Dell T20 server $199 + tax

the_servicer said:
How does the overall build quality of PowerEdge servers compare to Inspiron desktops? I recently had an Inspiron desktop that was on the crappy side, quality-wise.
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The T20 is very clean inside and cable management is exceptional. It's also metal (with the exception of the bezel) rather than plastic.
 
myren said:
This would make a fabulous desktop. The G3220 is an amazing processor.
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Well, its not godlike or anything, but as you can see below, its a tremendous value in the bang/buck department. $200 for this processor, fancy-pants ECC ram, motherboard, powersupply, and a pretty nice tool-less case with plenty of airflow that's whisper quiet if I must say so was a great value.
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Pentium+G3220+@+3.00GHz

Remember this was a sale price though, its $100 more expensive now, so until it goes on sale again... meh. If this gets bumped when it is $200 again, IMO don't hesitate just buy it.
 
Coupon code NK6CC7QF4HWWSM brought it to $249 for me. Not too shabby for a NAS.
 
If I want to use this as a wireless Linux desktop, what will I have to do to get it ready other than install storage, a wireless card and a sound card?

It has a VGA port, right?
 
the_servicer said:
If I want to use this as a wireless Linux desktop, what will I have to do to get it ready other than install storage, a wireless card and a sound card?

It has a VGA port, right?
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It has a VGA and two displayports, sound is supposed to come out of displayport connections as well as surround sound analog outputs. It doesn't have wifi though.
 
the_servicer said:
I am just nervous about trying to use a "server" as a desktop. That's why all the questions.
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It's a computer, just like any other computer.
Dell would have a difficult time marketing a HDD-less, OS-less, monitor-less desktop on their consumer site, so it gets listed on the business side as a barebones server.

If you look at the pictures here you can see it has a 3.5mm stereo output jack as well as a mic input jack at the bottom on the rear picture, also has front stereo out/mic jacks.
http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/poweredge-t20/pd?layoutvariation=MasterPageFileVariation2

Ports visible in pictures:
6x USB rear
4x USB front panel
2x Displayport
1x VGA
2x PS/2 for KB and mouse
1x Serial?! Looks like a serial port to me...
2x 3.5mm audio rear
2x 3.5mm audio front panel
 
Okay.

What is the easiest way to get an SSD in there, or should I just go with a regular spinner?

Up to six internal (cabled) hard drives in total:
Up to four 8.8cm (3.5) SATA hard drives, plus
Up to two 6.3cm (2.5) SATA hard drives (require expansion kits)
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I don't know what an expansion kit is.
 
Ducman69 said:
Well, its not godlike or anything, but as you can see below, its a tremendous value in the bang/buck department. $200 for this processor, fancy-pants ECC ram, motherboard, powersupply, and a pretty nice tool-less case with plenty of airflow that's whisper quiet if I must say so was a great value.
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Pentium+G3220+@+3.00GHz

Remember this was a sale price though, its $100 more expensive now, so until it goes on sale again... meh. If this gets bumped when it is $200 again, IMO don't hesitate just buy it.
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$300 is indeed not super interesting. $250 makes it a very respectable purchase. $200 is really excellent.

As for performance, perhaps what I'd offer up is the gaming-focused legit reviews. This is a dual core unit, and it doesn't have turbo, so yes it's less than half an i5, but 2x 3GHz haswell cores will cruise through most consumer workloads.
 
the_servicer said:
Okay.

What is the easiest way to get an SSD in there, or should I just go with a regular spinner?

I don't know what an expansion kit is.
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Easiest way? Tape!

Spinner vs SSD depends entirely on your performance/budget preferences. SSD's will mount anywhere there's room with a bit of tape, but they will also mount in one of the standard 3.5" bays with a caddy. The expansion kit is only necessary once you've filled the 4 3.5" bays and want to add up to 2 more 2.5" drives with an expansion bracket...or tape.
 
the_servicer said:
Are you saying just tape it to the bottom or side of the case?
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Re-reading that, I see you meant the inside bottom or side. Yes, anywhere you can get power/sata cables to reach that won't obstruct other things in the case.
 
