Topcat's XPS 625 Revival - X8SAX then K8N-DL and finally P6X58-E WS; First 2021 Build

[Topcat]

Re: Topcat's XPS 625 Supermicro X8SAX Revival; First 2021 Build!

Well, it started as an AMD system... so might as well continue to be one.

Yes, that is a perk in a way...just a slightly different platform, but close in age. The source of the 'rebirth' is a workstation type system I built for a family member many moons ago. The system went kaput some time ago (became unstable), and has been sitting in his basement since. He ran it about 8yrs. Probably bad caps in the PSU (its an Antec of the right era)...I'm sure it's nothing that can't be fixed. He lives up near Chicago, so I probably won't see it until later this summer....but here's hint # 2: Asus K8N-DL

I also discovered that through the use of Dell's AlienFX software, all the cool lighting in this case can be controlled....color, what's on and what's off, brightness....I haven't tried it yet (obviously can't now)...but if you remember from earlier in the thread, it all interfaces the motherboard (any motherboard) through a basic internal USB header!

[momaka]

Re: Topcat's XPS 625 Supermicro X8SAX Revival; First 2021 Build!

This system has been stripped of its core (motherboard, CPU, and RAM), as I needed them for a production build; work before play I guess......but fear not, this system will be reborn, it just might be a while!

Hint: Very rare Opteron 890....

Well, it started as an AMD system... so might as well continue to be one.

[Topcat]

Re: Topcat's XPS 625 Supermicro X8SAX Revival; First 2021 Build!

This system has been stripped of its core (motherboard, CPU, and RAM), as I needed them for a production build; work before play I guess......but fear not, this system will be reborn, it just might be a while!

Hint: Very rare Opteron 890....

[momaka]

Re: Topcat's XPS 625 Supermicro X8SAX Revival; First 2021 Build!

Don't forget the IO area that had to be surgically removed and the rest of the mods needed to shoehorn that beautiful X7DCA in there.

I actually did forget... but yeah, good point. That one had you moddin' like crazy.

I've had roach poop infested PC's and other devices brought in...boggles my mind how a person can live like that.

It's a slippery slope, from what I've noticed - once you say "f- it" and let things slide with cleaning, it just progresses from there.

Though it also sometimes depends where you live too. I had one friend from high school who sold me a router without telling me he had roaches. Luckily I didn't get any live ones, but I later asked him about it. He said entire row house complex had them and that they would die down when the rental company came to do spraying for pests... but eventually, the roaches would come back after a month or two. Entire place was old and most bathrooms had crummy old wallpaper. And if you don't know, roaches LOVE digging behind old wallpaper (must be that glue! )

Rich people for some reason tend to be some of the filthiest....go figure. Their devices tend to be the most dusty inside....but of course the face/front is clean.

That mirrors my findings 100%!

Well, it's not that ALL rich people are filthy... but like you said - "tend to be" is a good way to describe it.

If you recall, a while back I picked up this pair of speakers from the curb in front a nice big house that was built no more than 5-7 years ago (I actually remember when they tore out the old cottage house that used to sit there before it... like many others in my neighborhood) - not quite a "McMansion", but certainly owned by at least upper-middle class, given the house prices in that area. Anyways, these speakers really stunk like mold and were somewhat grimy. I even talked about it towards the end of that post.

Another time, I bought a microwave when I was moving to my college apt. Found one on Craigslist for cheap from, again, an upper-middle class neighborhood. It was soo greasy that I had to take the back off and wipe just about even nuke and crevice I could get to. (Perhaps that's why it was cheap and no one buying it... though I've seen similar appliances for free from much crappier neighborhoods, and they were clean and worked fine.)

IDK. Maybe less rich folks tend to care for their stuff more/better.

Only number on it is: CN-0n108m-41362-916-00c1; a00. This is what comes up if I buzz the barcode with my barcode scanner:

CN0N108M4136291600C1
A00

Thanks!

I think 0n108m or CN-0n108m should be the right model. The heatsink I used on my 780i-SLI has M/N "0N764D"... which comes stock with most Dell XPS 630 and a few similar other systems, IIRC.

