New-to-me Dell Optiplex

[TominMO]

Today eBay shipped me a Dell Optiplex 7040 mini tower, without a storage drive. It has an i5-6500 CPU and 8 GB of DDR4 RAM @ 2133 MHz. It cost me $69 total. (EDIT: pulled the RAM to look at it, and it is actually 2400 MHz. But apparently the CPU only supports up to 2133 MHz.)

My current computer, which I was perfectly fine with, has an i3-4170 with 16 GB of DDR3 @ 1333 MHz. It's running Linux Ubuntu 24.04.

I have plenty of keyboards, rodents, speakers, monitors, and a spare Samsung 500 GB SSD, so no more out of pocket for this build. I could upgrade to 16 GB RAM but for Linux, and me being just a normal user, it's not necessary.

So I installed the SSD and booted up my install thumb drive. It now has Ubuntu 24.04 as well, and is much more responsive with the faster/newer CPU and faster RAM. The real bonus, which I knew it would do, is that this generation of on-board graphics runs YT videos at 4K with no issues at all. With my older i3 processor, it didn't run well at that resolution.

There are videos all over YT showing guys turning various Optiplexes into gaming computers by adding graphics cards. I don't play games, so the on-board graphics are plenty good enough.

Here's a video showing a 7040 install:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk_5x5JmHBs

[riderjoe]

Great find, @TominMO! That's an excellent price-to-performance upgrade, especially for $69. The i5-6500 is a solid CPU, and the improved integrated graphics making 4K YouTube smooth is a nice bonus. I'm also using an Ubuntu-based Linux distro, Pop!OS. Enjoy your snappier system!

[TominMO]

Yeah, for a non-gamer who likes to tinker with 'puters, this was something I had to try out. Gonna stick another 8 GB of RAM in it just because. Also want to pop off the CPU heatsink and see if the refurbishers put on some fresh thermal paste. Gonna grab a WD HDD out of one of my old computers to throw in there as both a backup OS source and backup data storage.

[CheapThrills]

I love taking old 'business' computers, their PS are usually high rated. Then toss in a good video card and I'm on my way. Like a 'sleeper computer'.


Good find!

[Darkrider]

I have been tinkering with a slightly older Optiplex as a back up photo editing machine. Need to pick up a better power supply before i drop in the GTX 650TI i had in my HP Z400.

[TominMO]

Bought another Optiplex, just because I could.

Model 7050 mid tower, i7-7700 CPU, 16 GB DDR4 RAM (speed unknown), 500 GB HDD no OS, i.e. wiped. $100 + $23 shipping.

I hope this isn't becoming a problem.....

[TominMO]

Just out of curiosity I installed a 12 YO graphics card in my 10 YO i3-4170 computer. The brand is Pegatron, model # HD6450. Has 1 GB of memory. It did 4K graphics in full-screen better than the CPU's on-board graphics. Some glitching, but not bad. Both PCs have PCIe 2.0 slots.

I returned the card to its original 2012 Dell XPS computer, and ordered an MSI GT710 card for the i3 from Amazon. Still low end but I'm sure it is a lot better than the 12 YO card.

[bigdano711]

Here's the GPU I'm looking at:


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CSG8PX22/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_4?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&th=1


https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61p-AkQb1CL._AC_SL1000_.jpg

[XLsior]

The RX 6600 for under $200USD
or the slightly better RX6650XT


will blow any other GPU under $200USD out of the water.


https://www.amazon.com/PowerColor-Fighter-Radeon-6600-Graphics/dp/B09H3PY14M/ref=sr_1_2?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.W2ShQak_W5bEMeLlD54zig KLnco8YYbPqowlszNMOc2wYVgR7CKyvTFGwchArGBmcxBXGfVd iiAOyyGk0WR5uNItumkMJoiVqQofBHlET6Ek4wP7VJxojnAX2W eCKjWMka1qtsfD8obts9-yiAAZAw4M-KLGtueAS4IEikzrZO4gZnTFDmzYLDFaM3XquVL-QXNpDa3X6QJVE9vnBY9X__2-SZasRGgw42eprBKSAdc.CXHiIjtv60c5kFwNxhxaGc2XFy6R-5KvhSPk2nlY4Fk&dib_tag=se&keywords=rx6600&qid=1732847939&sr=8-2&th=1

[XLsior]

The issue you might have with an older office PC is if the PSU offers no additional 8pin power cable or the case is low profile.


In which case the GPU selection diminishes

[bigdano711]

In which case you update your PSU, of course. Nice find on that 6600...but...PowerColor? Oookaaaaaay....

[XLsior]

PowerColor are fine and their GPUs are top performers with decent review samples.


alternative brand RX6600

https://www.newegg.com/asrock-rx6600-cld-8g-amd-radeon-rx-6600-8gb-gddr6/p/N82E16814930066?nm_mc=AFC-RAN-COM&cm_mmc=afc-ran-com-_-PCPartPicker&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=afc-ran-com-_-PCPartPicker&utm_source=afc-PCPartPicker&AFFID=2558510&AFFNAME=PCPartPicker&ACRID=1&ASUBID=&ASID=https%3A%2F%2Fpcpartpicker.com%2Fproduct%2FD9 ytt6%2Fasrock-radeon-rx-6600-8-gb-challenger-d-video-card-rx6600-cld-8g&ranMID=44583&ranEAID=2558510&ranSiteID=8BacdVP0GFs-mNCb5gtkj3EybKzDsKXCBQ


XFX and Saphire also great.


My current GPU is an ASRock.


I would not buy any Asus or MSI GPU



Gigabyte are average but cheaping out in some areas.


Ive never had a PNY card.


Palit were good to me in the past.


If you're looking for PC part this is a pretty good place to start


https://pcpartpicker.com/

[XLsior]

Back on Optiplex

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aO0uH3hTqSM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6xA6F_moUI

[TominMO]

The issue you might have with an older office PC is if the PSU offers no additional 8pin power cable or the case is low profile.

In which case the GPU selection diminishes
For what I do, the sixth-gen CPUs and up on my Optiplexes don't need a graphics card. Also, I only buy the mini tower form factor. The micros and SFFs are more problematic for sourcing parts that fit and work.

The i3-4170 is getting a card that is powered only by the PCIe bus itself. I could install a high-end graphics card in it if I wanted to. It just recently got a modern case and PSU, which has all the modern connectors. The old PSU was starting to get wonky. But a modern high-end card would be limited by the PCIe 2.0 bus, so there is no point to doing that. Plus slow processor and memory hold it back from being a gaming machine. I could throw in an i7-4790, but I don't think there would be much practical gain. The video card costs about the same, and will probably have more effect.

