Howdy
Doing a bit of a clearout at the moment as we gear up for peak season, so we will be doing some deals as we go through stock.
First up
Lenovo Thinkstation P320 Tower
Intel i7 6700
32Gb Ram
512Gb SSD
Windows 10 Pro
12 Month Warranty
NVIDIA shield pro
Rational?
For streaming or media consumption, it'll just work without much tinkering, comes with remote, smaller form factor, no fan noise, supported by official app, so no DRM issue, lower electric bill.
AI upscaling to 4k looks interesting on shield pro. Shield is better for streaming but this is better if you want an all-in-one NAS setup
Depends on what you need it for, but in general, this for sure, it will crush Nvidia device's performance and give you the ability to do so much more. Especially if running emulators or gaming of any kind.
It’ll just be a bit more of a hassle setting up a remote. I had a NUC with a Logitech Universal remote to operate Kodi and basic Windows functions. OP might also want a wireless keyboard mouse combo.
But it then gives you access to all streaming and gaming.
Good point about remote, I use a logitech K400+ wireless keyboard and it has a mouse trackpad on the side, works really well for navigating windows, browsers and apps from bed or lounge.
logitech K400+ wireless keyboard
That’s the kind of model I was thinking of.
But if @Watanabe1995 is only interesting in streaming videos they will likely want a dedicated media remote. Personally I’d go for an Nvidia Shield for its simplicity. It’s a media streamer and is good at it. It can also do some light gaming/retro emulation and can be paired with a gaming controller.
Anything beyond that then maybe a Windows Tower will be better. But it also have higher power usage, likely be noisier and take up more space.
access to all streaming
Careful with this.
I have 2 PCs in the living room for TV and gaming, it's the most flexible do-anything option. But…
I ended up getting a Fire TV 4k stick for streaming.
The reason is bad DRM: the websites of streaming services deliberately don't stream their content in high quality or 4K. At all, no matter what plan you pay for. Often, very-low-bitrate 720p is the absolute max you'll get. A huge reduction in visual and audio quality.
This is VERY noticeable on any display over 32 inches, like the big TVs most people use, or a projector.
So using a smart TV app or Fire TV or chromecast (and presumably the Shield) results in MUCH better image quality for streaming.
If only this was at least 7th gen for 10bit HEVC
It seems this uses C236 chipset so you can upgrade to 7th gen no problem.
https://psref.lenovo.com/syspool/Sys/PDF/ThinkStation/ThinkS…
Or get a low-end intel dedicated graphics or a low-end quadro from nV and use their hacc instead.
My 6th gen NUC has been playing them fine for years
It's a 4GHz 4 Core CPU - there's way more than enough grunt to play 10bit HEVC files without hardware decoding.
Power usage 6th vs 7th… Just because it's fast enough… 160w system vs 60w system power draw over 4 hours of TV per day can be killer. Plus this is a huge case, hard to hide
Yeah I like power efficiency, though I don't think it would result in a 100W difference. For 1080p it might be +20W, 4K HDR could stretch to +50W.
Can be upgraded to windows 11?
CPU not supported because it's too old, but you can install Win 11 yourself, just use Rufus to make your custom Win11 image to bypass TPM / CPU restriction https://www.makeuseof.com/rufus-bypass-tpm-secure-boot-requi…
I've used this exact method to install this on my one.
Used this method to upgrade my i7 860 first gen .. ;) even let me upgrade the existing windows 10 install.. crazy easy and works perfectly
The easiest way to upgrade from Win 10 to Win 11 is to delete the file "appraiserres.dll" in the sources fold, than open "setup.exe" in Win 10.
If someone can pair this with a 2nd hand GTX 1070,80, or ti's it would make a VERY affordable low-mid tier gaming PC.
Not a bad idea for anybody here with kids that are screaming that they want a gaming PC but you don't want to spend $2k for them to then lose interest.
It might need a new PSU and a 24pin to 10pin adapter before adding a GPU
fair call, didn't consider that. just assumed these workstatons come with a "good enough" PSU to handle a dedicated GPU.
i know in another comment the OP said it's got a 400w PSU, but don't know what the situation is in regards to pin connectors
Edit:
confirmed, 400w PSU with a spare 8pin PSI-E connector.
I have the P320 which came with the Xeon E3 1245 V6 instead of the i7 6700, and that one had the 250w PSU as it didn't come standard with a dedicated GPU. Models which came standard with the Quadro cards should have the 400w one. Swapping it out for a larger one is easy enough using a 24 to 10 pin adapter like @BROKENKEYBOARD says above, but be aware, if you go down this route your PSU fan will always remain on even when your PC is off.
that's why i said 1070, 80, or ti's
I managed to score a gtx1070 on marketplace last week, listed for $150, and haggled down to $100.
It's a really good time to buy PC hardware right now, especially considering the past 3 years.
RESPECT!
I am trying to haggle a 1070ti down to $100.
@Naigrabzo: If you can, that would be a really good deal. However i think a 1070 for $100 is much more realistic.
You will notice you have 2 types of listings.
1. The people still think it's covid prices and expecting to get top dollar for their GPU - These listings stay up forever and whenever you message the seller you can feel them being pissed off by how long it's taking to sell.
2. The people that are realistic with what prices are like now, they know they missed the boat to sell 9 months ago, they put their listing up at a much more realistic price and it usually sells within the week., some really good priced ones sell within the day (like the 1070 i got)
I forgot about gumtree..
Just buy off ebay instead.
https://www.ebay.com.au/str/junltech/Computers-Tablets-Netwo…
They have exmining cards with warranty. 300 will get you a lot better than a 1080. Or just other ebay sellers in general, 300 is like 2070/super range.
I never saw anyone lose interest in PC gaming, it's additive to all ages
Have you got kids?
RESPECT! But kids lose interest in everything so fast. Have you ever experienced hanging out with kids?
Especially kids. I have one too
What wattage PSU is in these bad boys? any loose pci-e connectors dangling off them?
Slapping a GPU in it would be a good idea but if you have to replace the PSU you'll quickly wish you just bought a hodgepodge of second hand parts and put something more suitable together yourself, I think.
The standard PSU's for base configuration is only 250 watts, which is for using the system sans discrete GPU since that psu would not have any 6-pin PCIe power connectors
https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkStation-Workstations/Power…
they have a 400w PSU and yes, there is a PCI-e connector there.
6 or 8 pin? thanks for the quick response!
8 Pin :)
they have a 400w PSU
Are they standard PSU?
Not doing any gaming, just for office use with lots of Word docs to store, may need to open a few tabs at the same time, do I need to upgrade to 1TB storage please ? Also can I connect this wirelessly to printers, router etc ??
Yes you can as I am using this exact machine to do all of the above. 1TB is good to have but not needed for simple office tasks. I have two 4TB HDDs installed in mine along with the internal 512gb SSD.
You definitely don't need 1TB for word docs. 32GB RAM can handle much more than few browser tabs. Doubt there is a wireless networking card installed in the PC as it doesn't state it in the deal, but you can always separately buy a good wireless USB dongle.
do I need to upgrade to 1TB storage please ?
This depends on your storage needs.
512GB is plenty for basic document storage and some photos, etc.
This PC is fairly major overkill for what you've described.
But it’s only $209
Yes, that's true- it's cheap overkill. Word doc storage and a couple of browser tabs should be easily handled by a 512GB SSD and 32GB RAM!
Cheap nas, good performance nas
Except that the two 5.25" drive bays are separated - by the looks of the front photo, you won't be able to put a 5*3.5" drive caddy into the two 5.25" slots 👎
nothing a dremel can't fix (probably) (:
Looks good, have grabbed one :)
bit expensive for what it is
please. show us where you can get one cheaper that also has 12 months warranty
Can you see any Surface Pros going on sale in your crystal ball OP?
Yes, yes there will be.
Is it good for running excel?
Yep, these are great specs for the price 👌
how old would this be?
2016 maybe
Hi - this platform could go either way, do these come with DDR3 or DDR4 memory?
Edit: DDR4
i brought one as a office machine
I bought one as an office machine.
@Calmago in the OP you state "doing some deals", will there be any other desktop form factor PCs (such as this) that can fit a GPU, newer than 6th gen? Tossing up whether to shoot for this or wait.
Not that I can see at the moment. Tower form factor isn't very common.
Thanks, went for it
Hi, asked earlier but never received a response. Was wonder if there are likely to be any additional towers coming by in future?
Is this any good to create a CD ripping machine?
I need to digitise some of my classics.
Just get a usb cd drive? Unless you don't own a PC at all. Ripping CDs uses close to 0 CPU power.
That's a fair point. I might investigate. Thanks greatlamp
You can probably find and download all of them in lossless FLAC format.
I've got a lot of rare stuff and overseas stuff that doesn't have much of a following… And apparently after CDs aren't the best after 20 yes, so it's time to get ripping.
Is there DVD drives in these please? I want to hook this up to TV and play some of my DVD movies
Why not a Sony DVD or Blu-Ray Player for $20 to $50 from FB or Cash Converters? It’ll likely come with cables and a remote.
Oh thanks for reply, I should have mentioned this but I also want all the other PC functions for TV as well, just need the DVD playing as extra 😅
A small form factor (SFF) PC could be more suitable for that. This is (was) a tower.
For example: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/792238
Good price! But be mindful of an aging SSD, it might not last as long as HDD counterparts.
Might depend on TBW rather than age, some SSDs have better lives than others. I think SSDs are more stable over time, but less stable over use?
Does anyone know how I would figure out what dedicated graphics card would go with this machine considering the size of the card and the 400w power supply? Thanks
This website lists the suggested PSU requirements for nearly every GPU
https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/
But bear in mind, these requirements are often exaggerated by Manufacturers to cover their butts. So once you find one you think is close, you would then want to investigate a little further with google for that GPU, to see what people are actually running successfully.
My biggest concern would be the psu being old at this point, so it won't have the full 400w at whatever% efficiency it is rated at. In that case, I wouldn't go anything higher than rx 6600 as it's a gamble beyond that when wattage spikes
Does anyone have a good recommendation for an efficient and powerful workstation that can run concurrent multiple sessions as a remote desktop solution?
Does it support m2 storage?
Nice. Didnt know that. Thanks!
Can it fit two video cards?
What for?
Folding
I think they're sold out?
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:(
Looks like it. I think some scalpers think they might be able to resell
The ram itself is worth about half the computer
@Clamago will restock or no?
Who's @Clamago?
Oops, typo
out of stock now for these.
I think you mentioned in an earlier post. Have you got any similar deals coming up?
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![[Refurb] Lenovo Thinkstation P320 i7 6700 32GB RAM 512GB SSD Win 10 $209 Delivered @ Australian Computer Traders](https://files.ozbargain.com.au/n/08/798108.jpg?h=db0cf6d5)
this or NVIDIA shield pro