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

[gurnemanz]

. . . So I gave up and bought a RX 560 and a riser card cut a slit into the side panel and stuck the card on the outside with double sided tape. Problem solved.

Someone in your family must have been a SeaBee, the improvisational construction masters of the U.S. military.

 

[t33j4y]

So, I inserted my MSI RX570 and measured the clearance from the shroud down to the top of the PCIe x1 connector. There's approx 10mm (0.39" to US people). I think this is enough to fit the Delock 41839 riser (the one I linked to above) under it. See attached image. Red line shows where shroud is - sorry that the image is somewhat dark in that area, but it's an awkward angle to snap a photo of

Since the riser angles left (flexible cable will point away from GPU, towards the white PCI connector), it also means that I won't have to fold or jam the flexible cable under the GPU and then back towards the free space over the white PCI slot. It's a tight fit as the riser will overlap the capacitor next to the x1 slot but the flexible cable will point up and not down, so should clear fine.

I'm gonna order the riser and hope for the best. Only hiccup now is that it will take a while before I get the Fenvi HB-1200 since it's being shipped from China and all of the effects of the Corona virus outbreak makes everything take even longer than usual. I can use that time for figuring out how to extend the low profile bracket ;-)

Or should I go ahead and build the Optimac now, and then just add the Fenvi when it arrives?

I finally got the Delock 41839 riser cable and the PSU DELL adapter, so today I did the assembly of the DELL 9020 MT with a new PSU (EVGA G3 550w), the MSI Radeon RX 570 Armor 8G OC and the 4x 8GB of Timetec-Hynix 1600MHz RAM.

I also swapped the CMOS battery (tested the old one anyway and it turned out to be pretty much depleted) and replaced the thermal paste on the CPU, which was dried up and came off in flakes - ugh!

I had to remove the motherboard from the case to fit the PSU, even though it is only 15x15x8.5 cm. But in the end that turned out to be helpful, as with the motherboard free of the case it allowed me to do a fit test and snap some better pictures of the riser in place, both with and without the RX570 fitted. As you will see from the pictures, it all came together very well!

This is the riser, seen from the I/O port side (notice that it is almost flush with the top of the white PCI connector):

This the riser, seen at an angle:

This is the riser and RX570 - the RX570 is fully seated in the connector:

So in conclusion, I can fully recommend the Delock riser cable together with the MSI Armor RX570 video card - it does not interfere with the shroud of the video card.

I will post again when I receive the Fenvi HB-1200 card and modify a full profile bracket to fit the Fenvi card to allow for using the proper slot space but offsetting it from the motherboard so the riser connector has room to fit onto the HB-1200 without interfering with the white PCI connector.

 

[trs96]

I also swapped the CMOS battery (was pretty much depleted) and replaced the thermal paste on the CPU, which was dried up and came off in flakes - ugh!)

Thanks for posting these pics. They should convince everyone with a potential OptiMac system to take the preliminary steps seriously and complete them before anything else in the guide.

 

[craighazan]

I finally got the Delock 41839 riser cable and the PSU DELL adapter, so today I did the assembly of the DELL 9020 MT with a new PSU (EVGA G3 550w), the MSI Radeon RX 570 Armor 8G OC and the 4x 8GB of Timetec-Hynix 1600MHz RAM.

This is the riser, seen from the I/O port side (notice that it is almost flush with the top of the white PCI connector):

View attachment 451978

This the riser, seen at an angle:

View attachment 451979

This is the riser and RX570 - the RX570 is fully seated in the connector:

View attachment 451980

So in conclusion, I can fully recommend the Delock riser cable together with the MSI Armor RX570 video card - it does not interfere with the shroud of the video card.

I will post again when I receive the Fenvi HB-1200 card and modify a full profile bracket to fit the Fenvi card to allow for using the proper slot space but offsetting it from the motherboard so the riser connector has room to fit onto the HB-1200 without interfering with the white PCI connector.

The Delock riser cable is a good find, thanks for sharing. I might have to get a couple for my HP 6300 MT and Dell 9020 SFF, they will come in handy.

 

[t33j4y]

The Delock riser cable is a good find, thanks for sharing. I might have to get a couple for my HP 6300 MT and Dell 9020 SFF, they will come in handy.

You're very welcome - I've gotten so much help here already so sharing back is the least I can do

The Delock riser is a bit pricey compared to most other risers I've looked at, but since it actually fits well and saves me from all kinds of grief like modding the shroud or modding the GPU cooler assembly (yes, I contemplated that at a point as well - LOL) it was well worth the money IMO

 

[t33j4y]

Thanks for posting these pics. They should convince everyone with a potential OptiMac system to take the preliminary steps seriously and complete them before anything else in the guide.

You're welcome - and I actually did buy it from a professional refurbisher, so that is as you say, no guarantee that CMSO battery or thermal paste has been replaced.

 

[trs96]

You're welcome - and I actually did buy it from a professional refurbisher, so that is as you say, no guarantee that CMSO battery or thermal paste has been replaced.

I think that most Pro refurbishers clean the exterior a little, blow the dust out, plug it in to make sure it boots to BIOS and then list it for sale. They may have hundreds or even thousands of PCs to do this for. The thing that takes the most time is the clean install of Windows 10, if it comes with that. They're certainly not going to spend money and time on new thermal paste application or buy thousands of new CMOS batteries when the average used PC buyer doesn't even know the importance or function of these two things. The CPU will run hotter with dried out thermal paste and the BIOS will go back to defaults with a weak CMOS battery. It's not the end of the world right ?

