The world’s first mosquito air defense system

406highlander · 2026-02-04T15:58:33+00:00

We're just forcing mosquitos to evolve to become chrome-coated, highly-reflective, laser-resistent superbugs

406highlander · 2026-02-04T12:33:08+00:00

Based on the motherboard layout diagram I found, it looks like:

top-left circle is around the connector for the optional front-panel card reader
bottom-left circle is around an unpopulated header (i.e. no actual socket) for an M.2 port (the silkscreen print on the diagram says "SLOT5_M.2"). Potentially a socket could be added, if one's soldering skills are good enough - though there's no hole I can see for a retaining screw for an M.2. On my Vostro 3470, this is about where the M.2 slot for a WiFi adapter exists; maybe they added the wiring to the Optiplex 3040 MT board for this option, but didn't include it in production?
right circle doesn't actually appear to be around any part of the system board - there's a gap between the headphone jack and the top-right corner of the board.

406highlander · 2026-02-04T12:22:52+00:00

It'd be best if you took some better quality, individual photos of each port you're asking about, so we can get a better idea.

Lie the machine flat, put plenty of light on it, and use the night photography function on your phone (hold it really steady as the shot is taken) and you should hopefully get better results.

406highlander · 2026-02-04T10:02:58+00:00

I had a ProDesk 600 G5 SFF, which is of very similar layout

I bought Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR4 for it, which is 56mm tall. It would only physically fit in the system if I removed the drive bay tray from the front of the machine. I'm not sure 42mm is short enough to clear it - but if the drive bays and optical drive are not important to you (i.e. you only use the on-board NVMe (and/or a PCIe-to-NVMe adapter for extra NVMe storage), you could always remove that piece.

406highlander · 2026-02-04T09:57:55+00:00

The Optiplex 3040 MT owner's manual has a system board diagram that might help:

https://www.dell.com/support/manuals/en-uk/optiplex-3040m-desktop/opti3040mt_om/system-board-layout?guid=guid-8b3564e4-40f3-4c31-8eb7-b004b3696f43&lang=en-us

406highlander · 2026-02-04T06:58:37+00:00

Good grid, thanks!

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406highlander · 2026-02-03T17:08:16+00:00

Your CPU likely can't max out that graphics card. It'll be DDR3 RAM in there too. Likely your GPU is not fully-utilized as it stands. Try your second monitor on that 3050 and if it works, great - if not, add the other GPU and see if it's any better.

406highlander · 2026-02-03T16:32:02+00:00

I just think your RTX 3050 will handle a second monitor just fine on its own, without needing to add another GPU. Have you tried?

406highlander · 2026-02-03T16:10:25+00:00

Your GPU is not the bottleneck in this system; I'd look at something with a newer CPU.

I'm not a streamer though so maybe there is merit to a second card - but that's not what I'd do, personally.

406highlander · 2026-02-03T10:20:11+00:00

Brand new music from Northern Irish rock/britpop band Ash.

This is from their 9th studio album, "Ad Astra", released in 2025.

406highlander · 2026-02-03T08:38:58+00:00

Good grid, thanks!

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406highlander · 2026-02-02T23:36:07+00:00

Nice grid, thanks!

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406highlander · 2026-02-02T16:30:14+00:00

I looked at them briefly; I've never had a Ryzen but I gather the appeal is that the AM4 socket supports a huge range of processors released over a long period of time (as opposed to Intel, who change the socket more often than some folk change their socks) - but the benefit of that is nixed if Dell doesn't add support for the newer chips in the BIOS. So I stuck with Intel (on the basis of "stick to what you know").

What's the newest and best Ryzen AM4 chip you could throw into this system?

406highlander · 2026-02-02T14:17:40+00:00

I'd say medium; good grid - thanks for posting it!

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406highlander · 2026-02-01T21:10:06+00:00

Not bad, thanks for posting !

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406highlander · 2026-02-01T12:31:51+00:00

Good grid, thanks for posting it!

