What were the best Core 2 duo/quad SFF (slim) desktops?

[cbn]

After adding this 64 GB SSD (even though it is really slow for an SSD with the 4K random write of 2000 IOPs), I can definitely say it made using my HP DC5800 a lot more enjoyable. For example, I can now open more browser tabs (with my limited 2GB RAM) than I used to without it slowing down as much. I assume this has to do with faster disk swapping speed compared to the 80GB HDD I was using.

 

[cbn]

Ultimately, I think comparing Core 2 Pre-built to Sandy Bridge Pre-built will depend on sale prices. I've seen C2D units with Windows 7 64 bit drop to as low as $51.75 shipped on sale, but the RAM is only 2GB and the HDD 80GB. If we see LGA 1155 units drop closer to that with more RAM and better hard drives it could mean we have a new low cost standard. With that mentioned, there is also LGA 1156 to consider as well.

Although this is not a quad core model, the following Sandy Bridge Pentium with Windows 7 Pro 64 bit, 4GB RAM and 250 GB HDD is currently on sale for $95 free shipping:

http://flash.newegg.com/Product/9SIA2PF2CK8779?icid=WP_0_05172015

 

[sm625]

My DC5800 is pretty quiet.

 

[cbn]

For people looking for cheap storage, I found the following price trends while shopping on Amazon:

New Western Digital Caviar SE 80GB SATA 3.5" HDD starting at around $13 to $14 shipped.

New Western Digital Caviar SE 160GB SATA 3.5" HDD starting at around $17 to $18 shipped.

New Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB SATA 3.5" HDD starting at $22 shipped.

 

[cbn]

Some price updates on the dual cores (from ebay "Buy it now" listings):

E6850 starting @ $7 shipped
E8400 starting @ $7 shipped
E8500 starting @ $10 shipped
E8600 starting @ $19 shipped

 

[Hi-Fi Man]

The Dell Optiplex 380 is a great SSF box. DDR3 support and LGA 771 support.

Just got a LGA 771 Xeon E5450 for $31, Plextor M3 60GB SSD $50, and GeForce GT 740 $66 ($20 rebate) for this machine. I had 2 2GB sticks of DDR3 lying around that I threw in to upgrade from 1GB.

Once I get the SSD this thing will be blazing fast.

 

[cbn]

For people that don't want to do the LGA 771 to LGA 775 mod the following processors have dropped in price:

Q8300 starts @ $18 shipped
Q6600 starts @ $19 shipped
X3320 (LGA 775 Xeon with same specs as Q9300) starts @ $20 shipped

E8400 starts @ $5.68 shipped

 

[cbn]

For someone needing additional video outputs (or perhaps just a bit of GPU power), the following PowerColor Go! Green AX5450 1GBK3-SH (HD5450 1GB 64 bit DDR3) video card consistently goes on sale for $9.99 After rebate, free shipping:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...rebbr=1&cm_sp=

P.S. Regarding Power Color rebates, be very careful how the form is filled out. They have some very detailed instructions that need to be followed exactly (example: do not mistakenly use Newegg's "Order details" as the invoice) , but so far my experience with the single rebate I have filed has been good. It only took me about 5 1/2 weeks to receive my rebate and it was in the form of an actual check rather than a reward card.

 

[cbn]

I just completed the LGA 771 Xeon to LGA 775 mod on a Dell Optiplex 360 (16 liter Slim desktop, not the 10 liter SFF model)

All I did was install the sticker on the back of my Xeon E5440 (C0 stepping) like this:

(NOTE: the adapter sticker I bought had some pads on the back of it that needed to be removed first)

http://www.delidded.com/lga-771-to-775-adapter/#how-adapter-works

And modified the socket by cutting off the two plastic tabs (circled in red):

http://www.delidded.com/lga-771-to-775-adapter/#lga-775-socket-mod

Then I installed CPU and HSF and it booted right up. (No need to update BIOS, which was A01)

It was basically a plug and play operation for me.

Now I am rocking a Harpertown Quad core at 2.83 Ghz with 12 MB cache. Sweet!!!

