[H]OT Deal? DELL PowerEdge R610/R710 Servers sub $200? ($149-199)

t4keheart

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Hey everyone,
I've been looking for a new home server and came across these offerings, and it seems like a really great deal. Wondering what everyone else thinks?
I understand these are 8 year old servers, but even still... they come loaded with 48GB of RAM, 2 Xeon's and 4 working drives? That sounds like a steal... for $150? The hardware that ships with these is still overkill for a home environment I feel, you could probably run 4-5 vms on each of these things as hosts...

If there's something I'm missing here, or some reason to think this isn't a good deal, by all means tell me what you think!

R610- $149
https://www.amazon.com/PowerEdge-R610-2-67Ghz-Certified-Refurbished/dp/B00HDAGDLK/ref=sr_1_5?qid=1582265884&refinements=p_89:Dell&s=pc&sr=1-5

Different configuration (6-core Xeon's): $189
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074BDDNJH/ref=psdc_11036071_t1_B00HDAGDLK

R710: $199
https://www.amazon.com/PowerEdge-Se...edge+r710&qid=1582266109&s=electronics&sr=1-8


EDIT - I probably would opt for either the more expensive r610 (with the L-series Xeons), or the R710. Fond memories working on these things when they were new when I first started out
 
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ya I think it said in the questions section for the middle link that it's SATA bays, max cap of 18TB (i think), not sure about the other 2.
 
I've purchased server deals for a few year now, usually locally on craigslist as you can get a lot of power in a server at well below desktop prices.

That being said, of the ones you've listed, the $149 one is the best value imo to get up and running quickly without any other investment. The e5640 is decently quick due to its multiple cores so you've got 8c/16t straight out of the gate. And that's with a good perc sas controller and some solid sas drives already. Good ram offering that can max out a lot higher makes it great for virtual machines. And here's really only two big upgrades you could do to max out the hardware--processor and ram. You can always adjust storage, but that's less intrusive thanks to the hot-swap design.
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compar...on-E5620-vs-Intel-Xeon-X5670/1251vs1249vs1307
The next offering isn't bad since it gives you the powerful x5680 6c/12t processor, which means 12c/24t straight out of the gate. If you don't need ram or storage as much, this is a better deal for processing power, although you could easily just upgrade the previous setup's processors and be far ahead of this configuration.

The r710 isn't that great of a deal. These are falling in price fast and usually come with more processing power and a better sas controller at this price.

If you like servers, you should check out labgopher.com. They have a really great way to search the server deals on ebay.

RAM and processors are pretty cheap for these since they're lga1366 and registered ecc ddr3. I've upgraded dual processors for under $50 and can find ram for under $1/gb in quantity. You can also run ecc udimms, but not as many and can't mix them with reg ecc modules.
 
Are any of these SATA hotswaps?
All sas controllers work with sata drives natively, so they do support it. However, if you are wanting to use the full dual-port capability of the sas controller with an sata drive, you'll need an sas-sata interposer board. I've actually rarely seen these as an sas drive is usually cheaper than the same quality sata drive because of more supply in the marketplace.
 
ya I think it said in the questions section for the middle link that it's SATA bays, max cap of 18TB (i think), not sure about the other 2.
They come with sas controllers, so the bays are sas and sata. There are only some models that are sata only and they won't have the sas controllers or backplanes.
 
RAM and processors are pretty cheap for these since they're lga1366 and registered ecc ddr3. I've upgraded dual processors for under $50 and can find ram for under $1/gb in quantity. You can also run ecc udimms, but not as many and can't mix them with reg ecc modules.

Wow, great response... thanks for the input. I sent you a PM!
 
Wow, great response... thanks for the input. I sent you a PM!
You're welcome! (y) Great to see someone else appreciating these old workhorses. I've gotten some of mine stupid cheap so they were tough to pass up when I saw them. I've got even older lga771 based servers and they're great too--especially at the prices I got some of them at. :eek:

Deals like this:
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/sys/d/hp-dl360-g6-server/7077175621.htmlhttps://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/sop/d/lombard-buy-1-get-1-free-dl380-g6-intel/7075128326.html
 
As someone who knows nothing about servers and is finally going to dive in once the right hardware is found, would this HP ProLiant be as good a value as the Dells?
 
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Hey everyone,
I've been looking for a new home server and came across these offerings, and it seems like a really great deal. Wondering what everyone else thinks?
I understand these are 8 year old servers, but even still... they come loaded with 48GB of RAM, 2 Xeon's and 4 working drives? That sounds like a steal... for $150? The hardware that ships with these is still overkill for a home environment I feel, you could probably run 4-5 vms on each of these things as hosts...

