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Dell PowerEdge SC420 Server $229 after coupon

R

rasputinj

Diamond Member

Dell Small Business has a great deal on the Dell PowerEdge SC420 Server



Loaded with

Intel® Celeron® processor, 325J, 2.53GHz, 256KB Cache, 533MHz FSB

256MB DDR2, 400MHz,1X256, Single Ranked DIMMs

48X, Compact Disk Drive, 680M I, Half Height, Black, for PowerEdge SC

1 Year Basic Plan

Onboard SATA, 1 Drive connected to Onboard SATA Controller

40GB, Serial ATA, 1 inch, 7.2K RPM, Hard Drive


all for $229 with free shipping

after coupon code
 
Yeah, so where is the "coupon" on your site? All I see is the same $354 config I can get without going to your site.
 
Are the SC420's about as quiet as the SC400s? I'm amazed at how quiet the 400SC is... Also, is this as "desktop usable" as a 400? If not, can you still buy 400's from Dell or are they gone forever?
 
I'm not positive, but I think the 420s have a few downsides (if you're just looking for a dirt cheap desktop) compared to the SC400s. First, they use DDR2 RAM, which is pretty pricy right now. Second, I think they ditched the AGP slot in favor of one of these new fancy PCI slots, but someone was saying you had to take a dremel to it to get a good video card working? Third, pretty sure they abandoned the integrated sound, etc.

IMO the 400s were a better deal. In fact I bought a few for my dad's office and I'm thinking about swapping a 420 out for one of them and keeping the 400 for myself.
 
Monotaur: Most, if not all of your questions are answered in the unofficial FAQ:

SC420 unofficial FAQ

I don't own a 420 (yet) so I can't answer your questions from personal knowledge. It is my understanding that the 400 is now history.
 
Originally posted by: Monotaur
Are the SC420's about as quiet as the SC400s? I'm amazed at how quiet the 400SC is... Also, is this as "desktop usable" as a 400? If not, can you still buy 400's from Dell or are they gone forever?
Click to expand...

My SC420 is almost dead silent.
 
Can we get an E-Value code? I see that the coupon code is for up to $270 off but it doesn't seem to work with the free cpu upgrade and such.
 
coupon is on dell's website..
1) dell.com
2) click small business
3) you should see info about a hot deal on the SC420 that ends at 11pm CT 12/21/04
 
I'm a newbie so sorry if this is a dumb question. Does anyone know if this board has regular IDE slots for older harddrives? I read the manual and it seems like it only has SATA and SCSI slots. I bought a 200G HD a year or so ago and I'd like to be able to plug it in if at all possible.

Thanks
 
Originally posted by: twaitsfan
I'm a newbie so sorry if this is a dumb question. Does anyone know if this board has regular IDE slots for older harddrives? I read the manual and it seems like it only has SATA and SCSI slots. I bought a 200G HD a year or so ago and I'd like to be able to plug it in if at all possible.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure it has a single primary IDE connector. so you can attach up to 2 IDE drives as well as sata

I ordered one up yesterday for xmas for my dad. Was looking for that official "faq" posted above. Hope it works well as a desktop
 
the coupon on your site isnt working. im geting $354

is it specific w/o the free processor upgrade and 10$ upgrade to the 80gb HDD
 
My SC420 is almost dead silent.
Click to expand...


wish i could say the same about mine, i would get a whistling noise from the cpu fan, and i'm not the only person to have the problem.

this pc is cheap for a server, don't buy it if you want to game with it, you aren't guaranteed to get the pci-express slot modded & working with all video cards.

i ended up striping mine out, and selling on the case & m/b
 
this pc is cheap for a server, don't buy it if you want to game with it, you aren't guaranteed to get the pci-express slot modded & working with all video cards.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that's good to know since gaming is at least half of what I want it for.

I've got an older system that I want to upgrade, and I want to bring over some of the stuff I bought: DVD\RW, 200GHD, etc. Just gotta find a deal that I can get a desktop w/o monitor, keyboard, etc....
 
Originally posted by: foolish501
My SC420 is almost dead silent.
Click to expand...


wish i could say the same about mine, i would get a whistling noise from the cpu fan, and i'm not the only person to have the problem.

this pc is cheap for a server, don't buy it if you want to game with it, you aren't guaranteed to get the pci-express slot modded & working with all video cards.

i ended up striping mine out, and selling on the case & m/b
Click to expand...

Same here, while it is not as noisy as another PowerEdge I got 3 years ago with Delta Black Label fan, it still have noise of air circulation. I am thinking about replacing the fan with Panaflow or Vantec Stealth. Can't sleep with one of these on.
 
I bought one for my wife and it's quiet enough for us. She had a 7 year old emachines before that which was tons louder so our experience may be biased a bit. I like it, but definitely upgrade the graphics with a PCI card. The integrated video just plain sucks. When I move windows around it has a hard time sometimes keeping up. But for what my wife uses it for (surfing, photo printing, basic word processing) this machine is exactly what she needs. I wouldn't buy one for myself though for gaming.
 