P.S. My advice to anyone doing this mod is to make sure you have a set of fine pointed tweezers (useful for applying the sticker to the cpu and removing the plastic tabs from the socket), a sharp knife (I used an X-acto clone from harbor freight tools) and good light so you can see what you are doing.

NOTE: As mentioned earlier in the thread, Dell Optiplex 360 doesn't fully support E0 stepping Xeons --> http://www.delidded.com/lga-771-to-775-adapter/3/#dell , but C0 steppings have been reported to work fine. Therefore if a person is contemplating this mod with Optiplex 360, look for the C0 stepping Xeons on this list ---> http://www.delidded.com/list-of-intel-lga-771-xeon-processors/ (Example: C0 stepping for E5440 is SLANS)

^^^ Today I upgraded this machine to Windows 10 Pro (from Windows 7 Pro) without any problems.

After the machine was upgraded to Windows 10, I used Belarc advisor to find the new product key (re: MS changes the product key on the machine when the user upgrades from Windows 7 to Windows 10). I then used this Microsoft link here. to download the ISO so I could do a fresh install.

 

[lolwatpear]

1. Choosing the Xeon processors:

According to Dell Motherboard list ---> http://www.delidded.com/lga-771-to-775-adapter/3/#dell, Dell Optiplex 780 won't work with 5xxx Xeons (It has Q45 chipset).

So my advice would be to go for either X3363 or X3323.

The Dell Optiplex 380, on the other hand, can work with 5xxx Xeons so I would suggest either E5450 or E5440. I would stay with C0 steppings to play it safe. (SLANQ is C0 stepping for E5450 and SLANS is C0 stepping for E5440.)


2. Obtaining the adapters:

I can't post ebay links, but there is list of ebay sellers that can be found under #2 of this link --> http://www.delidded.com/lga-771-to-775-adapter/


3. Obtain proper installation tools:

I suggest an X-acto knife and a set of fine pointed tweezers.

You will use the tweezers to help guide the adapter sticker into proper position on the CPU. The X-acto knife is used for making a cut into both of the plastic tabs in the motherboard socket. Then the tweezers and used once again for pulling and separating the tabs out of the socket area.


4. Install CPU:

Once the adapter sticker is installed on the cpu and the two plastic tabs have been cut out of the socket you will be ready to install the cpu into the socket of the motherboard. The Dell manual, available online, is a great resource for installation steps (eg, removing and reinstalling Dell Specific heatsink fan assembly, etc).


5. Boot Desktop:

If you are lucky like me it will just boot up on the first try and the motherboard BIOS will recognize the processor as a Xeon quad core. However, in some cases, the BIOS may need to be updated.



P.S. Let us know how things worked out and what processors and stepping you used.

(I meant this to be a PM, but I don't have enough posts)

I see you recommended the X3323 or X3363. I'm thinking I'd go for the X3323 since it's about 50% cheaper. My question is only that I run a bsel modded q6600 at 3.0ghz currently. I'm just wondering if I'd see a performance decrease going to this 2.5ghz LGA 771 CPU. Does the architectural improvements (I assume) or size decrease make up for? I'd like to go to this CPU mainly for the lower tdp as the heat is causing slowdowns.

Also there's absolutely no way a 5xxx would run in the system, right? I wouldn't care if an error message came up in the bios if it at least would work.

 

[cbn]

(I meant this to be a PM, but I don't have enough posts)

I see you recommended the X3323 or X3363. I'm thinking I'd go for the X3323 since it's about 50% cheaper. My question is only that I run a bsel modded q6600 at 3.0ghz currently. I'm just wondering if I'd see a performance decrease going to this 2.5ghz LGA 771 CPU. Does the architectural improvements (I assume) or size decrease make up for? I'd like to go to this CPU mainly for the lower tdp as the heat is causing slowdowns.

What motherboard and chipset do you have?

 

[cbn]

Also there's absolutely no way a 5xxx would run in the system, right? I wouldn't care if an error message came up in the bios if it at least would work.

