Homelab

371 readers

3 users here now

Rules

Be Civil.
Post about your homelab, discussion of your homelab, questions you may have, or general discussion about transition your skill from the homelab to the workplace.
No memes or potato images.
We love detailed homelab builds, especially network diagrams!
Report any posts that you feel should be brought to our attention.
Please no shitposting or blogspam.
No Referral Linking.
Keep piracy discussion off of this community

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

communick@selfhosted.forum

rglullis

What's your opinion about computers with non standard parts? (alien.top)

submitted 11 months ago by KyotoBeerNinja@alien.top to c/homelab@selfhosted.forum

26 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Hi,

I know a company here in Japan that sells second-hand computers, cleaned, repaired, and with a 3 years warranty. Lots of the usual suspects (HP, Dell, Lenovo), from entry level office desktops to higher end Xeon workstations/servers. Prices vary, obviously.

As you know, these computers often do not use standard off-the-shelf parts, which can be a problem if the motherboard or PSU fails.

What's your opinion about these computers? Is it worth the pain buying one (for a Linux or BSD based torrenting/seedbox machine, or build a NAS) or should I rather go another route -- either build a PC with standard parts or buy a brand new cheap mini PC?

Thanks!

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] dogbert_2001@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Just because they don't sell their own motherboards separately doesn't mean you can't stick a compatible motherboard in there.

All PC parts, including OEM, follow well established standards and are easily replaceable.

[–] nolo_me@alien.top 2 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Not entirely true. The big OEMs like HP and Dell often use non-standard motherboards and PSUs.

[–] KyotoBeerNinja@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Indeed, and even the case can be tricky. I think you sometimes have to drill the case if you want to install a standard motherboard.

[–] dogbert_2001@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Worst case: you replace the case and PSU along with the motherboard.

You can use any old case from craigslist. I still use ATX cases from 2004.

[–] HoustonBOFH@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

This is incorrect and bad advice. A Dell or Lenovo business class motherboard will not bolt into an ATX case, nor connect to an ATX power supply.