If there's something I'm missing here, or some reason to think this isn't a good deal, by all means tell me what you think!

R610- $149
https://www.amazon.com/PowerEdge-R610-2-67Ghz-Certified-Refurbished/dp/B00HDAGDLK/ref=sr_1_5?qid=1582265884&refinements=p_89:Dell&s=pc&sr=1-5

Different configuration (6-core Xeon's): $189
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074BDDNJH/ref=psdc_11036071_t1_B00HDAGDLK

R710: $199
https://www.amazon.com/PowerEdge-Se...edge+r710&qid=1582266109&s=electronics&sr=1-8


EDIT - I probably would opt for either the more expensive r610 (with the L-series Xeons), or the R710. Fond memories working on these things when they were new when I first started out

Curious what are most people using these for at home besides a storage server? You say you could run 4-5 vms.. what do people run on them exactly?

So if I wanted to setup one of these to be primarily used for storage (8-12gb total storage (raid 5)) what all would you need to get one up and going?
 
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As someone who knows nothing about servers and is finally going to dive in once the right hardware is found, would this HP ProLiant be as good a value as the Dells?
I would say its right on par in most respects.... might be just a little bit older than the ones i posted, specs are still worth it
 
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Curious what are most people using these for at home besides a storage server? You say you could run 4-5 vms.. what do people run on them exactly?

So if I wanted to setup one of these to be primarily used for storage (8-12gb total storage (raid 5)) what all would you need to get one up and going?

well, like you said it could function as a nas with the rights disks, could throw a domain controller with dhcp & dns, I would add a linux LAMP server, a plex media server, Whatever else. Nothing that can't be had with most routers and an extra pc laying around.. but for people who like enjoy deploying real servers like at work... it's enticing
 
well, like you said it could function as a nas with the rights disks, could throw a domain controller with dhcp & dns, I would add a linux LAMP server, a plex media server, Whatever else. Nothing that can't be had with most routers and an extra pc laying around.. but for people who like enjoy deploying real servers like at work... it's enticing

So when they say run vm's they are referring to like a plexi server? (VM is virtual machine right?). so running that in its own virtual server/os?
 
So when they say run vm's they are referring to like a plexi server? (VM is virtual machine right?). so running that in its own virtual server/os?
yes vm is virtual machine... it can be anything you want... esxi is a hypervisor which lets you run vms, so I was saying you could probably bring up 4-5 different installations/instances of any server you want... all running at once
 
yes vm is virtual machine... it can be anything you want... esxi is a hypervisor which lets you run vms, so I was saying you could probably bring up 4-5 different installations/instances of any server you want... all running at once

okay very nice, thanks! :)
 
Pretty solid deals here, I am still running an r710 as a file server that chugs right along.
 
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Picked up one of these for 679, now I need to figure out what to use it for besides storage and going to move my untangle box to it. something to play with and learn some stuff.. have a lot to learn on how to setup and use it hehe. suggestions anyone? :)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Power...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Install esxi on it. It's easy and effective. Then make vm's with 2-4 cores test on those vm's. Break em, build em, destroy em, do it all over again. Install an ssd for the ones that you are going to destroy often.
 
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This one is going in the basement :)

Even still, man these things are whiny.

What I really want is one of those tiny Dell tower servers that I can stuff an HBA card in and run FreeNas. Maybe even one of those HP Proliant microservers.
 
Picked up one of these for 679, now I need to figure out what to use it for besides storage and going to move my untangle box to it. something to play with and learn some stuff.. have a lot to learn on how to setup and use it hehe. suggestions anyone? :)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Power...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

I was using mine to play with VM's with VMware. I was running Win10 Pro as the host OS since I did use it for Windows stuff.
intel-xeon-VM-Win10-Wni7.jpg
 
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Power usage is no picnic either. We have a bunch of the R series servers and I hate getting on calls with field techs, can never hear them.

That too and the heat.

But hey, if the goal is to get a small VM lab going to practice Xen or VMware, its a great way to get into some hardware for it.

These are ridiculous for the purposes of a NAS. In fact, even the Dell T30 that was so popular a few years back is overkill. A synology with 5 bays is like 600 bucks. After you get done putting a system together or buying the T30 and adding a HBA card to it, the synology becomes cheaper. What a world.
 
Anyone who owns one, how much power do they actually use? How much $ per month would you say it costs to run one of these?
 