Some people have used 5xxx Xeons in Pre-built desktops that don't support it (One example that I can think of is a E5450 in a DC7900). They get an error message when they boot up though.

 

[cbn]

A new record low in Windows 7 Core 2 SFF pricing:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=37695592&postcount=5

 

[cbn]

Do you have a differing opinion on the DC5800?

According to these pics the cooling doesn't look too bad with a 92 mm intake fan (with shroud and 4 pin power connection) and the custom form factor PSU with 19 amps on the 12v rail (shown below) looks like it also has a fairly large fan (with some of the air bypassing the PSU internals):

Maybe a new intake fan could quiet the computer down if necessary. (Not sure what to say about that custom form factor PSU other than it looks like it functions partially as a pure exhaust fan with only part of the airflow actually going thru the psu itself. I wonder if its fan is also replaceable?)

P.S. Judging by the PCI-E x16 slot this PC will only take a low profile single slot card video card (with a low profile single slot cooler). It should be able to take a dual slot low profile video card.

For anyone contemplating replacing the intake fan, instructions on how to do that can be found here:

http://h20564.www2.hp.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docId=emr_na-c01637663

(DC5800 instructions are the same as the DC7900)

 

[cbn]

Current ebay "buy it now" prices:

E8400: starting at $5 shipped
E8500: starting at $7 shipped
E8600: starting at $15 shipped
Q6600: starting at $15 shipped
Q8300: starting at $15 shipped

HP or Dell brand 2 x 1 GB: starting at $7 shipped

That is pretty cheap.

That means for a machine with a low end C2D and 2GB RAM, going to E8400 and 4GB RAM only costs $12 (assuming the machine has four DIMM slots).

 

[VirtualLarry]

I picked up a used Q8400 2.66Ghz Core2Quad for $15 last week. Thought that was a fair deal.
It is intended for a friend's rig, that currently has an E5200 or equivalent CPU in it.

And in keeping with this thread, I was just thinking, after getting my ASRock DeskMini STX rig, that it would be really cool if ASRock released a Socket 775 STX kit, to use up all of those 775 CPUs floating around ebay.

Granted, it would have to deal with a slightly higher TDP (could limit it to only duals and slower 45nm quads), and the integrated video might suck or be unsupported by modern drivers, but it could be doable.

Edit: It would probably have to be the G41 or G45 chipset, with DDR3 SO-DIMMs, to be viable. DDR2 SO-DIMMs would cost too much, and not have enough capacity to be useful. (You can get 2x4GB DDR3 SO-DIMM 1.5V easily. DDR2 SO-DIMMs were generally 2GB in size, so that would limit you to 4GB total, which isn't enough these days.)

 

[Blue_Max]

I like the Dell smaller SFF model, like the Optiplex 990 (LGA1155), two PCIe slots (16x, 4x)
Significantly smaller than the standard low-profile mATX machines shown so far.

 

[cbn]

Just checked ebay again and found Q6600 starting at $11.95 shipped in buy it now auctions.

 

[Denly]

I am still using a HP 6005 SFF PII X4 the last 3yrs, it is about the most solid PC I ever used. Decent speed and rock solid.

Another adv over Dell is it will take a second HD.

I am waiting/hoping for a 1/2 height 460 to plug it in.

 

[cbn]

Ultimately, I think comparing Core 2 Pre-built to Sandy Bridge Pre-built will depend on sale prices. I've seen C2D units with Windows 7 64 bit drop to as low as $51.75 shipped on sale, but the RAM is only 2GB and the HDD 80GB. If we see LGA 1155 units drop closer to that with more RAM and better hard drives it could mean we have a new low cost standard. With that mentioned, there is also LGA 1156 to consider as well.

For anyone interested there are HP Elite 8200 USDT (Sandy Bridge) barebones for $23.95 (or best offer) free shipping and HP Elite 8300 USDT (Ivy Bridge) barebones for $24.95 (or best offer) free shipping in ebay "buy it now" auction.

