 I did this for *me*. Dell OptiPlex 9020 SFF with Libreboot. i7-4790k (does not throttle!), 32GB RAM. AMD Radeon RX 6400 (Yeston!). NVMe SSD. ***Heavily*** modified. NH-L9x65 cooler. Fans mounted in rear. HDD/ODD cage removed. Rectangle cut out on front; Inner chassis cut so SATA SSD now screws in at the bottom-front (not the HDD cage that I removed), and intake fan at top-front. I *will* be selling these. I'm doing more testing; on TODO is 3D print a custom side panel with extra ventilation. 13 comments
@Unaccounted4 i7-4790k. Will sell as a special version. I already 9020 without mods, just Libreboot, and that one has i5-4570. The default 9020 SFF machine can't handle higher than 65w CPUs. 4790k is 90w. I've been experimenting with this, testing various mods. What you're seeing is nearly the finished product; I just need to design that custom side panel with extra ventilation holes (to improve airflow). Without these mods, a 90w CPU will overheat and throttle. I have my 4790k running stable. @libreleah Yeah, there's not much a gap for airflow with the stock side panel for a downdraft cooler. Still, damn impressive! @Unaccounted4 Yeah, right now with the side panel (which has *no* holes), the 4790k gets to about 90c - but it still does not throttle. *without* the side panel, it runs at 70c on this setup. So I'm going to buy a 3D printer and design a custom side panel, that has ventilation holes over the graphics card area and CPU cooling area, so that it can run closer to 70c. It's a labour of love. I'm already proud of it; it's literally finished except for that side panel. I'll be buy a 3D printer soon. @libreleah I had a similar issue a few years back for my custom SteamBox 360 build. With a decided lack of access to 3D printing I just cut a hole in the side panel and put a custom fan grill on it. (Yes, the internal dc-dc power supply converter thing is still held on with a zip tie to this day.) @Unaccounted4 This looks great! Alas, the chassis on my machine is *solid steel*. I actually can drill it, but it gets messy. And it's physically difficult. I'm sweating; I'm in the process of doing it on mine, as a test, to see if it improves temps. If it does, then I'll start designing that custom case. OR: Use some sort of automated drill, that can drill precisely in a row (without me holding it). Then I would drill the default chassis (and clean up, paint it and put a dust filter over it) @libreleah @Unaccounted4 wouldn't it cost a lot in terms of filament? I think you should see if a CNC to drill the holes in the original side panel might be more adapted... @TheyCallMeHacked @Unaccounted4 CNC! That is exactly what I was thinking of, but the name didn't come to me. Thanks! Yes, I'll probably get me a CNC milling machine. I was thinking of looking into getting service from someone to do it for me, but I might aswell do it myself. I have a big lab and everything, might aswell get one.  @libreleah makes sense to do more testing and iron out any potential hiccups and bumps... After all, big OEMs like Dell do the same...  It's amazing to see #Libreboot progressing and adding on new hardware compatibility. So cool!  @libreleah Will the libreboot compatibility for that CPU series be listed on the hardware page? will this be something we can do ourselves I mean? That's a pretty good CPU for Libreboot support, unless somehow Ryzens are supported.   |
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@libreleah What dGPU is it gonna have (if any)?