Hi Everyone,
Have a good batch of 9th gen micro pc's. With current eBay discount, price is just coming below $200
Make & Model - Dell Optiplex 3070
Form Factor - Mini PC
Processor - Intel Core i3 9th Gen, 9100t 3.10GHz Processor
RAM - 16GB
Storage- 128GB
Storage Type - SSD
I/o Ports - 2 x USB 2.0, 4 x USB 3.1 Gen 1, 1 x Ethernet, 1 x Display Port, 1 x HDMI
Operating System - Windows 11 Home
What's In The Box
PC
Power Supply
Thanks for the link. I have a 7070 and was wondering how I would add a 2.5g nic.
Assuming the 3070 and 7070 are physically close enough, I'll get the nic
Looking at the eBay pics it looks like it won't be a problem, it uses the spare slot directly above the onboard Ethernet.
what is the benifits to using the NIC over the onboard? Speed?
You use both onboard and additional NIC. It's a router- one port is WAN and the other is LAN.
You are routing 2.5g? Crikey, that was Internet backbone speeds not that long ago!
Gotta have the fastest LAN transfers, 2.5g switches are cheap as chips from AliExpress these days
Sure, but routing it is another level!
What traffic are you routing and to where?
@howcan: 2.5G networking comes in handy when you have network attached storage and you want to maximise SATA or NVME transfer speeds.
@DigitalAnalog: Nope. I'm asking what function the router is performing to need a 2.5G interface and where this traffic is being routed. From what he suggested device as a router which has no bearing on local transfer speeds, unless he means it's using the box as a NAS as well, which wouldn't be that suitable anyway if you're transferring that much data to require 2.5G.
@howcan: Yeah this is a headscratching conversation… a single 2.5Gb port on a router won't do much. If there are LAN devices capable of 2.5Gb then this requires multiple 2.5 ports on the router (if it's acting as a switch) or a dedicated 2.5 switch connected to the router (making the single 2.5 port on the router).
The ebay part looks like a great find, just cannot figure out how it adds anything to the LAN.
Adequate, not perfect as they are over-powered for simply a router.
Better to get a fanless PC such as :
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/266608216652
Wyse 5070 from the same supplier, $88 only. Has an m.2 slot for a 2nd NIC.
Why the 2.5Gb ? You folks using these in the corporate setting, or you have 2.5Gb internet at home!?
You folks using these in the corporate setting, or you have 2.5Gb internet at home!?
The second 2.5Gbit adapter is for the LAN, it has nothing to do with your Internet speed. They probably use the same machine for NAS, Plex etc.
Ah, of course. And if you are running a few VM servers on the same machine as OPNsense, then this machine is better than the Wyse I linked.
It just never occurred to me that Gb ether was slowing down my home NAS or 2Mb video stream :-)
@mskeggs: Not sure about this but would love to know. This CPU is not good by desktop PC standards, but would probably smoke a standard router CPU.
Can concur.
Have a 5070 behind my TV as a Moonlight client and Plex streamer.
Also a 5070 in my laundry cupboard running Proxmox for OPNsense router and docker host. Has an SFP second NIC so I can achieve some form of isolation from the HFC modem.
Both churn away at 45deg or so.
appreciate you mentioning the 2.5gbe nic, I forgot that I could do this to mine
le .
Are Realtek NICs okay to use for a virtual router?
In the past I've stuck with Intel NICs because of ESXi. But these days using Proxmox.
Some online posts say Realtek still have disadvantages. Is that still true for Proxmox?
My Fujitsu host came with Realtek RTL8111 NIC, which seems to work fine in Linux.
The m.2 2nd NIC I ordered has the same chip (or similar, same driver) .
I'm not sure how well OPNsense would support that, being FreeBSD. But I get Promox to use a virtio bridge, so it doesn't matter.
i.e. the virtual router does not see the NIC hardware.
