lol). Now, a voltmeter can say if that's so (what part(s) of the prong still conduct back to the board?), & if any part of the prong still works, test it? If it broke in half, wrap the 'break' in the tinsiest tiniest sliver piece of aluminum foil?, see if u get a better connexion ,,, if so there's ways to solder that prong back good as new 

Again, if it broke in two, BEND the top & bottom of the prong further out (wrap in teeny foil if needed as a bridge) see if it helps make a good connexion, if so, it may help KEEP the connexion u say gets lost

edit: I'll address your other concerns later, for now, we'd probe the R5 latch w/ a DVM because it is black wire, not color-coded, probe it relative to the R2 w/ colors, see if they match pins 1-6 at both ends ... they should (!)

*Advice = continue to shape the bad R5 prong(s) til contact = good &/or good as new (w/ needle-nose plier ?)

I got a better read of your post today. Again, find the part# off the R5 latch ('striker' may be a better word), contact Dell Spare Parts, see if they have a new one. Also run part# into google
 
From your pic of left R2 latch-striker, I've called the GRN wire pin1, BLK pin6, while in your R5 striker pic I put a red ARROW on what looked like the worst prong as prong 2 (ties to pin2), but u said prong 5 was bad, bottom broke off? Can u close-up photo all the prongs? And did u lose the piece that fell off or keep it to solder back in place perhaps?

A word on DVM voltmeters for those interested. My DVM (w/ 9volt battery powa) has a continuity test function w/audible alarm such that I can probe a wire/pin like your black-wired R5 striker at both ends looking for which wire goes where, when I get a match it beeps. I'll take for granted these strikers are wired end-to-end left-to-right just like a flat ribbon cable (a 'one-to-one' pinout), or rather when we compare the R2 colored-style, they wire in the same color-code at both ends (GRN YLW ORG RED TAN BLK). It's BECAUSE your R2 panels will NOT light up on either side of the R5 case that makes me wonder if that R5 striker's wired different (upside down 'reverse' pattern, so a mirror-image). Why they'd do that's beyond me other than the newer revised R5 FIO board LED header pinout changed or 'reversed', which is why we'd like to test the R5 striker pinout relative to the R2 & find out

Note Above: FIO Board Connector-End (right pic) GRN = Pin1, BLK Pin6

the R2 & R5 Striker Pinouts will or will not be the same

One thought is that if after u probe the R5 striker ends & find it's REVERSE pinned-out relative to the R2, you'd back the pins out of the R2 striker at the FIO connector-end (using a needle to help back them out), you'd fix the wiring pattern or rather convert it into the R5 pinout pattern so it works! If so?, buy a new R2 striker to replace yours in your R2 case

I'll say this: if it turns out the R2 & R5 strikers ARE the same pinout? like I suspect they are?, that makes no sense to me that the R5 panels won't light up w/ that R2 striker ... I'd advise again to contact Dell & buy another R5 striker (if they have any)

*DVM For Testing LEDs through the contact plates

Back to the DVM set to continuity test, if I take a basic 2wire LED?, +/- ?, the LED will light up (dim) when RED lead touches +,  BLK lead touches - ... it's POSSIBLE to test your R2 panel LEDs w/ a DVM that way by touching a few of the contact plates w/ your leads (PERFECT test is to place the R2 panels on the R5 case & get those LEDs to light but that did not work)

Below: if the STRIKER = GRN 1 YLW ORG RED TAN BLK 6

PANEL BELOW MAY = TAN 1 TAN ORG YLW BLK WHT 6

(or it's reversed ... WHT = 1, TAN = 6 etc)

Potential Contact Plate Pinout?

