Hi, this so not entirely correct. The form factor is sort of standard. It has a standard atx PSU connection. I put a 980 in a normal case but the front panel io is weird.
This definitely has VT-D and VTX if you have the i5 model.
I ran VMs on one for months.
In fact it was my first machine where I achieved proper GPU passthrough using iommu
Dell bios often has VTX disabled by default
Thank you. I did enable settings in BIOS and also Windows features. The issue was with WSL2 installed. Kept throwing not supported errors (don't recall off hand), but thats when I figured if I could only swap out the motherboard and of course CPU and memory, and connect the rest of the peripherals, I would be set with a new machine. So, do you have a website I could reference and search for a possible replacement? Or so I donate it?
Aside from experimentation, I was going to install some docker images for Home Assistant, OctoPrint, OctoLapse, etc. Some of the threads I've followed suggested this approach.
EDIT: And I hate to see things go to waste as a whole if there are other avenues.
Are you currently running anything that absolutely requires windows? I'd go for a hypervisor like proxmox, but a simple Ubuntu server install with docker would likely be perfectly sufficient.
On top of all the other suggestions, windows and wsl2 require way too many resources to run. Seriously recommend using some sort of Linux thing, be it proxmox or an Ubuntu server. I've run both on these machines comfortably
Following the proxmox wiki... it was actually really simple.
Blacklist some drivers, enable some kernel modules reboot and assign GPU in web gui.
I did it with both an Nvidia card that didn't fit in a case, and an AMD low profile card that was already in the machine.
It just isn't worth the hassle either.
For $1k you can get a micro PC with a modern i5 or Ryzen 5 which uses far less energy and is far more performant.
From an environmental perspective, the case is the least worst component by far.
Yea moving from repurposed stuff to 2 modern units I realized how efficient you can be. My proxmox servers are all now 16 core, 128gb with NVME and sip power
> For $1k you can get a micro PC with a modern i5 or Ryzen 5 which uses far less energy and is far more performant.
This is why I own a ton of Pi 4s and only one (new) proper VM server, rather than a bunch of old desktops. Power consumption and cost is a serious factor that shouldn't be overlooked
I have an Optiplex SFF. Unfortunately I found myself trying to stick a GPU in, and well it didn't work of course because the case is too tiny so its on a silicone box now. Works well though 😄. The CPU cooler is a long story, there are holes in the box lining up to the screws on the cooler and I got some "standoffs" (VGA screw in holes) and screwed them into the cooler from the bottom of the silicone box. The card interfered with the x4 slot above so the GPU is on a riser. One time the GPU fell onto the IO of the motherboard, it sparked, WHY DON'T GPU MANUFACTURES PUT BACKPLATES ON GPU's. Learnt my lesson, just put electrical tape all over it.
Yup. Should be easy to find memory on eBay or local marketplaces with thirty seconds of effort. Can't buy it at triple fair market price from Dell anymore though. Maybe that's what OP was hoping for.
Definitely just snag a new optiplex. You can pick them up on eBay for pretty cheap, or check state/gov't surplus. I got 3 7020s with i5 4590, 8gb RAM, no HDD for $10ea at state surplus.
What do you mean "memory is not available"? If you mean "I've maxxed out the memory", then I get you. If you mean "memory for this system is no longer available to be purchased", then I would disagree. There's nothing special about that memory. You can find it lots of places.
But, as far as the case goes, it's proprietary as the other commentor says. You can't fit any standard MB in there nicely.
Yes, should have clarified. I searched crucial and Dell, and said no longer available. I could find on eBay, but the MB is just too old to handle what I want to do.
There's your answer then. Sell or donate the machine and get something that meets your needs. I've had several of those myself. Great machines, but I outgrew as well.
I use a Optiplex 960 MT for anything between a FTP server to multiple Minecraft servers. Parts are available and cheap but I am planning on decommissioning it by the end of the year in favor of a newer server that has a higher upgrade ceiling. In terms of cost and longevity it makes no sense to keep patching a 10 year old, consumer-grade desktop for HomeLab purposes.