Just listened to the sound of a R720 on yt, one video he was comparing a 2950 to a R710 (not sure how much difference a 710 is to a 720) but the 2950 was WAY louder than the 710.. the other video I watched was a r720 and overall I don't think it was to bad.. nothing like the 2950 was.
 
Just listened to the sound of a R720 on yt, one video he was comparing a 2950 to a R710 (not sure how much difference a 710 is to a 720) but the 2950 was WAY louder than the 710.. the other video I watched was a r720 and overall I don't think it was to bad.. nothing like the 2950 was.
I thought you were talking about those old janky cisco 2950 switches lol
 
Install esxi on it. It's easy and effective. Then make vm's with 2-4 cores test on those vm's. Break em, build em, destroy em, do it all over again. Install an ssd for the ones that you are going to destroy often.

Keep in mind VMWare is part of the reason these servers are being phased out of production. VMware's HCL support is incredibly poor and they like to phase things out before the warranty even expires. x20 series Dells are not supported for ESXi 6.7, so the last version you can load is 6.5. I don't believe the x10 series support 6.5 at all, and 6.0 is going EOL in less than a month. That said if you want to run Windows, there shouldn't be any issues there, nor should there be any issues using Linux. If you're having hypervisor compatibility issues I'd suggest either using Hyper-V on Windows or Proxmox for a Linux based hypervisor. Both of these can support just about anything you can come up and you won't have to spend a bunch of time trying to side load your Intel NIC drivers. *Glares at VMWare*

As for noise it's been so long since I've even heard a 2950 I wouldn't want to comment on it. Just in general any type of system that is a 2U will be slightly quieter and less whiny than a 1U. More modern systems have better power management, and try to slow the fans down more than older systems would. But most of these servers are still pulling like 200W from the wall if they are filled with disks, so it's $$$ to keep them on 24/7. In a datacenter no one really cares that much, but in your house you'll notice if there is a $20 a month jump in your power bill. With LED lighting now, one server probably consumes more power than all of the lights in your home do every month.

Pros:

Cheap to purchase
ECC memory
hot swap drive support / hardware RAID
lots of HDD slots
Dual PSU
Well built with quality components (For the most part)
Way more RAM slots
Out of band management (iDrac, etc)

Cons:

loud
power hungry
incredibly long, might not fit into your rack
old / possible hardware issues
software issues with vmware

For the power costs alone it's certainly possible to just build a new desktop and you'll probably break even around the 3 year mark. If you don't need tons of disks or memory, it might be a better option. If you're buying an 8 year old server, you'll probably either spend half your time on ebay finding replacement disks or end up having to buy new ones anyway, so keep that in mind in the costs.
 
I mean, if someone is trying to get into the home server lab game I have a X8DTI-LN4F that has two E5620 in it and some RAM that'd I'd sell pretty cheap.
 
Install esxi on it. It's easy and effective. Then make vm's with 2-4 cores test on those vm's. Break em, build em, destroy em, do it all over again. Install an ssd for the ones that you are going to destroy often.

If I use esxi and I want to have one vm running as my network storage, another vm running untangle for my firewall and whatever other vm's I decide to use/play with, can I just create a single raid on the 8 3tb drives the server has (raid 5 or 10 or whatever) and can I use portions of that array for each vm? Or is there a better way to do that? Thanks! Also anyone familiar with iDRAC 7? I would rather not have a kb/mouse/screen on the server and use the iDRAC 7 port/software.. anyone use and recommend this? It basically makes it like I am at the server remotely? Even if the server is turned off?
 
Keep in mind VMWare is part of the reason these servers are being phased out of production. VMware's HCL support is incredibly poor and they like to phase things out before the warranty even expires. x20 series Dells are not supported for ESXi 6.7, so the last version you can load is 6.5. I don't believe the x10 series support 6.5 at all, and 6.0 is going EOL in less than a month. That said if you want to run Windows, there shouldn't be any issues there, nor should there be any issues using Linux. If you're having hypervisor compatibility issues I'd suggest either using Hyper-V on Windows or Proxmox for a Linux based hypervisor. Both of these can support just about anything you can come up and you won't have to spend a bunch of time trying to side load your Intel NIC drivers. *Glares at VMWare*

As for noise it's been so long since I've even heard a 2950 I wouldn't want to comment on it. Just in general any type of system that is a 2U will be slightly quieter and less whiny than a 1U. More modern systems have better power management, and try to slow the fans down more than older systems would. But most of these servers are still pulling like 200W from the wall if they are filled with disks, so it's $$$ to keep them on 24/7. In a datacenter no one really cares that much, but in your house you'll notice if there is a $20 a month jump in your power bill. With LED lighting now, one server probably consumes more power than all of the lights in your home do every month.

