$230: Dell Precision T1650 Xeon E3 V2 machine with 32GB DDR3 No HDD

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wildpig1234

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Aug 22, 2016
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not worth it IMO. 32gb ddr3 is no more than $50... cpu is not compatible with the popular 2011 socket...
 

Samir

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Depends on what you're building. It's a nice platform to start for a cheap workstation or gaming machine.
 

wildpig1234

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Depends on what you're building. It's a nice platform to start for a cheap workstation or gaming machine.
look at the pic of the inside of the case. you got 2 pcie slots and there's not a whole lot of space for a full size video card if even that.

The cpu is not that bad. but it can only take up to 32gb ram which is maxed out in this case....
 

Samir

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look at the pic of the inside of the case. you got 2 pcie slots and there's not a whole lot of space for a full size video card if even that.

The cpu is not that bad. but it can only take up to 32gb ram which is maxed out in this case....
I did. It's similar to the optiplex case and probably has enough for a 1080Ti. If not, a less powerful but still stout card should fit fine. Power supply would probably need to be changed, but that would be about it. Remember, this is a workstation and judging by the x16 pcie slot without a cover, it already had a gpu in it to begin with so it's made for this.
 

nthu9280

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If the included ram is ecc-unbuffered, it's still pricey and OP could be nice deal.

Also check out Dell precision T1700 mini tower they are the LGA1150 version and the chassis is almost similar. Typically listed with E3-1225v3 or I5-4xxxx. I have seen them listed around $180 in the past (with less RAM).

Another option is HP Z230. If you are not in a hurry, setup ebay alerts these variations.
 

CobaltFire

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I've actually got one of these I picked up for $180 about 6 months ago. I stuck in a GTX 1070Ti and upgraded the power supply and it's doing excellent work as a workstation, but there are some HUGE caveats to doing that:

Drive cage must be removed for a full length card (750Ti was fine).
Full length dual slot GPU's block SATA ports, which means you need a right angle connector and lose all but one. This machine was intended for single slot Quadros.
Power supply for mine was the bigger 80+ Gold, but I swapped it for a Seasonic passive 80+ Platinum, and that was a heck of an ordeal due to the side case latch. I can get the exact measurements, but I cut it as close as it could go and keep that latch functioning. If you are ok with the side door falling off it is otherwise a standard ATX PSU mount.

All in all, it's a great machine for peanuts, but it's definitely not a plug and play unless you are ok with a PCIe powered GPU or some major rework.
 

wildpig1234

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it sure is cheap but IMO should spend a little more to get a full size WS like a lenovo s30, so you have a lot more room to work with as well as not having to do much finagling to get things to fit as well as having all the ports and slots you need.
 
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Samir

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I've actually got one of these I picked up for $180 about 6 months ago. I stuck in a GTX 1070Ti and upgraded the power supply and it's doing excellent work as a workstation, but there are some HUGE caveats to doing that:

Drive cage must be removed for a full length card (750Ti was fine).
Full length dual slot GPU's block SATA ports, which means you need a right angle connector and lose all but one. This machine was intended for single slot Quadros.
Power supply for mine was the bigger 80+ Gold, but I swapped it for a Seasonic passive 80+ Platinum, and that was a heck of an ordeal due to the side case latch. I can get the exact measurements, but I cut it as close as it could go and keep that latch functioning. If you are ok with the side door falling off it is otherwise a standard ATX PSU mount.

All in all, it's a great machine for peanuts, but it's definitely not a plug and play unless you are ok with a PCIe powered GPU or some major rework.
Thank you for the detailed feedback. Interesting that the side door latch gave you trouble. I'll have to watch for those in the future as I never thought they'd ever be trouble. :eek:
 

CobaltFire

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Thank you for the detailed feedback. Interesting that the side door latch gave you trouble. I'll have to watch for those in the future as I never thought they'd ever be trouble. :eek:
The side door latch is ONLY trouble if you are putting in a LONGER supply. It's a long bar with the latch opening that gets actuated forward and backward, and the power supply that is IN there is the longest you can possibly get in and out (and IT is fiddly). Putting in a bigger one requires removing that entire latch bar (which is spring loaded), installing the power supply, and then reinstalling the latch bar and spring in that tiny area left next to the power supply along the top of the case. It's doable, but my particular supply is BARELY short enough to allow the latch to release the side door; even 1mm longer and I wouldn't have been able to reinstall it. Total luck.

This case is also identical (aside from the front panel) to the Optiplex's of the preceding and same generation, at the least. I got my daughter an Optiplex 790 and it's identical inside.

