Dell Inspiron 545s

How do I identify the "footprint" of the factory motherboard, so I can upgrade, and buy a motherboard that will fit? Its a slimline case, and suits me fine, just too slow. I will NEVER be gaming etc, so no need for a giant case. My only upgrades were a 450W power supply, to power a better low profile graphics card, for 3D cad work. I would also upgrade to SSD drive.

 

With OEM manufacturer cases like Dell and HP this is often easier said than done.

Even if the board has the exact footprint size of mATX, I've seen cases where the screws and standoffs aren't in the standard locations, making it impossible to mount an aftermarket board in the case. Then there's the issue of the backplane (where all of your video, USB, etc. connections poke out the back of the case). The layout of these vary on each motherboard and (unlike empty build-it-yourself cases) the backplane on an OEM case usually doesn't snap out to accept the new board's layout.

Check these issues carefully before proceeding. Unless you're also into serious sheet metal work, your best bet may be to check out Newegg or Amazon for an inexpensive new case that uses your existing power supply size.

Hope this helps.

 

And something that you can also do if you're stuck with a proprietary Dell/HP/etc case is to look at what other systems of that manufacturer and era had faster motherboards. Because more than likely they will mount in perfectly. And because they may be less sought after, may even be cheaper than other motherboards.