Barebones only – These listings were by far the least expensive, but also came with the least amount of parts. Usually, these would come from vendors with fewer ratings with listings that lacked many pictures and text descriptions; some only offered pickup-only shipping options. Barebones listings were just that: barebones. I’d get a case and a motherboard, and not much else. While it was tempting to practically build from the ground up, I chose against it. Why? Processors. Most separate processor listings on eBay were for used, only-sometimes “tested” loose Xeon processors. Sure, getting a pair of processors for less than a bottle of bourbon sounded like a steal, but I didn’t want the headache of bent pins or other DOA complications. Plus, finding appropriate heatsinks presented an additional challenge that I wanted to circumvent.
The Pursuit of Homelabs, Part 3 – How I Learned To Love the R710
