Sub 100 Dollar Server worth anything?

Hardware Enterprise Gear
1

Was browsing the local online second-hand and resellers markets and came across a cheap [ZAR 1,799, ~USD 95,25] Dell PowerEdge R710.

Specs as listed;
_
Processor(s):
2 x Intel Xeon X5650

Motherboard:
Intel 5520 Chipset

Memory:
16GB DDR3 ECC RAM
Supports Up to 288GB (18 DIMM slots)
Supports Up to 1333MT/s

I/O:
4 PCIe 2.0 slots + 1 storage slot: two x8 slots, two x4 slots, one x4 storage slot

Drive bays:
No Drives included, No Caddies provided.

Power supplies:
2 x Hot-plug 870W

RAID controller:
PERC H700

Remote management:
iDRAC 6

System management:
Dell OpenManage
Microsoft System Center Essential 2010 v2

Condition:
Pre-owned device with minor scratches and scuffs. Device has undergone extensive testing and is 100% functional.
_

Curious if this is at all worth picking up, I don’t have any specific use for it in mind just something to tinker about with really, but feel free to leave suggestions on what you would do with this, if anything.

2

Not really, especially if you don’t have a specific use case in mind. Those R*** series Dell servers are massive power hogs and the drive cages aren’t cheap.

1 Like
3

Not to mention that the IDRAC software costs a pretty penny too, if they’re willing to sell it to you at all: after all, you didn’t purchase from them, so in their eyes you’re not the rightful owner of the hardware :roll_eyes:

4

You’d be buying a server on a dual CPU made with a 32 nm process from 2010. That machine draws around 200W or more in idle.

If you are planning to use it as a server of any kind running 24/7, invest in something like the Asustor Flashstor 6 bay m.2 SSD NAS for $449 instead. With a maximum power draw of 23W, you would make up the difference in power draw within a year or two. Or if you really want that beefier performance, an Intel Core i3 13100 build or an AMD Ryzen 9 7900 build will run circles around that while still only drawing 50W of power or so.

1 Like