expired Posted by cgigate • Jul 12, 2022
Jul 12, 2022 7:18 PM
Item 1 of 5
Item 1 of 5
expired Posted by cgigate • Jul 12, 2022
Jul 12, 2022 7:18 PM
Acer Aspire XC Desktop (Refurb): Celeron J4125, 4GB RAM, 256GB SSD
+ Free Shipping$88
$330
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*Added another 8Gig of memory [amazon.com]to make it 12Gig total
*spliced power so I can get 2 SATA power header [ebay.com]
*spliced fan header [ebay.com]and added an 140mm fan [amazon.com]
*added a WD 80TB Red plus
*added a DVD caddy 3.5 9.7mm bay [amazon.com].
Runs absolutely like a dream at 25Ws.
Copied suggestions below for various uses.
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I have been working with this little SFF for a day now and I really enjoy using this thing and I am replying to this message on the system right now. The fan is virtually silent and power draw is max 15W on my killawatt (I removed DVD drive).
I have seen a lot of questions on this forum about what this thing is good for. I thought to provide my perspective on the subject and elaborate on various use cases for this little thing. Again, this is one person's opinion.
Desktop replacement, Rating: Medicore
This is a mediocre use case as a desktop replacement because the limited CPU capability and memory. The system comes with 4Gig standard which will mean a lot of swapping on Windows 10 in default configuration. If you can up the memory to 8Gig, I think the use case becomes fair. It is a reasonable system for lite web page browsing, spreadsheets, email, YouTube and Netflix at 1080P. ie, this is a good system for your grandparents if usage case isn't aggressive.
Gaming setup, Rating: Poor
Expansion slot is half height, power supply is 65W, there is only a CPU fan. ie, if you want to game other than minesweeper, you should look for a beefier system, such as the one with I3 and 250W power?. Again, if you go that route, maybe Acer small form factor shouldn't be what you should consider. For reference, my current game setup has a 850w ps and about 7 fans.
NAS, Rating: Good
This thing draws less power and is quieter than my Synology 2 bay. CPU will be more powerful than my Synology with more possibility of expanding via standard PC peripherals. A two bay Synology is about $200 right now which means you can use this thing at about half the cost. With this said, there are only 2 SATA ports and no additional cooling fans and will only accommodate 1 3.5" and 1 2.5" drive without additional engineering. If you are okay dropping in a 10TB 3.5 WD Red Plus and call it good, you have an excellent use case here. If you are desperate, I suppose you can always use external USB 3.0 enclosures for additional drives. Hardware transcoding via Plex for a single 4K stream shouldn't be a huge issue since this Celeron has a UHD600 onboard.
pFsense, Gateway replacement, VPN server, PiHole etc, Rating: Excellent
What this system really excels is as an always on, minimal power, minimal noise internet relay device. I listed a couple use cases above. I am thinking moving my VPN server (both up and down streams), PiHole, and Firewall server into this thing. As given the system has more than enough resource to run Debian or BSD, never sipes more than 15Ws, generates no heat, and is virtually silent, I can see this thing sitting next to my cable modem and be the consolidating gateway machine that is currently being taken up by a Synology, a number of Rasperberri Pis. For $100, this is just a bargain you can't find equivalent elsewhere. Now the only decision is to buy another one as a backup in case this breaks. :-)
Anyways, enjoy my wall of text.
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https://slickdeals.net/f/15861442-acer-recertified-xc-830-uw91-slim-desktop-j4125-quad-core-4gb-ddr4-256gb-pcie-ssd-802-11ac-4k-hdmi-105-59
In general, this is definitely usable as a desktop for standard users who don't need much processing power. It has a good SSD and two DDR4 SODIMM slots (up to 2400 MHz) that actually seem to support a total of 32GB RAM (even though 8GB is the official limit).
However, as an energy-efficient, always-on NAS, network server, or other appliance is where this computer really shines.
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I bought this when it last time, I wonder if they will do the adjustment for me.
Perfect for PFsense or other low power use.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/255186968611
Clockspeed: 2.0 GHZ
Turbo Speed: 2.7 GHZ
Cores: 4 Threads: 4
Typical TDP: 10 W
Definitely serviceable for basic use at this price.
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank greendesert
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It looks like this desktop might use SODIMM RAM because of the Celeron processor (despite what Acer's site says above), something to keep in mind. I'm seeing conflicting info on the # of RAMs slots so I'd hold off on buying extra RAM until you've opened it up to see.
Here's the link to Crucial's RAM lookup tool, which says it only has 1 slot: link [crucial.com]
Kingston says it has 2 slots: link [kingston.com]
I would STRONGLY recommend upgrading to 8 GB, if it is indeed possible! You'll be adding around $25 or so to the cost, but the experience will be much better.
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https://www.intel.com/content/www...tions.htm
Supports quicksync. This would make a nice Plex server (with hardware transcoding) if you have a Plex Pass.
This is better suited to things like being a custom router or a NAS device due to the rather sluggish CPU and the very low power consumption which is ideal for 'always on' devices.
This system uses SODIMM laptop memory. System does include a 16x PCIe slot but keep in mind the power supply and tiny size case won't support a big honkin' gfx card.
Edited this post to remove information because there are conflicting reports on how many memory slots are on the motherboard. Also seeing conflicting informaiton stating there are 2 SATA ports on motherboard but only one SATA power connector. So you might need a 2 way splitter cable on that single SATA power connector to do dual drives if using as a NAS.
Considering a copy of Windows 10 or 11 bought at retail costs more than this entire machine it's a tempting deal regardless of the shortcomings. But for a daily driver PC an older Dell i5 or i7 small form factor desktop is a better choice and can be had quite cheaply on eBay.
I appreciate you putting it into perspective. It's a no-go for my needs, but seems like a great deal for those in the market. Repped.
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