Anyways, these M/Ns are good to keep in mind and check back for on eBay once in a while. Occasionally, some sellers will put only that M/N but not the actual model of the PC it came from, and you might find them selling it for cheap. That's how I got my 2nd 0N764D heatsink for $10 shipped!

Also, unrelated, but while I was looking for a heatsink like the one in your XPS 625, I also found a picture of an XPS 625 system that was configured with two ATI Radeon HD4870 video cards with a Crossfire connector and also a Phenom II X4 CPU... so looks like that motherboard may not be total scrap, after all , as it seems to support both SLI and Crossfire, along with Athlon II X2/4 and Phenom II X4 CPUs. Might fetch you a few $, despite the bad LAN port.

Anymore, I like being insignificant.... Peaceful, quiet, low stress, life is good!!

Same.

I replaced them with UCC KZH, closest match that I had. Outputs looked beautiful on the scope and the PSU is working fine.

No doubt.
When I was fixing my Antec EA-500 PSU, I didn't even have anything close to spec of the original failed 16V, 3300 uF OST RLX. So I used a 16V, 2200 uF UCC LXZ (or LXV?) cap. It still worked fine.

I find it amazing how many techs think that cleaning is beneath them......

And not only. I find it amazing how many -people- think that -any kind of- cleaning is beneath them - be it their cars, their homes, and so on. I'm not a "neat freak" by a long shot and can tolerate a certain level of "messiness". But specific area - like the kitchen counters - I absolutely despise seeing a mess there.

[Topcat]

Re: Topcat's XPS 625 Supermicro X8SAX Revival; First 2021 Build!

Yeah, that proprietary LED control board. You did quite a bit of work on that one to get it to work as it should.

Don't forget the IO area that had to be surgically removed and the rest of the mods needed to shoehorn that beautiful X7DCA in there.

I'll take it any day over rotten sewer / roach poop smell.

I've had roach poop infested PC's and other devices brought in...boggles my mind how a person can live like that.

Maybe you should have left the smell and claimed it was from a Lama farm... then sell it to some rich kid who plays Fortnite.

Rich people for some reason tend to be some of the filthiest....go figure. Their devices tend to be the most dusty inside....but of course the face/front is clean.

Oh, I see. So this wasn't actually caused by you.

On a second and closer look... this heatsink looks to be very similar to what I have in my (now old) gaming PC. If you scroll down in that post, you can see the heatsink is nearly the same thing, but made for socket 775. The tie-down screws are the same too - very coarse and self-tapping, IIRC. I got that heatsink without the backplate. But luckily those coarse screws allowed me to use wood "stubs" to hold the heatsink. Ghetto? 100% yes But it works, and no one will probably know, unless they looked at the back of the mobo.

Yea, I thought it was a bit ghetto too. There's sleeves that the screws hide in, you couldn't tell how quickly they were backing out....and then *snap*, out came the CPU...

On that note, I'm curious...
Was there a Dell part number written on your heatsink? If yes, do you mind sharing it? Sometimes I look on eBay for cheap heatsinks, and occasionally really good Dell and HP stuff pop-up for next to nothing. Having a P/N helps finding the good stuff.

Only number on it is: CN-0n108m-41362-916-00c1; a00. This is what comes up if I buzz the barcode with my barcode scanner:

CN0N108M4136291600C1
A00

Sounds about normal to me. I'd like to see anyone else get it done quicker with that much detail.

Someday when I'm dead & gone, hopefully these will be worth a fortune!!

Nah, no one's time is truly that valuable. But some people tend to have an inflated sense of importance and think the world revolves around them.

Anymore, I like being insignificant.... Peaceful, quiet, low stress, life is good!!

Antec Earthwatts EA380, EA430, and EA500 (based on Seasonic S12II platform) use some OST RLX caps on the secondary, which are almost on par with Rubycon MBZ and Nichicicon HM. I think it just has to do with higher switching frequency. I'm surprised they put the Ltecs on the 12V rail, though, as that's the most loaded rail. And in this case, the 12V rail wasn't even abused that much - the HD4670 is around 60 Watts TDP, and the X2 5600+ is either 67W or 89W. So worst case, there was maybe 150-160 Watts of draw from the 12V rail at most... and those Ltecs couldn't handle it. Shame.

I replaced them with UCC KZH, closest match that I had. Outputs looked beautiful on the scope and the PSU is working fine.

