Optiplex 9020

Optiplex 9020

The beauty of dump finds is not that it is the latest technology, it’s the fact that it is free and does what you need it to do. Perhaps Dell’s Desktop computer, the Optiplex, is not a beauty according to modern design and trending aesthetics, but it has a certain minimalist/brutalist look that I enjoy. The Optiplex of this era exactly matches the design cues of the buildings they come from – bureaucracies, soul killing governmental offices designed in a fung shui-less era, and institutions designed for the captive worker.

I don’t understand why I love this aesthetic. Do I long for the comfort of being stuck making money in a souless job? Was cramming for exam time a minimalist experience where outer world problems mattered less and focus was all? It seems to me the computer reminds me of childhood memories, where everything was as fresh as the bright…

It reminds me that a computer is a practical work tool, which is used for productivity.

Then why do I also enjoy uncool 5-10 year old RGB peripherals? Is it because I give myself points for getting shit that was expensive 5-10 years old for free? Is it not getting suckered into the latest thing that I need for looking productive/successful/techsavvy when I am definitely not productive/successful/techsavvy? (side note – this is the true use most Apple products)

The kid in me fucking likes shiny legos. All this shit is shiny legos with blinking lights. The Legos are free and basically unlimited until people smarten the fuck up and quit buying new shit off of Amazon (the single most destructive, human degrading piece of shit company on the planet).

How I came into possession of this Optiplex 9020

Government towns, University towns, Single institution towns have a need for a lot of computers and for better or worse replace these computers all the time. The flow of these computers is like the water from Stanley Spadowski’s Fire Hose.

This one was found stacked beside 5x5x5 foot water cages that local recycling uses to collect e-waste. They stack the cages into trucks and send them to a larger city to be “recycled”. I think it came with 8GB Ram in two slots and a 500gb hard drive. I have a couple more 9010 and 9020s kicking around and I have seen some at a local non-profit that provide computers to people who have trouble accessing technology.

Challenges of getting the Optiplex to work

So,sometimes when you get a new computer it comes with specs that you can’t wait to upgrade. Well, this computer worked out of the box. Even with a shitty Win 10 install and license (bonus for selling!), I installed Manjaro linux as the OS because I had found a RX560 that I had purchased for a family member. It technically isn’t a dump find, but I am too lazy to swap the 1060 out of my shop XPS. Manjaro is great for this use case because the install automatically installs the correct drivers for this GPU and most GPUs.

  1. Installed 16gb Ram
  2. 1 TB SSD
  3. 2 x 1.5 TB HDD

Good to go. Does editing, writing, emailing, internet-y stuff, photo video-y stuff, Plays old timey games well, newish games OK. Works. All of that for free. Well, I bought the SSD.

admin Written by:

Be First to Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *