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

[nicksoph]

Post on Dell 7020 without External Graphics - Details pulled from this thread with changes to Sysdefs and BIOS settings.

Dell 7020 - Using only onboard HD4600 GPU - Build Files and Overview for the experienced. 4k ready.

This is a spinoff thread from trs96's detailed build on the Dell 7020, The 4K Dell OptiMac - Core i7-4790 - AMD Radeon RX 570 - LG 4K 27" IPS Monitor, the difference being that this has has been written to setup a minimal machine with no external graphics. Trs96's guide is comprehensive...

www.tonymacx86.com

 

[Poli169]

@nicksoph it's the 9020 SFF here are some pictures. Also what bios version are you guys running the latest one?

 

[trs96]

Also what bios version are you guys running the latest one?

I have the 7020 and stopped at A15 instead of A17 which is the latest Nov. 2018 version. I wanted to test and benchmark without the Spectre/Meltdown patches first. For your 9020 it would be A22 that is similar to A15.

 

[nicksoph]

I think trs96 is running the latest one - I have tried A11, A12 on my builds and will probably stick to A11 but I know there are concerns about the older BIOS's that relate to USB ports. I think (but not sure) you can downgrade these. I'd wait for trs96 to have a say here.

Thanks for the pics they show me exactly what I needed to know - a bit of foam on a stiff board will do it.
EDIT: I see trs96 is using A15 on the 7020. And the GPU's look like the 7770's (are they?) I got in one of my 7010's, and I think I had the working at some stage on High Sierra; not so sure about Mojave.

 

[trs96]

but I know there are concerns about the older BIOS's that relate to USB ports

I had the extremely old/outdated A05 when I got mine. Tried the install, it worked but USB implementation was impossible with that. Flashing to a 2017 or 18 version is a very good idea.

 

[nicksoph]

Flashing to a 2017 or 18 version is a very good idea.

Makes sense - I'm not following that advice because I don't care about the Spectre Exploits. The A11 seems to be the last without them, and, from what you say, the USB port issue in OSX seems to have gone by that revision.

 

[Poli169]

@nicksoph @trs96 I believe mine came with A23 which is July 2018. Are these able to downgrade? Also from the numbers on the cards I found on Google that they're Dell AMD Radeon HD 1GB Ouga11. Currently looking for a good deal on monitor. And for now I will be using a display port to HDMI. Are these still running the same non standard fan connectors? Thanks

 

[trs96]

mine came with A23 which is July 2018

I would stay with A23 instead of trying to downgrade. You have an i7-4790 ? Having one version newer than A22 won't impact CPU performance in any way you could notice in daily use.

Are these still running the same non standard fan connectors?

Yes, still 5 pin. My fans are brand new so they run quiet, no need to swap them out. Putting in Noctuas and 4 pin adapters wouldn't make any sense for me and would just be extra expense.

 

[nicksoph]

@Poli169 - BIOS Downgrade - dont know for certain. GPU's are AMD 7470's. Fans if they have 5 pins they are non standard.

 

[trs96]

they're Dell AMD Radeon HD 1GB Ouga11

Maybe worth 10 dollars each on the used market. You might use them in an older Windows PC that has weak Intel graphics.