[Darkrider]

The problem is after a certain point in the line up even the Mini tower optiplexes will not accept standard ATX power supplies for upgrades because Dell started to stamp the back side to accept proprietary PSUs. I wanna say it was the 50 series for sure...not sure about anything after the 20 series up till then.

[TominMO]

The problem is after a certain point in the line up even the Mini tower optiplexes will not accept standard ATX power supplies for upgrades because Dell started to stamp the back side to accept proprietary PSUs. I wanna say it was the 50 series for sure...not sure about anything after the 20 series up till then.A little case modding will probably be in order to install a new PSU in my 70 series Optiplexes, along with seeing which ones will physically fit in the space available. But it is possible to get new stock form factor PSUs for these, made in China for $70. And used ones on eBay for $18.

[XLsior]

The proprietary component issues is and lower wattage power delivery has only gotten worse with each more modern office PC generation.


the Intel i7 quad cores should only be considered for oldschool/Esport gaming.


For a basic kids/home PC and media center they are still perfectly fine.


I used my old 6700k, 8gb RAM and a RX6600 for PC to give to my niece's children with an SSD full of good old games.


However if you wanted to add a GPU that fits and does not need supplementary power there are some options. But the price to performance compared to the rx6600 is abysmal



There are the Intel ARC 310 and 380 which have AV1 encoding but the really rebar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OX8p8KoJP1w




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p4cQTEEZ1U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_UQs02ipkg

[XLsior]

In Australia we have DickSmiths which sells refurbed office PCs...
not sure if it like your equivalent BestBuy or similar.


Well scrolling through the generations at about $250 AUD you start to hit systems with Intel i5 8500/9500 cpus which are 6cores tend to have 16gb ddr4 ram SSD hard drives and WIN11 which suggests Resizable bar /Rebar support and probably a PCIE gen 3 x16 slot


The HP ProDesk 600 g5, Lenovo ThinkCentre M720T and Dell Optiplex 7060 seem to all hit the same price point/configuration.


Then for whatever reason 4 core intel CPUs fill the listings above and below this segment.


the 6core cpus will have longer legs than all the 4core systems and handle more powerful GPUs for a couple more years. Though going passed the aforementioned RX6600, RTX3060 and even going back to a GTX1080ti would see diminishing returns.

Depends on how low budget and user needs go but the price threshold might be worth the step up.

[Darkrider]

A little case modding will probably be in order to install a new PSU in my 70 series Optiplexes, along with seeing which ones will physically fit in the space available. But it is possible to get new stock form factor PSUs for these, made in China for $70. And used ones on eBay for $18.




It looks like you can get around it on the 40 and 50 series. I have seen it done on the 50 before. Basically the space for an ATX is there but the rear panel of the case needs to be cut to the standard ATX opening. i haven't seen a 70 yet so cannot confirm on that. It seems they skipped making a 30 series and jumped to the next Series starting with the 40 which is where the case problems show up.

[TominMO]

It looks like you can get around it on the 40 and 50 series. I have seen it done on the 50 before. Basically the space for an ATX is there but the rear panel of the case needs to be cut to the standard ATX opening. i haven't seen a 70 yet so cannot confirm on that. It seems they skipped making a 30 series and jumped to the next Series starting with the 40 which is where the case problems show up.
Actually there is a 30 series, the 3020 and maybe others, in mid-tower. They use ATX-type PSUs at the top rear of the case. Pretty easy to swap out with modern PSUs. But for me they are pointless, as they are 4th-gen processors like the i3-4170 to i7-4790. And I have a much better (i.e. non-proprietary), modernized 4th-gen machine right now with a brand new case and PSU.

IMO the sweet spot for Optiplexes is the mini-towers with the 6th to 8th gen Intel CPUs. DDR4, on-board NVME drive capability, better on-board graphics if you don't need a graphics card. Just replace the HDD with an SSD.

If switching to a modern PSU, here is an example of a 24 pin to 8 pin adapter. But apparently you have to read the compatibility list for the adapter to see if your motherboard is covered, or bad things could happen.
https://www.amazon.com/YEZriler-Adapter-Sleeved-Optiplex-Precision/dp/B0B2J1R1RK/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=2RFCMXWO75PN&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.9MB82k12IQVbbLpWmIrtO27zlMxqpoRx3 MSIR9QH_R9qawigCa_0CbrRXA5xn0WSyAuBsTgD-337tgZ83I5qzCBFwp2zhGdHLVm3kSHxwN0LMhBGcNNTcC8GbY1 buqzD1IoA_Om9kfmMlT7WF9WHViiJ8EXZwcK6-IXh8x1S2lLx509OgwBL1y1VpYjNFo9kn90SmR7Yy2LTGXKtALl OFoQUwwxt6K9wKpLT_oBz105M6QRqcRWjY06VoVUF5sECyEpve 4WCYECEXjiz3elO4L1o5CjtRUvbfyp40j71f9c.bLD5ZFfRIk7 ERC-kXGepF-sdS2_ItNphUb-tRcgNKTk&dib_tag=se&keywords=24%2Bpin%2Bto%2B8%2Bpin%2Badapter&qid=1732936142&s=pc&sprefix=24%2Bpin%2Bto%2B8%2Bpin%2Badapter%2Ccomput ers%2C109&sr=1-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

[XLsior]

Raining Buckets outside...


All this Optiplex Office PC conversion chat got me thinking about an old ITX system I had as a media PC before it starting playing up and not holding a boot sequence/Post.


I tried hitting with de-greaser to clean of any shmurt and then gave it a pass over with the hotair gun...


no luck...


I then took of the heatsinks. Cmos battery, RAM and CPU and prepared it for an oven bake treatment...


roughly a 8min heat soak at 220*c to reflow the solder...


You know its up to temp when the electronic heavy metal scent emits from the oven (do not do this if you are married)



After the 7-10min took it out and let it cool. Looked baked but not melted.


Set up test bench and managed to hold Bios for more than 20min.


Next installed Linux Mint...Success


Not sure how long it will last but I am kind of surprised it actually worked.

[bigdano711]

I've heard of the easy bake method and always just shook my head at it. The "nuclear" approach as it pertains to solder joints. The board will always be suspect and you're just kinda waiting for it to start a fire.

