Thread 106269609

Thoughts on the Dell Optiplex shitboxs?

>>106269609 (OP)
>Thoughts on the Dell Optiplex shitboxs?
Have any use cases?

Ewaste it's not 2016 anymore

>>106269609 (OP)
Just Werks.™
Pretty much a design classic by this stage, deservedly so.

Cheap as fuck, all in one DVD/CD burner, media player, emulation/retro, torrenting, and shitposting box. Can't really get anything else like it for the price. Did I mention they're cheap as fuck,

Posting from an Optiplex 3050 from 2017 or 2018 right now while my main PC takes a maintenance break. sadly, a lot more plastic and less metal than the ones in the photos.

It's small, lightweight, does not double as a space heater and as long as you don't want to play games on it it's pretty ok. But the 300W proprietary PSU and poor airflow restrict a lot what you can put inside.

I replaced the original HDD with an NVME SSD, stuck a laughable GT 1030 2gb inside, and a Sound Blaster Audigy just for the fun of doing it. Guess it's enough for editing raw photos, playing Final Doom and TBOI.

>>106269710
it’s not like it’s gotten harder to emulate ps2 games since 2016

>>106269609 (OP)
we have a few of these left at work and they come in handy with their gorillion ports and built in cd drives

so many boomers want shit on CD

i even made one of them my "personal" machine at my desk instead of a laptop

if you have anything you want to cluster for dirt cheap (minus power) keep an eye out because every school in the us will be sending anything older than a 3050 to ewaste

>>106269609 (OP)
>tfw no treasure box
https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Treasure-Desktop-Computer-Bluetooth/dp/B0BB37DG68

>>106270099
what the FUCK

>>106270070
The problem they have is they won't record lower than 8X. Not a problem for normal disc recording, but I have quite a few coasters from attempting to burn games for the old PS1.

i like to pimp old business or school computers to turn them into sleeper rides desu
optiflex does the job fine

>>106269609 (OP)
they do their job quite nicely
I got my dad a nice i5 haswell thinkcentre for 50€ because his w7 shitbox was failing. Twice the core count, twice the RAM and ssd is a huge upgrade even if the machine isn't much newer than the one he had.

>>106269609 (OP)
Okay cases but not the best space management. Any Cooler Master or SPC will be better.
Motherboards are useless outside of that case because they're drm and use proprietary connectors.
My friend built a ryzen inside 3010 micro atx and its ok but I prefer full atx case

>>106270110
they're boomers saving outlook PSTs to CDs they will never actually use, it doesnt matter

if anything it's better that it takes longer so the boomer office lady thinks something complicated is happening

>>106269699
Mine fits in with my pseudo work office vibe at home. I like to pretend I have a job and a functioning member of society instead of a raging tranny neet.

>>106270099
>effortlessly mogs your gaudy led trash

>>106270244
It wouldn't have been so bad if they did it correctly.

>>106270244
That's also gaudy LED trash, but with less glitter.

>>106269609 (OP)
>weak power supply
>no power cables for a GPU
They are OK for a small PCIE powered card if you get the tower for free or something. I recently put a 1030 in one of these shitboxes along with a massive hard drive to run some point cloud software and store the massive files for a guy at work. I would havr preferred a precision tower but I literally have these laying around.

>>106269609 (OP)
The micro form factor models are great.
I'm not so eager about the "small-ish but not micro" models like the one in your OP though. If I don't need a dedicated GPU (and also don't need threadripper-class CPU perf), then the micro format machines ought to be enough. If I /do/ need a dedicated GPU then I'd prefer an mITX build with a good PSU and standard parts.

If you can tolerate a yuge tower the HP P520 with the W series Zeon is the e-waste to buy to make a cheap gaymer rig

>>106270375
I think it looks decent too.

>>106270375
>HP P520
HP P520

>>106270402
Thanks for clearing that up anon

>>106270334
>>no power cables for a GPU
that wasnt even a mandatory thing until AI memery killed the concept of a low-profile card

>>106270375
i got a used Z440 and it looks very similar to this

love me 900 RAM and PCIE lanes, simple as. and for how fuckhuge it is in volume it's shockingly light to pick up

>>106270402
>Lenovo P520
HP probably has a similar e-waste workstation but the P520 seems to be the one to get. I know Dell has some workstations but the W series Zeon ones are weird towers with mother boards mounted in the middle of the tower and dual CPU sockets. Their older towers with the E5 series processors are arranged more like the P520 and gaming cases but are old architecture. I have a T3610 at home I got for free I need to finish but I'm doing bike stuff. Gayming is for being trapped indoors in winter.

