SHOULD I or NOT buy a refurbished Dell Tour Server ?

[mlambert]

Dell PowerEdge T320 Tower - PERC H310 - 8 bay server​

Hi, I'm planning to buy that server to install PROXMOX, and just before pushing the SEND BUTTON for buying, I'd like to know it it should be a GO or NO GO

Thank you in advance.

I'm just trying to buy something that I won't regret afterwards.

 

[Falk R.]

The big question is, what are you going to do with it?

You should be aware that the server is already quite old and an extreme power consumer. I would recommend something more energy-efficient for the home.

If you want performance with low power consumption, you can get something like a Minisforum MS-01. If you don't need that much power, there are also much cheaper options.

 

[mlambert]

Thank you,

It's only for an HomeLab.

I was also looking for the ThinkServer TD340 but, I'll take a look right now at the Minisforum MS-01

 

[justinclift]

an extreme power consumer

That really depends on how you look at it.

My dual cpu R620 systems (same generation as this T320) can idle at around 95w, which is not at all bad considering their capabilities.

That being said, newer gear will indeed be a lot less. If energy bills are a major concern, then yeah that needs to be figured in.

you can get something like a Minisforum MS-01

Maybe. It's a good thing from an energy usage perspective, it does seem to have models which do 10GbE, and the info page does mention it has a PCIe v4 x16 slot for expandability.

Looking it over though, I can't see how much airflow that case has. Chucking in a bunch of cheap arse SAS SSDs might not be feasible if there's not copious airflow, as it'll cook itself.

Then again, you might not need a bunch of cheap arse SAS SSDs.

Like @Falk R. asked "what are you wanting to do with it"? If it's for experimentation, I'd personally go with either of those tower servers to start with, as you'll have more flexibility to try things out.

 

[Falk R.]

That really depends on how you look at it.

My dual cpu R620 systems (same generation as this T320) can idle at around 95w, which is not at all bad considering their capabilities.

I think that's bad. If there are now systems with more power at less than 15 watts of power consumption, then that's not good in comparison.
Back when they were new, the performance per watt was very good.

That being said, newer gear will indeed be a lot less. If energy bills are a major concern, then yeah that needs to be figured in.

Maybe. It's a good thing from an energy usage perspective, it does seem to have models which do 10GbE, and the info page does mention it has a PCIe v4 x16 slot for expandability.

Looking it over though, I can't see how much airflow that case has. Chucking in a bunch of cheap arse SAS SSDs might not be feasible if there's not copious airflow, as it'll cook itself.

Then again, you might not need a bunch of cheap arse SAS SSDs.

The MS-01 only has NVMe slots, m.2 and alternatively also a U.2.

Like @Falk R. asked "what are you wanting to do with it"? If it's for experimentation, I'd personally go with either of those tower servers to start with, as you'll have more flexibility to try things out.

 

[gfngfn256]

IMHO as a rule-of-thumb for homelabbing if you don't need a bunch of drives / PCI expandability go Mini PC. If you do need that extra expandability then you definitely need a bigger enclosure, for cooling & power provision. I'd still not go for a more than 10 year old system - as you'll easily make up the newer costs in current power consumption.

 

[justinclift]

and alternatively also a U.2

Ahhh, that could be workable then.