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8 Wizard
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17K Posts
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27064
Vostro 460/XPS 8300, Upgrade Adventures
I recently acquired a stock Vostro-460 (XPS-8300) for trade-in/recycling. There is really nothing wrong with it other than it being older and kinda slow (still has spinning HDD). Since it is a 2011 model, the client just wanted a new one. We got them a couple OptiPlex 5050 SFF's and 24inch UltraSharps instead (and they love them).
Anyway, I was looking at this little computer closer. With this (stock) config:
Intel i5-2400 @3.1ghz (4core/4thread) SandyBridge / Cougar-Point architecture
4gb RAM (2x 2gb)
320gb WDC 7200rpm HDD
350watt power supply
Windows-7 Pro 64bit (which means it should still barely get free Windows-10 Pro 64bit)
My current Kodi box is circa-2007 with a good-ole Intel Q6600 quad-core and a AMD-5670 video-card.
If I'm reading this right, CPUBoss says this little Intel i5-2400 benchmarks twice-as-fast as the Q6600. It just has to do 1080p video (and DolbyDigital/DTS HD-Audio-7.1) but I also occasionally do some light gaming on it (actually, pretty cool on projector). Like the old one, it will be connected to Onkyo-AVR with HDMI used for all video and audio.
I've got some parts laying around, so (since it's been 7 years) I'm thinking of doing some key upgrades to the Vostro-460 (Power-Supply, SSD, video ... maybe RAM etc.) and making it my new Kodi/Steam-Box (in Big-Picture-Mode). Typically, my HTPC is just a hand-me-down or what's left anyway.
For starters, I guess I just want to check with you guys ... that this machine is worth the time and parts.
Dell Rockstar Registered Microsoft Partner and Apple Developer |
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
8 Wizard
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17K Posts
1
June 23rd, 2019 19:00
A06 is the latest/final. There is no UEFI support on XPS-8300.
Your solution is easy. Just boot from a more normal-sized SATA-3/600 SSD ...
like maybe a 512gb or even 1tb SSD.
speedstep
9 Legend
9 Legend
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47K Posts
1
July 7th, 2019 10:00
Advanced format drives aka any drive later than 2011 require F6 mass storage drivers and GPT partition.
Any Drive SSD or not up to 2TB is fine.
https://www.seagate.com/support/downloads/beyond-2tb/
https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barracuda-Internal-Drive-STGS2000401/dp/B07CYRWW81
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078C515QL
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Inch-Internal-MZ-76Q2T0B-AM/dp/B07L31K2MK/
PCI-E booting is NEVER an option.
pichipon
3 Posts
0
October 12th, 2019 20:00
brother I can't find how to turn this off
After installing the new video card on this particular machine, go to the BIOS and change the "Intel Multiple Monitor Feature" option in the BIOS (but leave it disabled
speedstep
9 Legend
9 Legend
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47K Posts
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October 18th, 2019 11:00
" "Intel Multiple Monitor Feature" is NEVER an option.
INTEL Graphics is in the CPU.
This is not a card that is added.
Othe110
9 Posts
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May 14th, 2020 16:00
Please tell me why "PCI-E booting is NEVER an option". I'm clueless and I was thinking about getting an M.2/PCIe adapter to run/boot off of an SSD.
speedstep
9 Legend
9 Legend
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47K Posts
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May 14th, 2020 17:00
A06 is the last. There are no further updates. End of story.
Never will be any further updates.