>>106270498
>Screenshot_

>>106270501
Of a picture I took to lower the file size. It just werks.

>>106269609 (OP)
yeah they stopped being worth it around 2020-2021

>>106269609 (OP)
Cheap as hell and Just Works
I don't play any game with good graphics so it's fine

>>106269996
Did it excuse 2nd hand farts and nicotine for a year after purchase? Some of the places these optiplexs get seconded from are smoke pot office spaces. Is enough to cause you to barf

>>106270070
>I even made one of them my "personal" bitch at my desk instead of a laptop
Sounds like there's more going on here than you're letting on

About Dell Optiplex:
>Are power supply connectors default or proprietary?
>Can I use any fitting ram or do I need proprietary ram sticks or specific brands?
I know that HP has its own power supply/mobo connectors which is annoying. I don't know anything about Dell.

>>106270895
>proprietary ram

>>106270937
Drink bleach retard.

>>106270877
It's not particularly hard to clean a computer..

>>106270594
Hello Nathan, you're kool

>>106271120
Right back at ya

>>106271120
He's got a kool maschine
9020 + i5 4590 is the Land Rover of PC's
Does fucking *everything* asked of it without complaint, whilst simultaneously doing so in another 2 VM's. Fucking tanks.

>>106271210
I was surprised just how well it handles a VM. It's far better than it has any right to be.
There is always an i7 upgrade to be had for 20 quid, but I don't think I even need it.

>>106270877
Not really, since smoking at work is banned. My company was going to sell them after migrating everyone to laptops during the pandemic I got to handpick the one I wanted. Plus it was dirt cheap.

>>106270895
The one I have, the motherboard is not a standard shape. Looks like an ATX one, but it extends to the right, so the front USB and headphone inputs are coming straight out of the motherboard, rather than being part of the case.
The PSU is the worst part, since you can't fit a standard one. Right now I'm not sure if it is a Dell propietary format or a M-ITX model.

Other than that, any ram, CPU or disc will do. From time to time we would have to upgrade one of these fucker for some users.

Do they still make those PCs?

They're fine computers.
Depending on the generation & model you may or may not have one that uses non-standard motherboard and PSU. Parts are generally very easy to come by.
DO NOT BUY THEM NEW.
They're overpriced given the hardware depreciate very quickly and can be bought for around $100-$200 for one a few CPU generations old and can go for even cheaper if you go for an older once.

>>106269609 (OP)
they make good groovymame pc's with low profile amd cards

>>106269609 (OP)
You can shove a GTX 1650 in a 9020 and have a PC that will run a surprising amount of games.

>>106271210
>the Land Rover of PC's
It spends more time in the workshop than on the road and costs a small fortune to keep running?

>>106269609 (OP)
I'm currently using a 7060 micro with an i7 (6c/12t) and 32GB RAM. It's a really nice little computer and does everything I need, including light CAD work. I read somewhere about chipset limitations in the 30XX models so I avoid those.

>>106275459
shut it you.
I should have probably specified *which* model Land Rover, however its current jeet overlords have probably abused all of the classic LR designations into meaningless by now. Plus ca change. Suffice, 9020 is the always reliable and beautifully balanced pinnacle of mainstream corporate PC, one to which I would always happily return. As >>106271334 notes, way better than it has any right to be.

>>106269699
They're good for non-profit orgs who need something cheap and small that just works for basic office functionality.

>>106275781
If you mean the old Defender models, sure. Land Rovers have been on a steady decline into garbage since the 90s, judging by the examples I've worked on. Now, if instead you said Land Cruiser, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

>>106269609 (OP)
just works and can be flashed with libreboot, would still be using one if I didn't fall for the gaming PC meme

>>106270877
>anon gets a good deal
>W-WELL THE SECOND HAND SMOKE, MAYBE, POSSIBLY!!!!
what unbelievable protestant cope. imagine being that fucking upset that someone dared buy something used instead of kick money up to his corporate masters directly

Too inefficient for it's performance. We're in a new era

>>106269609 (OP)
I think the DT form factors that take Micro-ATX boards and TFX PSUs are neat.