Both machines are outstanding value per dollar from a recycler though. Just be fully aware of their limitations.
 

KC8FLB

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Aug 12, 2018
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I buy recycled E5-series workstations for home use. I bought Dell precision T3610's (three) for home/family use because I was very familiar with them (many thousands deployed at work). If I were to do it again I would buy Lenovo S30 second gens that support e5-V2 procs.

The Dells work fine, but expandability is limited.

We are a Dell only shop, but the Lenovos have really impressed me. Even bought my 11 year old a used Lenovo laptop off ebay and am very impressed with build quality.
 
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wildpig1234

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I buy recycled E5-series workstations for home use. I bought Dell precision T3610's (three) for home/family use because I was very familiar with them (many thousands deployed at work). If I were to do it again I would buy Lenovo S30 second gens that support e5-V2 procs.

The Dells work fine, but expandability is limited.

We are a Dell only shop, but the Lenovos have really impressed me. Even bought my 11 year old a used Lenovo laptop off ebay and am very impressed with build quality.
lol.. i love them too.... I got two lenovo s30 and two D30. It's so nice everything is close to oem. and lenovo also include psu with high wattage and gold psu... best of all, they are actually a little cheaper than the dell and hp comparable models a lot of time..

A lot of reviews that was done at the time when these were first released yrs ago give the dell and hp higher rating because "the interior was neater"....lol .... they neglect to notice how there is not much customized parts in the lenovo that will require you to "have to" buy from lenovo replacement parts :) unlike a lot of the hp and dell

The only thing i found deficient about the s30 is lack of support for 2696 v2 and oem cpu, which surprised my because that cpu works fine in D30... also doesn't support i7 cpu even with udimm
 

Samir

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Jul 21, 2017
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The side door latch is ONLY trouble if you are putting in a LONGER supply. It's a long bar with the latch opening that gets actuated forward and backward, and the power supply that is IN there is the longest you can possibly get in and out (and IT is fiddly). Putting in a bigger one requires removing that entire latch bar (which is spring loaded), installing the power supply, and then reinstalling the latch bar and spring in that tiny area left next to the power supply along the top of the case. It's doable, but my particular supply is BARELY short enough to allow the latch to release the side door; even 1mm longer and I wouldn't have been able to reinstall it. Total luck.

This case is also identical (aside from the front panel) to the Optiplex's of the preceding and same generation, at the least. I got my daughter an Optiplex 790 and it's identical inside.

Both machines are outstanding value per dollar from a recycler though. Just be fully aware of their limitations.
Gotcha. Makes sense as those longer power supplies present challenges inside almost any case. Good to know about the Optiplex 790. Thank you for the additional information. :)
 

Samir

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Jul 21, 2017
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HSV and SFO
I buy recycled E5-series workstations for home use. I bought Dell precision T3610's (three) for home/family use because I was very familiar with them (many thousands deployed at work). If I were to do it again I would buy Lenovo S30 second gens that support e5-V2 procs.

The Dells work fine, but expandability is limited.

We are a Dell only shop, but the Lenovos have really impressed me. Even bought my 11 year old a used Lenovo laptop off ebay and am very impressed with build quality.
Doesn't surprise me about the Lenovos as they were IBM before that and IBM systems were always top notch.
 

Samir

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Jul 21, 2017
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lol.. i love them too.... I got two lenovo s30 and two D30. It's so nice everything is close to oem. and lenovo also include psu with high wattage and gold psu... best of all, they are actually a little cheaper than the dell and hp comparable models a lot of time..

A lot of reviews that was done at the time when these were first released yrs ago give the dell and hp higher rating because "the interior was neater"....lol .... they neglect to notice how there is not much customized parts in the lenovo that will require you to "have to" buy from lenovo replacement parts :) unlike a lot of the hp and dell

The only thing i found deficient about the s30 is lack of support for 2696 v2 and oem cpu, which surprised my because that cpu works fine in D30... also doesn't support i7 cpu even with udimm
That's interesting about how Lenovos parts are closer to oem. Back in the day when they were IBM, they pretty much invented the proprietary parts idea, and still kept doing it as Lenovo for quite a while.
 

KC8FLB

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Aug 12, 2018
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Whoever might be interested in this lot, keep in mind - it's not ECC memory in there. I've just contacted the seller and they replied that there are 4 HYNIX HMT41GU6MFR8C inside. So those are regular desktop modules with no ECC.

...which are much more expensive than ddr3 registered ECC memory that we are all familiar with. I have a Dell R220 which requires non ECC memory. I have 16GB in it now, but have held off on upgrading because of the unbuffered memory cost.