The cashback is until 31st July. There are two cashbacks for the same machine, one ends today, the other starts tomorrow, so no need to rush to buy today (other than the ebuyer prices do fluctuate and this is as low as it's been I think).

Great machine by the way, I bought the Xeon version recently, and very happy with it.

No issues running Win 10, and just add a PCI card if you need to run more than 4 HDDs (I have 6 in mine).

anyone received theres yet from ebuyer ? mine still says processing grr

Cashback offer is live again - claim website shows 'Offer ends 31 July', and promotional period for this model as:

Family Model Part Number Order Code Cashback* Promotional Period
PowerEdge T20 20-3685 203-70946 PET2001 £70.00 01/05/2016 – 31/07/2016

However, price has gone up a smidge from £139.98 to £142.98 (before any topcashback and £70 cashback) - still worth it IMO - have just bought one

thx liquidtoon - checking it out now...

Does anyone have a link to a good tutorial on how to configure one of these babies with Xpenology or something similar.
I'm only going to be using this to run a usenet client, share movies & music with family around the house, and setup a cloud structure so that my kids have their own online backup space without the need for relying on google, microsoft and so forth....

Cheers

I had no idea there even was an issue, although installing to USB caused me a few problems and I'm not sure why. Put in a 256gb ssd for my images and file storage is still handled by my n54l.

Also AMT is not enabled on this motherboard. Only those sold with Xeons lads.

If so, that is rather an important little detail that was missing from mutav's earlier post.

Just had a quick google search, & post 7 seems to be a good place to start for anyone trying to do the same
https://communities.vmware.com/thread/475396?start=0&tstart=0

and the following seems like a good resource for new people like me.
https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?s=ab5285ccbbd1d61e45d0d6f129e257a9&t=18707248&page=2

Purchased 10 minutes to midnight last night.
Held off purchase as long as I could, but then temptation got the better of me - especially when you think of the final cost at £70.

Invoice already on the system dated 30th April. Glad I did as the £70 off offer has disappeared from the Ebuyer site this morning.

Heat added. Rep ++ to OP.

I was going to buy this but I really want to use esxi.

If it isn't currently supported, I'm sure it will be in the not too distant future. The T20 doesn't use particularly esoteric hardware, does it?

But ESXi is free?

The T20 isn't supported for VMWare ESXi, though there are reports that with tweaking you can get it to work ok. eg see https://community.spiceworks.com/topic/871305-vmware-and-dell-poweredge-t20 and https://communities.vmware.com/thread/475396?start=0&tstart=0
I don't know the current situation, but would be interested to hear from anyone here who's got this to work

I didn't have a (valid) reason for buying one of these boxes (they are brilliant value for money, after all), but putting ESXi on one sounds like a great little project 8-)

Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter :smiley: Only using this as storage since the CPU is quite weak.

aah been been a long time since I was messing with computer terms.. but you are right. :smiley:

just reading about ECC and non ECC.. sheesh might as well be written in Latin for all that understood it lol

Sorry, currently in facetious mode. 4mb = 4 millibits. I think what you meant was 4GB = 4 gigabytes.

How's this for esxi?

Thinking about migrating from a N54L (with 6x SATA 3.5 HDs + boots esxi off a USB stick).

really.. thought another 4mb stick would help with multiple browser tabs etc..

I doubt you'd notice a great difference...

Im guessing windows 7 should be fine on this computer for normal browsing watching videos etc.. no gaming.

I can move the hard disk and ssd drive from my current computer. And just add 4mb of Ram.

Thanks.

On the claims page you give your bank account details, and they pay direct to your account.

https://plus.delltradetosave.com/gb/en/claims/promotions/get_started

Mine came through within 3 weeks on last deal,

Do dell just refund you the cash back onto your debit card? ive heard of companies sending cheques or even credit to spend online on there website/webstores etc I fancy buying one of these I already have a ssd drive and I'm looking for a dedicated pc for use with my ham radio programs and systems which doesn't require much power spec wise

Can this take a 2.5" SSD ?
Thanks.

Quidco tracked another £2.33 off this deal - crazy not to get as a spare @ this price.....

Can you install win 10 on this and run as a normal pc?

