2019 OptiPlex Type-N

[Semper 5]

I actually had a lot of fun making this debadged sleeper. I landed an Optiplex 9020 as a donation along with some other parts as giveaways. Practically all of the modding materials were very affordable through eBay. What started off as a home workstation, quickly evolved into a VR-ready SFF powerhouse all in the guise of an OptiPlex. On with the build...


Case: Dell OptiPlex 9020
Starting with the case, I debadged all Dell identifiers (optiplex print and dell grill badge) also replacing the i5 sticker with a nice matching black/gunmetal i7 sticker along with very nice metal Noctua badge. The side panel underwent a lot of flow testing and cutouts were made in a variety of shapes and patterns before finally resting at a polycarbonate window with holes drilled specifically to channel in at the graphics card. Custom LED lighting was achieved by simply tapping into the 12V line. The case also received an upgraded Noctua A8 PWM fan.


Power Supply: Dell OptiPlex XE2 PSU
While absolutely true, the power supply is proprietary, I found out that an OptiPlex XE2 had a nice 70W gain over the stock 255W PSU and had identical proprietary connectors. The 255W PSU was, without a doubt, sufficient to power everything but hey, 315w definitely makes you feel a bit more secure. I later upgraded the fan to a Noctua NF-A6, removed stickers and gave it a coat of matte black paint for better heat dissipation.

EDIT: I ended up going back to the stock fan. I can't fully recommend upgrading the PSU fan as the Noctua hasn't been totally compliant. I will report back with more developments after I get better test results.


CPU: i7-4790K with Noctua NH-L9i Cpu cooler
A nice hearty upgrade was made from the i5-4590 to the i7-4790K and while some tuning allowed the processor to be stable and consistent at 4.4GHz, this also had to be reflected on a proper cooling solution. More testing was done originally with Arctic 80mm fans using the OEM Dell heatsink and shroud, but ultimately with some minor case modifications, the Noctua NH-L9i was the best solution and fit absolutely perfectly, cooling very efficiently and silently.


Memory: 32Gb (4x 8Gb) Hynix DDR3 1600 PC3-12800
Nothing special here. Modules were later fitted with aluminum heatsinks.


Graphics: ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4Gb (low profile)
During the time this build began a few months ago, probably the best option for a low profile PCI-powered graphics card and YES, Oculus ready/compatible A custom firmware was later uploaded allowing quieter idle RPMs and more efficient throttling on load. A note: the OptiPlex motherboard forced me to use the PCI x4 which I was a bit nervous with at first but honestly worked flawlessly with no loss as the 1050 Ti didn't require full lane saturation. x4 worked as good as x16.

Storage: Kingston HyperX Savage 480Gb SSD & Seagate Firecuda 2Tb SSHD
I actually found the HyperX in a discarded laptop - it was later fitted with a optical disk drive caddy, replacing the stock optical drive entirely. I later picked up a Firecuda for a bargain of $75.

Conclusion
As mentioned, I never intended for this but ended up being inspired to maximize this nice little SFF. I think the only costs I really spent was on the graphics card and Noctua fans (I later sold the i5-4590 and some other stuff to cover the cost of a 2nd hand unOC'd i7-4790K @ $190) but I have NO regrets going with the top of the line for fans - you really do get what you pay for. Figuring if I was to make this VR-ready, this is going to require serious upgrades and I couldn't skimp on cheap fans (sorry Arctic, but those fans were terribly loud, and the OEM fans screamed like jet turbines). Testing/tweaking the fans was quite the process though. I managed to achieve this using SpeedFan set with startup automation and was able to find the right PWM control headers. The CPU fan is triggered to CPU temp (the NH-L9i is a little beast and handles the i7-4790k very well on load by itself) while the case fan is triggered to GPU temp as the graphics card when under load will be first in the way of airflow and will reach higher temperatures. One inevitable and unavoidable annoyance is the fan alert on startup that can't be bypassed since using non-OEM fans: the motherboard is expecting certain RPMs at startup that simply aren't a match, but regardless the fans work 100%. Also to note that the fan headers had to be rewired to the Dell proprietary fan connectors (no surprise here). Again to mention the custom firmware upload to the graphics card made a world of difference reducing a very loud idle RPM. This (re)build was a total joy to make, and I really enjoyed the niche of taking something produced in mass, hulling it out and re-engineering it to something truly unique. I look forward to another project like this and always any requests, questions, suggestions or comments are welcome

 

[Phuncz]

Well done on the sleeper mod, a very nice result !

