Discussion Making the lazy choice or should I build myself? (Dell Precision 3460 SFF)

[silly_ed]

As the thread suggests, I am looking for the easy way into a SFF machine.

I am leaning towards the Dell Precision 3460 SFF for replacing my current workstation. I am running Linux (F38). I am a casual FHD gamer. The pro's:

• It has an attractive SFF size, and is built like a tank (W680 workstation chipset).
• I like the horizontal orientation so I can put a monitor on top. I like a lot of USB ports on the front as well.
• Base model can be bought for relative cheap (EPP discount on top), and easily upgrade-able near future.
• Tossing in a AMD RX 6400 low-profile GPU for my casual gaming habit, which should be enough 3D power.
• Certified Linux hardware, so no worries about compatibility plus Dell supplies fwupd updatable firmware.

It has a lot of pro's, although I am a bit worried about the cooling capability (and potential noise) of the relative small intake duct CPU cooler. The last thing I need is a throttling CPU because of the not so great cooling performance of the stock cooler. Maybe some of you have experience with these (or in similar built Optiplex's for example?)

Alternative would be is something built DIY. Not really cheaper. Not necessarily better or faster. But I'm not even sure what case would fit my needs properly. I like the style of a Terra or DAN case, but I want it to be horizontal on my desk and have more USB ports in the front. Utilitarian all the way.

 

[ignsvn]

As the thread suggests, I am looking for the easy way into a SFF machine.

I am leaning towards the Dell Precision 3460 SFF for replacing my current workstation. I am running Linux (F38). I am a casual FHD gamer. The pro's:

• It has an attractive SFF size, and is built like a tank (W680 workstation chipset).
• I like the horizontal orientation so I can put a monitor on top. I like a lot of USB ports on the front as well.
• Base model can be bought for relative cheap (EPP discount on top), and easily upgrade-able near future.
• Tossing in a AMD RX 6400 low-profile GPU for my casual gaming habit, which should be enough 3D power.
• Certified Linux hardware, so no worries about compatibility plus Dell supplies fwupd updatable firmware.

It has a lot of pro's, although I am a bit worried about the cooling capability (and potential noise) of the relative small intake duct CPU cooler. The last thing I need is a throttling CPU because of the not so great cooling performance of the stock cooler. Maybe some of you have experience with these (or in similar built Optiplex's for example?)

Alternative would be is something built DIY. Not really cheaper. Not necessarily better or faster. But I'm not even sure what case would fit my needs properly. I like the style of a Terra or DAN case, but I want it to be horizontal on my desk and have more USB ports in the front. Utilitarian all the way.

Hello, welcome to the forum.

It seems that you're already aware of the Dell 3460 limitations (or cons), so if you really like it, I'll only mention the cooling capacity - probably it's possible to undervolt the CPU from the BIOS so the fan doesn't need reach max RPM often. But I might be wrong though, so please check this further yourself.

On the other hand, if you're going the DIY route, yes it's not going to be cheaper. It can be faster, depending on how much money you'd like to put in it. And it can be more quiet, depending on what CPU cooler you slap on it.

For horizontal (we call it console style) cases, there are a few but most of them don't come with many USB ports in the front.

That said I suggest to contact CustomMod case, because IIRC he's open to some customizations. Maybe he can add more USB port on the front panel. There are a lot of versions, check the threads under this username https://smallformfactor.net/forum/members/sergiiua.1175, or his website directly, say https://www.custom-mod.com/en/slm4. There were some complaints in the past because of the case quality (for example, poor tolerance), but again IIRC correctly these days it's been generally OK.

There are actually more but I'm not sure they have many USB ports in the front panel. Examples I can remember: NFC Skyreach, Sentry (not sure if there's new batch atm though), SFFTime's pATX and nATX, Velkase console, etc. Do search in this forum.

Also, I need to inform you that, because of the non-standard layout, these console cases use riser cable (just like sandwich cases).