[XLsior]

I've heard of the easy bake method and always just shook my head at it. The "nuclear" approach as it pertains to solder joints. The board will always be suspect and you're just kinda waiting for it to start a fire.




I don't disagree.


The board was pretty much dead before so I gave it a shot out of curiosity.


As far as starting a fire the power supply is even more suspect.



Its just an an out of date mess around system.



Linux Mint seems stable enough so far, no crashes yet...

[GypsyR]

Funny the people on here repurposing old workstations. I'm a pig for them.
My work laptop is a Precision 4800 and the home one a Precision 6800. Both will run GTA V OK.
Main PC is a HP Z420 that came with a 4 core Xeon that I tossed in favor of 10 core one. Graphics card is an old 1060 which squeaks when burdened with Cyberpunk but actually does OK for most stuff I do. I've been eyeing a 3050 which might maybe not strain the old power supply and be a little step up.
One downside is it REQUIRES EEC memory and only had 12G in a mishmash configuration. Kind of on my to-do list to adding that extra 4G but it's possible the entire PC might get replaced so I'm not terribly worried. If it makes an actual difference I can't tell it. Just bugs me a little that it's not maxxed out.

[XLsior]

The RX6600 is cheaper than a 3050 and will out perform it by a considerable margin. Very efficient too pulling only 100w at load.


The new intel Battlemage B580 is going to be released in a couple of days which might shake up the low/mid range GPU segment.


I'm holding out for the RX8800xt Jan 2025 ish and see how it compares to my current RX6800.


Last Nvidia GPU I had was a 1080ti back in the day when flag ship GPU were less than $1000USD and had enough VRAM at a reasonable price...

[TominMO]

Re-pasted the CPU on the Dell 7040. Refurbishing does not imply that they did this step. The old paste was probably the original from 2016ish, and quite dry and flaky. The 7050 is arriving Monday and will get the same treatment. I should probably do it on the i3-4170 too, or I might surrender to temptation and just order an i7-4790 for my daily driver.

People use all sorts of different patterns for applying the thermal paste. The simplest is one big dot in the center, then the heat sink spreads it out.

Here's a guy showing how to do it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sog0M9OrlME

Same guy, discussing testing of different paste application techniques:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofyNgJyhGuc

[Darkrider]

Actually there is a 30 series, the 3020 and maybe others, in mid-tower. They use ATX-type PSUs at the top rear of the case. Pretty easy to swap out with modern PSUs. But for me they are pointless, as they are 4th-gen processors like the i3-4170 to i7-4790. And I have a much better (i.e. non-proprietary), modernized 4th-gen machine right now with a brand new case and PSU.




When i said 30 series i meant like 3030/7030/9030. Dell nomenclature goes as such X020 X040 etc. The X meaning if its a 3,7 or 9 indicating I3, I5, I7 usually though the they did mix the CPUs in the various models I honestly do not under stand why the 9 exists when the 7 and 9 are practically the same machine.

[TominMO]

When i said 30 series i meant like 3030/7030/9030. Dell nomenclature goes as such X020 X040 etc. The X meaning if its a 3,7 or 9 indicating I3, I5, I7 usually though the they did mix the CPUs in the various models I honestly do not under stand why the 9 exists when the 7 and 9 are practically the same machine.
Oh, gotcha. Yeah, I find their naming protocol confusing. An Optiplex 9020 will have 4th gen i3 - i7 CPUs, and so will a 3020! I just compared a half dozen of each on eBay.

You can pick up an i5-4570 3020 for $30 + $16 shipping (no HDD or OS), add an SSD and (optional) low-power graphics card, and have a very viable Linux computer for $100 - 150. Choose your mouse, keyboard and monitor. 9020s are only slightly higher. Some of these dinosaurs even come with wiped HDDs, so you could really be up and running for the cost of the computer itself, plus mouse keyboard and monitor, until you can afford nicer parts. These do not have HDMI output, only DP, but you can buy a DP to HDMI cable pretty cheap on Amazon.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/335608790482?_skw=dell+optiplex+3020&itmmeta=01JE00FXVN742MZP9KSTF4NVK1&hash=item4e23d7bdd2:g:x2YAAOSwlO5nCCoP&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKnLj%2 Fo50yeTL2gPU5ihuDh9W87gSjKxOxkuRfGPD4utOYZQQgSYN%2 BXWbE0EsT7ngpVxKS%2B9mBE7isqxDb6fnigII38Ahn%2FjbzA g24JRvocAIQ9amOxWx1nxay6QFUIgHk%2BMXH4l56GhSHq%2FB g1qk0SOCMkKH%2FOg%2BPXtvtp5t9DbyHYPDBnLvtGgJtRVKeH GeCVwtGgRsTFavzJKE5x3HJwxl%2BrI%2BU52ff4UfDUIYu6in tpvOFIpdqF5%2BgxTQ3awUJIxEO%2FWHbq31szN7MdTO1i0sZY AURmWxAgh3WZ07KxpmA%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR_Ldv4DwZA

[bigdano711]

Hah! The one time I had the "dream" job, I was working in Silly-Con Valley...Sunnyvale, CA...I inherited an "IT Lab" that had a bunch of old desktops and laptops in it. One of my duties was to take all of the machines that didn't work or were outside the service window (then it was 3 years) and get them off the books. I scored a D420 and was HELLA stoked, being the pothead I am. I wanted to feature that laptop in a new "DUDE, YER GETTIN' A DELL" commercial.

[Darkrider]

Oh, gotcha. Yeah, I find their naming protocol confusing. An Optiplex 9020 will have 4th gen i3 - i7 CPUs, and so will a 3020! I just compared a half dozen of each on eBay.