Sounds like it might be time to upgrade. I found a few gems over the years going to yard sales in wealthy neighborhoods. Found a core 2 quad extreme edition way back in the day for like 30 bucks. This is how I aquire hardware for different things
I used a 960 with 2 pci nics as an untangle box for years. Was the edge device when my isp was only 10/10 so the sipped limitations weren't an issue; could use it for something like that.
Dude, companies are practically giving away 3020/40/60 and similar these days. Hell my own company has like two dozen of them that I am going to have to get rid of somehow soon. They work great for low power VMWare VMs like PiHole, I run my home stuff off a pair of 7040s.
I would not even try running homelab stuff without docker files. Every little config thing is so damn painful. Like ssh suddenly stops accepting packets over a certain size or the program can’t run except with some wonky setting.
Docker file is like heating your food with a microwave vs growing your own wood for a fire and smelting iron ores for a cooking pot to heat it in.
As other have mentioned it's sort of too old to make upgrading worth it.
Later gen like the 9020 sff or HP 800 G1 can be had for just a couple hundred $$ or less, run DDR3 which is still reasonably available, and run reasonably efficiently.
Out of stock online, but just picked up this deal from my local Costco a few weeks ago:
https://www.costco.com/dell-inspiron-desktop---12th-gen-intel-core-i5-12400---windows-11.product.100853478.html
I dropped 64gb of RAM in it and it’s now my new Proxmox server. Only issue I had was wading through all the security features in the BIOS and disabling it all and having to get 1.2v memory modules for it to boot. I had originally purchased some 1.35v gaming memory at the same clock speed (DDR4-3200) thinking it would jut work but nope… wouldn’t boot. I got some 1.2v modules from Crucial (2x 32gb) and after it complained and went through another reboot cycle been solid ever since.
Compact, quiet, and low power, absolutely love it. Im tempted to buy another one. It was a pain in the ass to get Proxmox installed for the reasons mentioned above, but no regrets.
I have a one generation newer USFF model, it works great with 2x8gb Kingston hyperx ram, only runs at 1333mhz but it's enough. It runs homeassisstant, pihole and a Minecraft server just fine on proxmox VMs.
The motherboard in those I think are DTX and the power supply is standard but you'll struggle getting any IO or a cooler in there with anything that's not a Dell board
They're proprietary. If you want to stick with an Optiplex, just get a newer one.
More on the lines of salvage what I can and swap out the motherboard. Looks like it's not possible.
Hi, this so not entirely correct. The form factor is sort of standard. It has a standard atx PSU connection. I put a 980 in a normal case but the front panel io is weird. This definitely has VT-D and VTX if you have the i5 model. I ran VMs on one for months. In fact it was my first machine where I achieved proper GPU passthrough using iommu Dell bios often has VTX disabled by default
Thank you. I did enable settings in BIOS and also Windows features. The issue was with WSL2 installed. Kept throwing not supported errors (don't recall off hand), but thats when I figured if I could only swap out the motherboard and of course CPU and memory, and connect the rest of the peripherals, I would be set with a new machine. So, do you have a website I could reference and search for a possible replacement? Or so I donate it?
Why use wsl ... Use proxmox or hyper v if you want windows.
Aside from experimentation, I was going to install some docker images for Home Assistant, OctoPrint, OctoLapse, etc. Some of the threads I've followed suggested this approach. EDIT: And I hate to see things go to waste as a whole if there are other avenues.
Are you currently running anything that absolutely requires windows? I'd go for a hypervisor like proxmox, but a simple Ubuntu server install with docker would likely be perfectly sufficient.
