ok well i have a dell dimensions 4700 with the ugly standard gray case so my question is can i swap out the internals and put them in to an aftermarket case like this one http://cgi.ebay.com/Steel-Gaming-Tower-PC-...id=p3286.c0.m14

im not sure about the dimension line but we use dell optiplexes at my office and you cant put those in a standard case because the motherboards use a different kind of connector (instead of the standoff screws) so they have to go in a dell case

Some dell pc's are known to not conform to standard atx form factor. The motherboard may not lineup with the new case, and the psu may be proprietary.
Moving to the computer forum...

that case you posted isnt that great anyway. Save your money, build a new computer that isnt a dell. Thats what i did.

well poop thats no good so i have never built a new pc can you line me out on what to get at decent prices

well if really depends on what you want to go with the computer, but in a general sense youll need the following:

Motherboard

Processor

RAM

Video card (you might be able to get a motherboard with integrated video, depending on what you want to be able to do with the computer)

Hard drive

Power supply

Case



some of it you might be able to salvage from your dell, but again it all comes down to what you want to do, like if you want a gaming computer youll probably want all new parts

a good place to start is the public wishlists on newegg http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishLists.aspx

You made the first mistake of buying a dell, its always just better to build a new pc from scratch, dells are horrible for compatibility, whether it be addon parts or new parts, or even case swaps.

dells arent bad for what they are, I never had any problems with incompatibilites. mine lasted me 4.5 years

though it finally died and yes I love my built pc much much more

yea iam not in to computer gaming much but iam a music freak so i need storage i also back up all my movies and video games storage is best

you could alway buy the case and if it doesnt work just buy a motherboard that supports the stuff you have now

i think i might just give that a go...hopefully it works out