Here are some descriptions of what others have been up to with their Dx0Q.
In July 2019 I heard from Daniel who had set his Dx0Q up as a file server. Originally he had been using a Raspberry Pi 3 but that solution was starting to run out of oomph for the various jobs it was being asked to do.
I decided to replace it with a Wyse Dx0Q (aka Dell 5020) with 4GB RAM and 16GB storage, which I got from eBay. This decision was based on your table which includes manufacture dates, CPU type/speed and power consumption figures. SMART information from the SSD indicated my unit had only been powered on for around 17.5 months. I have it set up running Debian Stretch.
The Raspberry Pi 4 was released shortly afterwards - while it would have addressed some of my original issues, the 5020 still has more CPU power which I find useful - plus a SATA SSD much faster than an SD card. The 5020 can serve files to other computers at around 65-70MB/second from a Western Digital Blue 500GB hard disk attached to the second internal SATA socket, much faster than the Pi 3.
Even during the recent heat wave, with a 2.5" hard disk inside and being within inches of a Virgin Media Superhub 3 (itself approximately as hot as the sun), the passively-cooled CPU maxed out at 60°C - meanwhile my car's dashboard reported 36°C outside. On a more average British day it idles at 54°C.
While Ammon's 3D printed hard disk bracket is very neat, I couldn't find anywhere which would print it for a reasonable price. Instead I ended up mounting the drive on the underneath of the metal side cover. All this took was drilling two holes.
The way to approach this is:
- Remove the plastic side panel.
- Remove the metal side panel (remembering to carefully unplug the speaker).
- Remove the speaker otherwise metal shavings will get stuck to it.
- Apply a piece of masking tape to the metal side panel to mark where to drill. The positioning of the drive needs some care as there are a number of constraints. You need to make sure that:
- the disk will clear the mounting lugs on the back of plastic panel. (These slot into the metal cover and hold it in place).
- the disk is far enough back to clear the front panel daughterboard and...
- the disk is far enough forward so that the power and data connectors will not prevent you sliding the panel backwards when you need to remove it.
- Measure twice. Drill small pilot holes, then make them bigger as required.
- Rest the panel on a small piece of wood placed under where you will be drilling. This is to avoid bending the tabs/lugs at the edges of the panel when you press down.
- Tidy around the new holes, and clean off the metal shavings.
- Reinstall the speaker.
- attach the disk (adding insulation if required). Use screws with flat heads if possible, although the inside of the DELL logo on the plastic panel does provide a little additional space.
I'm just using the two screws through the new holes to hold the drive in place. The other side of the disk is "floating".
Temporarily I powered the internal disk from one of the USB ports - the Kensington lock hole is conveniently large enough to feed two wires through. I have since replaced this with a connection to the 5V header on the motherboard.
Another photo of the drive in place in the Wyse 5020.