Obviously they do need a good cleaning more often than not - but I will gladly do that for a good case.

I find it amazing how many techs think that cleaning is beneath them......

[momaka]

Re: Topcat's XPS 625 Supermicro X8SAX Revival; First 2021 Build!

I'm sure you remember the Dell/Alienware Aurora R7 case build recently....

Yeah, that proprietary LED control board. You did quite a bit of work on that one to get it to work as it should.

Yes, I have seen worse when it comes to filth....the goat barn smell with this one was certainly one for the books though, it was a first!!

I'll take it any day over rotten sewer / roach poop smell.

Maybe you should have left the smell and claimed it was from a Lama farm... then sell it to some rich kid who plays Fortnite.

Yea, I'm well aware of the 'twist off' method....what threw this one was the way the sink mounts into the backplate...its a coarse thread (like wood screw coarse) screw, threaded directly into the plastic; NOT the metal...yea, it was weird. When it let loose on one side sooner than I expected (yes I loosened them all gradually), but it still had enough spring tension on one side and it pulled the CPU out of the socket...

Oh, I see. So this wasn't actually caused by you.

On a second and closer look... this heatsink looks to be very similar to what I have in my (now old) gaming PC. If you scroll down in that post, you can see the heatsink is nearly the same thing, but made for socket 775. The tie-down screws are the same too - very coarse and self-tapping, IIRC. I got that heatsink without the backplate. But luckily those coarse screws allowed me to use wood "stubs" to hold the heatsink. Ghetto? 100% yes But it works, and no one will probably know, unless they looked at the back of the mobo.

On that note, I'm curious...
Was there a Dell part number written on your heatsink? If yes, do you mind sharing it? Sometimes I look on eBay for cheap heatsinks, and occasionally really good Dell and HP stuff pop-up for next to nothing. Having a P/N helps finding the good stuff.

By the time I got done with this, I've got 2 working days in it.

Sounds about normal to me. I'd like to see anyone else get it done quicker with that much detail.

if this were some other fella who's time is crazy valuable, this would be a $4,000 system now!

Nah, no one's time is truly that valuable. But some people tend to have an inflated sense of importance and think the world revolves around them.

For sure....but the MBZ's in the secondary along with the Ltecs sure had me scratching my head. The Ltecs were on the +12v rail, and of course the rail was noisy on the scope. The rail of course quieted down after replacing them.

Antec Earthwatts EA380, EA430, and EA500 (based on Seasonic S12II platform) use some OST RLX caps on the secondary, which are almost on par with Rubycon MBZ and Nichicicon HM. I think it just has to do with higher switching frequency. I'm surprised they put the Ltecs on the 12V rail, though, as that's the most loaded rail. And in this case, the 12V rail wasn't even abused that much - the HD4670 is around 60 Watts TDP, and the X2 5600+ is either 67W or 89W. So worst case, there was maybe 150-160 Watts of draw from the 12V rail at most... and those Ltecs couldn't handle it. Shame.

That would be a weird aspect ratio.... 2560x 1600 is a 16:10 and 2560x1440 is a 16:9....

Yeah, I figured I botched the numbers there, given the time I made that post (early AM hours), so was too lazy to check myself and just YOLO-ed it.

i run all my systems caseless because of how computer cases these days are all garbage and overpriced.

Garbage? - It depends on the case. I simply dislike newer cases for their all-black looks.
Overpriced? - Not if you're willing to buy 2nd hand. On that note, my local Craigslist is pretty good in that regard. Every once in a while (a few times every few months, more or less) a decent case or two will pop-up for $10-20... and sometimes even cheaper. Obviously they do need a good cleaning more often than not - but I will gladly do that for a good case.

[ChaosLegionnaire]

Re: Topcat's XPS 625 Supermicro X8SAX Revival; First 2021 Build!

It's probably that new LG laptop that's the issue.
2560x1920 on a 17" screen, remember?

That would be a weird aspect ratio.... 2560x 1600 is a 16:10 and 2560x1440 is a 16:9....

2560x1920 seems to be in a 4:3 aspect ratio. not weird at all unless u consider high-res lcd screens in 4:3 aspect ratio to be weird and not the widescreen type as always then yes, it is weird.

anyways, really beautiful and practically designed case dell made there. luv the led lights in all the "considerate" spots for the servicing guys! i run all my systems caseless because of how computer cases these days are all garbage and overpriced. now after seeing that xps 625 case, it gives me hope... now i need to hunt for a case like that near me... lol!

[Topcat]

Re: Topcat's XPS 625 Supermicro X8SAX Revival; First 2021 Build!

Ok, this build is finished up.

Since I am only running a single drive in this system, I opted not to modify the original HDD cages. I'll just keep them with the system, if they need to be used later, they can be modified then.

Instead, I took advantage of the unused 5.25" bay. I used a spare Supermicro adapter/hdd/bay filler...these are something I have plenty of.





The Supermicro doodiddle:



Now enter in a Western Digital 'icetray' that once housed a Velociraptor 10k HDD:



Badabing!! Installing the OS!



Up & running!



This is a pretty neat case considering it's a Dell....intuitive case designs isn't one of Dell's strong points...but this was a good one! Research had it being made around 2007-ish, its borderline 'vintage'....but it just needed some new innards to have a new lease on life!!

...and it doesn't smell like a goat barn anymore!!

[Topcat]

Re: Topcat's XPS 625 Supermicro X8SAX Revival; First 2021 Build!

That's actually quite nice, even for modern times.
I think that CPU at that frequency should be comparable to a 7th gen i5, or maybe slightly better... which is still a perfectly usable CPU for gaming even today.

It would need a better GPU....I'd love to toss a 1070 or 1080 in it, but I don't usually buy stuff that expensive unless its requested by a customer....you run the risk of it aging out and losing money on it otherwise....

Nice!
This is how case lightning should always be done.

But I do like the idea of LED lights over frequently used ports - makes the PC easier to use with the lights off (especially for a gaming PC in a dark room.)

That's the only reason this one got built. Very practical & well designed case....that's not typical these days, especially from Dell....I'm sure you remember the Dell/Alienware Aurora R7 case build recently....

Though not too horribly filthy. I've seen a lot worse (and I'm sure you have too.)
And at least no roaches - those are the worst ones to work on. As JP (may his soul find peace) used to say here, you would have had to give it the RAID treatment - the kind that comes in a can!
(Man, I'll never forget some of the funny cool stuff he said. What a great person he was! )

Yes, I have seen worse when it comes to filth....the goat barn smell with this one was certainly one for the books though, it was a first!!

OK, time for retro-GPU-man here to see.
I am 99.99999% certain it is an ATI Radeon HD4670 with 512 MB DDR3.... DX10.1 card, PCI-E 2.0. ~65 Watts TDP.

Rather outdated by today's standards - at least for gaming. But these still make great GPUs for HTPC use, since they support HD audio pass-through over HDMI. So with a DVI-D to HDMI adapter (or just DVI-D to HDMI cable) you can run a TV and send digital audio directly to it. The HD4670 also has proper H.264 decoding capabilities.

There's a 100% chance you are correct, I ran the numbers today, that's exactly what it is! I did clean it up, but it'll just be put in an antistatic bag and stuck in a storage bin....until something comes along that needs a minor upgrade...

HAHA, noob!
J/k.
We used to tease each other really badly when someone did that back when I used to work as a refurb tech.

AMD CPUs can get quite tricky, especially if a good sticky paste like AS5 was used, and it was in service for many years on a hot-running CPU. No way to remove cooler on an AMD CPU without pulling it out, unless you pre-heated cooler (either run CPU without the fan for a few minutes or just heat-gun it for a few moments) and twisted the cooler off.

Yea, I'm well aware of the 'twist off' method....what threw this one was the way the sink mounts into the backplate...its a coarse thread (like wood screw coarse) screw, threaded directly into the plastic; NOT the metal...yea, it was weird. When it let loose on one side sooner than I expected (yes I loosened them all gradually), but it still had enough spring tension on one side and it pulled the CPU out of the socket....so I carefully removed the remaining screws and remved the whole thing. Then a flat screwdriver under one corner of the CPU and it pops right off the sink. No pins damaged.

