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

[itsthejb]

From your own link:



Sounds like HT Technology is turned off in the BIOS - this would limit it to 4 processes rather than 8 and would make it score basically the same as an E3-1225v3

Amazing! Alright, I'll check this later and report back

 

[itsthejb]

Alright! You were very right:

Intel Xeon CPU E3-1275 v3 @ 3.50GHz (x86_64)
4 cores @ 3900 MHz  |  31.3 GiB RAM
Number of Processes: 8  |  Test Iterations: 1  |  Test Duration: Medium
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
CPU Mark:                          7076
  Integer Math                     22951 Million Operations/s
  Floating Point Math              12009 Million Operations/s
  Prime Numbers                    31.3 Million Primes/s
  Sorting                          14561 Thousand Strings/s
  Encryption                       2260 MB/s
  Compression                      107804 KB/s
  CPU Single Threaded              2246 Million Operations/s
  Physics                          544 Frames/s
  Extended Instructions (SSE)      5216 Million Matrices/s

And here's the updated Geekbench comparison: https://browser.geekbench.com/v5/cpu/compare/19977749?baseline=19545154

Thanks very much for your help there! Wouldn't have worked that out myself

 

[canyadigit]

My unit might have finally croaked.
Had installed TrueNAS and had it up and running, was able to access the web portal and look at my drives, set up pools.
Few weeks go by and now looking to install HomeAssistant OS, due to my need for USB passthrough sensor info, and not wanting to fiddle with USB over VM.
Server will not stay on, stuck in a reboot loop. Unplugged everything except power and DVI-HDMI cord. Not experienced enough to troubleshoot the mobo itself.

Any thoughts? I'm willing to try a few more troubleshooting routes but I'm leaning towards throwing in the towel unfortunately.
I've had this stuck in a cupboard for years and thought I finally would be putting to good use, as a NAS, or ideally Home Automation hub.

Server Build

https://i.dell.com/sites/doccontent/corporate/secure/en/Documents/PowerEdge_T20_spec_sheet.pdf

CPU
Intel Xeon E3-1275 v3
GPU
Intel HD Graphics P4600
SSD
PNY CS1311 240GB
HDD
WD3000BKHG 300GB
RAM
Crucial CT102472BD160B.M18 4x8GB
MBD
dell poweredge t20

 

[itsthejb]

Hi everyone,

There are two of these bad boys on eBay U.K. right now. Auction ending tomorrow, currently just £100 each

Dell Poweredge T20 Server x2 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Dell Poweredge T20 Server x2 at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[Buckster]

The 2 of mine are still going strong

My daughter's one has a 1050Ti in it and I'm about to put a 3060 or 6650xt in my one I use as a HTPC

Replaced PSU on hers about to change mine to a TX550 before changing graphics card

They are unbelievably good on power usage with just the integrated graphics I've measured mine with the Xeon in it as low as 18W at idle measured at the wall !

 

[Gman]

The fan on the PSU seems to be on its last legs and has started making a noise.

Anyone know a replacement?

I've managed to strip the PSU down and remove the fan, it's a...

80mm 12v 0.3a

I've got a 80mm 12v but it's 0.2a, and for some reason it won't spin when the powers on.

Any tips guys?
Just can't seem to find a replacement.

 

[Buckster]

Can't help with the fan and not a cheap option but I replaced the PSU in both of mine (so as to upgrade GPU) I put a Seasonic 650 in one and a Corsair 550W in the other - obviously mobo cable needed a converter was required

 

[Buffalo2102]

Like Buckster, I transplanted mine to a standard ATX case and PSU. I've probably got the original PSU here somewhere and if I can find it we can work something out if you like. I'll take a look and let you know.

 

[Buckster]

I never considered changing the case too ?! Is the mobo a standard size mount wise ?

 

[Buffalo2102]

It was some time ago but I don't remember having any issues with the mobo mounting. I put it into a bigger case because I needed more room for hard drives.

 

[Gman]

Cheers guys for the replies.

I might have got another PSU in another case.
What's the adapter I'll probably need for the connections, please ?

 

[Buffalo2102]

There are some posts about it earlier in this thread and also here: Dell T20 Hardware Upgrade

The adapter is a ATX -> Dell 8 Pin power adapter cable. I got mine from eBay, I think. There are also one or two other tweaks required to prevent some MB error messages on boot. I recommend that you do some detailed research before you start. It's not too difficult but not something you want to enter into casually either.

