Workhorse for less than $500

They are noisy and hot....

Quote from lwlee:

Here's a different perspective. Build your own mini-cube PC. I think that what I'm gonna do with my next computer. I built my current PC with a very nice minitower Lancool case. Components were selected for excellent value/performance ratio. But at the end of the day, only thing I really upgraded was the RAM. So I had this heavy box that I had to move around sometimes.

There is a wide selection of mini-ATX mobos and cube cases. They are small enough to keep on your tabletop or take on the road.
 
There are 2 categories of smaller motherboards than standard ATX boards, microATX and miniATX. More selection of microATX which tend to be slightly bigger than miniATX. But miniATX do accommodate a decent GPU card.

This case comes with a nice 80Plus rated PSU. If you decide to splurge, going with a Gold or higher rated PSU would be nicer. Holds 3.5" and 2.5" HD and has room with a slim external 5.25" drive bay.

SilverStone Sugo SG05-B Black SECC / Plastic Mini-ITX Desktop Computer Case SFX 300W 80Plus Power Supply


A decent rated miniATX ASUS mobo. Can take i7/i5 Intel CPU. PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot for a nice GPU.

ASUS P8H61-I (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel H61 HDMI USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard

Quote from shopster:

pls post up some hardware links.........

s
 
Not at all. My current build is pretty quiet. Bought a decent CPU fan with alum/copper connects. Decent midrange GPU.

Both of those things can go into a standard miniATX board.

We are taking moderate performance here, not OCing so don't need all that extra cooling.

Quote from ElectricSavant:

They are noisy and hot....
 
> Does Dell still produce something that is hard to kill?

Noone does, everyone does.

This is only a gamble, sorry. 3 years is a lot of time - not saying machienes are not robust, but even if you get a passively cooled system (low power, but ok) there is a chance you just get some crapped out RAM.

Anyhow, you need:
* SOmething with no moving parts, sorry ;) THat is a low power Atom - anything with a FAN has a chance that you must replace the FAN. Warranties of Dell are USELESS for your requirements -because you talk about "not needing the warranty".

Just yesterday my secretaries computer failed. Reset for patching. no start - hard disc did not come up. Bad luck - nothing would be different with a Dell. Now - the Warranty may mean Dell ships you another one, but that is not the question ;) The machine is out. Not that it took us long - replace disc, reinstall OS (nothing stored there anyway). But anything mechanic may fail.

The only way to do that is:
* Run 2+ machines - 3 is standard.
* Program in such a way that the system handles the loss of 2 machines.

If you want tom inimize the risk on one system, you need a system that has zero moving parts (SSD, no fans) and is redundant on important stuff (ssd mirrored, ECC ram, dual power supply hot swappable, get a GOOD USV to reduce downtime and scrub your power).

Point.

If that is not possible, GET 2-3 machines - keep them ready. If that must work, then waiting for spares does not work. Sorry ;) Life is as it is.
 
Quote from shopster:

this works.

much easier to pull the trigger on your trades.

the 2 laptops are backup.

s

:cool:
Shopster, that rig's in the back of a truck and it ain't for trading. What's behind the lens is more interesting, no?
 
Quote from WinstonTJ:

This is exactly what I sell to a lot of traders.

Dell Precision 490 Workstation - get one on eBay for ~$150-$200, upgrade the RAM + HDD + CPU's and for less than $750 you have an awesome workhorse that will rival a new/modern i7 machine.

If you have any questions PM me. Happy to recommend a shopping list for you to DIY or I can build one for you.

(please know i'm laid up right now after being on the losing end of a bad car vs. motorcycle accident so i have one hand in a cast and tons of dr's appts... might take me a while to answer your PM)

Winston, All the best to you and a swift recovery.
 
thx for the recovery wishes - dr is taking out the pins tomorrow & wed... still grosses me out to think about metal rods half in my bonr & half exposed to the air...

Just get a Dell P490 or T5400. They are great & cheap & robust as a mo-fo...

the old 64-bit PCI cards are now cheap and will kick butt...
 
There is an updated version of the case with better power PSU.
SILVERSTONE Sugo Series SG05BB-450 ALL Black Plastic / SECC Mini-ITX Desktop Computer Case with SFX 450W 80+ Bronze Certified / Single +12V rail Power Supply


This guy went for performance and built a gaming rig. Using mobo's native graphics and an i5 instead of i7 will probably cut down on all those fans. Video gives a good idea of how small the case is.

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Quote from lwlee:

There are 2 categories of smaller motherboards than standard ATX boards, microATX and miniATX. More selection of microATX which tend to be slightly bigger than miniATX. But miniATX do accommodate a decent GPU card.

This case comes with a nice 80Plus rated PSU. If you decide to splurge, going with a Gold or higher rated PSU would be nicer. Holds 3.5" and 2.5" HD and has room with a slim external 5.25" drive bay.

SilverStone Sugo SG05-B Black SECC / Plastic Mini-ITX Desktop Computer Case SFX 300W 80Plus Power Supply


A decent rated miniATX ASUS mobo. Can take i7/i5 Intel CPU. PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot for a nice GPU.

ASUS P8H61-I (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel H61 HDMI USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard
 
Thanks a lot for all the info. I am going to go with either Dell P490 or T5400. They seem to fit the bill.

Aside from Dell outlet, is there a place where one could grab them easily? Any info woud go a long way. Thanks!
 
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