Dell GX280...avoid like the plague?

[eccerr0r]

I saw a Dell GX280 for sale... P4, 1GB RAM, 80GB SATA HDD, $15 - onboard video, no monitor/keyboard/mouse. Unsure if it works...

Looks like I should avoid it after all based on the trouble you all have discussed here... I was hoping I could stick in a Core2 chip but it doesn't look like it. The Dell cases are pretty neat which is a pity...

Alas still looking for a cheap test machine with PCIe slots... too bad my EP43-UD3L isn't stable...

[shovenose]

Re: Dell GX280...avoid like the plague?

seems like a waste of $15 to me.

[dmill89]

Re: Dell GX280...avoid like the plague?

Yah the gx260s are pretty much time bombs with the tosty P4 and often Nichicons from known defective batches, you may get lucky and get one with a replacement/recapped board, but don't bet on it, the chipset also won't support "Core" architecture CPUs (I also believe those are all skt478 as well).

You can however get the OptiPlex 760/780/960 pretty cheap these days (less than $50 easily, sometimes less than $20) on ebay, etc. with a Core2Duo. If you are looking for something cheap with a pci-e slot.

[shovenose]

Re: Dell GX280...avoid like the plague?

780+ is better because its ddr3

[Uranium-235]

Re: Dell GX280...avoid like the plague?

The 280 is lga 775 like the core 2, but it is not electrically compatible. Don't even try it. Core 2's use lower voltage, you risk frying it.

280's and 270's sff's run hot. If you have the full desktop tower you might be ok

[ChaosLegionnaire]

Re: Dell GX280...avoid like the plague?

yepp, most core 2s are 1066 and 1333 fsb. the p4 chipsets only support 800fsb, so obviously core 2s aint gonna work due to the unsupported bus speed. u could end up frying the chipset as well.

i can only recall one motherboard, an asrock p4 chipset 865pe board (ConRoe865PE) that comes in lga775 flavour instead of s478 and that board supports only the 800 and 1066fsb core 2 cpus including the c2q q6000 series cpus but only the older b3 stepping is supported not the newer and cooler running g0 stepping.

[Uranium-235]

Re: Dell GX280...avoid like the plague?

only a few companies still produce core 2 motherboards new. On newegg, like, 3 I think. Biostar and I think yeah asrock, with the 945/965 chipset that can even support ddr3

when I said it can fry a core I mean it likely will. As I saw this happen right infront of me. My old boss wanted to upgrade this customers computer (albeit wasn't a dell), he put a E6550 that I had around the shop to sell to a customer for an upgrade. He put it in, after I told him not to, he told me to fuck off, and he started up the computer, and I could smell burnt silicon. I told him me he owed me as it was my CPU, he told me to fuck off again. Never got reimbursed for it.

[ChaosLegionnaire]

Re: Dell GX280...avoid like the plague?

aye, bosses really are nubs. good thing it was just a mid-end cpu not a high end one like a core 2 extreme. imagine frying a 1000 dollar cpu!!! just because it fits in the socket doesnt necessarily mean it will work. this has happened since the s370 p3 days. ever tried putting a tualatin p3 into a run of the mill s370 board meant for celerons or coppermine p3s? bet it was a nice firework show...

i also saw a nub technician put a s478 p4 northwood into a board meant for williamette p4s. the board got cooked but the northwood cpu amazingly survived... joke of the day for me.

[dmill89]

Re: Dell GX280...avoid like the plague?

only a few companies still produce core 2 motherboards new. On newegg, like, 3 I think. Biostar and I think yeah asrock, with the 945/965 chipset that can even support ddr3

I just checked Newegg and it looks like they have 1 Gigabyte and 2 AsRock 775 boards.

The GIGABYTE GA-G41MT-S2PT: A G41 chipset MATX board with DDR3 slots and all polymer caps for $70

The ASRock G41C-GS R2.0 a G41 chipset MATX board with DDR2 and DDR3 slots, but while it looks to have polymers on the VRM I see OST electrolytic caps in other areas for $67.

The ASRock 775I65G R3.0 a 965 Chipset based MATX board with DDR slots and an AGP slot as well as electrolytics all around (including OST and possibly Chemi-Con KZG/KZJ) for $50.

Surprisingly used G/P-43/45/35 boards seem to be going for around $50 on ebay as well, though you can get G41/31 boards for around $20.

If you don't mind an OEM (Dell, Lenovo, etc.) system/board it looks like you are better off buying a complete (or partially complete since retired corporate systems are often missing the HDD) Core2Duo system than just a board.

Of course if you're not tied to the 775 socket you can pick up an AM1 or LGA 1150 board (entry-level MATX) and matching low-end Athlon/Celeron for about the same price as a decent new (or higher-end used) 775 board. These won't be much faster than a higher-end core2duo, but they will be substantially cooler and more efficient.

[ChaosLegionnaire]

Re: Dell GX280...avoid like the plague?

The ASRock 775I65G R3.0 a 965 Chipset based MATX board

errr i visited the asrock link for that board and the specs state its an 865g chipset not 965.

[dmill89]

Re: Dell GX280...avoid like the plague?

errr i visited the asrock link for that board and the specs state its an 865g chipset not 965.

correct, fat-fingered that one, it is an 865.

[eccerr0r]

Re: Dell GX280...avoid like the plague?

Minimal cost would be the top concern for me, I just want a relatively reliable machine with PCIe slots for testing... Thus unfortunately the 865G won't work (and that I already have one!).

Going for an 1150 board likely would mean having to buy DDR3 and that would completely blow up the price of the system. I have a small amount of spare DDR2 and lots of DDR1 to toss around... Alas DDR1 PCIe boards probably don't exist.

----

I was also hoping for more local deals. The $15 GX280 is actually local as it's located less than 5 miles from home. However it sounds I should still pass on it. Shipping unfortunately kills the deal for ebay. Buying a board with its cheaper shipping may be a solution - which was exactly what I ended up doing when the Gigabyte board failed on me.

I bought an eBay board (Q45 Intel microatx board) that I could transfer all the parts to, including a Core2Quad. At least I do not need all the PCI/PCIe slots yet(!). It was the cheapest at the time that had 5+ SATA ports for my server, I did not want to pay $80 for a then already ageing S775 socket. This was over 2 years ago when the Gigabyte failed on me.

This Intel Q45 board (if I remember correctly) has been very stable fortunately, minus the issue with its IO virtualization problem which I worked around by disabling in BIOS. If that feature actually worked, it would have been an upgrade as I do run VMs on the box.

[Uranium-235]

Re: Dell GX280...avoid like the plague?

Yeah I meant g41/g43

[ChaosLegionnaire]

Re: Dell GX280...avoid like the plague?

Alas DDR1 PCIe boards probably don't exist.

what? they do. the intel 915 chipset is pci-e but uses ddr1. however, that chipset is only for lga775 p4 prescotts. there are also a number of amd s939/940 boards that use pci-e and ddr1 but that is off-topic...

[eccerr0r]

Re: Dell GX280...avoid like the plague?

Ah, I guess they should exist, but I would think most companies made their 915 boards use DDR2. I have a laptop with G915 and it's DDR2...

Unfortunately finding such rare board like
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/pro...px?pid=1801#ov cheaply will probably be hard, and I would rather a 4-DDR instead of 2-DDR 2-DDR2 version. I guess beggars can't be choosers but sellers wont get the deal if I don't find the deal I want :p