 

[Buckster]

I used a cable from the forest place not sure if I can link or not within rules ?

No bios tweaks were required

 

[Gman]

I used a cable from the forest place not sure if I can link or not within rules ?

No bios tweaks were required

I think so provided OC don't sell the same thing

 

[itsthejb]

Hi everyone, hope you're all still enjoying your T20s. Was wondering about the topic of re-casing mine, so that I don't need to dispose of older drives as I upgrade. The case in https://www.truenas.com/community/threads/hardware-upgrade-from-dell-t20.61473/ is probably overkill for me, and I'm a bit of a parts ignoramus. Am I correct in gathering the basics that:

• Can get any ATX case, just need Dell power adapter
• I should endeavour to hack in all the standard components, to avoid boot errors/warnings?

Got 4x 3.5 HDs and 2x 2.5 HDs in mine right now. I suppose it would be nice to have space for another 4x 3.5s, provided I can get a case that is only somewhat larger than the stock case

Thanks!

 

[Buffalo2102]

Yes, any case will be fine with a ATX PSU and the power adapter.
I had to make the cable hacks described in post #171 to avoid the boot errors but all works fine now.

I put mine into a Corsair ATX case with a Dell H310 and I now have 4 x 2.5" and 4 x 3.5" drives installed.

 

[CaptainCrash]

Yes, any case will be fine with a ATX PSU and the power adapter.
I had to make the cable hacks described in post #171 to avoid the boot errors but all works fine now.

Just as a heads-up, there's now an adapter kit from AliExpress (and probably other outlets closer to home) which will allow simple connection of any standard case to the Dell's front panel headers and power switch, with no cable hacks required (don't think it was available when the case transplants were being discussed upthread several years ago). Not sure if I can link directly for the usual reasons, but it's described as "Frontpanel Header Adapter, Dell Optiplex 7010 9010 7020 9020 Precision T1700" - it also fits the T20 which has the same motherboard headers, although the T30 is apparently a bit awkward because of the placement of the m.2 slot.

This just leaves the intrusion detector to be dealt with (can be removed and disabled in the BIOS) and the annoying 5-pin CPU fan connector which you're more or less lumbered with (there may be an adapter for other fans which doesn't result in BIOS boot warnings, can't remember off the top of my head).

 

[R.C.Anderson]

I stopped using mine a couple years ago to upgrade to a more powerful unit.

It's still a great little machine, just the number of PCI-E slots & SATA ports were a little limitting for me running Unraid & wanting a few VMs with GPUs etc. For the majority of it's life it was transplanted into a different case, but using the original PSU. I managed to get most of the errors gone with help from the earlier post for pinouts. From memory, even with errors, you can still boot, you just have to hit a key (F1 I think) on boot to bypass the errors (not too much of an issue if easily accessable, or rarely powered down, but a bit of a pain if regulalry shutdown & trying to run headless in a cupboard!)

 

[Buffalo2102]

Just as a heads-up, there's now an adapter kit from AliExpress (and probably other outlets closer to home) which will allow simple connection of any standard case to the Dell's front panel headers and power switch, with no cable hacks required (don't think it was available when the case transplants were being discussed upthread several years ago). Not sure if I can link directly for the usual reasons, but it's described as "Frontpanel Header Adapter, Dell Optiplex 7010 9010 7020 9020 Precision T1700" - it also fits the T20 which has the same motherboard headers, although the T30 is apparently a bit awkward because of the placement of the m.2 slot.

This just leaves the intrusion detector to be dealt with (can be removed and disabled in the BIOS) and the annoying 5-pin CPU fan connector which you're more or less lumbered with (there may be an adapter for other fans which doesn't result in BIOS boot warnings, can't remember off the top of my head).

Really useful information, thank you.

 

[itsthejb]

Hi everyone,

My much loved (and old) T20 now appears to have gained a noisy and rattling power supply. So something is wrong and will need to be resolved. Has anyone else had this issue and resolved it in the short-term?

I also have thoughts to finally replace the unit with a mini/micro PC and DAS box for drives, so if anyone else has upgrade the machine in recent times to something similarly (or more) powerful, then I'm open to opinions to finally upgrade.

Cheers!