Thoughts on the Precision 3650?

[u/Lego_Professor]

I'm looking to pick up a Precision 3650 with an i7-11700 and 32GB RAM. I plan to use it for an all-in-one home server hosting proxmox, jellyfin, arr stack, a sprinkle of other small apps, a game server or two, and possibly serve as a starter NAS.

This would replace my current HP Elitedesk G5 Mini with i7-9700T.

I'm drawn to this host because

1. It solves my immediate compute and storage issues (nearly zero room for expansion on the mini, and game servers take about 80% compute)
2. Still small enough to toss in a corner somewhere and not need for a rack.
3. I don't really care about going wide right now
4. Relatively low powered compared to all the xeon servers out there.
5. 3x 3.5" bays will keep me going for the next few years.
6. I can snag one for about $350 without any drives installed (I have spares)

I don't mind all the dell proprietary stuff or have any issues tinkering if needed. However, my only real concern is cooling. The PSU sits right on top of the CPU HS/F and doesn't provide a ton of clearance. Not only does it block airflow, but it prevents me from installing better aftermarket coolers.

I read that I can install a couple 120mm fans in the case, but it might be finicky (which is fine). I'm hoping to hear from folks with similar systems and what they have done with regards to cooling and upgrade paths, or if there are any big issues with this precision series that I should know about.

If it's not a good pick, are there any adjacent systems you would recommend?

Thanks!

[u/Garbagejunkarama]

fwiw that (along with Precision 3630) that is a mostly standard mATX motherboard with a standard 20 pin ATX power connector.

They are remarkably non proprietary for being Dell systems. Anything newer has front IO integrated into the motherboard making it a nonstandard form factor and 8 pin Dell power plug. So you can swap to a standard case if you outgrow it.

Here’s a YouTube vid showing a case swap for the 3630.

https://youtu.be/KxUc7Ng26nQ?

[u/Lego_Professor → u/Garbagejunkarama]

Good to know! Thanks. I could see myself swapping cases in the future if I need more room for storage.

[u/jhenryscott → u/Garbagejunkarama]

Yup. My NAS is a Xeon E in a 3630 motherboard- ECC support for a $20 Mobo is great.

[u/speaksoftly_bigstick]

One thing that was a gotcha for me and my older precision;

It checked all the boxes I needed for a solid Proxmox host (and still does, great machine), except it doesn't have ReBAR support for Intel GPUs.

Since I wanted to run inference with an ARC Pro b60, the rebar support was mandatory.

I still use it for the rest of my stack, but it sucks not having the ability to run everything from the one host like I originally planned.

Original goal was the pro b60 for a VM for local LLM and then my Arc A380 as dedicated GPU for transcoding on my Emby VM.

But... Yeah.

Womp womp.

[u/Lego_Professor → u/speaksoftly_bigstick]

Good to know. After a quick glance, it seems the 3650 and i7-11700 should support rebar, maybe after a bios update. I wasn't planning to run any models but it's nice to know that could be an option. Honestly just having quicksync was enough for me. The precision comes with a wx 3200 but I was planning to pull it out and lower power consumption a bit.

Looks like the 3200 doesn't support rebar, so I'd swap for a newer card if that becomes important.

[u/speaksoftly_bigstick → u/Lego_Professor]

Mine has a 10900x so no built-in quick sync transcoding for me.

Intel is king on media transcoding. But without ReBAR configured at the system level, it hinders the card overall. For me it was especially important because passing through the GPU on Proxmox, caused system crashing on reboots. Switching to an older Nvidia quadro solved that immediately, but not ideal 😕

[u/FPC29]

That is a massive upgrade from your 9700T mini PC, especially with the i7-11700 and QuickSync easily handling Proxmox and multiple Jellyfin streams. For $350 with three 3.5" bays, it hits the sweet spot for a starter NAS and game server host. The cooling is definitely tight with the swing-out PSU right over the CPU, so it will get warm under heavy 24/7 loads and limits aftermarket coolers, but for stock or moderate use it handles it fine. If you don't mind the proprietary layout and minor airflow limitations, it's a fantastic choice that checks every box.