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Kueller said:
Re-reading that, I see you meant the inside bottom or side.
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Indeed. :p

Anyway, the guy in that video looks like he is installing two large drives and two small ones. I guess I will just need to pick up a (small) Samsung EVO SSD or something and figure out how to get it in there, maybe using the more proper method as shown in the video.

I just ordered a T20 from Newegg.
 
You need the extra parts from my post, might as well order them now. As far as I know, even if you don't use all of the existing slots, you can't have say a RAID volume for your platter drives and the OS on the SSD as it only has one controller.
 
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the_servicer said:
Are these necessary for just one drive? I wonder if it is possible to plug in a single SSD with just the parts included by Dell.
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You should be able to plug in up to 4 drives with what Dell provides, at least based on what the video showed. They only needed to add 2 cables for the new pcie controller. On the build to order page, you only need to order additional power and sata cables for the 5th and 6th drives.
 
the_servicer said:
Are these necessary for just one drive? I wonder if it is possible to plug in a single SSD with just the parts included by Dell.
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It has accommodations for four drives. If you're just putting in one drive you don't need anything. If you plan to have a big old RAID array with four big drives and one or two SSD boot drives, then you would need those extra parts.
 
The Startech 2-port PCI-e SATA card is a bit more expensive than a bunch of others out there. Some other brand cards can be had for a good $10+ cheaper. The Startech card is not a bad card, just a little overpriced when there are less expensive cards out there. $10 is $10. :)
 
you can put in internal optical drive? should boot from a usb thumbdrive or optical drive I would imagine
 
the_servicer said:
Even though this is a server, can it be expected to boot from an external optical drive?

Or I wonder if extra cabling would be required to get an internal drive in there along with the single SSD.
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I'm running a Dell SC1430 server at home and I treat it just like a regular computer....there are extra SATA ports that you can utilize to add internal drives..the only difference is you may need to go into the BIOS to enable them as they are "off" by default .

I also used to have a Dell SC420 that I used as a regular desktop for a while....

I see no reason why this system would be any different
 
Is there any reason why one couldn't use a PCIe card for the sole SSD storage in this Dell server? (One example is Plextor's new M6e.) It seems potentially easier for a n00b to install than a regular drive.

Any reason not to?
 
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the_servicer said:
Is there any reason why one couldn't use a PCIe card for the sole SSD storage in this Dell server? (One example is Plextor's new M6e.) It seems potentially easier for a n00b to install than a regular drive.

Any reason not to?
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why would you? just plug an SSD into any of the available SATA ports and mount it in the drive cage

you're making this harder than it needs to be
 
It's ridiculously easy to install any HDD or SSD in a T20. If you don't want to use one of the two 2.5" mounts, like Crosshairs said, just use a 2.5" to 3.5" adapter and put it in one of the 3.5" cages. Power and SATA cables are already there and ready to be plugged in.
 
Every time I see it at the top of the forum I click and hope it's back.
I saw it, passed b/c I had ideas of doing my own NAS build, but for $199 you just can't beat this little T20.
My NAS build priced out close to $300 before drives. :/
 
Crosshairs said:
just plug an SSD into any of the available SATA ports and mount it in the drive cage

you're making this harder than it needs to be
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Forget my question of whether it is easy. I want to know if it's possible.

Should I mostly assume that if a server has PCIe slots available, then the M6e will fit in one of them?
 
the_servicer said:
Forget my question of whether it is easy. I want to know if it's possible.

Should I mostly assume that if a server has PCIe slots available, then the M6e will fit in one of them?
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The board has 2 16X slots and 1 1X slot so yes, the M6e will fit in there, but whether or not you can make it bootable, I do not know
 
I am not completely sure, but it looks like the T20 might share some major case parts with recent OptiPlex towers.
 
Someone has the T20 up and running and can confirm it is actually quiet? I plan to use it as desktop PC, under my desk.

Photos of internals are worrying me, because the cpu heatsink look very similar to noisy stock intel heatsink... :rolleyes:
 
balnazzar said:
Someone has the T20 up and running and can confirm it is actually quiet? I plan to use it as desktop PC, under my desk.

Photos of internals are worrying me, because the cpu heatsink look very similar to noisy stock intel heatsink... :rolleyes:
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It is very quiet.
 
I bought a Lenovo ThinkServer TS140 with a i3-4130 for $199 last night off amazon
 
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