A junk PC can still serve beside a Mac mini server
A Dell Inspiron 3252 with a low-power Pentium N3700 and 8GB of memory was turned into a secondary server. Its 32GB system drive is very old. The 18TB drive had been removed from a because it repeatedly dropped offline.
Holes were cut into the drive holder to reduce overheating, and a missing was soldered onto the main circuit board so a second cooling fan could be added. Hot glue was also used in several places. The machine is not trusted with primary work, but it runs reliably enough as a basement media- computer and a third backup location for the main server.
It uses 15 watts while idle.
Key points
- The Dell Inspiron 3252 has a Pentium N3700 and 8GB of memory.
- Its system drive is an old 32GB .
- The 18TB drive was retired from a after repeatedly dropping offline.
- Cooling required cutting holes and adding a second fan through a soldered .
- It streams media, holds a third backup, and idles at 15 watts, but it is not trusted for primary work.