Small ifo for all gamers on budget. You won't be able to fit stronger psu, because this one is fixed

Does anyone know if the CPU can be replaced on this? (ala upgrading the pentium microserver to a Xeon?)

Is it your Internet or your cpu? I've had 10 streams at once on fibre, but all were previously converted to 1mb mp4s so no transcoding took place. That said on the old microserver just one transcode could ruin things for everyone.

Of course if three people stream at 6mb then fibre just won't cut it!

Just buy another computer - at that price it may work out cheaper than a PCIe card! :smile:

can it run dota2?

​This is what I would use it for too. currently using a i3 mini desktop. What internet connection do you have for friends to stream from your box? I struggle to stream off site with my fibre at great quality.

FWIW the invoice I had (from DABS / BT Shop) didn't quote the model number only "PowerEdge T20 MT Pentium G3220 4GB no HDD" in the description and the cashback has been approved.

On a seperate subject it has space for 4 x 3.5 inch drives and 2 x 2.5 inch drives and as has already been mentioned only 4 SATA connectors. So physically fitting more than those drives in would be challenging. I have 5 drives fitted and am successfully using https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00UVJI3IQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 to provide the extra SATA ports.

Seems the cashback should be ok, I'll take the chance... could send back if issues (tho annoying!)

For anyone considering buying for Kodi, Plex etc This is almost the same specs as an HTPC I built several years ago. The processor is weak, but more than capable of running the graphically intense skins of Kodi. Built with an ASrock motherboard, Lian Li case and SSD, cost about double of what this can potentially be grabbed for. Great deal, heat added.

The cashback is until 31st July. There are two cashbacks for the same machine, one ends today, the other starts tomorrow, so no need to rush to buy today (other than the ebuyer prices do fluctuate and this is as low as it's been I think).

Great machine by the way, I bought the Xeon version recently, and very happy with it.

No issues running Win 10, and just add a PCI card if you need to run more than 4 HDDs (I have 6 in mine).

Maybe daft to ask - apologies - but this seems like a steal at £70 after cashback. How simple is it to add cheap ssd, monitor, W10, keyboard & mouse? Maybe a decent setup for £200 but I can't imagine how you do the basics eg. get w10 onto this machine. Don't need the full step by step now but could anyone suggest whether it's relatively cheap and simple? Thank you hukders!

And a SATA DVD-ROM ? Actually, I have a T20 from an earlier offer, and there is a USB 2.0 header on the motherboard which I use to run a Slimline DVD-ROM (thus allowing 4 HDDs and DVD-ROm without fitting an extra card). You could also use the internal USB header to boot from a USB Pen Drive (if using the box as a NAS type appliance).

Got my Xeon version of this a week ago - seems really nice and a worthy upgrade from my N36L Microserver. When I've got the money I'm at least going to put an SSD and two 6TB drives in it. Even considering installing a dual DVB-S2 (freesat) tuner and using it as a PVR too! Seems like I may as well use it for kodi in my lounge rather than my Rpi1 - it's certainly quiet enough.

Think about future upgrades plus, it doesn't have to be an extra hard drive

Fair enough, but adding a PCIe card just to be able to use one more hard drive?

You can add more SATA ports via PCie cards if required.

And some benchmarks for the CPU: http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Pentium+G3220+%40+3.00GHz&id=2020

(Not the most powerful, but good bang for your buck).

Ive had the Xenon version from Server+ running for over a year with no issues i stuck 16gb of 1866mhz ram in and a sata 3 card to give more storage and its been fine, mine runs Windows 10 Pro as i needed to run Sickbeard and Sabnzb and didn't want the stress setting it up on a server OS. Im also running a Plex server on it and thats shared with a few family and friends over the net and on a weekend 2-3 people could be streaming 1080p movies and it never skips a beat but thats because its a Xenon CPU which is a server processor and is pretty powerful and is meant to be on 24/7 where as this is just a desktop CPU and not a very fast one either this is really a Desktop rather than a Server but its cheap this wouldnt suit me but at the price its a cheap desktop replacement.

BTW I presume it is de rigueur for servers not to have wi-fi built in?

No point installing 5 drives when there are only 4 SATA channels?

Link to CPU specs: http://ark.intel.com/products/77773/Intel-Pentium-Processor-G3220-3M-Cache-3_00-GHz

"TDP: 53 W" seems quite power hungry? Anybody know where the RAID specs are for this machine?