Let me guess...
nVidia chipset?
If yes, that's probably a good reason for the dead NIC (though it might not be.) Still, it would be a shame to toss this board just over a dead NIC. I see it has two PCI-E 16x slots, so you may still be able to sell it for a little pocket change, especially if it supports SLI.

Yessir, nvidia. It does support SLI, being a nvidia chipset...not sure about crossfire....since it came with that ATI GPU, which I thought was strange, but from what I read is the original.

When you get dusty smelly systems, you just can't clean them properly with only a blow job.

I chuckled.....

Well. considering how complex of a case/system this is, I'd say you're hella fast, actually. Most regular Dells and HPs take me half a day to fully disassemble and clean out with washing & wiping. If I add the fans, CPU cooler, and all the rest, it's pretty much 1 machine per day MAX. I did that a few years back when I got a loadfull of old PCs from a local repair shop. Had to give them a wash (or if not, at least a good chlorine sheets wipe) because I wasn't sure what was lurking in those cases. A lot of work for mostly obsolete machines, but it's always nice when you need a case and know you have something clean and ready to go.

By the time I got done with this, I've got 2 working days in it. As I mentioned, the time of us peons isn't that valuable....if this were some other fella who's time is crazy valuable, this would be a $4,000 system now!

If someone wants it, I'll sell it for sure....but it was built with nobody in mind....

No surprise!
To anyone who tells me that Ltec caps are OK - take note here!
It seems that they used to be more "OK" back in the early P4 era... but became quite crap pretty quickly afterwards. So if anyone sees a PSU with Ltecs, just recap it. They are guaranteed trouble.

For sure....but the MBZ's in the secondary along with the Ltecs sure had me scratching my head. The Ltecs were on the +12v rail, and of course the rail was noisy on the scope. The rail of course quieted down after replacing them.

It's probably that new LG laptop that's the issue.
2560x1920 on a 17" screen, remember?

That would be a weird aspect ratio.... 2560x 1600 is a 16:10 and 2560x1440 is a 16:9....

I did finish this up today, the SSD came yesterday....I installed it this morning and loaded an OS. I stayed with 7 on this one....if someone wants the system and wants 10, I'll reload it for them....but most of my 'fleet' systems stay with 7. There's one more small round of pics coming of my alternate HDD mount, I'll do it tomorrow when I get in the office....I ran out of daylight today as some other stuff came in and I had to quit on this for a while....

[momaka]

Re: Topcat's XPS 625 Supermicro X8SAX Revival; First 2021 Build!

but this is one I won't spend much on, so it'll be build with what I have on hand, which after evaluating my stash of more modern hardware happens to be a Supermicro X8SAX (from the "tree" a year or so ago). It's rocking a Hexcore Xeon @ 3.46 w/24gb DDR3; maxed out with CPU and RAM, x58 chipset

That's actually quite nice, even for modern times.
I think that CPU at that frequency should be comparable to a 7th gen i5, or maybe slightly better... which is still a perfectly usable CPU for gaming even today.

What intrigued me about this case was it's lighting, which was not overdone and was placed in practical places. Above drive openings and at the IO area.

Nice!
This is how case lightning should always be done.

On that note, I contemplated at some point on whether I should install a green LED on my OptiPlex 170L PC down in the USB port area so I can see it better. However, due to the recessed opening where the USB ports are, I don't actually even need to see them to successfully plug in a USB drive without looking - can all be done through feeling. So I passed.

But I do like the idea of LED lights over frequently used ports - makes the PC easier to use with the lights off (especially for a gaming PC in a dark room.)

Filthy!!
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1610482748

https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1610482748

For sure. Though not too horribly filthy. I've seen a lot worse (and I'm sure you have too.)
And at least no roaches - those are the worst ones to work on. As JP (may his soul find peace) used to say here, you would have had to give it the RAID treatment - the kind that comes in a can!
(Man, I'll never forget some of the funny cool stuff he said. What a great person he was! )

No idea what GPU this is.....don't really care either.

https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1610495630

OK, time for retro-GPU-man here to see.
I am 99.99999% certain it is an ATI Radeon HD4670 with 512 MB DDR3.... DX10.1 card, PCI-E 2.0. ~65 Watts TDP.