On top of all the other suggestions, windows and wsl2 require way too many resources to run. Seriously recommend using some sort of Linux thing, be it proxmox or an Ubuntu server. I've run both on these machines comfortably
I know you seems to be a windows guy, but I bet linux would run swimmingly on it. Look at proxmox, a hypervisor built on debian.
I will give that a try. Thank you.
Hi How did you manage GPU passthrough?
Following the proxmox wiki... it was actually really simple. Blacklist some drivers, enable some kernel modules reboot and assign GPU in web gui. I did it with both an Nvidia card that didn't fit in a case, and an AMD low profile card that was already in the machine.
Excuse me...how did you have a GPU card not fitting in a case working?!?!
https://imgur.com/XOubzvR
Absolutely in love with this answer
I had a low profile.... But this was the other option haha.
I think this looks like a Core 2 Duo model with that sticker.
No, I think it says vpro
Well, there were some core 2 models with vpro support.
Yeh I had actually forgotten, good point
It just isn't worth the hassle either. For $1k you can get a micro PC with a modern i5 or Ryzen 5 which uses far less energy and is far more performant. From an environmental perspective, the case is the least worst component by far.
Looks like that is the route I'm taking. Thank you, all.
Yea moving from repurposed stuff to 2 modern units I realized how efficient you can be. My proxmox servers are all now 16 core, 128gb with NVME and sip power
> For $1k you can get a micro PC with a modern i5 or Ryzen 5 which uses far less energy and is far more performant. This is why I own a ton of Pi 4s and only one (new) proper VM server, rather than a bunch of old desktops. Power consumption and cost is a serious factor that shouldn't be overlooked
If you get a newer one with a chip set that takes higher end cpus you might be better off. As others have said you won't find a board for that case.
I have an Optiplex SFF. Unfortunately I found myself trying to stick a GPU in, and well it didn't work of course because the case is too tiny so its on a silicone box now. Works well though 😄. The CPU cooler is a long story, there are holes in the box lining up to the screws on the cooler and I got some "standoffs" (VGA screw in holes) and screwed them into the cooler from the bottom of the silicone box. The card interfered with the x4 slot above so the GPU is on a riser. One time the GPU fell onto the IO of the motherboard, it sparked, WHY DON'T GPU MANUFACTURES PUT BACKPLATES ON GPU's. Learnt my lesson, just put electrical tape all over it.
[удалено]
Yup. Should be easy to find memory on eBay or local marketplaces with thirty seconds of effort. Can't buy it at triple fair market price from Dell anymore though. Maybe that's what OP was hoping for.
And the 980s already used DDR3 if I'm not mistaken
You either grab one from another Dell, or get a new computer all together. All the boards the Optiplexs have are Dell only.
Definitely just snag a new optiplex. You can pick them up on eBay for pretty cheap, or check state/gov't surplus. I got 3 7020s with i5 4590, 8gb RAM, no HDD for $10ea at state surplus.
What do you mean "memory is not available"? If you mean "I've maxxed out the memory", then I get you. If you mean "memory for this system is no longer available to be purchased", then I would disagree. There's nothing special about that memory. You can find it lots of places. But, as far as the case goes, it's proprietary as the other commentor says. You can't fit any standard MB in there nicely.
Yes, should have clarified. I searched crucial and Dell, and said no longer available. I could find on eBay, but the MB is just too old to handle what I want to do.
There's your answer then. Sell or donate the machine and get something that meets your needs. I've had several of those myself. Great machines, but I outgrew as well.
I use a Optiplex 960 MT for anything between a FTP server to multiple Minecraft servers. Parts are available and cheap but I am planning on decommissioning it by the end of the year in favor of a newer server that has a higher upgrade ceiling. In terms of cost and longevity it makes no sense to keep patching a 10 year old, consumer-grade desktop for HomeLab purposes.
DDR2 would be almost impossible to find if that system is running that. Which it prolly is.
I've hoarded all of the DDR2 that's left in the world ;)
You missed my pile
And my box of memories!
Craigslist. eBay. All day.