You can pick up an i5-4570 3020 for $30 + $16 shipping (no HDD or OS), add an SSD and (optional) low-power graphics card, and have a very viable Linux computer for $100 - 150. Choose your mouse, keyboard and monitor. 9020s are only slightly higher. Some of these dinosaurs even come with wiped HDDs, so you could really be up and running for the cost of the computer itself, plus mouse keyboard and monitor, until you can afford nicer parts. These do not have HDMI output, only DP, but you can buy a DP to HDMI cable pretty cheap on Amazon.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/335608790482?_skw=dell+optiplex+3020&itmmeta=01JE00FXVN742MZP9KSTF4NVK1&hash=item4e23d7bdd2:g:x2YAAOSwlO5nCCoP&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKnLj%2 Fo50yeTL2gPU5ihuDh9W87gSjKxOxkuRfGPD4utOYZQQgSYN%2 BXWbE0EsT7ngpVxKS%2B9mBE7isqxDb6fnigII38Ahn%2FjbzA g24JRvocAIQ9amOxWx1nxay6QFUIgHk%2BMXH4l56GhSHq%2FB g1qk0SOCMkKH%2FOg%2BPXtvtp5t9DbyHYPDBnLvtGgJtRVKeH GeCVwtGgRsTFavzJKE5x3HJwxl%2BrI%2BU52ff4UfDUIYu6in tpvOFIpdqF5%2BgxTQ3awUJIxEO%2FWHbq31szN7MdTO1i0sZY AURmWxAgh3WZ07KxpmA%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR_Ldv4DwZA (http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?campid=5337605188&toolid=10001&mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2F3356087904 82%3F_skw%3Ddell%2Boptiplex%2B3020%26amp%3Bitmmeta %3D01JE00FXVN742MZP9KSTF4NVK1%26amp%3Bhash%3Ditem4 e23d7bdd2%3Ag%3Ax2YAAOSwlO5nCCoP%26amp%3Bitmprp%3D enc%253AAQAJAAAA8HoV3kP08IDx%252BKZ9MfhVJKnLj%252F o50yeTL2gPU5ihuDh9W87gSjKxOxkuRfGPD4utOYZQQgSYN%25 2BXWbE0EsT7ngpVxKS%252B9mBE7isqxDb6fnigII38Ahn%252 FjbzAg24JRvocAIQ9amOxWx1nxay6QFUIgHk%252BMXH4l56Gh SHq%252FBg1qk0SOCMkKH%252FOg%252BPXtvtp5t9DbyHYPDB nLvtGgJtRVKeHGeCVwtGgRsTFavzJKE5x3HJwxl%252BrI%252 BU52ff4UfDUIYu6intpvOFIpdqF5%252BgxTQ3awUJIxEO%252 FWHbq31szN7MdTO1i0sZYAURmWxAgh3WZ07KxpmA%253D%253D %257Ctkp%253ABk9SR_Ldv4DwZA)


The one i am working on is a 7020 with an I5-4590 in it i picked it up locally a couple years ago with no drive for $65. Threw in an old Western digital 250 gb SSD i had in a thin client i wasnt using, threw Win 10 on it and just puttered around with it as a browsing pc for a bit. Recently upgraded it to 16 gb of Corsair vengeance ram i picked up on Ebay but have yet to fire it back up. Kinda debating if i want to upgrade the GPU before doing so. I do have the GTX 650 i have in my Z400. Also debating trying out Tiny11 on it

[GypsyR]

The RX6600 is cheaper than a 3050 and will out perform it by a considerable margin. .I found 3050's at $179 AND 6600'S AT 189. So maybe not cheaper at the moment. I did see how one is supposed to be higher performance and 8GB too. Found one for $150 used and it's on the way.
I used to be all AMD but it's been a while. I look forward to seeing what I can get out of it.

[XLsior]

I found 3050's at $179 AND 6600'S AT 189. So maybe not cheaper at the moment. I did see how one is supposed to be higher performance and 8GB too. Found one for $150 used and it's on the way.
I used to be all AMD but it's been a while. I look forward to seeing what I can get out of it.


The cheap 6gb 3050s arn't even real a real 3050 which has 8gb. Ngreedia also cut down the die...It really should be called a 3040.


Either way the RX6600 smokes the 6gb and 8gb 3050 cards and sips power doing it.


You wont ever be turning on raytracing at this performance tier.


Nvidia's DLSS is better, But AMD's FSR is ok as far as upscaling goes.


You would essentially be forced to use DLSS to match the performance of the RX6600 at native resolution.

That all might sound like tech babble.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTrlJ-jsDRY



for less than $200 nothing comes close to the RX6600 right now brand new. Used prices...even better

[GypsyR]

I figure raytracing isn't something I care to spend enough on to get. And I sure don't need it.
DLSS is the main reason I was leaning towards an Nvidia card again. But the reality is I don't really care which and it doesn't matter. Just needing a bit more performance after throwing an Oculus into the mix and having discovered UEVR. The old PC was holding up OK until that.

[XLsior]

The new Intel Battlemage B570 10gb and B580 12gb gpus are just a couple of days away...


The ARC 750 8gb is OK under $200 and trades blows with the RX6600.



As far as Nvidia is concerned in terms of 'value' nothing makes sense until you get to the 4070super and that only has 12gb at $600USD.


If you're not interested in "modern audience" AAAA gaming and have a 1080p display the RX6600 will do the job well, I was playing good old classic games just fine at 4k with the RX6600...


So I think you'll be pleased with the upgrade.


The 8pin power connector and full size GPU profile or the RX6600 will not fit in SFF office cases...in which situation a low profile 3050 6gb might be an appropriate user application

[TominMO]

FedEx delivered my Optiplex 7050 today. Intel i7-7700, 16 GB DDR4 2400 RAM. Built in 2018. It was very well packaged with thick bubble wrap, and peanuts to fill the empty space in the box. For some reason it came with two power cords, one 6' and one about 4.5'. Cool!

HDD is a wiped 5400 RPM Seagate 500GB laptop size. But it's bitlocked! Can't install Linux, and don't know how to clear the bitlocking. Oh well, it was not going to be any sort of main drive anyway. Too slow. I have a Patriot 256 GB M.2 NVMe drive coming later this week for the 7050. Goes directly into the motherboard. But I did load up Ubuntu from my install USB and verified that the computer was working fine.

Video out is one HDMI and two DPs. It also has a video card, with two DPs and a DVI. I don't have any cables for any of this, so had to use the 7040's monitor which has HDMI. I will get a DP cable to test the video card. It looks like a very basic one, small heatsink and fan, bus power only, and says AMD and Radeon Graphics on it. AMD model C906. It has 4 GB of GDDR5.
https://www.ebay.com/p/6056146066

If I understand right, the M.2 will be faster than a normal SATA SSD, which is already way faster than an old-skool HDD, because it is using PCIe 3.0 directly on the motherboard as its interface. This should be interesting.....

[XLsior]

an M.2 motherboard slot might disable some SATA ports when the M.2 is occupied, Something to be aware of if any other hard drives aren't being detected when installed.


You can also get PCIE 1x/4x/16x to M.2 NVME adapters, Or visa-versa like this...


https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005686608797.html?spm


https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007010649702.html?spm



as for the R7 450 4gb...its not terrible. worse than a GTX1030.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OdwzXrmXlA

[TominMO]

An M.2 motherboard slot might disable some SATA ports when the M.2 is occupied, Something to be aware of if any other hard drives aren't being detected when installed.

