To replace one of my aging NUCs with something more modern but still relatively small, quiet and stable, I ended up with the Dell Precision 3460 SFF to see if it would make a nice home lab PC.
Since it needs to be a 24/7/365 Proxmox based hypervisor, I looked for ECC capable units with a PCIe3x8 to support fast networking.
These two requirements narrowed down the list to almost none of the turnkey systems on the market.
So this is a W680 based 12/13/14th Intel CPU mini-PC that might interest you as well.
The purpose of this thread is just to shed some light, as I failed miserably (thank you Dell), so you do not have to.
SKU i got from friendly Dell sales rep was super basic with quiet hope to get it upgraded which mostly worked out except CPU.
While you can configure and order these PCs with 12/13/14th CPU i learned hard way motherboard are not the same though i first think they are.
My unit came with 08WXMX MB and throwing i9-14900T was no go
So my MB can use i9-12900 instead but unfortunately i sold last one long ago.
Beware - if you plan to have CPU upgraded - purchase correct SKU (the same goes with vPro).
MB PN can be either found on Dell Support website (if you have ST), on MB sticker inside or read out via software (eg. CPU-ID or dmidecode).
Post-purchase of course i found this in manual...
So next to full sized PCIE4x16 (75W capable according to service manual) there's one PCIE3x4 next to PSU
PSU came in two favors as well so if you'd like to run SFF4000ADA then you might need beefier one.
* Intake fan - some units come with it, mine did not. 80x80x25 is correct size,
* SD card reader do support booting option although my SKU lacks it. It's super easy to be installed. And cheap. PN: 0TT15C
* There are 3 native SATA ports onboard.
* There are 3 native NVME PCIE ports. Since i have 3x PCIE3 drives i cannot tell how many do support PCI4.
* There are NO M2x3 bolts (thank you Dell) to fix NVME drives. Thankfully all 3 standoffs were in place.
* There is no issue fitting NVME heatsinks except one next to PCI3x4 slot as depending on card you are going to use it may be on way.
* That blue plastic 3,5" HDD carrier is part of every SKU, which is good as with easy adapter 2x 2,5" drives are fitting in perfectly. So 3x SATA3 inside yay.
* CPU cooler is tiny. While idling is non audible. When stressed that little fan-blower fan works nicely (keeping temp. low) but it's audible.
* OptiPlex 7020SFF sibling looks nearly the same... but use Q670 thus no real ECC.
Dell does not guarantee (manual mention 2x32GB ECC setup) but i already tried 2x48GB ECC (in-line) modules from Kingston and it works fine!
Hopefully 2nd unit i get will be vPro enabled/14th Gen capable. But as guinea pig so far i'm more than happy even with this 12th gen one.
Tossed away T600 and got ConnectX-5 working as expected. So far none UEFI/VT-d issues. Some power-consumption figures i'll add later on as i'm ooh for short moment.
Small gallery below. Might one find this unit fitting homelab and be reliable choice. And as usual with Dell, 2nd hand/refurbed by Dell units are reasonably priced. Cost of this SKU was around 450Eur.
postimg.cc
Since it needs to be a 24/7/365 Proxmox based hypervisor, I looked for ECC capable units with a PCIe3x8 to support fast networking.
These two requirements narrowed down the list to almost none of the turnkey systems on the market.
So this is a W680 based 12/13/14th Intel CPU mini-PC that might interest you as well.
The purpose of this thread is just to shed some light, as I failed miserably (thank you Dell), so you do not have to.
SKU i got from friendly Dell sales rep was super basic with quiet hope to get it upgraded which mostly worked out except CPU.
While you can configure and order these PCs with 12/13/14th CPU i learned hard way motherboard are not the same though i first think they are.
| vPro MB P/N | non-vPro MB P/N | |
| 14th gen compatible | 0RN24D | 0GYWX8 |
| 13th gen compatible | 0RCPYF | 08PFGW |
| 12th gen compatible | 05225G | 08WXMX |
My unit came with 08WXMX MB and throwing i9-14900T was no go
So my MB can use i9-12900 instead but unfortunately i sold last one long ago.Beware - if you plan to have CPU upgraded - purchase correct SKU (the same goes with vPro).
MB PN can be either found on Dell Support website (if you have ST), on MB sticker inside or read out via software (eg. CPU-ID or dmidecode).
Post-purchase of course i found this in manual...
So next to full sized PCIE4x16 (75W capable according to service manual) there's one PCIE3x4 next to PSU
PSU came in two favors as well so if you'd like to run SFF4000ADA then you might need beefier one.
* Intake fan - some units come with it, mine did not. 80x80x25 is correct size,
* SD card reader do support booting option although my SKU lacks it. It's super easy to be installed. And cheap. PN: 0TT15C
* There are 3 native SATA ports onboard.
* There are 3 native NVME PCIE ports. Since i have 3x PCIE3 drives i cannot tell how many do support PCI4.
* There are NO M2x3 bolts (thank you Dell) to fix NVME drives. Thankfully all 3 standoffs were in place.
* There is no issue fitting NVME heatsinks except one next to PCI3x4 slot as depending on card you are going to use it may be on way.
* That blue plastic 3,5" HDD carrier is part of every SKU, which is good as with easy adapter 2x 2,5" drives are fitting in perfectly. So 3x SATA3 inside yay.
* CPU cooler is tiny. While idling is non audible. When stressed that little fan-blower fan works nicely (keeping temp. low) but it's audible.
* OptiPlex 7020SFF sibling looks nearly the same... but use Q670 thus no real ECC.
Dell does not guarantee (manual mention 2x32GB ECC setup) but i already tried 2x48GB ECC (in-line) modules from Kingston and it works fine!
Hopefully 2nd unit i get will be vPro enabled/14th Gen capable. But as guinea pig so far i'm more than happy even with this 12th gen one.
Tossed away T600 and got ConnectX-5 working as expected. So far none UEFI/VT-d issues. Some power-consumption figures i'll add later on as i'm ooh for short moment.
Small gallery below. Might one find this unit fitting homelab and be reliable choice. And as usual with Dell, 2nd hand/refurbed by Dell units are reasonably priced. Cost of this SKU was around 450Eur.
Album — Postimages
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