I'm using a realtek RTL8125B in OPNsense without issues just installed the Realtek addon.
@liquornoodlescabbage: Thank you both for providing your experience. That clarified it up completely.
Looks like the built in NIC is only gigabit ethernet? So you have a 1g NIC working with the new 2.5g Ethernet NIC in OPNsense? Like the input is 2.5g and the output is 1g in OPNSense? or vice versa.
Correct vice versa, 1g for internet in and 2.5g for LAN out.
I went down that road, and right after I got OPNSense running and put it in the cupboard the loose ethernet port touched something metal in the cupboard and shorted the motherboard. 😭
After that I bought one of those multi-port, passively cooled router boxes from AliExpress, but it runs so hot I need to buy a fan and strap it to the heatsink. Still no OPNSense for me.
What CPU temps are you getting running OPNSense? Unless you're running some IPS type packages, the cores should barely be doing anything.
Down side is that you lose the nvme slot!
Fortunately not, it uses the WiFi M.2 slot so still get to use regular m.2 for an nvme drive
Are you using the card listed above, or just going by form factor?
I was of the opinion that the card above is PCIe. Therefore, since the WiFi m.2 slot on the Dell 3070 is not PCIe, it won't work.
@wellzi: I'm using the exact card above but in a 7060 micro WiFi slot. So you're right might differ in this one.
@liquornoodlescabbage: I'm gonna have to do a little more research on this one! I wouldn't have thought the 3060 and 3070 would be different. They did change up the WiFi slot on the 3080 onwards. Thanks for confirming!
@wellzi: I have three of these each with a Coral TPU in the WiFi m.2 slot (and an SSD in the SSD m.2 slot) It most definitely is a PCIe equipped slot.
It's an m.2 E-key slot. It has at the very least a single PCIe 1x bus to it. I haven't explored further. An A+E card will physically fit, if it requires a PCIe 1x interface, I'm almost certain it will work.
@TehEcks: Grabbed one and can confirm this is correct! Damn, I can upgrade all my 3080 Micros to 2.5GbE relatively inexpensively!
thanks OP. any deals on the 7070s (micro)?
expandable storage 3.5" hard drive for cctv?
No
3.5" no, 2.5" yes.
Anything of this size that would take 3.5”?
Unlikely.
i think the i5 8500T one is better than this.
Tend to agree. Would love a USB-C on this too
For the extra cores?
Very comparable performance to the N100 mini pc's getting about. These would be higher power usage however.
Difference is this has 7 more PCIe lanes than the N100, which is definitely an upside for this one.
Also, you can probably upgrade this to something like an i7-9700t or even an i9-9900t if you really wanted to.
CPU is switchable? Ie not soldered?
CPU is switchable? Ie not soldered?
According to the service manual another poster has linked to the CPU is socketed and can be replaced.
That leads to the question of what CPU you can fit to replace it. Any of the other CPUs available with this model would probably work without any problems. You might have problems though if you fitted a different one the BIOS didn't support, or if you fitted a higher power CPU that produced more heat than the heat sink and fan could cope with.
@untech: The 3070 takes a max 65w power brick. Only the 5070 and 7070 have the option to bump up to higher wattages and support non-T variant CPUs. :)
Yes, swappable. They're a desktop CPU form factor, but only accept power restricted ('T' variant) chips.
@wellzi: I'm not sure this is correct - I believe they will accept any chips - the only issue is cooling and power delivery
@IgorPrev: Even if it did, I wouldn't put a non-T CPU in a Dell 3080 Micro due to the 65w power brick limitation (as suggested in Dell's specifications). Non-T chips are 65w TDP. That 65W brick still needs to power the rest of the system…
@wellzi: Yeah fair enough - so a a 90w or higher might do it if the motherboard supported it - Dell specs may say no I wonder if anyone has tested it.
Hey @untech, how heavy is this please?
And dimensions? Google isn't helping me.