You can also get PCIE 1x/4x/16 to M.2 NVME adapters.....
Not sure how the M.2 motherboard connection (which is PCIe 3.0) would affect SATA ports, but I'll keep it in mind if anything odd happens with any SATA drives. I know that the optical drive is SATA.

I know about the PCIe slot M.2 adapters. I've been watching a lot of computer-related YT vids lately. My overall favorite YT channel for explaining this stuff is Explaining Computers, but I've seen a lot of other channels lately as well.

[Darkrider]

Not sure how the M.2 motherboard connection (which is PCIe 3.0) would affect SATA ports, but I'll keep it in mind if anything odd happens with any SATA drives. I know that the optical drive is SATA.



It comes down to avaliable lanes from the CPU. Some of the Lanes are shared between the M.2 and Sata ports. The disable usually happens when an M.2 PCIE SATA drive is used. But some motherboards disable them either way when the M.2 is used no matter if its a SATA or NVME.

[Thumper]

Battlemage B580 has recommended PSU of 650 Watts. Whoa. It will serve as a heater in my son's bedroom :hi:

[XLsior]

BattleMage could be a dumpster fire, will have to wait for independent reviews. I think the 650w PSU is just generalized total system.


Though if the exceed 200w and perform worse than a RX6800...it'll come down to price

[TominMO]

It comes down to avaliable lanes from the CPU. Some of the Lanes are shared between the M.2 and Sata ports. The disable usually happens when an M.2 PCIE SATA drive is used. But some motherboards disable them either way when the M.2 is used no matter if its a SATA or NVME.
Nice 4-minute explanation of CPU PCIe lanes vs chipset PCIe lanes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zBkmrYpEx8

[Darkrider]

Nice 4-minute explanation of CPU PCIe lanes vs chipset PCIe lanes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zBkmrYpEx8


at about the 3:20 mark is essentially what i was trying to explain. Nice find.

[TominMO]

Two 4 GB RAM sticks arrived today for the i5-6500 Optiplex, doubling it to 16 GB of DDR4-2133. I know that for Linux, 8 GB should be plenty, but 16 feels right.

[GypsyR]

Yep. Mine has 12GB but can hold 16GB. Therefore it MUST have the full 16GB installed, You know, because.

[XLsior]

Summer is pretty much here in subtropical Queensland Australia. 30*c high humidity...no air-con



It's getting to the point where I'm considering going back to my custom liquid loop PC cooling setup.


I went back to air cooling after my 4th Liang d5 pump died and I got fed up.


But I've now got a couple of AliExpress pumps doing nothing.


The reason why I'm reconsidering doing it is that my radiator is externally mounted under the floor to my PC system. So dissipated heat is not in the same room...


There would be no benefit to cooling my room otherwise...And this is the only reason I believe custom liquid PC cooling makes sense.


Got a few universal cooling blocks and left over tubes and fittings...


My trusty Lian Li PC-V1000B case is going strong after 15 years.


This thread seems the more viable place to post this ...

[TominMO]

Installed the mighty(?) msi GT710 graphics card (PCIe 2.0, 2 GB DDR3) into the i3-4170 daily driver computer. First test was doing 4K graphics on Youtube. It still glitches a bit, so Ima gonna forget about 4K. However, one benefit that is quite obvious is how much more quickly pages load now, so that's cool.

I'm thinking the issue with 4K is that my PCIe slot is only version 2.0, and that was designed before there was 4K graphics. Perhaps this is throttling performance.

I just ordered from eBay an Intel i7-4790 CPU to toss in here, just because.

I'm wondering if a PCIe gen 3 graphics card with more and faster memory would help with 4K, even though it is going through a PCIe 2.0 slot. Any thoughts on this?

[XLsior]

the dell r7 450 that came with the system performs better than a GT730. So the GT710 would appear to be a down grade.

[TominMO]

the dell r7 450 that came with the system performs better than a GT730. So the GT710 would appear to be a down grade.
My i3 computer has never had a graphics card; it is not a Dell. I built it myself. Originally it was a Micro Center house brand called Powerspec, bought in 2014. A very low-end version which ran Ubuntu 12. I have upgraded it so much that the only thing original from the Powerspec is the DVD drive.

Pulled the 12YO Dell XPS out and looked again at the graphics card I stuck in the i3 as a test. It is a Pegatron HD6500 with 1 GB of memory, presumably DDR2. (The XPS motherboard has no video out at all. It relies on the graphics card.)

Bonus useless info: I also have a Dell Inspiron 530 from 2004, which has an Asus B750PI graphics card. Has 512 MB of DDR2 memory. Again, no motherboard graphics on this old Dell, although some came with VGA. The CPU is a Core 2 Quad, good bang-for-buck at the time. Might upgrade the 2 MB of memory to 4 MB, or even 8. I suspect that with 8 GB RAM, an msi GT710 graphics card and an SSD, this thing would be perfectly capable of running Linux and performing well, 20 years later. (It was originally running Windows XP with only 2 GB of RAM.) Sounds like a winter project.....

[TominMO]

My Patriot 256 GB NVMe drive came today, so I installed it in the 7050 (i7-7700, 16 GB DDR4) and then installed Ubuntu 24.04 onto it. It is getting to the logon screen in about 14 seconds, vs 22 seconds for my other two computers--the i3 and the 7040, which have SSDs. Also, I remembered that I had a DP to HDMI cable, so was able to use the graphics card after all. Haven't moved the 7050 over to where the internet cable is yet, but it is definitely the fastest computer I have and will probably do 4k video no problem.

For the 7040 Opti, the NVMe drive would have been held down by a typical screw. But on the 7050, it's a light blue plastic thingy that fits into a hole where the screw would go; i.e. that blue plastic piece is both the riser and the fastener.

[Darkrider]

Bonus useless info: I also have a Dell Inspiron 530 from 2004, which has an Asus B750PI graphics card. Has 512 MB of DDR2 memory. Again, no motherboard graphics on this old Dell, although some came with VGA. The CPU is a Core 2 Quad, good bang-for-buck at the time. Might upgrade the 2 MB of memory to 4 MB, or even 8. I suspect that with 8 GB RAM, an msi GT710 graphics card and an SSD, this thing would be perfectly capable of running Linux and performing well, 20 years later. (It was originally running Windows XP with only 2 GB of RAM.) Sounds like a winter project.....