 

[EndEffeKt]

Fun read and interesting project. Thank you

 

[D4NM]

Something I've been wanting to do for a long time now, I decided to register on this forum after seeing your build and after seeing some other SFF's builds. Very well done sir! I might pull the trigger in a month or so and something similar but with a Zotac GTX 1650.

 

[Semper 5]

Something I've been wanting to do for a long time now, I decided to register on this forum after seeing your build and after seeing some other SFF's builds. Very well done sir! I might pull the trigger in a month or so and something similar but with a Zotac GTX 1650.

Exactly what also brought me here and had me register as well! This forum is great for resources and ideas. Are you spying on my shopping cart? haha I've had my finger on the trigger for a 1650 but since I don't have my VR yet, I think I'll hold back to see what cards come out by then

 

[D4NM]

Haha I'm not, I've been wanting to build that sleeper for more than a year now, and with the new 1650 it feels even more ripe. I'll definitely post pictures if my ideas come to life. I gotta say I love the badges removal and replacing the Dell one with a Noctua, I might borrow that idea when comes the time to build mine.

 

[saxx0510]

@Semper 5 have you got a pin lay out for the dell connectors? I'm assuming you've gone from the '5 pin' dell connector to a 4pin pwn fan? cheers

 

[Semper 5]

Haha I'm not, I've been wanting to build that sleeper for more than a year now, and with the new 1650 it feels even more ripe. I'll definitely post pictures if my ideas come to life. I gotta say I love the badges removal and replacing the Dell one with a Noctua, I might borrow that idea when comes the time to build mine.

I'm glad I've been holding back on the 1650 - ASUS just released an OC version (3% faster) recently https://www.asus.com/Graphics-Cards/GTX1650-O4G-LP-BRK/
The prices on these 1650s still need to come down a slight bit, as most would agree, for their worth. I'm also really interested to know how loud these fans get - another reason to wait: to see if somebody comes up with a custom firmware to down throttle the idle RPMs.

@Semper 5 have you got a pin lay out for the dell connectors? I'm assuming you've gone from the '5 pin' dell connector to a 4pin pwn fan? cheers

This picture I made should help you along with the photo for reference.

 

[saxx0510]

@Semper 5 Thank you dude, much appreciated. I started my strip down last night and found the PSU fan is 2 wire. Just curious how you got round that with a noctua 3 wire fan.

 

[D4NM]

@Semper 5 Interesting for the Asus GTX 1650 O4G, I'll probably wait until it comes out. Although I might take a different approach for the build and choose to go for a 100% custom build starting from scratch with a mITX console type case that can fit a regular GPU... To be continued, I still haven't made my mind!

 

[Semper 5]

@Semper 5 Thank you dude, much appreciated. I started my strip down last night and found the PSU fan is 2 wire. Just curious how you got round that with a noctua 3 wire fan.

I should probably let you know that it wasn't easy. I had to use a resistor to get it to spin up and ultimately I ended up going back to the stock fan. The stock fan is fine as it is, and isn't incredibly loud considering how the PSU manages it. I can only recommend giving the unit a few light coats of matte black. If I ever get the Noctua fan to run 100% stable, I'll report back.

 

[saxx0510]

I should probably let you know that it wasn't easy. I had to use a resistor to get it to spin up and ultimately I ended up going back to the stock fan. The stock fan is fine as it is, and isn't incredibly loud considering how the PSU manages it. I can only recommend giving the unit a few light coats of matte black. If I ever get the Noctua fan to run 100% stable, I'll report back.

Thanks for reporting back mate, I've been testing mine as again no luck getting it to spin.
My front case fan isn't spinning either, so I'm presuming it spins up when it reaches a certain temperature inside the case.
Again may revert back to stock fan at this rate!

 

[Semper 5]

Thanks for reporting back mate, I've been testing mine as again no luck getting it to spin.
My front case fan isn't spinning either, so I'm presuming it spins up when it reaches a certain temperature inside the case.
Again may revert back to stock fan at this rate!