>>106269699
If you need a secondary PC that isn't for the following
>Current gen gaming
>Rendering 3D or video
>High performance home server/web hosting
Then there's no reason not to pick one up over something like a single board computer, a micro pc or a cheap laptop

Not total crap, assuming micro formfactor. If you have one that can install atleast 16GB ram, then you can run VMware on it through W10. Put XP + Office in that vm and you'll never have to pay for office suites again. Add the XPS writer (printer) to XP, export your documents to the host machine, which presumably has nothing else installed and you can pretty much use any physical printer. Print that XPS document through fax (does not require a modem, close/ignore the wizard) and that will give you .tif files.

You can probably get away with 12GB, but expect the VM to hiccup.

My 9020 got me through when I was having problems with my first built PC. I wish I can bypass the CPU fan error, though.

>>106269609 (OP)
They're nice for additional weak low powerish machines but if you want a dense computer go mini-STX

>>106269761
most beautiful case EVER

>>106269609 (OP)
i work in an office with about 40-50 of these fuckers. we've e-wasted most of them, even given away others to random clients in our donation box.

>>106277180
SGI would like to have a word with you

I use the micro PCs for my home server needs. Much better and cheaper than an RPi for home assistant. Sips power at about 7-8W (after optimizing a bit). Super solid so far.

>>106269609 (OP)
They look cool.

using 990 for like 12 years now,

>>106277061
>you'll never have to pay for office suites again.
you already don't have to, office is literally free for private use now and is trivial to pirate the "legacy" version of on w10

>>106269609 (OP)
I hate the malicious design on those things (OEM PCs). They look cool tho, I like how they come apart easily.

>>106279134
I'm using retail keys I bought in the XP era. I'm glad I didn't pay for anything other than hardware.

Have an Optiplex 745 I put Windows Server 2000 on for fun. It's nearly useless as a web browser since the web has changed so much, but it's a great reminder of how snappy Windows used to be (esp on overpowered hardware).

I just ordered a 5050 to use as a NAS, we'll see how that goes.

>>106280130
>I just ordered a 5050
why

you can get them for 5$ at auction, they literally overflow dumpsters with these things, businesses are throwing them out in droves

>>106280159
Link? I'll return the one I ordered if I can get one for $5.

>>106280166
just check clearance/auction/liquidation places bro, maybe dumpster dive your local e-waste place

not a dell meme box but here's 4 CiaraTech computers for 26 CAD. thats like 4 cents each in america money innit
https://www.gcsurplus.ca/mn-eng.cfm?snc=wfsav&sc=enc-bid&scn=551169&lcn=709002&lct=L&srchtype=&lci=&str=11&lotnf=1&frmsr=1&sf=ferm-clos&saleType=A

>>106269609 (OP)
I've got a 3020 that I use for Plex and a file server. I've got a few others that I use for random things. When my kid's old enough one of them will be his first computer because why the fuck not. They all just werk.

>>106269954
>Cheap as fuck, media player
the igpu my i5-3470 dell shitbox can't handle 720p current year anime on VLC, it's impossible to use without a dgpu, the SFF shitboxes don't fit anything but the overpriced low profile GPU's.
>>106270220
>Motherboards are useless
depends on the model, mine uses regular connectors for everything save the fans, front panel io and power switch. but you can get adapters for most everything. It's also not shaped in a standared way but still fixts in a regular atx case even if not all the holes align.
>>106273596
>Do they still make those PCs?
They do. I do think they have lost their place in the market to smaller and more energy effecient mini-pc's.

>>106280411
the reason dell and similar oem mobos are considered useless is they aren't standard ATX sizes and do weird stuff like integrating front panel I/O instead of having usb headers and daughter boards. these days they do have normal sockets for everything and even turbo progamer larpers aren't routinely replacing panel I/O but it can be annoying if something breaks, but in the past they would use proprietary coolers, PSUs, and power connectors. and all the little plastic spring loaded tabs and stuff can get annoying after a while compared to just using a fuckign screwdriver like a normal human bean.

> I do think they have lost their place in the market to smaller and more energy effecient mini-pc's.
nope. it's laptops. ultra-SFF PCs came and went and nobody liked them except for the same sorts of zoomer who obsess over "fruiteger aero". IT guys hate them because they're basically totally non-serviceable, users hate them because they're generally weak and you may as well get a proper laptop, and businesses hate them because they cost as much as a laptop but now you still gotta get a monitor for it and give someone a proper desk instead of handing over a laptop and saying "figure it out, bitch". and for those lucky enough to have a real desk, docks exist, and those ultra small PCs don't generally have a ton of ports by themselves and may need a dock/hub anyway.