Pros:

Cheap to purchase
ECC memory
hot swap drive support / hardware RAID
lots of HDD slots
Dual PSU
Well built with quality components (For the most part)
Way more RAM slots
Out of band management (iDrac, etc)

Cons:

loud
power hungry
incredibly long, might not fit into your rack
old / possible hardware issues
software issues with vmware

For the power costs alone it's certainly possible to just build a new desktop and you'll probably break even around the 3 year mark. If you don't need tons of disks or memory, it might be a better option. If you're buying an 8 year old server, you'll probably either spend half your time on ebay finding replacement disks or end up having to buy new ones anyway, so keep that in mind in the costs.

It's done by processor generation; Sandy and Ivy Bridge Xeons still work fine with ESXi (I have 3 x20s in my current environment) - warranties generally don't go past 5 years on enterprise hardware, so they're all out of warranty now anyway. VMware's support isn't required for a home lab, after all - just means that Dell didn't bother testing them (because OLD) - still works fine. Hell, you can still run 6.7 on Westmere generation processors, although it's been a while since I've tried - but won't be able to for 7.X.

Remember also - VMware doesn't do the testing, the server/storage/etc vendor does.

As for desktop vs server - depends on what you want to do. Almost all server NICs/etc work natively with ESXi. Many desktop ones do not, or have limited/buggy drivers if they do. Also higher RAM counts, but that's dependent again on your long-term goals.
 
If I use esxi and I want to have one vm running as my network storage, another vm running untangle for my firewall and whatever other vm's I decide to use/play with, can I just create a single raid on the 8 3tb drives the server has (raid 5 or 10 or whatever) and can I use portions of that array for each vm? Or is there a better way to do that? Thanks! Also anyone familiar with iDRAC 7? I would rather not have a kb/mouse/screen on the server and use the iDRAC 7 port/software.. anyone use and recommend this? It basically makes it like I am at the server remotely? Even if the server is turned off?

Yes @ iDRAC.

And yes @ the second - you'll format it as a datastore (VMware's file system, VMFS) and then create VMs on there (they're just collections of files). Use the webclient to access them.
 
I bought a R710 a few months ago at an estate sale. Recently upgraded to 144GB of ram (18x8GB) for $100, $25 for a 240GB SSD boot drive, and another $40 for a pair of x5680 Xeons. Added in a 3.2TB FusionIO drive from the Hot Deals thread.

It's pretty fast for a highly parallel workload, but a few caveats:
The PERC 6i controller is only SATA II, so slower drive speeds on the boot drive. I replaced the DVD drive with an adapter that lets you put a 2.5" disk in its place. Same SATA II speed, but now I have all 6 3.5" hot swap drives available for the RAID array and the boot SSD tucked away in place of a useless DVD drive. Replacing the PERC 6 with something newer is a pain because the cables are custom. It's doable, but I don't think it's worth it. For mass storage I have another server that's configured better for a large number of drives.
Update the BIOS and iDRAC asap. Old versions kept the fans spinning at high speeds all the time. The updated versions drop it down to desktop/workstation level.
It is possible to put a video card into one of the expansion slots if you aren't afraid to cut/melt out the back of the x8 slot and the video card doesn't require external power (I did it in mine with a PNY GT 730). If you aren't afraid of soldering, you could add in the Molex power plugs, but that's really putting pearls on a pig.
 
Old and power hungry. I'd pass on this at this point to be 100% honest. The only time I'd consider one of these is if I needed a cheap SQL server. These machines can stack gobs of RAM cheap.
 
I have a T710 at home and ran into a roadblock when I wanted to do some virtualization stuff. I don't remember the error but the processors did not have the technology I needed to run GNS3 and VMWare Workstation properly. I slapped together a server at work and I remote into that to run what I need to now. Other than that the T710 is great only for a file server for me at this moment.
 
Yeah, after re-considering and reading all the feedback I too would pass on these. For what it's capable of, I don't think it's worth the cost in power really. Like you said, unless you needed something to run like a database or something that would require lots or ram and storage, what the hell are you really going to do with it.
 
Old and power hungry. I'd pass on this at this point to be 100% honest. The only time I'd consider one of these is if I needed a cheap SQL server. These machines can stack gobs of RAM cheap.

That's exactly what I use mine for. 144GB of RAM and a 3.2GB FusionIO drive (massive iops) for the dB.
 
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