 

[t33j4y]

I think that most Pro refurbishers clean the exterior a little, blow the dust out, plug it in to make sure it boots to BIOS and then list it for sale. They may have hundreds or even thousands of PCs to do this for. The thing that takes the most time is the clean install of Windows 10, if it comes with that. They're certainly not going to spend money and time on new thermal paste application or buy thousands of new CMOS batteries when the average used PC buyer doesn't even know the importance or function of these two things. The CPU will run hotter with dried out thermal paste and the BIOS will go back to defaults with a weak CMOS battery. It's not the end of the world right ?

Nope, it's an easy fix for people who are not afraid to build a PC from parts (which should be most of the forum members here) but the average guy who buys from a refurbisher will probably not consider it.

 

[trs96]

New LP single slot graphics option - AMD RX 560
​

Gigamaxx has bought one of these and tested it and it works with macOS. So if you have the SFF Dell Optiplex you can now have AMD graphics in the x16 slot and still use the x4 slot for either an NVME adapter or a LP wireless card. It will be a tight fit since the x16 slot is right next to the side of the PSU. It will still get some airflow to cool it. Just don't plan on using your SFF Optiplex with a Visiontek RX 560 as a gaming machine. That's what the MTs are best for.

In the pic above you can see the fins of the heatsink allow air through from all directions. The proximity to the PSU won't matter here. It will still get pretty good airflow. Not great, but certainly good enough for most purposes. I'm a little concerned about the length of this at 6.75" as that's about all you've got in the SFF up to the PSU 24 pin power connector.

I had never seen nor heard of this card till just recently. Nice find. The only other AMD LP options for SFF cases till now was the MSI dual slot version of the RX 560 and the Radeon Pro WX4100. Those MSI 560s have gone way up in price and are more difficult to find these days.

VisionTek AMD Radeon RX560 4gb Low Profile "true single slot" Graphics card

VisonTek has produced a true Single Slot graphics card that is capable of running macOS Sierra-Catalina for the SFF market. The size of this card is about the size of a GT210, GT710 with a very small single fan. It has 4 Mini Displayports and can handle 4k. This has been a long awaited...

www.tonymacx86.com

Important Note: If you are looking for a low cost RX 560 avoid the XFX branded versions. They don't work unless you flash the VBios to that of another brand like Sapphire. Something you shouldn't have to do.

If you have the Optiplex Mini-Tower and want the RX 560 model then go with a full height card from MSI, Sapphire or Gigabyte. Those can be found for less money on Newegg.com. The Gigabyte version linked below is the same card in terms of the GPU but in a full height variation. You could run a max of two 4K monitors from this. 1/2 the price of the Visiontek currently.

https://www.newegg.com/gigabyte-radeon-rx-560-gv-rx560oc-4gd-rev2-0/p/N82E16814932014

​

The Dual Fan version of this RX 560 4GB at Amazon is only 10 USD more and better if you're a serious gamer. Don't hesitate to buy one at this $110 price as they will probably sell out quickly as budget gamers love these cards a lot.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0762PP97W/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

​

If you can replace your PSU in your MT then the RX 570 4GB models shown below are the very best bang for your buck right now. Go with that if you are a gamer, instead of the RX 560, which cannot keep up with an RX570 in gaming.

 

[Gerrykaz]

New LP single slot graphics option - AMD RX 560
​

Gigamaxx has bought one of these and tested it and it works with macOS. So if you have the SFF Dell Optiplex you can now have AMD graphics in the x16 slot and still use the x4 slot for either an NVME adapter or a LP wireless card. It will be a tight fit since the x16 slot is right next to the side of the PSU. It will still get some airflow to cool it. Just don't plan on using your SFF Optiplex with a Visiontek RX 560 as a gaming machine. That's what the MTs are best for.

View attachment 452014​

In the pic above you can see the fins of the heatsink allow air through from all directions. The proximity to the PSU won't matter here. It will still get pretty good airflow. Not great, but certainly good enough for most purposes. I'm a little concerned about the length of this at 6.75" as that's about all you've got in the SFF up to the PSU 24 pin power connector.

I had never seen nor heard of this card till just recently. Nice find. The only other AMD LP options for SFF cases till now was the MSI dual slot version of the RX 560 and the Radeon Pro WX4100. Those MSI 560s have gone way up in price and are more difficult to find these days.

VisionTek AMD Radeon RX560 4gb Low Profile "true single slot" Graphics card

VisonTek has produced a true Single Slot graphics card that is capable of running macOS Sierra-Catalina for the SFF market. The size of this card is about the size of a GT210, GT710 with a very small single fan. It has 4 Mini Displayports and can handle 4k. This has been a long awaited...

www.tonymacx86.com

If you have the Optiplex Mini-Tower and want the RX 560 model then go with a full height card from MSI or Gigabyte. Those can be found for less money on Newegg.com. The Gigabyte version linked below is the same card in terms of the GPU but in a full height variation. You could run a max of two 4K monitors from this. 1/2 the price of the Visiontek currently.

https://www.newegg.com/gigabyte-radeon-rx-560-gv-rx560oc-4gd-rev2-0/p/N82E16814932014

View attachment 452011
​

The Dual Fan version of this RX 560 4GB at Amazon is only 10 USD more and better if you're a serious gamer. Don't hesitate to buy one at this $110 price as they will probably sell out quickly as budget gamers love these cards a lot.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0762PP97W/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

View attachment 452022​