At any rate, in pic above we see x6 contacts & we KNOW that the left side striker GRN pin1 is the Interior Theatre Light contact point on the plate so disregard it for now in the test. My GUESS is the striker YLW pin2 is (+) Volts, BLK pin6 Ground, so we'd touch the DVM RED lead to contact plate point #2 (+), touch the DVM BLK lead to contact 6 ... CHANCES ARE, if u ALSO simultaneously GROUND a contact like #5? your LED will light up either red or green (dimly lit but lit up) ... if so, you'd next ground 6+4, then next 6+3 to reveal those LED colors. Aluminum foil or a jumper wire could help your DVM BLK ground lead to contact #6 simultaneously w/ contact point 5, 4, 3 etc
 
You MIGHT buy a used R2 striker part# 1TTK1 - desolder the bad x1 x2 or x3 black latch prong bodies from off your R5 striker & transfer new/good prongs onto it, cost of used striker ~$15

And look into a used spare FIO Board, part# 3FFYN, good price is $25-$40

As for your concerns, I would not hesitate to swap R2 R5 panels on & off the R2 R5 cases because I DO THINK the LED strips in the panels are identical, I suspect the voltage & current specs are identical between the R2 R5 FIO boards that run the LEDs also

By all means, a $40 R2 case is a steal, try to do a project w/ it ... one issue w/ aftermarket retail boards that swap in, sometimes the LEDs will all work, sometimes none work, sometimes just the front panel + Alienhead but no side panels light up ... depends on the mthrbrd u buy & try & there's no list of what will / won't work; MSI boards are said to be best, but they don't seem to work all the time to get all LEDs back in action. The original OEM x99 alienboard was the only sure bet

@Cass-Ole​ Thanks for the extremely detailed response, I haven't had much time to mess with it this week so far but I have confirmed the R2 case and all the RGB is working perfectly. I didn't think I could test it without the motherboard, but the power supply was still installed so I plugged it in and after pushing the red button on the back of it all the RGB came on so it is all working. 

I decided to go the project route instead after confirming the power supply and RGB is working. I'm basically trying to put it back together for as close to $250 as possible, the only spare part I have is my ancient GTX 260 video card. I found a OEM R2 motherboard on Ebay for $110 complete with rear I/O shield and 32 gigs of installed ram. I bought it and a used I7-6950X processor for $80 which If I read the specs correctly is the newest CPU the board can support. If all that works properly the last thing I need is a CPU cooler. All the OEM ones I could find are too expensive,  so I am looking for an aftermarket one that is $40 or under. I did a bit of searching and it sounds like the best option is a Corsair Hydro Series H55 Liquid CPU Cooler since I found some old posts about people that swapped them out with the stock one in an R2 motherboard. Would this be the best option, or is there anything better anyone could recommend? For my skill level I just need something that is as close to plug and play as possible.

@Valthoren​   Finding a Corsair H55 could prove challenging. I'm pretty sure Corsair has discontinued all of their 120mm AIO CPU coolers. Newer CPU's are just too hot for a 120mm rad. They still have some of the H60 iCUE units selling on their web site if you search hard enough. At the $40 price point you will looking at used AIO coolers. You can get the R2 AIO cooler new on eBay for $80.

You chose to restore the Area-51 R2 with a i7-6950X processor. Note that your Area-51 R5 can support up to i9-9980XE 18 core, 36 thread processor.

@ProfessorW00d​ I found a H55 used but unfortunately it sold, I just saw a complete in box H60 locally I am go try to get so it's good to know it will work too. Will I be able to install it just from the hardware that is comes with or will I need some type of adapter for it too?

@Valthoren​   Corsair H60 should work with the Intel mounting hardware included. Depending on which version you get there may be some wiring trickery required. The OEM AIO cooler when connected to PUMP_FAN signals to BIOS that the CPU is liquid cooled and no CPU fan is expected. The H60 (2018) version sources power direct from the PSU via SATA connection. The remaining one-wire tach cable is not sufficient to signal a liquid cooled CPU, but is sufficient to indicate a CPU fan when connected to the CPU_FAN header. All of this comes from experience with Aurora models . . . we shall have to see about the Area-51 R2 model.