Funny enough i have one of these Inspirons sitting on a shelf here too lol

[TominMO]

Using my i3 computer today, I have had a couple of instances where the computer froze up. It looks like something goofy is going on with the GPU memory. The only thing I could do is hit the reset switch. This is perhaps why XLsior says he wouldn't buy an msi GPU. Going to their website now to see if I can find a fix.

[TominMO]

Well poop. I'm on my 7040 now because I now have a black screen on the i3. In Ubuntu's Additional Drivers section, I tried to change the driver from the open source one to the first one on the list of three, and instantly got black screen. Moved the cable from the card to the mobo's onboard HDMI output, but no help. Gonna pull the card to see if that clears it up, and go back to just using the onboard graphics. But not tonight, I'll mess with it tmw. Looks like the open source driver is the best of the bunch.

UPDATE: I couldn't wait. I had to know. Pulled the GT710, and the computer reverted back to the onboard graphics. I guess with the card in, it was still trying to access it as the default. I'm writing this on the i3. Think I'll leave well enough alone and just use onboard.

[XLsior]

Tried to see if the cooling blocks would work..


Turns out AM5 cpu socket retainer screws to the back plate which means I can't use my CPU block without the right bolts that screw int the AM5 backplate.


So then I checked to see the GPU blocks would work. The hole spacing around the RX6800 gpu die is just a bit to far to line up straight with the GPU block...


Not spending any money to make it happen, If what I had wouldn't work then so be it

I applied fresh thermal paste and went back to air cooling...

Hot box Summer

[XLsior]

The reason I don't buy Asus is because of their terrible customer service and warranty support.



MSI and Gigabyte can make ok motherboards and graphics cards. I had an MSI motherboard die 2 months out of warranty and find thier GPUs can be somewhat cheap and flimsy looking.


Asrock has been pretty good to me so far...

[TominMO]

Back on the 7050. Just changed the OS to Linux Mint 22 Cinnamon. I suspected that I would like the look better than Ubuntu. I was right. Time for a change.

Edit: Just checked 4K playback on Youtube. Zero dropped frames in fullscreen, with 4 GB of GDDR5. As I expected.

[Darkrider]

I was running Mint 19 on a thinkpad T60 for awhile. If i ever get around to fixing the fan in it i may put in another SSD and run it on that laptop again. It made it nice and snappy. Wonder how 22 would be like on that old Inspiron..

[TominMO]

I was running Mint 19 on a thinkpad T60 for awhile. If i ever get around to fixing the fan in it i may put in another SSD and run it on that laptop again. It made it nice and snappy. Wonder how 22 would be like on that old Inspiron..Working on it. First I will upgrade the memory from 2 GB to 6 ($38). Mint will run on 2, but they recommend 4. Once that's done, then the SSD. Also considering adding a PCIe card to give it four USB 3.0 ports.

For some reason my Dell XPS would not boot up yesterday. Fans would come on, then it would die after a few seconds. It would not quite get to where you could hit F2 or F12. Reseated all the memory and the graphics card, on general purposes. No help.

My cat is staring at the screen, looking at all the moving emojis.

[TominMO]

On the 2004 Dell Inspiron 530 running Ubuntu 22.04, I installed a card with four USB 3.0 ports on it, using the PCIe x1 slot. Then ran update and upgrade in the terminal to make sure it knew the card was there. Inserted a thumb drive which has a light on it when there is any activity, very handy. The drive showed up on the desktop and I could open it and see the files on it. Sweet!

This thing only has 2 GB of 800 MHz memory, and a 7200 RPM HDD, so it is quite slow. On Monday 4 GB more memory is arriving, so with 6 GB I expect it to be a fair bit snappier. I may just leave it at that, and not swap in an SSD. It is usable.

Also just bought this wireless keyboard, which is very handy along with a wireless mouse when setting up a computer to work on. When I need to connect the computer to the webz, it needs to be near the router. But I can keep the keyboard and mouse up on the table, and no wires to screw around with.

This is a very nice keyboard:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CLG95X4G?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

[XLsior]

Ive been using a Red Dragon M908 MMO gaming mouse that's been holding up pretty well... Though I did return the wirless model and went with cabled after a key bind issue



But I'd be fairly confident that keyboard does well...


I tried a Royal Kludge keybaord and sent it back. So my experience with budget mechanical keyboards is limited...Ducky keyboards used to be cheap, not so much now.


I got a premium (Mountain) Everest Keyboard and the RGB is already shifting...It was on sale and the keys work, But It seems premium is overrated these days.



It on sale though...


https://www.amazon.com/MOUNTAIN-Everest-Mechanical-Gaming-Keyboard/dp/B09BDNBGK6/

[TominMO]

Ive been using a Red Dragon M908 MMO gaming mouse that's been holding up pretty well... Though I did return the wireless model and went with cabled after a key bind issue
My main keyboard is a wired Red Dragon 86-key, maybe $30 a few years ago. At the same time I bought a more premium one, a Phantom. To my surprise I slightly preferred the Red Dragon.

[Darkrider]

On the 2004 Dell Inspiron 530 running Ubuntu 22.04, I installed a card with four USB 3.0 ports on it, using the PCIe x1 slot. Then ran update and upgrade in the terminal to make sure it knew the card was there. Inserted a thumb drive which has a light on it when there is any activity, very handy. The drive showed up on the desktop and I could open it and see the files on it. Sweet!

This thing only has 2 GB of 800 MHz memory, and a 7200 RPM HDD, so it is quite slow. On Monday 4 GB more memory is arriving, so with 6 GB I expect it to be a fair bit snappier. I may just leave it at that, and not swap in an SSD. It is usable.

Also just bought this wireless keyboard, which is very handy along with a wireless mouse when setting up a computer to work on. When I need to connect the computer to the webz, it needs to be near the router. But I can keep the keyboard and mouse up on the table, and no wires to screw around with.

This is a very nice keyboard:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CLG95X4G?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title


I think mine is maxed out memory wise as i seem to recall swapping dimms from a pair of old HP slim towers to it. But good to know it can be updated to USB 3.0 as well as ironically enough i have one here i pulled from my Z400. Though this is now giving me the thought of just resuming with it as it has 8 gb of memory in it and i do have a full 12 gb kit here i pulled from a tower im working on rebuilding into a Ryzen based system.

[TominMO]

Sunday I'm picking up a couple of older computers, a monitor and miscellaneous stuph from a retiree for $100. These were computers the guy's son built for him. One has a 3.5" floppy drive in it, to give you an idea of the age. He's selling to clean out old cluttery stuff and because he now has a new minicomputer. He has pulled the HDDs from both, which is fine with me.