H x W x D
18.2 x 3.6 x 17.8 cm
and abot 2.68kg
Hey @untech
Any i5 or i7 models on sale also?
Can I add an additional hard drive to these desktops myself? Trying to replace a web browsing box my dad has been using for 10+ years :D
Of course. There is a 2.5" internal bay free. But you may find an external USB drive easier. What do you wish to use it for?
Here's the service manual. Looks like you can install a 2.5" drive, or you could replace the m.2 SSD with a larger one (check the specs if you're doing that, it might be a SATA M.2 SSD not an nvme - look for the notches)
https://dl.dell.com/topicspdf/optiplex-3070-desktop_owners-m…
They don't always include the 2.5" drive bracket.
Silicone glue works wonders.
(not joking)
Intel® UHD Graphics 630 (supports HEVC)
Launch Date Q2'19
Total Cores 4
Total Threads 4
Max Turbo Frequency 3.70 GHz
Good for plex transcoding?
yep, although you would need a PlexPass to do that if you don't already have one - I have a Dell 7000 i5/12500T as my Plex Server - obviously this one isn't as powerful, but should be fine
Or just switch to Jellyfin and get all that for free.
Any yes, these are good for that. I have one up and running with Jellyfin, Plex, Sonarr, Radarr, JellySeerr, Gotify, Qbittorrent, Home Assistant. Transcodes 4K no issues.
What is the power supply like?
Is it enough to power a low profile graphics card?
Would a gpu would physically fit in it??
I have one in a dell 9020.
GTX1650 low profile
Ooops… My Bad. mine is a SFF, this is a micro. :(
What games do you intend to play using your GTX1650?
@jv: Good news! You don't need to install a dedicated GPU at all. The integrated GPU can handle Minesweeper just fine.
@Guybrush57: I have a little ITX gaming tower with a 1650. Absolutely fine for Roquelikes and older AAA games like Witcher 3 and Fallout 4. I also played Apex on it for a while.
There have been major architecture improvements in recent GPU series, but that doesn't mean old cards don't do the job. Sometimes you just have to tune the settings.
No, this is micro. You need SFF version
You need SFF version
Yes, but often the power supply is not enough for the GPU.
I had to upgrade my power supply.
Strange because i didn't, I also got 2 x HDD installed
great deal - 5604 Passmark score, pretty low getting a Gen 8 i7 would double the CPU passmark score
What would be required to set it up for wireless internet connectivity?
Would a USB wifi adaptor work?
Yes, those USB Wifi dongles work fine. Plug it into one of the USB 3.0 ports. I've got those working fine on PCs much older than this one.
Thanks for the reply 👍
What is the speed of the built in NIC, 2.5g?
Would something like this be worth the extra $190?
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/266724767066?itmmeta=01HTKV0S99N…
Would depend on your use case - CPU would be faster, and you get a USB C socket, onboard graphics is the same.
Thanks. Honestly not much more than browsing and backing up iphone. How much faster are we talking?
Save your money. This deal will be more than enough for that
would this run sega naomi 2 roms?
I was wondering this too, it would be perfect to run mames with the small size.
Can anyone recommend a good cheap monitor to pair it with?
Unsure of how good it is come across this when looking at OW online yesterday
24" $147
https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/hp-23-8-fh…
Or 27" $177
https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/hp-27-fhd-…
If you're not too bothered at new/used take a look at Marketplace - can pickup monitors for next to nothing ($20)
![[Used] Dell Optiplex 3070 Micro i3 9100T 16GB RAM 128GB SSD Win 11 H $199.20 ($194.22 eBay Plus) Delivered @ UN Tech eBay](https://files.ozbargain.com.au/n/57/839557.jpg?h=3bd7734d)
These micros are perfect for OPNsense routers, found a 2.5g Ethernet NIC on eBay, fits perfectly in the spare slot on the back of these.
Wonder how power usage with the 9100T differs to the 9500Ts we see from other stores