i used a z440 workstation which are basically dirt cheap on ebay.. like here for about $105 HP Z440 DDR4 Workstation 700w PSU Barebones No CPU/RAM/HDD/GPU | eBay
2696 v2 for $16.50. 2697 v2 for $25 or less
- Thread starter wildpig1234
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HP Z840 WS are not bad either for what you get. 7 PCIe slots, Up to 2TB ram capacity..lol 1100W psu. all for under $280 with the case and cooling fans.
I just bought a Z840 for $250: HP Z840 Workstation 2x Heatsinks No CPU No RAM No HDD No OS No GPU | eBay
Also bought a pair of 2680 v4 cpu for $26.
Got some spare ddr4 at home. should be pretty decent box. Faster than dual 2696 v2....lol..
Also bought a pair of 2680 v4 cpu for $26.
Got some spare ddr4 at home. should be pretty decent box. Faster than dual 2696 v2....lol..
Dell T7910 Dual 2011-3 WS for $170 without heatsink: Dell Precision T7910 Barebones Unit with No Heatsinks 2011-3 DDR4 1300W PSU | eBay
Dell T7910 with dual cpu heat sinks $259 : Dell Precision T7910 Barebones Workstation 2x Heatsinks 2011-3 DDR4 1300W PSU | eBay
Dell T7910 with dual cpu heat sinks $259 : Dell Precision T7910 Barebones Workstation 2x Heatsinks 2011-3 DDR4 1300W PSU | eBay
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Just be aware that the seller PC Servers and Parts tends to strip out anything of value to get the price low. When they say barebones, they mean it. On the HP Z440s they sell, this usually means no RAM shroud/fan, drive trays, etc. They will then sell the stripped parts separately. If you want those parts, it's generally much cheaper to make sure you purchase a device that has everything installed vs buying the parts a la carte - even if that means using a different seller. I don't know enough about the Dell machines to know what if anything can be stripped out.
I have no problem with them doing this BTW, but I do want to warn people to pay attention to what they are actually purchasing.
I have no problem with them doing this BTW, but I do want to warn people to pay attention to what they are actually purchasing.
That is borderline deceiving listing! It's def not acceptable to not include the shrouds because that is part of the air channeling for cooling in these HP cases. If you don't have the shrouds, you won't get effective cooling! Also even though i bought it with heatsinks, I am wondering now if they will include the fans that goes along with this heat sinks
Thanks for letting me know! I do wish i know earlier though...lol.
The dell is a bit cheaper but the PSU is proprietary. So you have to buy another dell psu if it ever break.
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i agree with your assessment, i ordered 3 z440 workstations and they all were barebones missing the RAM shroud/fan. i decided to run without it and haven't run into any issues so far.
Missing ram shrouds is ok. But missing the heat sink fans if it's part of the heat sink or missing the plastic shrouds inside the case is def not ok!
That might be exaggerating a little. On their "barebones" configs, you will get everything that would be part of the manufacturer's base configuration (less cpu, ram, storage, os). For example, the Z440 and the Memory Cooling Solution--that fan shroud is an HP-"optional" part, only required_on (else won't POST), and HP-configured with, z440s filling more than 4 DIMM slots.
Another example, the Z4G4 has an HP-optional part, Front Card Guide and Fan, which is only factory configured with systems w/ the 1000w PSU; but required (cf: Z4G4 QuickSpecs) in conjunction with specific single/multiple Graphic Cards. However, when PCSP sold me a barebones Z4G4 which was advertised as having 1000w PSU, my box did have the guide/fan (which was not mentioned anywhere in the eBay listing).
You'll get what you "should" get; if it turns out not to be what your own add-on components require, that's on you. Your due dilligence should include a careful (even meticulous) read thru the HP QuickSpecs for your model, along with picking out the relevant details in the PCSP eBay listing. That's been my experience.
Luckily PCSP refunded me before shipping. Went ahead and bought this one instead: HP Z840 Workstation 12 CORE E5-2620 V3 2.4GHz 16GB 1TB HDD NVS 310 1125W NO OS | eBay for $242 before tax
Cosmetically it might not look as good, but the pics of the actual item is included showing inside plastic shrouds present along with HDD trays. Two 2620 v3 CPUs are included so would come with heat sinks . Also get 16GB ram and a free nvs310 card for my trinket bin
Cosmetically it might not look as good, but the pics of the actual item is included showing inside plastic shrouds present along with HDD trays. Two 2620 v3 CPUs are included so would come with heat sinks . Also get 16GB ram and a free nvs310 card for my trinket bin
my experience with the z440 is that the system will post without the shroud, but it will give you a memory error which you have to use the keyboard to hit enter on each boot.
Not necessarily. Moddiy makes adapter cables for HP and Dell proprietary power supplies.
Despite all this, i still like the fact that 2011-3 system is getting quite cheap from dell and hp.
The T7910 psu is a customized swapable psu. you can't fit a regular psu into the case. would have to leave it outside even with the cable adapters. The HP psu resembles a regular psu more, even if you have to use a cable adapter. I like the lenovo D30 the most. You can put a regular PSU in with zero problem
Do you consider a graphics card optional on a system that doesn't have a built in graphics? Do you consider drive cages optional? Because this seller strips all that out. Based on what I have seen in recent auctions, this seller removes any "unused" drive cage. If the listing includes one HD, you'll get one drive cage. If the listing doesn't have any HDs, I don't think you will receive any drive cages.
The biggest issue I have with this seller specifically is that they don't show you the inside of the computer via pictures in their listing. They use to, but must have stopped sometime during the last 6 months which is the last time I was "in the market" and paying attention to these listings. Therefore you have no idea what you might or might not be receiving. An unsuspecting buyer might assume things like drive cages are included, but really won't know because the listing is purposefully vague and doesn't include an internal image that would allow a buyer to immediately see what the system includes or doesn't include.
All the seller needs to do to "make this right" is to include a picture(s) of the internals for the computer they are selling. Then the buyer can clearly see what is included or not included and make an informed decision. They fact that this seller is purposefully vague in their listings and have actually stopped showing internal pictures of their auctions is not OK IMHO. Obviously people are able to make their own decisions, but I would never purchase a system from a seller that doesn't show me the internals prior to purchase so I know exactly what I am getting.
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Good to know about the Lenovo. Thank you for sharing the details on all 3 platforms.
Good to know about the Lenovo. Thank you for sharing the details on all 3 platforms.
Please note that the P910 (2011-3), the successor to the D30 (2011-2) no longer use generic PSU and generic MB layout. The P910 customized MB layout and PSU is more akin to the Dell. Once you get to the 2011-3, there is no longer anymore generic appearing WS from any of the 3 platforms.
i've got 8 dimms installed, not sure on the bios version. i have 2 of the 3 z440's updated to the latest bios and they all have the same issue.