What to do with a dead 1U server?
Discussion
I've got an old dead Dell R415 1U server (blown caps on the mobo). I don't know that I can be bothered to break it for parts as a similar working box is only worth around £60 on Ebay and there are loads of people selling (or, in reality, not selling) various similar parts & components.
It feels wrong to just chuck it in the electronics recycler but I'm just not sure the parts (dual Opteron 6 core 3Ghz, 64Gb ECC DDR3, various fans, PSUs, RAID card) are worth anything. I'm never going to build another box with those bits in it.
Any other ideas?
It feels wrong to just chuck it in the electronics recycler but I'm just not sure the parts (dual Opteron 6 core 3Ghz, 64Gb ECC DDR3, various fans, PSUs, RAID card) are worth anything. I'm never going to build another box with those bits in it.
Any other ideas?
The RAM should fetch good money, eg, https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224885880581 sold for £70
I'd list the RAM, CPUs, usable cards like NICs and the RAID controller, they should all sell quite well as they suit lots of different machines.
Other bits specific to that model server? Hm, make 'em cheap, list them and put them in a box on a shelf to fish out as and when.
For stuff like that, I often apply my own serial number sticker before taking the photos, and show a photo of the serial number in the listing. Just discourages people swapping their broken parts onto you.
I'd list the RAM, CPUs, usable cards like NICs and the RAID controller, they should all sell quite well as they suit lots of different machines.
Other bits specific to that model server? Hm, make 'em cheap, list them and put them in a box on a shelf to fish out as and when.
For stuff like that, I often apply my own serial number sticker before taking the photos, and show a photo of the serial number in the listing. Just discourages people swapping their broken parts onto you.
biggiles said:
They make a rather useful shelf in the rack?
Rack has long gone to the big cloud in the sky. I took a few old servers home as I remember paying big money for them but time has not been kind 
I've just fired up an old Dell floorstander our ISO 27001 required us to keep as a cold standby for our most vital functions, it's a 2GHz quad core 16Gb RAM 4x1Tb monster of a thing, never been used. Cost around £10k I think. Also skipware now.
shtu said:
I'd list the RAM, CPUs, usable cards like NICs and the RAID controller, they should all sell quite well as they suit lots of different machines.
Other bits specific to that model server? Hm, make 'em cheap, list them and put them in a box on a shelf to fish out as and when.
I'll stick the RAM & CPUs on Ebay, see if they go, if not into the bin. The RAID controller is an odd double-headed thing that only fits this case, don't think I'll bother with that, nor the PSUs and fans.Other bits specific to that model server? Hm, make 'em cheap, list them and put them in a box on a shelf to fish out as and when.
PhilboSE said:
I've just fired up an old Dell floorstander our ISO 27001 required us to keep as a cold standby for our most vital functions, it's a 2GHz quad core 16Gb RAM 4x1Tb monster of a thing, never been used. Cost around £10k I think. Also skipware now.
That would still make a good Linux Server. If you've got anything to run on it.Problem with this old stuff is the electricity usage and noise.
I've dumped loads of old crap that only nostalgia makes me want to keep. Cheaper to run a raspberry pi or something not much bigger or costlier than to re-use some of those old servers if not needing the cpu power to crunch much data just serve it. They pay for themselves in the savings on the electricity! I have a pi4 with a couple of 1TB SSDs as my home server and it's silent and takes up less room than a typical DVD boxset and pennies to run in leccy.
I've dumped loads of old crap that only nostalgia makes me want to keep. Cheaper to run a raspberry pi or something not much bigger or costlier than to re-use some of those old servers if not needing the cpu power to crunch much data just serve it. They pay for themselves in the savings on the electricity! I have a pi4 with a couple of 1TB SSDs as my home server and it's silent and takes up less room than a typical DVD boxset and pennies to run in leccy.
Servers are horrible for home use - they're power hungry, loud and depending on where you stick them, may need heat management.
I had 30+ DL360s from a data centre clearance once. Thought they'd be fun until I fired one up away from the DC where the noise they make in an otherwise quiet environment was jarring. Those little 1" fans are awful... mainly as they have 10+ inside each pizza box.
During another relocation I ended up with 2x C7000s and 32x HP blades in my car but I already knew what godawful noise they make to try and experiment with those. They went straight to the sandpit.
That said, a former colleague has a virtual data centre of servers in his garage. His electricity bill must be quite extreme. Oh, he also has a recommissioned mainframe too. The only thing I've seen him use it for is to show me his catalogue of movies and music... the catalogue, not the actual media itself.