BTW here's the four-port USB card I bought:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072LS4JH7?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

You can also get them with a combination of USB-A and USB-C ports. I figured four 3.0 ports was overkill, but it looks cooler than two. The 'puter already had four USB 2.0 ports in back and two in front.

[Darkrider]

Sunday I'm picking up a couple of older computers, a monitor and miscellaneous stuph from a retiree for $100. These were computers the guy's son built for him. One has a 3.5" floppy drive in it, to give you an idea of the age. He's selling to clean out old cluttery stuff and because he now has a new minicomputer. He has pulled the HDDs from both, which is fine with me.

BTW here's the four-port USB card I bought:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072LS4JH7?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

You can also get them with a combination of USB-A and USB-C ports. I figured four 3.0 ports was overkill, but it looks cooler than two. The 'puter already had four USB 2.0 ports in back and two in front.

The 3.0 card i have is very similar plus it has an internal 3.0 header for front panel 3.0.

[TominMO]

The 3.0 card i have is very similar plus it has an internal 3.0 header for front panel 3.0.I looked for one of those but couldn't find one on Amazon. My 2012 Dell XPS has a card like that, with one USB port on the card and one on the front of the computer, but for some reason does not work, at least with Linux. It worked with Windows when that was on the HDD. This card is pretty old though, so Linux compatibility was probably not designed in. It looks like it might have come with the computer, because of the nicely integrated front panel (my ex gave me this one when she upgraded).

EDIT: Oh, they are sold separately. So then you just have to find a card with the output to the front. Like this one:
https://www.amazon.com/YEELIYA-6-Ports-Expansion-Internal-Connector/dp/B0BJPMVJ92/ref=sr_1_4?crid=14TKN3GAVCDOD&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.vsLEH4QW9yX7cHuSNjm_ECxNXsHx_ToM_ 2kHFGmIn8nvSBY0xImlJmfcvhxVhdclaHaSOX-s2XpPWGbr_x8LCFttiyGU5pbiuWp69aHpOqG-9xyOVR9k0iosKGNLzGwCDm8NZ-7fh4CyG8K9QNbqj3KDKIITmTDinTLfbwjTrGxLhQQ7jGn0x_JJ SVbRdrwVcWk1UDSuKMcaHe6g2AVJW1r31tBiM6-ukEfsjdxbz15HBl9EF-aYDbPWZ4j7tXe1IqfsFMfsImIhxUDL8urVDIc895kVMNYqtRAK TPvKURCV-dNVfJwDVsMC7u8NZcBNWg9uf-vMzf_fbMIHbVg5DCAj2l-JiZ8mwgCgA0egncI.nBbmnp2xxbbYhBsOzxd5CB7Ywmtg1TB50 PcNQ7fiyd8&dib_tag=se&keywords=PCIe%2Busb%2Bcard%2Bwith%2Bfront%2Bpanel% 2Badapter&qid=1734092309&s=electronics&sprefix=pcie%2Busb%2Bcard%2Bwith%2Bfront%2Bpanel%2 Badapter%2Celectronics%2C111&sr=1-4&th=1

Here is a two-port front panel compatible with the card above:
https://www.amazon.com/Excelity%C2%AE-Ports-Front-Floppy-Bracket/dp/B01C1KW5L8/ref=sr_1_4?crid=15ULQGF9VQSK2&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.fWsGgM9wElQK5uBrZQlLy1fzOh2C9WoeF LO9umH595IMpVfSX8jVj1X_K7fHMXwFsBVA0ZnQ1hdV_OgoZO0 mLgLaDD9cWd8lcMLL28joCyEM9z741F48jSn402_K3B7GVK7DP pzqfotPOXg52XXlWrC8eK8MWTkWhxkFbm1sggtSWxTv3-GEtw5__kuIRTk2I8UqS6XvlBZobDGwC_L8L7ksmUh_NN3FFxbJ eN0XGnvNMe9M5wXCjayVf7pg1oxEX7KjR307QqASCabHKu9CmJ uRza0zRyKkrScZo89wXvzkhIYWD2omViGmwgV-RqpRJhGn2ptBJtiL7CwJFvZrp18tRthv0mthmJqsusXxaU0.lC y9poAHZk2Ex0492Fwjd_t2kbm5yEy21ulcpIX8MZ8&dib_tag=se&keywords=usb+front+panel+3.0+2.0&qid=1734093427&s=electronics&sprefix=usb+front+panel+3.0+2.0%2Celectronics%2C10 3&sr=1-4

[TominMO]

Went for a nice Sunday country drive this morning (3 hours round trip) and picked up a couple of computers. a monitor, and various miscellaneous stuph. Cables, motherboard manuals, keyboard and mouse, etc. Looking at them on Craigslist, I had no idea what to expect, but suspected they would be quite old and maybe decrepit. HDDs or SSDs were removed before selling.

To my surprise, they turned out to be a couple of custom consumer-built gaming PCs from five years ago. A son built them for his family, and they were kept at grandpa's house for when the kids came visiting. Each build was in the $1500 - $2000 range, so I was told. And that's what it looks like to me. The flatscreen gaming monitor is an Asus 27" model VE278, built in Aug. 2018 and surprisingly heavy. From $40 to $83 used on eBay.

I'm gonna dig into the computers over the next few days and report on what they actually are. I did a POST and went into the BIOS on one of them, and it was an AMD Ryzen system with 16 GB of memory.

Aaaaaaand here's the punch line:
Not bad for $100.

[TominMO]

Did some more digging into the computers, and the box of spare parts. Found the Newegg parts order sheet for one of them. (BTW I will identify them by their cases. One is a Corsair and one is a Raidmax.)

The Raidmax has the parts sheet, and was indeed a $1500+ build, in March 2019. All well-known brand name parts, and not cheap stuff either. AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-core, and DDR4-3200 RAM. Except the case, which is an inexpensive Chinese one, but it works. It is full tower, three external drive bays, but a bit shorter and lighter than the Corsair.

The Corsair is an older (or cheaper) build. It has a giant impressive and heavy full tower case, but the parts inside are vintage 2014 or so, IMO. The Gigabyte motherboard is DDR3, PCIe 2.0 for example. When I do a POST/BIOS scan, I will know more. It only has 8 GB memory (two x 4 GB), but another two 4 GB sticks in the box of parts, for some reason.