The OEM alien-cooler (K31VH | NVDDX) is a slim 27mm wide radiator, these are older but ~$35 ASETEK 570LC 49mm wide + 25mm fan + correct 2011 retention ring ... TFGHM (R3/6/7 TRipper, 49mm) is ~$75 

Mthrbrd will need a socket 2011 retention ring (2011V3 / 2066) if cooler doesn't come w/one

I ended up finding a used OEM K31VH cooler I am just waiting on to arrive. I put everything mostly together and wanted to just do a quick test to see if it would even get to the bios, but no go. Upon pressing the power it turns on for a second but everything just shuts off. I am a bit worried I wasted $250 on all this stuff since troubleshooting it is probably go be over my head and I have no spares to test if it is an issue with the CPU or motherboard I bought.

I am not super familiar with the safeguards the motherboard has, is there any chance it is doing this because I don't have the cpu cooler installed yet and it won't start without it plugged in? I believe I have everything connected properly, here are a few pictures I took.

Check the 3volt 2032-type coin-cell battery, replace if it's below 2.8v

On a cold room-temp CPU, we'd expect the system to stay on for a good 30-60 seconds b4 shutdown as CPU overheats & auto-shuts off

I doubt it shuts off due to no cooler's plugged in, but, plug the top case fan into the CPU_Fan header & plug a spare fan into that Pump header if u can & hold it in your hand (point it at the CPU) & retest. If it turns on & stays on, shut down after say 30secs (press & hold the power button down til it shuts off, or pull the wall cord plug from back of PSU etc)

If no luck w/ spare fan, unplug the hard drive, remove vid-card, remove both memory sticks, turn power on, the motherboard (if it will stay turned on) should beep in the absence of the memory -if it does?- power down, insert one memory stick & power it up, see if it stays on ... if so, install vid-card & retry power on, see if it stays on & sends video to the monitor, if so, power off & hook the hard drive up, see if it boots up etc ... of course, these several tests may warm the CPU up, & it won't take long for it to overheat

Back to the step where there's no memory installed, if all we had was the mthrbrd w/ just the CPU 8pin & 24pin plugged in, & nothing else (no keyboard mouse either), hit power on to see what happens, as for what to do if the mthrbrd will not beep or turn on / stay on w/ no memory or anything else installed etc (just mthrbrd, 8pin, 24pin), well, if even then nothing happens then we'd suspect the mthrbrd or the CPU has an issue if of course the coin-cell battery is good. Try these tests & report back

@Cass-Ole​

Ok I replaced the Cmos battery with a new one, reseated the ram, and redid all the connections, after that I got it to power on 2 times and it stayed on for about 10 seconds before I unplugged it since I didn't want to overheat the CPU. Still had no video output. I took the video card out and tested it on my R5 to make sure it still works, and it did, but after putting everything back together again it is back to powering off after only like a millisecond.  

I got the CPU cooler today and everything is hooked up properly but still no luck.  The only way I can get it to stay on is holding the red button on the back of the PSU. 

I tried the test of removing the video card and the RAM and it still doing the same thing, just an instant shut off as soon as the power button is pressed. I am not sure why is stayed on the 2 times it didn't instantly shut off, but the second time I smelled a slight burn smell which seemed like it was coming from the video card, that's why I pulled it to test it out. No beeps from the motherboard, the only sound I can get it to make is from the CD drive when it makes the spin up sound when I hold the red button on the back. I can get a different CPU for it, but all the motherboards for sale on ebay now are either damaged or like $200+ so I am out of luck on that. 

Of all the parts I am the most iffy on the CPU since it was described as untested, but it's the same issue with the PSU too. The motherboard looked in like new condition so I have the most confidence in it. If the CPU was bad would it cause the instant shut off? I'm just trying to see if it would be worth buying another CPU for testing, I have probably another 2 weeks to return everything.