Rather outdated by today's standards - at least for gaming. But these still make great GPUs for HTPC use, since they support HD audio pass-through over HDMI. So with a DVI-D to HDMI adapter (or just DVI-D to HDMI cable) you can run a TV and send digital audio directly to it. The HD4670 also has proper H.264 decoding capabilities.

CPU stuck to the sink and the backplate...

https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1610495630

https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1610495630

HAHA, noob!
J/k.
We used to tease each other really badly when someone did that back when I used to work as a refurb tech.

AMD CPUs can get quite tricky, especially if a good sticky paste like AS5 was used, and it was in service for many years on a hot-running CPU. No way to remove cooler on an AMD CPU without pulling it out, unless you pre-heated cooler (either run CPU without the fan for a few minutes or just heat-gun it for a few moments) and twisted the cooler off.

This board works, but the NIC is dead. It had a PCI adapter in it....probably see if I can offload it somewhere for cheap.....but otherwise it's probably scrap.

Let me guess...
nVidia chipset?
If yes, that's probably a good reason for the dead NIC (though it might not be.) Still, it would be a shame to toss this board just over a dead NIC. I see it has two PCI-E 16x slots, so you may still be able to sell it for a little pocket change, especially if it supports SLI.

This one is well beyond that..... The only way to properly clean this one is a complete disassembly & washing with cleaners & hot water.

Agreed.

When you get dusty smelly systems, you just can't clean them properly with only a blow job.

I've been working on this since 9 this morning, and it's 12:30 now....and I'm not even half way through it.

Well. considering how complex of a case/system this is, I'd say you're hella fast, actually. Most regular Dells and HPs take me half a day to fully disassemble and clean out with washing & wiping. If I add the fans, CPU cooler, and all the rest, it's pretty much 1 machine per day MAX. I did that a few years back when I got a loadfull of old PCs from a local repair shop. Had to give them a wash (or if not, at least a good chlorine sheets wipe) because I wasn't sure what was lurking in those cases. A lot of work for mostly obsolete machines, but it's always nice when you need a case and know you have something clean and ready to go.

Now for the power supply....and this answered a few questions... I'm not sure who actually builds this PSU for Dell, but it is very well built and packed tight!! Examining this PSU, its obvious why this system was taken out of service....you guessed it, some bad caps! It would power up and POST, but odds are it wasn't stable. I did no testing of the original hardware beyond POST.

PSU disassembled.

https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1610579036

They're 'Ltec' caps that failed. Note the Rubycon caps over in the secondary at the outputs....they're MBZ series 2200uF 10v. This is the first PSU I've ever seen a MBZ series in.... I always thought MBZ would be a bit too low ESR for PSU use. The UCC's shown are KZE and KHZ. I had to place an order for some caps, there were some values I didn't have....minor delay reassembling.

https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1610579036

No surprise!
To anyone who tells me that Ltec caps are OK - take note here!
It seems that they used to be more "OK" back in the early P4 era... but became quite crap pretty quickly afterwards. So if anyone sees a PSU with Ltecs, just recap it. They are guaranteed trouble.

Where'd he say that? As much stuff as he buys & sells, he must love selling children!

LOL!
This is the funniest savage comment I have seen in a long while!

I just suck at selling things.

Same.
I either end up giving things out because I'm too lazy/unmotivated to sell them or I just hoard them. I do try to give out the stuff that other people can use. But the junky PCs with issues that no one wants or no one should ever try to use, I just keep for myself to play with... and that's more than a few here.

X8SAX

XANAX

I suggest new glasses....or quit thinkin' about drugs!

It's probably that new LG laptop that's the issue.
2560x1920 on a 17" screen, remember?

[Topcat]

Re: Topcat's XPS 625 Supermicro X8SAX Revival; First 2021 Build!

when I first read the title I thought it said Supermicro XANAX

X8SAX

XANAX

I suggest new glasses....or quit thinkin' about drugs!

[ChaosLegionnaire]

Re: Topcat's XPS 625 Supermicro X8SAX Revival; First 2021 Build!

i dont think building supermicro server computers would give u panic and anxiety disorders that would make u require a xanax. if u did then u are in the wrong job! time for a career change!!

[RJARRRPCGP]

Re: Topcat's XPS 625 Supermicro X8SAX Revival; First 2021 Build!

when I first read the title I thought it said Supermicro XANAX

LOL!