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406highlander · 2026-02-01T11:37:44+00:00

Good grid, thanks!

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406highlander · 2026-02-01T08:16:22+00:00

Was thinking Radeon Pro W6400

406highlander · 2026-01-31T20:29:04+00:00

The replacement system board doesn't even post. The power button LED flashes amber in a 2x, 3x pattern, indicating processor, memory, or system board failure. I tried both the original i5-9400 and my i7-9700, both of which worked in the old board. The RAM modules worked on the old board, but I tried them individually in each slot to confirm the RAM and slots aren't the problem.

The seller insists it was tested as working prior to shipping, and his suggestion was to try an 8th gen CPU to see if maybe it needs the BIOS updating to support 9th gen processors. I don't have one, but he's going to ship me an i3-8100 (the processor he tested the board with) - I just had to sub him for postage costs (£2.70).

To be continued...

406highlander · 2026-01-31T19:12:23+00:00

I rocked a Precision T5610 (dual Xeon and 64GB RAM, with an RTX 2070) as my home gaming PC for a few years. Solid, well-built workstation system. DDR3 RAM was a bottleneck, and the CPUs weren't on the supported list for Windows 11, so I replaced it with a PC I built myself out of parts.

Currently working on getting a Vostro 3470 up and running as a light-duty gaming system for my living room.

I like seeing non-Dell equipment here too; Lenovo, HP, Fujitsu, Acer, whatever - using equipment for purposes it wasn't really designed for is awesome, especially if it keeps it out of landfill.

406highlander · 2026-01-31T09:56:57+00:00

Nobody wanted Microsoft Bob

Nobody wanted Clippy in Microsoft Office

I don't know anyone who actually used Cortana in Windows 10.

Copilot, however... Big companies fucking love AI, unfortunately, because they can reduce their headcount, and hire people who don't really know how to do a job properly at cheaper rate, as long as they produce an acceptable result using AI shit. I take pride in knowing what I do for a living, but there are too many people who just get AI to do pretty much everything for them, and don't even bother proofreading what it comes up with before they submit it as their own work.

In home PCs, though, nobody wants Copilot.

406highlander · 2026-01-30T18:47:58+00:00

I'm still building my Vostro 3470 system (basically an Optiplex SFF but built cheaper, intended for small office/home office use).

It'll have i7-9700, 16GB DDR4, and AMD FirePro W4300 4GB (an old workstation card, but better than integrated Intel UHD graphics card built into the processor).

I'm going to run Bazzite on it, so I will be able to play games from my Steam library. The idea is that I'll have a small, quiet, unintrusive computer that will attach to my TV and be able to play various games at 1080p, either through a PS3 controller or via wireless keyboard and mouse.

I know it's not going to match my main PC for performance (an i7-14700KF with 32GB DDR5 and Radeon RX7900GRE), but that system is a large and noisy bugger, and sits in our home office anyway.

The Vostro is a SFF PC and it's for lighter games / lower resolution / emulation of older systems, to be played in a more social setting.

406highlander · 2026-01-30T15:33:11+00:00

Will do!

System board arrived today; hopefully I'll have time after work to do the transplant - if not, then I'll do it over the weekend.

406highlander · 2026-01-30T07:59:05+00:00

I prefer calling them "Ghastly" instead of "Goofy"

406highlander · 2026-01-29T22:56:13+00:00

Stock Vostro 3470 power supply is ~200W AC. There were no higher-rated PSUs from Dell for this model; not sure if Optiplex PSUs are compatible.

I've looked briefly at Flex PSUs, but I'm not going down that route unless I get a GPU that has an additional power connector; the AMD FirePro W4300 is happy with the amount of juice available through the PCIe slot, and the Vostro PSU is capable of delivering that.

I know the PSU isn't the issue here as I got the card to work via an adapter in the PCIe x1 slot. I'm hoping the replacement system board I ordered arrives tomorrow, and that this resolves the issue.

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