It doesn't have the CPU, memory, HD caddy, hard drive and AC adapter. It does have the optical drive, CPU heatsink and fan/shroud.

Some prices I found on parts:

HDD caddy $7 shipped
AC adapter + cord $18.50 shipped.

Adding these increases the cost $25.50 and brings the total to $49.45 (or best offer) free shipping and $50.45 (or best offer) free shipping for the 8200 and 8300 model respectively.

P.S. Here was a review Anandtech did on the 8200 model---> http://www.anandtech.com/show/4867/hp-compaq-8200-elite-ultraslim-the-littlest-desktop

 

[cbn]

I picked up a used Q8400 2.66Ghz Core2Quad for $15 last week. Thought that was a fair deal.
It is intended for a friend's rig, that currently has an E5200 or equivalent CPU in it.

And in keeping with this thread, I was just thinking, after getting my ASRock DeskMini STX rig, that it would be really cool if ASRock released a Socket 775 STX kit, to use up all of those 775 CPUs floating around ebay.

Granted, it would have to deal with a slightly higher TDP (could limit it to only duals and slower 45nm quads), and the integrated video might suck or be unsupported by modern drivers, but it could be doable.

Edit: It would probably have to be the G41 or G45 chipset, with DDR3 SO-DIMMs, to be viable. DDR2 SO-DIMMs would cost too much, and not have enough capacity to be useful. (You can get 2x4GB DDR3 SO-DIMM 1.5V easily. DDR2 SO-DIMMs were generally 2GB in size, so that would limit you to 4GB total, which isn't enough these days.)

ASRock was still releasing LGA 775 boards as of last year ( link here) and Gearbest actually has four generic (non branded) G31/G41 LGA775 boards available for sale. So I wonder if there very well might be chipsets still available for new board production.

 

[Blue_Max]

For anyone interested there are HP Elite 8200 USDT (Sandy Bridge) barebones for $23.95 (or best offer) free shipping and HP Elite 8300 USDT (Ivy Bridge) barebones for $24.95 (or best offer) free shipping in ebay "buy it now" auction.

It doesn't have the CPU, memory, HD caddy, hard drive and AC adapter. It does have the optical drive, CPU heatsink and fan/shroud.

Some prices I found on parts:

HDD caddy $7 shipped
AC adapter + cord $18.50 shipped.

Adding these increases the cost $25.50 and brings the total to $49.45 (or best offer) free shipping and $50.45 (or best offer) free shipping for the 8200 and 8300 model respectively.

P.S. Here was a review Anandtech did on the 8200 model---> http://www.anandtech.com/show/4867/hp-compaq-8200-elite-ultraslim-the-littlest-desktop

Those USFF machines don't take video cards but do have the possibility of a low-temp MXM graphics module if you can find them.

...and that price is a steal, especially if it comes with a CPU, even an i3!

 

[cbn]

I am still using a HP 6005 SFF PII X4 the last 3yrs, it is about the most solid PC I ever used. Decent speed and rock solid.

The HP SFF (12.4 liter displacement) chassis that computer uses is the SFF chassis I like the most so far. Some reasons I like it are the quietness and the fact it uses standard size components. (eg, full size 5.25" optical rather than the harder to find slim 5.25" drive. Also the fan used in the HP SFF is an easy to replace and source 92mm fan.)

Another adv over Dell is it will take a second HD.

Recently, I made use of that second 3.5" bay for my dc5800.

In fact, the HP DC5800 SFF has four SATA ports so a person could use a 2 x 25" in 3.5" bay adapter to have 1 x 3.5" and 2 x 2.5" drives in addition to the optical drive.

 

[cbn]

Interestingly enough, there are now chinese ebay sellers offering modified and stickered E5440 Xeons that will drop straight into an unmodified LGA 771 socket:

(Notice the second set of notches cut in the above picture)

With the asking price of $21.49 shipped these modified E5440 are about $13 less than a Q9550.

 

[buschman31]

Hey check your local pawnshops for used desktops. U maybe able to find a good cheap system like I did. Dell i7 quad 1150 prebuilt system for $110