The 4K Dell OptiMac - 9020 MT - Core i7-4790 - Radeon RX 570 - LG 4K IPS Monitor

[bjay77]

Hi everyone, looking to build one of there hacks with this guide and have a question about graphics cards. I have a mini tower 9020 on the way with a 4770 cpu. I read the graphics card length limit of 234mm before the card hits the drive bays. I’m looking for a rx580 but can only seem to find sapphire nitro versions which Are longer. Do the drive bays come out easily? Ie by undoing screws, or are they riveted or otherwise fixed? Can they be moved to sit under the optical drive? Also would a longer two slot card need removal of both bays or just the top one?

 

[trs96]

Do the drive bays come out easily? Ie by undoing screws, or are they riveted or otherwise fixed? Can they be moved to sit under the optical drive? Also would a longer two slot card need removal of both bays or just the top one?

You're really much better off finding a shorter RX580. It's a lot of work and drilling to remove the HDD cage. See this:

 

[bjay77]

Hmm thanks for the video TRs, definitely looks like a short card or a whole new case (with all associated cable mods) would be better options!

 

[trs96]

Hmm thanks for the video TRs, definitely looks like a short card or a whole new case (with all associated cable mods) would be better options!

You can see some pics here https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...4k-27-ips-monitor.277811/page-77#post-2018939 showing how good the Dell case looks when completely modded.

 

[lofidub]

What some people do is set their router to broadcast 5GHz only and turn off the 2.4GHz band. Then the BT doesn't get affected.

Ah OK nice, not sure all my devices support 5ghz but I'll give it a go.
Thanks.

 

[trs96]

I read the graphics card length limit of 234mm before the card hits the drive bays.

It's actually closer to 254mm before hitting the HDD cage. The reason I suggest 234mm or less is that you need some extra room after the end of the GPU to run certain cables to that side of the motherboard. Cards any longer than 234mm make this more difficult to accomplish. In this pic (to the left) you can see all the connections that must go around the end of a long full length graphics card. There is the front panel connection, USB 3.0 header, a couple of Sata ports, the temperature sensor and the internal USB 2.0 header. Cards over about 9.4 inches (239mm) make connecting those up much more difficult. The cables Dell includes are only so long and present limitations.

 

[bjay77]

It's actually closer to 254mm before hitting the HDD cage.

Didn't think about cables, thanks for the tip. The sapphire 580 nitro i was looking at on ebay is 560mm long according to sapphire anyway, so way too long. I'll get the pulse rx580 and save the hassle.

I recently updated my hp elite 8300 to high sierra using your updated for 2020 guide (thanks again). Do you have a similar update for the optiplex 9020 guide or is using multibeast with kexts in library/extensions still the way to go for this one? I'm still making my way through this whole thread while i wait for my 9020 to arrive so maybe I haven't got to it yet.

Lastly (at this stage!) would 15.1 SMBIOS be the best option for an i7-4770 and rx580 pulse or is 15.1 only for the haswell refresh cpus?

cheers

 

[trs96]

would 15.1 SMBIOS be the best option for an i7-4770 and rx580 pulse or is 15.1 only for the haswell refresh cpus?

You can use that. There is a guide for Catalina. Link in post #1.

 

[bjay77]

OK, thanks, trs. I was thinking of just installing Mojave at this stage as per the guide but may go straight to Catalina if that is the best option in 2020! I'll check out the link.

Has anyone put a new rx 5500 card in an Optiplex? The Sapphire Pulse RX 5500 XT is 233mm long according to Sapphire website. I'm in Australia, and these are only a little more expensive than a new Pulse RX 580!

 

[trs96]

The Sapphire Pulse RX 5500 XT is 233mm long according to Sapphire website.

I've not heard of anyone using this in their Optiplex. If you buy one then you must use Catalina as there are no drivers in Mojave for that card.