Can motherboard of R5 be changed to an ASUS strix z270 without problems?

We've known since the R5 debut last year that if the original board is swapped for a typical m-ATX aftrmrkt board, it will take some effort to regain side panel LED lights (best bet = 'hard-wire' one solid color LED output ... red green or blue etc ... adventurous minds could possibly mod lights to go further), and then recently it came to my attention that the external power on / off switch is incorporated into the LED Controller harness, meaning steps need to be taken with the pwr on / off wiring & pins & connector to retrofit to aftrmrkt board. It can be done & would require creativity using basic PC wiring / modding parts etc. That goes for the AlienFx lighting also

New development: rear i/o backplate trim is fixed / permanent = need to cut rectangular hole out to insert a new rear plate trim

Worst case scenario, if drop in aftrmrkt mthrbrd:

• dremel-tool / cut the rear i/o out so mthrbrd rear parts can fit
• loss of case lights
• loss of external pwr/on button (but mod your own 'button' in)

I made some comments here, and posted photos:

• Aurora R5 R6 Community Discussion + Upgrades

Because Dell refuses to offer a simple Bios update that could easily enable R5 Skylake boards to upgrade to Kaby, the R6 mthrbrd part# 7HV66 is listed right now on eBay (USA) for $250 (10+ available as of 8.22.17) = easiest pain-free path to 7700k:

• Aurora R6 Intel Z270 LGA1151 Micro-ATX Motherboard 7HV66
• http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Alienware-Aurora-R6-Intel-Z270-LGA1151-Micro-ATX-Motherboard-7HV66-Tested-/222621176260?hash=item33d54191c4:g:TiAAAOSw3GFZnH4R#shpCntId

With the 6-core 8700k CovfefeLaKe i7 on the horizon, (new Aurora R7?) you might want to delay purchase or consider selling your R5 to pave way for new stuff / new case / new R7

7700k is marginally better than 6700k, but may not be 'hundreds of dollars better' once you jump through hoops and pay whatever it takes to upgrade to it, so maybe try to live with yours a little while longer, where 8700k should out perform both (8700k Z370 is already in the news, read up a bit ... when it launches = price drops on old Z270 'stuff' anyways)

I agree with ‌ completely ... including keeping your Aurora-R5 intact. Use it that way, move to less-demanding role, gift-it-away, or sell it complete.

It would be a pity to cannibalize a newer Aurora-R5, but if you must accomplish the original project, just go ahead and pickup a new after-market case while you are at it. Maybe a Power-Supply also and other misc items.