[Uranium-235]

Re: Topcat's XPS 625 Supermicro X8SAX Revival; First 2021 Build!

when I first read the title I thought it said Supermicro XANAX

[ratdude747]

Re: Topcat's XPS 625 Supermicro X8SAX Revival; First 2021 Build!

That's called a hoarder....don't worry, I have this affliction too....I've just learned to control it and try to keep it organized....

Sadly you're right...

[Topcat]

Re: Topcat's XPS 625 Supermicro X8SAX Revival; First 2021 Build!

Where'd he say that? As much stuff as he buys & sells, he must love selling children!

It was in one of his posts when talking about selling old equipment....or his 'hoard' he was putting out for the trash man....something along the lines of "I love them like my children, but they just sit around collecting dust and I can't seem to give them away".....although the latter part of that is not word for word....but it's close.

The latter is the case for many of my builds. A few, not so much... I just suck at selling things.

That's called a hoarder....don't worry, I have this affliction too....I've just learned to control it and try to keep it organized....

[ratdude747]

Re: Topcat's XPS 625 Supermicro X8SAX Revival; First 2021 Build!

I believe Brethin said it best; "I love them like my children..."

Where'd he say that? As much stuff as he buys & sells, he must love selling children!

The above said, it doesn't bother me to part with them...for me, it's the 'thrill of the build'. For some reason I find it therapeutic...the more creative & weird I can make the build, the better it is..... When it's done, it doesn't bother me to sell. Some are worth more than others, and ones that have 'gifted' parts from friends inside I tend to not let go of....which is a very few of the overall pile...

The latter is the case for many of my builds. A few, not so much... I just suck at selling things.

[Topcat]

Re: Topcat's XPS 625 Supermicro X8SAX Revival; First 2021 Build!

I sure did... but money talks, and some wallets use bullhorns.

At least you know when to let go... I have four workstations sitting likely to never see use again (two Xeon Gallatin (X5DAL), one Xeon Irwindale (X6DAE-G2), one Opteron 200 series (H8DC8)). Shame, but it is what it is.

I believe Brethin said it best; "I love them like my children..."

The above said, it doesn't bother me to part with them...for me, it's the 'thrill of the build'. For some reason I find it therapeutic...the more creative & weird I can make the build, the better it is..... When it's done, it doesn't bother me to sell. Some are worth more than others, and ones that have 'gifted' parts from friends inside I tend to not let go of....which is a very few of the overall pile...

[ratdude747]

Re: Topcat's XPS 625 Supermicro X8SAX Revival; First 2021 Build!

I do sell them periodically, I have no trouble rehoming retro builds, especially anything 3DFX..... I remember once upon a time Ratdude LOL'ing at a crazy price I had on one....and it sold for more than that when I tossed it on ebay (just for grins, never expected it to sell)...it was on for ~3 weeks and had over 80 watchers!!

I lent out one of the X7DCA builds to a client that needed a good work from home workstation when all the covid craziness started, it was used for a couple months while she generated the funds for me to build a more modern system....so once in a while, they do actually 'work'.....but they're for the most part just things to tinker with.

I sure did... but money talks, and some wallets use bullhorns.

At least you know when to let go... I have four workstations sitting likely to never see use again (two Xeon Gallatin (X5DAL), one Xeon Irwindale (X6DAE-G2), one Opteron 200 series (H8DC8)). Shame, but it is what it is.

[Topcat]

Re: Topcat's XPS 625 Supermicro X8SAX Revival; First 2021 Build!

TopCat

I would like to know what do you do with all the computer finds and friends that give you broken or no longer wanted them

I like reading your finds and what and what you do to them

I do sell them periodically, I have no trouble rehoming retro builds, especially anything 3DFX..... I remember once upon a time Ratdude LOL'ing at a crazy price I had on one....and it sold for more than that when I tossed it on ebay (just for grins, never expected it to sell)...it was on for ~3 weeks and had over 80 watchers!!

I lent out one of the X7DCA builds to a client that needed a good work from home workstation when all the covid craziness started, it was used for a couple months while she generated the funds for me to build a more modern system....so once in a while, they do actually 'work'.....but they're for the most part just things to tinker with.