Both have Gigabyte graphics cards which use PSU power, either 6 or 8 pin.

Both have the PSU installed upside down! Both cases are designed to mount the PSU intake downward, to draw in cool air from under the computer, through a mesh dust filter. But these PSUs were installed to draw in air from inside the case.

Cable management was not impressive. My OCD kicked in and I have begun fixing that. Flipping the PSUs will help a lot. Both cases are quite dusty inside.

EDIT: Found the Newegg packing list for the Corsair, in a plastic baggy with all the parts documentation. Dated Nov. 2014.

[XLsior]

replace that R5 2600 cpu with a 5700x3d from aliexpress/microcentre and you'd have a PC capable of handling upto a 7900xtx or 4080super GPU without a fuss...


AM4 was/is an amazing socket.


I can only hope my new AM5 platform pays off in the long run the same way.

[TominMO]

replace that R5 2600 cpu with a 5700x3d from aliexpress/microcentre and you'd have a PC capable of handling up to a 7900xtx or 4080super GPU without a fuss...
No interest in making a gaming machine, but thanks for the suggestion.

Having slept on it, I have decided to dismantle the Corsair and sell the case to someone who needs such a gigantic thing. More like a server tower. It also has an absurd number of fans for the lightweight components which are in it. The 10 YO 600W Corsair PSU I will keep as a backup, after I clean it out. The GPU will probably go into my i3 (soon to be i7-4790) daily driver. The Corsair's Gigabyte full-ATX mobo does not have any video out on it; the system requires a graphics card. I would put the value of the mobo, CPU and memory at maybe $50 on CL. If indeed anyone wanted it.

I have no familiarity with AMD CPUs. But I'm thinking that the Raidmax is about equivalent to my Dell Optiplex 7050 with the i7-7700 CPU. The Raidmax graphics card has 4 GB of DDR5, while the Opti has a card with 2 GB of DDR5. So this originally $1500 computer now has an approximate value of $150, give or take, five years later. The Raidmax's ASRock mobo does have HDMI out on it. I will see whether the CPU has onboard graphics, but I think it will.

I'll probably sell the 27" Asus monitor too. More than I need. So monitor $40, Corsair case $30, keep a bunch of parts for myself. This makes the Raidmax computer a freebie.

[TominMO]

Did a POST on the Corsair and looked at the BIOS. CPU is an AMD FX-6300 6-core. Memory is now at 14 GB. It had a 2 GB and a 4 GB in there, and I added the two loose 4 GB sticks from the box of parts.

[GypsyR]

Scored another Dell precision M6800 off eBay. $80. No drives and definitely been around the block a few times but it definitely works and came with fricking 32g of ram. Popped a drive in it last night and got Win 10 going. Downside is no backlit keyboard like my current M4800 but the keyboard/touchpad area don't show a lot of wear like my others tend to. A place on eBay sells "skins" for both laptops which takes care of a LOT of minor cosmetic issues. 3Gb Nvidia graphics. Might be my "new" work laptop. Or maybe my graphics unit as I use a touchscreen with that anyway and the extra memory...

[TominMO]

Spent the morning working on the Corsair. Removed the PSU, opened it up and blew the dust out, cleaned the case, reinstalled the PSU with intake down like it should have been, cleaned out the screen below the PSU intake, re-pasted the CPU and GPU, and lots of cleaning. Routed cables better than before as well.

[XLsior]

No interest in making a gaming machine, but thanks for the suggestion.



Another possible alternative for AM4 is using an APU like the 5600G or 5700g or lower core 2200G

Which has an intergrated GPU (IGPU) vastly superior to anything INtel CPUs have to offer...

Though capable of very light gaming the APU is great for low power/quiet media PC/HTPC due to not requiring any dedicated GPU and depending on the motherboard could comfortably support multiple monitors and resolutions up to 4k.



I currently have a 5700G in my backup/HTPC for the lounge room which I am also using as a console emulator for systems like the Nintendo 64/Wii/Gamecube.



I obtained the 5700G after selling my 3600 AM4 cpu. 1080ti and RX580 GPUs during the Crypto mining winter 2020 and graphics cards were commanding ridiculous prices.

That being said the 2600 cpu is capable just a little dated.

Basically there are a considerable number of CPUs for the AM4 socket.

The 5700x3d is comparable to the AM5 7600 in terms of performance. Performance is within 1% of the flagship 5800x3d but a fraction of the price making it incredible bang for buck right now.

as a platform even though AM4 is pretty much EOL it should remain viable for a good many years.

[Darkrider]

Depending on the corsair Case and what shipping would look like i might be interested in it as i collect and build newer systems in older cases. Most recent example is a Ryzen 1200 with a GTX 1050 in a case from the Windows XP era. I should really update my old set up thread to show you guys what im working with nowadays lol

[TominMO]

Depending on the corsair Case and what shipping would look like i might be interested in it as i collect and build newer systems in older cases. Most recent example is a Ryzen 1200 with a GTX 1050 in a case from the Windows XP era. I should really update my old set up thread to show you guys what im working with nowadays lolIt's big and heavy, so probably too costly to ship for what it is.You could probably get a similar new and better case for the money, shipped free from Amazon for example. Plus I don't want to mess with shipping. I'll sell it locally on CL.

The Gigabyte mobo/CPU/cooler/memory will be another unit I am selling off this system. Keeping the Corsair PSU and video card with 4 GB of DDR5.

[TominMO]

Memory arrived today for the 2004 Dell Inspiron 530, so it now has 8 GB. Decided to not waste an SSD on it, just leave the HDD in there with Ubuntu on it. It is fine as an emergency backup computer. I also replaced the original and completely dead CR2032 battery.

[TominMO]

Decided to use my new Crucial 240 GB SSD in the Raidmax. (This is the $1500+ 5 YO gaming computer.) Installed Linux Mint 22 Cinnamon, which I am really liking. But it is filthy, so tomorrow I will completely disassemble it and make a number of corrections in the build, as well as deep clean it. I will post up before and after pics.

[TominMO]

I'll see if this works.

Before:

[TominMO]

After:

[TominMO]

Besides cleaning it, flipping the PSU and re-routing all the cables, I added a holddown screw to the NVMe slot on the motherboard. Also added two standoffs and four screws, which were missing when the motherboard was installed.

[cheesy]

The 'Before' looks like the factory wiring on my trailer.

[TominMO]

Here's a pic of the front of the same computer. Not quite sure what I am going to do with it. I don't need it at all. Might sell it cheap to a friend or one of his relatives.