| chodder is right, if you are upgrading your MB and CPU just to boost your gaming, then it would be a good idea to go ahead and get a good video card as well.
as for your question, a lot of companies like dell and hp use proprietary boards. this means that a lot of times they are not built to standard specifications. but chances are that if you bought a full-sized case (most of the 'cooler' ones are) then it will probably work. when you buy a case it will give you specs on MB sizes that the case can accomodate. with some careful measuring you can get the size of your MB and see if it will fit. if you put your old MB into a new case, some of the foundation screws may not be placed in the best locations but if you are going to buy the case in person then you should have no problem seeing if your MB will fit because most places have a floor model that you can peruse at your leisure. sorry to be so long winded. i just wanted you to be aware that the chance exists that it won't work as well as you'd like, but there's a 99.99% chance that it will work just fine for you. plus if you have a standard dell and get a full-sized case you're going to have a lot more wiggle room for getting into the guts of your system as well as lots of opportunity for cooling (as you well know, proper cooling is a must for proper 3d gaming  ). and with a full-sized case now, you'll have plenty of room for future expansion to a big monster of a MB.  good luck with whatever you decide to do.  | |