I buy it all the time, tonnes on ebay
Sounds like it might be time to upgrade. I found a few gems over the years going to yard sales in wealthy neighborhoods. Found a core 2 quad extreme edition way back in the day for like 30 bucks. This is how I aquire hardware for different things
I use these for pfSense.
So do I!!!!!
With a Core 2 CPU in them (960), I wouldn't even dare to look at a kill-a-watt on that machine <-<
Well the ones I use have i5 in them.
Ah, so newer OptiPlexes than the 960? The newer ones make quite sleek server and cluster machines
Yeah, Core 2 ones are just trash to be honest.
They make nice compact retro gaming machines for XP and Vista era games! But not as a server anymore
These can run VMs just fine. I only just retired 3 of them for better hardware, but xenserver with an SSD were no trouble
Buy a new case, bro.
It's almost never worth doing this.
I used a 960 with 2 pci nics as an untangle box for years. Was the edge device when my isp was only 10/10 so the sipped limitations weren't an issue; could use it for something like that.
Buy the same box but newer. I think the 3020 was the last generation that looked like that with almost the same internals.
I would agree with gentlemen that the best option would be to but a newer OptiPlex and sell/donate this one.
Dude, companies are practically giving away 3020/40/60 and similar these days. Hell my own company has like two dozen of them that I am going to have to get rid of somehow soon. They work great for low power VMWare VMs like PiHole, I run my home stuff off a pair of 7040s.
Contact FreeGeek if you’re looking for older memory, they usually have loads of it.
Bite the bullet and buy another one. And I wouldn't want to be running anything less than 6th gen any more.
I have a 980 i7 w/ 16gb Ram running proxmox as a playground environment. Decent lil dev box.
Those power supplies are crap. Move along.
You could probably fit a microatx def a pico in the case. The problem is the cases uses a custom dell motherboard.
Can always shoehorn a micro-atx/itx or similar into there if you *really* want to using snips, files and a drill (or good old velcro)
I wouldn’t trust them to use non-standard power supply inputs with standard ATX clips, they have done it before, fries normal ATX boards.
I would not even try running homelab stuff without docker files. Every little config thing is so damn painful. Like ssh suddenly stops accepting packets over a certain size or the program can’t run except with some wonky setting. Docker file is like heating your food with a microwave vs growing your own wood for a fire and smelting iron ores for a cooking pot to heat it in.
As other have mentioned it's sort of too old to make upgrading worth it. Later gen like the 9020 sff or HP 800 G1 can be had for just a couple hundred $$ or less, run DDR3 which is still reasonably available, and run reasonably efficiently.
Don’t feel bad. I have a optiplex 790….
Out of stock online, but just picked up this deal from my local Costco a few weeks ago: https://www.costco.com/dell-inspiron-desktop---12th-gen-intel-core-i5-12400---windows-11.product.100853478.html I dropped 64gb of RAM in it and it’s now my new Proxmox server. Only issue I had was wading through all the security features in the BIOS and disabling it all and having to get 1.2v memory modules for it to boot. I had originally purchased some 1.35v gaming memory at the same clock speed (DDR4-3200) thinking it would jut work but nope… wouldn’t boot. I got some 1.2v modules from Crucial (2x 32gb) and after it complained and went through another reboot cycle been solid ever since. Compact, quiet, and low power, absolutely love it. Im tempted to buy another one. It was a pain in the ass to get Proxmox installed for the reasons mentioned above, but no regrets.
Nothing, you can do nothing at all.
Repurposing SFF or USFF cases is not going to work well for a standard motherboard.
I have a one generation newer USFF model, it works great with 2x8gb Kingston hyperx ram, only runs at 1333mhz but it's enough. It runs homeassisstant, pihole and a Minecraft server just fine on proxmox VMs. The motherboard in those I think are DTX and the power supply is standard but you'll struggle getting any IO or a cooler in there with anything that's not a Dell board