**Dell PowerEdge T20 Mini Tower Server - Owner Thread**

brakeinup said:
I needed more discs in my T20 but was out of ports, so purchased a used PERC H310 for £22 and flashed to IT mode. This has 2 ports enabling 8 SATA after flashing (and buying SAS to SATA cables). This works really well. Also added in a used drive cage from another Dell. Running SSD for OS and 5 discs. Temperatures are fine with the standard fan setup.

For the cost and minimal hassle (flashing), the H310 is an excellent buy IMO if you are looking to increase the port count.
Click to expand...

Good info. Does this work fine within a virtual environment such as ESXI?
 
I've just managed to get a Xeon 1225v3 for my T20 which is running ESXI. Do any of you know if you can update the bios without having windows installed on these (i.e. form a USB in the bios itself?).
 
Chucked an i3 in mine that I got out of an old desktop the other day. It was on the compatibility list that comes with the new BIOS.

Absolutely flys in comparison to the old Pentium guff. Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised.
 
Dredge this thread back up.

Finally installed an E3-1220-V3 myself to replace the g3220 so i can start some VM's all is good apart from I appear to have lost all video out, so i presume its something to do with onboard video on the CPU maybe?

I'm not getting POST or a way to get into the BIOS. Do I have to put my old CPU back in to check what setting has locked me out?

I've tried the VGA out, and the Displayport -> HDMI adapter both into a monitor and neither give me anything.

Unraid is booted up and i can log on to my server etc, ironically just can't get local access....

Any ideas? Rather not have to take the thing apart again to do a swap of CPU etc :(
 
Ah makes perfect sense, so the displayport and vga ports will offer nothing without a valid CPU, im suprised the g3220 had onboard graphics if im honest just assumed the board had something built in too.

Ark says g3220 has integrated graphics, oops my bad, does explain why it was so cheap now :D

Hmmm, so i need to find a graphics card now too.... bummer!
 
LeperousDust said:
Ah makes perfect sense, so the displayport and vga ports will offer nothing without a valid CPU, im suprised the g3220 had onboard graphics if im honest just assumed the board had something built in too.

Ark says g3220 has integrated graphics, oops my bad, does explain why it was so cheap now :D

Hmmm, so i need to find a graphics card now too.... bummer!
Click to expand...

If the last number in the model is a 5 or a 6, it has iGPU, if it's a 0, it won't, the exception being if it has an L afterwards. So an e3 1220 has no iGPU, but a 1225, 1226 and 1260L do. The desktop i3's and pentium stuff tends to as it's intended for low end desktops/office use, it's cheap, power efficient and lets the user watch cat videos on YouTube while pretending to do spreadsheets.
 
ChocolateStarfishRammer said:
Hang on, what happened with the BIOS and new CPU support?

Can I chuck something with more grunt then my Xeon e3-1225 v3 in there for a reasonable price now??
Click to expand...

I just upgraded my T20 with a i5-4570 (2ndhand). Cost next to nothing
NickTheBiz said:
Guys, I need to upgrade my crappy Pentium CPU in my T20. Is there anything still for sale/available that's cost effective? Don't need much of a boost, it's doing little more than acting as a RAID array, but when I try and watch Twitch or a film on it, it's very poor.
Click to expand...

I just stuck an i5-4570 in mine after upgrading to BIOS A20. Dirt cheap 2nd hand. Works like a charm :)
 
JensiBoy said:
I just upgraded my T20 with a i5-4570 (2ndhand). Cost next to nothing


I just stuck an i5-4570 in mine after upgrading to BIOS A20. Dirt cheap 2nd hand. Works like a charm :)
Click to expand...

BUT..I just found out that it doesn't support ECC memory. Before the upgrade I never thought about checking ECC support for the "new" CPU. Surely something to consider before upgrading.
Posting this as there might be someone out there, like me, that tinkers with old stuff and is looking for information.
 
You aren’t the first and are unlikely to be the last to make that particular mistake. The general rule is ECC is a Xeon feature, beyond that you always need to check if using a server board/ECC as some generations had support in i3’s etc.
 
Very late to the party - but I picked up a second hand T20.

I've flashed the BIOS to A20 and found 16GB ECC memory for it.

I now would like to upgrade the CPU (from Pentium --> Xeon).

What CPU is recommended and what PSU / GPU can I upgrade to?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom