XPS 720 Hardware Kit: What to Expect

perpetualjon — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:24:51 GMT

This has been just a fantastic resource for working with the XPS 700 desktops! I recently started supporting a Dr's office that had their old tech talk them into buying XPS 700's to act as their fileservers! What a waste. Anyways, a few years later, the motherboards started dying on them so I've been replacing them with tiny Optiplex SX280 boxes (about 1/10th the size). Now I'm trying to bring one of these beasts back to life with a replacement motherboard...

So I called the Dell Spare Parts line and first asked if they would work with me through email since it would be much easier to get them a detailed parts list of the things I wanted. They told me that they don't work through email --just phone. I thought this was just a silly system until I started getting prices and compared them to the previous parts lists shown above... Here's what I've found:

CK520 - XPS 720 Motherboard (refurb): $302.95
--the also offered a new compatible board (YU822) for $439.99
XU556 - Rear I/O Panel: $4.99
TM476 - Front Panel Ribbon Cable: $7.99
GR709 - Front Panel Audio Cable: $2.99
XU567 - Front Panel Assembly: $27.99
HN362 - Front Panel Retention Device: $1.99
16DYP - Front Panel Retention Device Screws (x2): $1.99 ea
WJ206 - Front Panel Cosmetic Insert: **NOT IN STOCK**

These prices are considerably different from Wisc_Badger's prices just a few months earlier. It looks like the phone reps can simply give any price they feel like as there is no consistency here!! Oh well, at least my numbers are much less! I'm going to try and find another motherboard somewhere else though. Any good suggestions? I'd just rather not spend over $300 for a system that's this many years old (although I still LOVE this box!)...

Thanks again everyone for all your help and comments!!

Wisc_Badger — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 02:15:53 GMT

Same story here... XPS 710 purchased in March of 2007 just failed on April 13, 2009. Discovered the previously offered 700/710 upgrade, but did not find the parts lists as provided here. Dell Support Tech Gabriel(I suspect this is not his real name given the Indian accent) incorrectly told me that if I ordered a CK520, that there should be no additional parts needed.

Of course when my refurbished YU822 (the new part number for the former CK520) arrived I quickly noticed that connectors were different, and that I would not have success in getting my computer running this evening... so much for overnight shipment of parts.

So, tomorrow I shall attempt to locate all the parts necessary to complete my upgrade. Thanks to GARYSOFT for posting the complete list of parts.

Couple of questions...

1. What is the maximum Intel processor I can run on the 720 board. I currently have a 2.4 Ghz 6600 Core-Duo...?

2. How many motherboards need to fail at or around the two year mark for Dell to admit that there was a problem with them? I don't like beating up on Dell since I have used and/or recommended the purchase of hundreds of their systems over the last 12 years. Overall I have been extremely satisfied with their products.

Thanks,

Badger

garysoft — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:36:26 GMT

In March 2009, after the motherboard crashed on my out-of-warranty, two-year-old Dell XPS 710, I learned there had been a Dell XPS 700/710 Upgrade Program, which ended in October 2007. There had been a kit with the necessary parts to upgrade an XPS 700 or 710 to an XPS 720. Even though today there is no all in one kit that I am aware of, I decided to try to upgrade my XPS 710 to an XPS 720.

Below is the list of parts from the original upgrade kit. I obtained all but one necessary part from Dell Spare Parts (1-800-372-3355). I was lucky to find the final necessary part at techforless.com. It appears that a few of the parts needed for upgrading an XPS 700 are already on an XPS 710, so I could reuse those.

Downloaded from a search of the Internet:

Purchased from Dell Spare Parts (1-800-372-3355):
2. (CK520) XPS 720 Motherboard or (GT661), a kit that includes the motherboard and the following items 3-6:
3. (JR085) [CD016 in GT661 kit] XPS 720 Resource CD; I did not need anything off this CD.
4. (06335) Thermal Interface Grease Cleaning Cloth; convenient, but could get elsewhere.
5. (N6370) Thermal Interface Grease Syringe; convenient, but could get elsewhere.
6. (W2486) Thermal Interface Grease Instructions; didn't need; this information is in the Upgrade Kit Users Guide (item 1).
7. (XU556) Rear I/O Panel; needed because the placement of I/O ports is different on the rear of the XPS 720.
8. (TM476) Front Panel Ribbon Cable; needed because connectors are different size on XPS 720.
9. (GR709) Front Panel Audio Cable; needed because connectors are different size on XPS 720.1. (NX581) XPS 700/710 Upgrade Kit Users Guide (manual); very helpful!

Purchased last "open box" item from techforless.com; could not get this part from Dell:

10. (XU567) [Black] Front Panel Assembly; needed because connectors are different size on XPS 720.

Reused from XPS 710:

11. (HN362) Front Panel Retention Device; little plastic part into which the two power button screws (item 12) are tightened.
12. (16DYP) Front Panel Retention Device Screws (x2)
13. (WJ206) Front Panel Cosmetic Insert; gum-backed translucent panel that labels the lights and I/O ports on the Front Panel Assembly; peeled off old assembly and reapplied to replacement one.

kovsky — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 07:09:19 GMT

Wow... just amazing. My story is the same. I am sitting here with everthing out of the computer and the new board mounted in and am trying to figure out why this upgrade kit to the 720 from the 710 does not have the right connections for I/O and the back panel. First place i decided to check was the forums behind this exhange program and see many people have had the exact same issue. This motherboard will not work with out the upgrade kit. And after confirming strenuously with Dell sales to make sure this is the upgrade kit for my computer he repeated it was and called it the kit. Now that i see the photos of the kit on this Dell site...it is obvious he had no clue. Even after i discussed the dell exchange program to him and led him to the website. All i have is a 720 motherboard without the rest of the kit required to make it work on a 710 system.