I had 30+ DL360s from a data centre clearance once. Thought they'd be fun until I fired one up away from the DC where the noise they make in an otherwise quiet environment was jarring. Those little 1" fans are awful... mainly as they have 10+ inside each pizza box.
During another relocation I ended up with 2x C7000s and 32x HP blades in my car but I already knew what godawful noise they make to try and experiment with those. They went straight to the sandpit.
That said, a former colleague has a virtual data centre of servers in his garage. His electricity bill must be quite extreme. Oh, he also has a recommissioned mainframe too. The only thing I've seen him use it for is to show me his catalogue of movies and music... the catalogue, not the actual media itself.
I bought some big rackmounts intending to setup a full on Homelab, but then came into some discarded Dell Mini PC / Desktops - I’ve ended up using those instead, as they only draw 45W and as others have said, are more than adequate for most home server applications.
They’re all super modular, with full tool-less disassembly, so easy enough to swap around drives / RAM etc - Most of them have a little dust filter too, which is nice to have when they’re out in the garage.
I did recently pick up a Mac Pro (The old dustbin style) from CEX a few weeks ago, which I am intending to use as a desktop-based home server with Linux Installed:- Two network ports, 2x D700 GPU, 64GB RAM, And a reasonable Xeon - Not bad for the price, and much easier to home than a full U server.
They’re all super modular, with full tool-less disassembly, so easy enough to swap around drives / RAM etc - Most of them have a little dust filter too, which is nice to have when they’re out in the garage.
I did recently pick up a Mac Pro (The old dustbin style) from CEX a few weeks ago, which I am intending to use as a desktop-based home server with Linux Installed:- Two network ports, 2x D700 GPU, 64GB RAM, And a reasonable Xeon - Not bad for the price, and much easier to home than a full U server.
PhilboSE said:
I'll stick the RAM & CPUs on Ebay, see if they go, if not into the bin. The RAID controller is an odd double-headed thing that only fits this case, don't think I'll bother with that, nor the PSUs and fans.
I don't know if you've put the Ebay auctions up already, but I could be interested in the whole thing as I have a small homelab addiction.I've hung on to these things and kept them in an outhouse for years on the off chance I might find a use for them...but I can't think of one. As said above, the servers sound like jet engines and if I ever have a need for such a thing I could something together that's more powerful for pennies...or just buy one off ebay.
The Opterons date from 2011 so that puts the age of the box into perspective.
The Opterons date from 2011 so that puts the age of the box into perspective.
trebnamo said:
PhilboSE said:
I'll stick the RAM & CPUs on Ebay, see if they go, if not into the bin. The RAID controller is an odd double-headed thing that only fits this case, don't think I'll bother with that, nor the PSUs and fans.
I don't know if you've put the Ebay auctions up already, but I could be interested in the whole thing as I have a small homelab addiction.PM me if interested. Auctions are live as BiN but I can terminate them. eBay doesn't think they're worth much anyway, it thinks £19 for the memory and about £11 for the CPUs.
What do you do with a dead 1U server,
What do you do with a dead 1U server,
What do you do with a dead 1U server,
Early in the morning.
Soz, couldn't help it.
Either part it out or sell it as spares and repairs... It's not worth much but old RAM is usually worth a few quid for that one server that needs to be kept running or the business will fold and can't be upgraded. Or to get rid of it search for a WEEE compliant recycler.
What do you do with a dead 1U server,
What do you do with a dead 1U server,
Early in the morning.
Soz, couldn't help it.
Either part it out or sell it as spares and repairs... It's not worth much but old RAM is usually worth a few quid for that one server that needs to be kept running or the business will fold and can't be upgraded. Or to get rid of it search for a WEEE compliant recycler.
My experience is that Dell 1U kit has very little resale value.
As others say you might get some money for the RAM (although server RAM commands a much lower resale value than desktop RAM) and you may get a little for the CPU and maybe the PSU
The RAID card might be SAS and will be of interest to homelab people.
Incidentally, there is a Retro Computing thread if anyone is interested
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
As others say you might get some money for the RAM (although server RAM commands a much lower resale value than desktop RAM) and you may get a little for the CPU and maybe the PSU
The RAID card might be SAS and will be of interest to homelab people.
Incidentally, there is a Retro Computing thread if anyone is interested
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Edited by Clockwork Cupcake on Tuesday 18th August 20:56
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