I would avoid swapping the PSU fan entirely, but if you wired the other fans as per my diagram, it will work just fine. Another note for configuring fan control: Your RPMs will vary depending on which fans you use but the one consistent I noticed is that the Dell mobo is very restrictive in controlling speeds (in fact, it's a bit remarkable they can even be controlled to begin with). What I've found with controlling speeds is that:

0-29% = 0rpm
30-59% = 900-1200rpm
60%-100% = 2400-2500rpm
(again, the reported RPMs are subjective to what fans you use. one should only take note of the speed stepping percentage)

There is NO gradual speed stepping; it's either nothing, low or high (ie: the fans will be completely off until you hit 30%. They will remain at a steady RPM until you hit 60% and then will dramatically increase again). This is what ultimately led me to Noctua fans since I'd only be looking at low or high, I needed the quietest fan as the computer will often hit load spikes. I spent a LOT of time configuring this optimally so do take your time if you decide to tweak the fan control.

 

[trystanlwoodard]

First things first. Awesome post.

- I too built this rig last year and have been using it for college/ home productivity.

- I'm currently using Dell XE-2 SFF with 16gb kingston ram, kingston SSD, i7 4790s, gtx 1050ti

- I went with the (S) version because of the low power. I wasn't sure if it could handle a 4790(K).

- One thing worth mentioning is the 1650 (ti) has been confirmed? to be released in October. Perhaps there will be a low-profile variant

I'm in love with this post because I've never seen anyone upgrade the SFF optiplex's to their max potential.
I did some custom led work on mine so it would look visual appealing. I'd love to chat





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[DeToxin]

I'm curious how the VRM on the dell mobo copes with the 4790k when running at turbo speeds? Can you post a vid of it being stress tested? - I would have thought the motherboard would throttle the cpu badly

 

[Semper 5]

First things first. Awesome post.

- I too built this rig last year and have been using it for college/ home productivity.

- I'm currently using Dell XE-2 SFF with 16gb kingston ram, kingston SSD, i7 4790s, gtx 1050ti

- I went with the (S) version because of the low power. I wasn't sure if it could handle a 4790(K).

- One thing worth mentioning is the 1650 (ti) has been confirmed? to be released in October. Perhaps there will be a low-profile variant

I'm in love with this post because I've never seen anyone upgrade the SFF optiplex's to their max potential.
I did some custom led work on mine so it would look visual appealing. I'd love to chat


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461 KB

Thank you so much for your interest Fortunately/Unfortunately my work is still not complete. More work and posts will follow...
If you have the XE2, nearly half the work is already done - The PSU alone is a worthy reason to get a XE2 if anybody wants to mod an OptiPlex. And if a 255W will handle the 4790K and 1050ti, the 315W is just giving you more insurance/longevity to your build.

The 1650 is already out, and as mentioned, ASUS is releasing an OC'd version also worth noting (from website pictures) the cooler looks to have 4-wire PWM control which could very well mean 0% throttle at idle - peacefully quiet GPU <3. I'm anxiously waiting for this to finally hit the market

Sorry I couldn't see your attachment - came back with a 404. But I'm still curious to see it when you have the chance. Please feel free to PM me if you'd like to connect.

I'm curious how the VRM on the dell mobo copes with the 4790k when running at turbo speeds? Can you post a vid of it being stress tested? - I would have thought the motherboard would throttle the cpu badly

I used SpeedFan to control the fans based on loads, but the Dell motherboard does not speedstep very well (either NOTHING , LOW or HIGH....no gradual incline of throttle). There will be some more work done in concerns to cooling to follow very soon.

 

[Semper 5]

This may be one of the last entries in this project for me; I can mostly say I've concluded the cooling portion to this build.

It recently came to my attention that the NH-L9i was reportedly (as specified directly by Noctua) insufficient to effectively cool the i7-4790K. More testing was done and the temperatures were quite high at max load. So I upgraded the fan to the deeper-welled (25mm) NF-A9 PWM that has a higher CFM and is practically just as quiet. One extremely charming little thing I noticed is that when you get a NH-L9i you get a 2nd set of screws to accommodate the 25mm NF-A9...how nice of Noctua to forsee this and provide their customers with the means to upgrade ❤


Prototype: 30mm Fan Array
With more downforce means more heat was being pushed back up from the motherboard and I quickly began to notice a substantial heat pocket in the top of the case. I came up with a prototype of using 30mm fans in an array. They fit PERFECTLY in the back grill with no modification needed. While this certainly was the best cooling solution, anybody will agree a 30mm fan @ 12V constant is pretty loud let alone 3 in unison. Also to note these fans can be spaced in any configuration in the grill which makes them another great idea...I'm pretty sure I measured that you can fit a total of 5 30mm fans exactly, side by side into the grill.