I also laugh at the comments about the "8" transfers later. I have found no issue (besides the sales departement) to take less than 4-8 transfer myself. It is so fun to have to repeat your Serial tag over to every person who answers. I purchased this machine and love it...but with the amount of trouble i have had between warranty, and follow-through from customer support it just is not worth it. Ive had a long 11 year relationship with Dell and the Dell corporate reps who are awesome on the multimillion dollar purchases. But when i purchase a personal $7000 setup i just cant get anything resolved or taken care of with satisfaction. My patients for unresolved issues is gone now. Why should i have to get my Dell corporate rep involved with every little Dell issue for my personal purchases....cant the department stand up on its own? Complaining to my Dell corporate rep is so old now...i just cant bring myself to do it anymore.

Kovsky

re: XPS 720 Hardware Kit: What to Expect

Ken W. — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 00:31:40 GMT

All - I sheepishly wander into the group XPS 700 users who weren't notified ... no sense restating the same old stuff .. you've either read about the problems or experienced them first hand. Sheepishly, because I should have known better! Here is my saga maybe you'll not feel not so alone. After a failed power supply and two dead mobo's (w/o mention of upgrade), I found out about the "PROGRAM" naturally the warranty has expired, I bit the bullet and ordered the upgrade kit (yep, according to "spare parts" in the Philippines, it was available to purchase and would ship immediately.) The package arrived and I was psyched to build it up. Opened the box and not all of the part were there! Wow, a Christmas wagon without wheels! Then started the odyssey, customer support in India (now there is an oxymoron) no fewer than 8 (EIGHT) transfers later - I ended up in the Philippines - again - where the rep wanted to put me on hold for "two minutes" to check the kit contents. From the packing slip I read to him (memorized by now) he couldn't tell if everything was shipped or if there were missing parts. His solution, SEND EVERYTHING BACK Dell so they can look at it. So, he'll have to TRANSFER me to customer support .... I was dropped to a black hole on that transfer. I'm generally pretty easy going but this is the worst I've experienced in all my travels around the world. I have stopped payment on my AMEX let's see if that gets anyone's attention. It seems to me that they could send the front panel and cables that are missing without sending the whole box back! After reading the associated horror accounts, on this matter, I believe that there may some merit to resolving this - God forbid - in the legal arena. These are not toss-aways that you can buy at Zeke's friendly computer resellers, far to expensive. I'm not experienced on these forums so I don't know what is and isn't permitted but if I can, I'll share a phone number with whomever is interested in getting some action going. We should have at least 1 stateside rep who can handle Dell issues. When my 5 other Dell's in the company die - as I'm sure they will, there'll be no more for me or the company.

re: XPS 720 Hardware Kit: What to Expect

DELL-Todd S — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 13:26:38 GMT

@ mlappin -- you may want to repost your question to the forums section. You would probably get quicker responses from the members there that frequent those boards than you would here on the blogs.

re: XPS 720 Hardware Kit: What to Expect

mlappin — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 19:22:46 GMT

I just found out about the upgrade program a few days ago. Called Dell parts and they have a 720 mobo but no processors for it. What I was wondering if it would be possible to buy just the mobo and supply my own processor? The quadcores are nice, but the newer E8500 with 1333 FSB's I've been told will outperform the older quadcore's. I was also wondering how many of the parts listed are absolutely required and how many were just window dressing to make the 700/710's to look like the 720'2?

re: XPS 720 Hardware Kit: What to Expect

Klaas honig — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:30:21 GMT

I thinkd that DELL as a Big International company would have a better customer care, my company bought hundreds DELLl computers and servers. There is always a nice chit chat about the total amount of those big deals.With some nice gifts to speeden up the sale, like a couple of PDA`s etc.....

But when I got my long awaited (not available with VIsta because of none existing GF8800GTX drivers) DELL XPS 710 with the nForce590SLI-Intel Chipset of wich I thought could put in A quadcore processor. There was no communication to me as customer tthat spend over 2400 euroonly on 1 pc.

I gave great reviews about this system on international websites, however its not a fair policy to only have a exchange program in the U.S, because I am sure more XPS 710 are sold in Eurpe then in other countries. If DELL keeps non informing his clients this way its not so hard to give bad reviews wordlwide, here in Holland DELL also had some problems on other issues. I like my DELL XPS 710 very much but I HATE IT THAT I CANNOT UPGRADE IT LIKE THEY PROMISED WHEN I BOUGHT IT LAST YEAR!!!!

re: XPS 720 Hardware Kit: What to Expect

Wade — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 21:27:17 GMT

P.S. The reason I didn't know about the upgrade is because I either wasn't aware of or browsed those websites, nor did I play any intense games requiring better performance, because I've been busy working on my Masters. I'll bookmark those resources and try to browse them regularly.

Thanks again for your help.

Wade

re: XPS 720 Hardware Kit: What to Expect

Wade — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 19:20:17 GMT

Thanks for the quick response, Chris. I checked on those motherboards and they are not available anymore; a refurbished motherboard (YU822) is shown instead for the search for CK520, and it doesn't look like it has twin SLI PCI-E graphic slots. GT661 was listed as no longer available when I did the searh last night. I guess as they say: "The squeaky wheel gets the grease"! :-)

I'll try checking with Dell Tech Support to verify if my 700 motherboard above with 1.4.1 BIOS will support the Intel Extreme X6800 processor (I have one available to use). I was told at one time before that it would, but a tech person who came out to replace my 700 motherboard and 670 processor (following a diagnostic test error) said that he wasn't sure the MB would due to possible motherboard and BIOS issues. A full blown 720 upgrade would be nice, but I'd be happy just being able to upgrade to a Core 2 Duo or Quad processor.

Thanks