The Ebuyer website says:


So if Dell say this doesn't qualify for the cashback, you would have a legitimate claim against eBuyer IMHO.

I ditched a microserver for one of these, no complaints yet other than I liked the removable drive bays in the microserver.

google T20-3685 then google 20-3685, they are the same item but the T included seems to be UK

The part number on Ebuyer is different to whats listed at Dell.

Ebuyer has it listed as a T20-3685 and not a 20-3685

"PowerEdge T20 20-3685 203-70946 PET2001 £70.00 01/05/2016 – 31/07/2016"

Looks clear enough to me

how quiet does this run? looking at using as a htpc, unless it is very noisy.

I would agree, but there isn't a T20 on dell website at all, so would mean no cashback, but people have had cashback here on this model already?

Looking at the cashback website, the server comes up twice, £70 cashback both times, one ends tomorrow, another begins on the 1st. Both have identical model numbers, 20-3685

Showing as 01/02/2016 – 30/04/2016 for me.

Scrub that, there is indeed two part numbers listed another one states 01/05/2016 – 31/07/2016

Runs Windows 10 great

I bought this in march & got cashback.

Very tempted but too many uncertainties regarding cashback for me to pull the trigger.

This is inconsistent. The "Promotional Period" applicable to that part number is stated as "01/05/2016 – 31/07/2016" = no mention of April 2016.

I got the Xeon version yesterday with 32 gig of Ram from ServersPlus
http://www.serversplus.com/servers/tower_servers/dell_tower_servers/20-3708-32g

I could have built a Skylake i5 rig for more although the Xeon proc is better than the Skylake i5 . I also wanted something I can leave on all the time snipping data off the net and as a server I hope its up for the task.

I have to say it is a very nice quiet machine, the build quality is amazing, loving the case:-) Everything comes apart without a screwdriver.

Only thing I'm not sure about is air flow, there is only one fan exhausting air at the back. I think I will try and add another one sucking air in on the front panel.

I installed Lubuntu and Samba, plugged it into my switch and now I can see its drive on my other Linux box and my windows laptops can see it too.

Next I will add some more HDD and use the inbuilt Intel Raid controller to keep my photos etc.

I am also going to use the Xeon 4 cores to run computational tasks in parallel to see whether its worth investing in a dual 12 core Xeon rig next.

so if I order by tomorrow I should get cashback?

**** me, I paid 152£

£124.97 on Flubit just now :disappointed:, That be £27 cheaper than what I paid, grrrr.

Darn, 54£ after cashback makes me really want to buy another, for no reason.

Hot, if you're quick

Mini tower
Intel Pentium G3220 / 3 GHz Dual-Core
4 x USB 3.0 ( 2 front, 2 rear ) ¦ 6 x USB 2.0 ( 2 front, 4 rear )
3 (free) x DIMM 240-pin
1 (free) x PCIe 2.0 x1 ¦ 1 (total) / 1 (free) x PCIe 2.0 x16 ( x4 mode ) ¦ 1 (total) / 1 (free) x PCIe 3.0 x16 ¦ 1 (total) / 1 (free) x PCI
Power Supply 290 Watt
Don't think there's a DVD drive

So does this work or not as I might get one?

Terms and conditions:

The claim form can be found on this promotional website and must be completed no sooner than 30 days and no later than 60 days from the date of purchase. For the avoidance of doubt, the purchase date counts as day one.

The promotion ends tomorrow.

From the Dell Cashback site : "The Promotional Period is described as the period when the Qualifying Purchase was made. The invoice date must be within this specific period of time and clearly show a Qualifying Product specified below indicating either order code or model number" - so as long as the order goes through by EOB on 30th April you should be OK. BTW, The Dell Part # is T20-3685 the cashback list is here.

Could a knowledgeable person save everyone a few minutes trawling t&c by indicating if the item needs to be delivered by 30 April to qualify for cashback, or just purchased & paid for by 30th April. Thanks.

Bloomin' annoying as I bought one for £169 a month or so ago. Having said that I put my cashback claim in on Wednesday and it's been accepted with a promise I'll get paid in the next 28 days (as I recall.) I'm happy enough with server now I've got it though. (Obviously voted hot.)