Fan Assembly & Adapter: NF-A9 combined with NF-A4x10
As was mentioned, I couldn't stand a screaming array of fans...and maybe I was looking for another excuse to refer back to Noctua haha. Unfortunately Noctua doesn't make 30mm fans but they do make 40mm fans so I went with an NF-A4x10 FLX. The reason I didn't go with the PWM is that heat is always going to be present in this small case and should constantly be pumped out even in idle as the only intake is coming from a single NF-A8. Also this fan running at max is still extremely quiet, the CFM output between the FLX and PWM is near identical and the dBa is slightly less with FLX. I jumped on thingverse and quickly found a variety of 30mm-40mm fan adapters and soon enough I found the best one for flow and clearance. I had the model printed at the local library and began rigging it up. Some of the holes I had to bore a little larger to use the shock-absorbing mounts. I tapped into the 12V on the NF-A9, heatshrinked, and sleeved the lines, installed it and was pretty impressed with the results. It operates just as quiet as it did before and does throw out a good amount of warm air. If I do venture one last modification it would be drilling a circular grid into the window over where the CPU fan is. But for now I'm very happy and my OCD seems to have subsided (for now) haha.

 

[trystanlwoodard]

Not sure how to direct message but my email is trystanlwoodard@gmail.com

 

[jackalope]

Hey there Semper 5!

That's a brilliant build you have going on there! I managed to score myself a used Optiplex 9020 SFF from work to replace the aging Optiplex 755 SFF I currently have. I've upgraded it from 8GB to 32 GB of RAM and from the 256GB HDD to two SSDs, each 2TB, so I can run all my virtual machines for my homelab and it runs great now. But I'm thinking it's time to upgrade its other capabilities.

The i5-4570 it has isn't great for multi-core performance, so running multiple VMs is possible but not great. I'm thinking the i7-4790 will be a good improvement for that. I'm also looking at the GTX 1050 ti, but after reading here about the GTX 1650 I'm wondering if it's better to get that instead. My main worry was cooling the small case but it looks like you've done some good work on keeping yours cool.

Edit: Here's the user benchmark if anyone's interested, although I'm not sure how long these things stay up before they expire.

 

[swanson8r]

I would avoid swapping the PSU fan entirely, but if you wired the other fans as per my diagram, it will work just fine. Another note for configuring fan control: Your RPMs will vary depending on which fans you use but the one consistent I noticed is that the Dell mobo is very restrictive in controlling speeds (in fact, it's a bit remarkable they can even be controlled to begin with). What I've found with controlling speeds is that:

0-29% = 0rpm
30-59% = 900-1200rpm
60%-100% = 2400-2500rpm
(again, the reported RPMs are subjective to what fans you use. one should only take note of the speed stepping percentage)

There is NO gradual speed stepping; it's either nothing, low or high (ie: the fans will be completely off until you hit 30%. They will remain at a steady RPM until you hit 60% and then will dramatically increase again). This is what ultimately led me to Noctua fans since I'd only be looking at low or high, I needed the quietest fan as the computer will often hit load spikes. I spent a LOT of time configuring this optimally so do take your time if you decide to tweak the fan control.

Thanks for sharing all the details on your build! I have recently been buying used XE2 SFF i5 and i7 PCs and upgrading them for light gaming. The low profile GPU market is getting intense as the pandemic continues

Re: the speed stepping issue: Noctua offers a PWM fan speed override kit with a knob you can adjust: NA-FC1 https://noctua.at/en/na-fc1 , available for around $20 US . I threw one in my modded Dell Optiplex 9020 MT to adjust the speed on a 120MM front case fan and it does work nicely. It did not eliminate the Fan BIOS error (even with No-Stop mode enabled), but that was not a dealbreaker for me. Might be worth a try in this rig.

Also, since you already used one XE2 SFF part in here (315W PSU), I figured I would mention Dell P/N J9G15 as an alternative to your CPU cooler. I found it discussed in a Dell Support thread here: https://www.dell.com/community/Opti...-a-3020-SFF/m-p/7731673/highlight/true#M46380

I'd love to see you do an encore build starting with an XE2 SFF chassis, and maybe a GTX 1650 with GDDR6. I hear they run hot, but I suspect your cooling solutions combined with the high heat tolerance of the XE2 components have a good chance at running stable.

P.S. I run my GPUs in the smaller 4x slot since it's open-ended, and the performance has been fine, though I have only used up to the GTX 1050 ti 4GB GDDR5. Would be interested to see what if any performance difference there is between using the 4X slot and a x16 riser cable on the GTX 1650.