Originally posted by: Thump553
Monotaur: Most, if not all of your questions are answered in the unofficial FAQ:

SC420 unofficial FAQ

I don't own a 420 (yet) so I can't answer your questions from personal knowledge. It is my understanding that the 400 is now history.
Click to expand...

That site is apparently defaced.
 
Originally posted by: Childs
Originally posted by: Thump553
Monotaur: Most, if not all of your questions are answered in the unofficial FAQ:

SC420 unofficial FAQ

I don't own a 420 (yet) so I can't answer your questions from personal knowledge. It is my understanding that the 400 is now history.
Click to expand...

That site is apparently defaced.
Click to expand...



that is weird.. it was up like only an hour ago... well when (and if) it goes back up.. check out the threads in the forum that the FAQ is in, people ask about many more aspects, for instance

it doesn't come with a sound card, but you can use almost any PCI (Soundblaster Live) off eBay for like $10 or less shipped

there's also a thread about the PCI express video cards that people got working for it, I think theres also the option of using a regular PCI video card...

and about the sound.. I think its nearly impossible to build a computer for less than this price and Dell manages to include a 1 year warranty, so I wouldn't expect too much, but its a pretty decent machine for $239!!!

Also-- I didn't know they made Serial ATA hard drives in 40GB ?
 
I have two of the SC420 servers that were bought under the Dell Promo special on Dec 12. One with P4 2.8 160G SATA and one with the Celeron 2.53 80G Sata.

Both systems cost less than $590..delivered....COMBINED....!

One is still in the box (Celeron) and the other is set up as a DESKTOP...regardless of what Dell would have you believe.

The PCIe slot modification was easily done with the careful application of a soldering iron to remove two small plastic dividers. Minimal cleanup was required using a utility knife and an ATI X700Pro 256K video card was installed with no problem. You just have to be careful not to damage the socket with excessive heat or bend any of the contact pins.

Anyone who says this machine cannot be used for games....has not tried it. With the P4 2.8 and 1G of PC2-4200 DDR2 memory ( additional memory modules added after delivery), using the X700Pro video card ...It is VERY fast...!

You will need to add a PCI modem card ($15) (or cable modem card)and a PCI sound card ($25)

The fan noise is not silent, but it is far less obtrusive than the AMD 1.3 G desktop it replaced. For my purpose it is very acceptable.

The only issue is loading the correct drivers needed for your desktop operating system as Dell made the installation a bit more tedious by concentrating only on including server Op system drivers. But the drivers needed for Win 2000 Pro and WinXP are available. Some are common to the server drivers on the supplied Dell driver CD. But a trip to the Microsoft web site to insure your Op system has the latest Service Pack updates and any needed drivers will complete the system.

I don't think you can buy more bang for the buck.

However, it is not a good choice for those who want to take a new desktop out of the box, plug it in, and begin playing games. If that is your expectation...look elsewhere. ( 4700, 8400) But expect to pay twice as much for the convienience.

The SC420 is an EXCELLENT base on which a knowledgeable person , willing to do a little extra work, can build a super system for CHEAP...!

Also the following web site has become an excellent resource on this particular model, describing what modifcations are needed and what video components / drivers have been successful.

http://www.aaltonen.us/forums/viewforum.php?f=4




Kerry

 
Wow, lots of great info here - thanks!

I did have one more question though (it is not directly related to just SC420's though). I'm currently replacing my obnoxiously loud Dell Dimension 4600 with a 400SC... the 4600 has a 3.0 P4 and the 400SC a 2.8 P4... Naturally, I switched CPUs last night but while I was doing so I noticed that the 2.8 (from the 400SC) had a thicker, one-peiece aluminum heat sink while the 3.0 (from the 4600) has a thinner, what-looks-to-be-steel heatsink (although with about twice as many fins - and they look like they've been 'pressed' into the base, not one piece like the 2.8's). Anyway, I was wondering which heat sink was better? And if I should keep them paired with the system that they came with or with their original CPU? The way I changed them last night, they each went with their original CPU, but now I'm thinking that might have been a mistake since the fans are much different between systems (and the 400SC's fan might have been mated to the one-piece aluminum heat sink). What kind of heat sink does the 420 come with? Should I trade heatsinks back? I hate to keep moving them though, since each time the thermal grease is disturbed...

Thanks!
 
How about this SC420 for just secondary desktop usage without the gaming?

I don't even want to take the time to add in anything else other than maybe some extra ram and use it as a linux pc that I can just a KVM switch with since I don't like dual booting and would like to have a windows desktop and a linux desktop available at the same time.

Also, if this is being used in a dorm room, would it be loud enough to keep someone awake? I know the SC400s were quiet but seems like we're getting some different things about these systems.

 
The coupon worked for me, the Dell site actually shows you the coupon code as well right after you click on the S420 deal banner.
 
Originally posted by: BigJimbo
is it just me or is the coupon on his site not working??????
Click to expand...

worked for me I purchased one, make sure there are no extra spaces on the coupon code, I am not sure if it will only work for the Celeron config, I would think it would not matter.

 
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