Member Avatar for jbennet

Wel i liked my od proliants (hence my old username being proliant_fan)

im gonna ebay another one as i liked them before (built like tanks :))

got a choice of either:



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Dani AI

Generated

Quick orientation: is choosing between a few old ProLiants and is leaning toward the dual‑Xeon option. Older ProLiants are well built, but they bring tradeoffs: loud fans, high power draw, and parts that can be costly or hard to replace. The right pick depends on intended use — a lab box, a quiet desktop conversion, a file/RAID server, or a cluster node — and on which components are actually present and working.

Before bidding, confirm these points with the seller:

  • exact CPU models and whether both sockets are populated and working
  • memory type, module sizes, and whether populated in matched pairs; max supported RAM
  • RAID controller make/model, whether it has a battery/BBU, and the controller firmware version
  • drive interface (SCSI/SAS vs SATA), number of drives included, and any SMART or test results
  • presence of iLO/remote management, working power supply units (single vs redundant), and included rails/bezel or conversion kit fit
  • clear photos of the motherboard (look for bulging caps), front bay area, and a photo of the POST/BIOS screen showing detected CPUs/RAM

A few practical tradeoffs to weigh: a dual Xeon box will usually give the best balance of performance and reuse flexibility. Quad P3-era systems are older, thirstier, and may be harder to run modern software on. CL‑class cluster nodes can be awkward standalone — they sometimes expect a backplane or cluster interconnect and lack easy desktop power/drive setups.

Final tips: ask for a short video of a successful POST or BIOS screen, confirm return or local pickup options, and factor shipping weight and power costs into your bid. If drives are old SCSI units, plan on replacing them or using an appropriate controller — that can change the total cost quickly. Choose the unit with working RAID/PSUs and clear photos over the cheapest-looking listing.

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Member Avatar for TheNNS

question, why are you selling your servers? i mean quad pentium 3's with 2 gig of ram? that would make a pretty decent server. if i lived in the UK i'd buy all three of them wihtout even thinking about, but i live in US.

Member Avatar for jbennet

no im gonna buy one of those ones in the ebay links

my old servers (the dual/quad p2s with 1/2gb ram) all broke down due to hdd failures :(

i just need some help deciding which of the 3 on ebay i should bid on

Member Avatar for jbennet

think im gonna bid on the dual Xenon one

ive got a proliant rack to desktop conversion kit from one of the old ones which should fit :)

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