Dell Tower Plus Desktop 🖥

eric · September 26, 2025, 3:01am

ITT I am documenting the customization and usage of my personal Tower Plus Desktop Computer made by Dell Technologies. My intention is to share how I customize this device to suit my unique needs and to review its subsequent performance in the field. Readers are invited to ask questions about the device or offer suggestions of how I might improve my configuration.

This is not a sponsored review. I purchased this product with my own money and am in no way affiliated with the brand or manufacturer.

This post contains affiliate links. This site receives commissions upon sales generated from such links. Thank you for your support!

Unboxing

In this live stream I am taking a first look at my new Dell Tower Plus Desktop PC. This video focuses primarily on exploring the hardware, as I open up the machine to install a Nvidia RTX A6000 GPU and additional RAM. The latter was unsuccessful due to incompatible DIMM versions. After some initial difficulty working inside the machine, I was able to boot Linux and begin preparing the disks for encryption. I will be installing Arch Linux on this machine, which I intend to use as my primary device for engineering, live streaming, and gaming. This installation and subsequent configurations will be executed using Ansible roles, which will be linked in this thread upon creation.

I ordered the computer shown in this video directly from Dell as a custom configuration:

The RTX A6000 was purchased off Amazon:

System Specifications and Configuration

Component,Part Number,Description,Quantity
"817-BBBB : Custom Configuration","W21JJ","INFO,GNRC,OEM,TRACKING,PN","1"
"658-BFTQ : Additional Software","FG3P3","INFO,.NET@V,80000,WINDOWS","1"
"","1CD7F","INFO,ASP.NET@V,80000,WINDOWS","1"
"","44M13","INFO,.NET@V,60000,WINDOWS","1"
"","N4P9K","SRV,SW,APP,UUE","1"
"","TV4WM","INFO,SW,MYDELL-ENABLEMENT","1"
"","PYTDM","INFO,RYLTY,DA,GAMEPASS,3M","1"
"","334CH","SRV,SW,APP,SACLIENT","1"
"","KY5GY","DPK,DSB,DA,GAMEPASS,3M","1"
"658-BCSB : Activate Your Microsoft 365 Fo r A 30 Day Trial","7M1KY","SRV,SW,OFFICE,OPK","1"
"","HR8X9","INFO,WINRE-ADDR,3,GB-PTN","1"
"658-BCCO : McAfee+ Premium 30-day trial","FD09N","SRV,SW,MCAFE,CB,LIVESAFE,WIN10","1"
"","GVXWF","INFO,SW,MCAFEE+,30DAY","1"
"634-CHLS : McAfee+ Premium 1-year","N5J44","INFO,SW,RYLTY,M+PP,XPS,1Y","1"
"","JK9MW","DPK,HFINK,KT,M+PP,XPS,1Y","1"
"631-BCBB : Windows System Driver","49G7W","SRV,DRVR,INTEL,NPU,EBT2250","1"
"","KHWJM","SRV,DRVR,INTEL,DTT,EBT2250","1"
"","RHXJ4","SRV,WALLPAPER,PLA,EBT2250","1"
"","7XHCX","SRV,DRVR,AUD,RTEK,EBT2250","1"
"","WXM2C","SRV,BIOS RECOVERY 2","1"
"","PXXC3","SRV,DRVR,DMAR,EBT2250","1"
"","M4CTM","SRV,DRVR,INT,CHIPSET,EBT2250","1"
"","7R3WG","SRV,DRVR,INT,GRPHC,UHD,EBT2250","1"
"","7792M","SRV,DRVR,INT,IRST,DC,EBT2250","1"
"","WX4P1","SRV,SW,FISH,WBI OPTIMIZATION","1"
"","WVR7X","SRV,DRVR,INTEL,IPF,EBT2250","1"
"","10RH6","SRV,WIN,DTCLEANER","1"
"","NGTPP","SRV,DRVR,PPM,TRACER ARL","1"
"","57154","Service Charge,Software,      Windows 98,Fully Integrated   System Test","1"
"","0NG6J","SRV,DRVR,APP,DOLBY,ACS,EBT2250","1"
"","83F5D","INFO,IRST,META-PTN,5M","1"
"","FWXG9","SRV,DRVR,RTK,MEM,CR,EBT2250","1"
"","XK634","SRV,DRVR,SERIAL IO,EBT2250","1"
"","6CVXH","SRV,SW,EXCAL,WIN-CMPNT","1"
"","17V8K","INFO,PROCESS-START,UEFI","1"
"","1TM8X","SRV,DRVR,LAN,KILLER,EBT2250","1"
"","0WJWR","SRV,SW,EXCAL-SOS/DDRE,BASE","1"
"","V6T2G","SRV,DRVR,INT,HID,EBT2250","1"
"","2F4MP","SRV,DRVR,INTEL,PMT,EBT2250","1"
"","M3C3H","INFO,RYLTY,WAVES-MAXX,AUD,PRO","1"
"","R5TYV","SRV,DRVR,INTEL,ME,EBT2250","1"
"619-BBRH : Windows 11 Home","N85J7","DPK,W11,HADV","1"
"","CDDD8","INFO,WIN10,HOME","1"
"619-BBPD : English, French, Spanish, Braz ilian Portuguese","1037M","INFO,XTRA-LANG@V,BPOR","1"
"","5R4X8","SRV,SW,JUMPSTART,W11","1"
"","X0601","INFO,BYPS,UPTN","1"
"","M34D8","SRV,SW,DOLBY,AUDIO,CODEC","1"
"","NGC17","SRV,WINDOWS,REG,PWR","1"
"","0616F","INFO,BOOT,GPT,OVERRIDE","1"
"","4XGPC","SRV,OS,ASP.NET,WIN","1"
"","16F8V","INFO,RYLTY,W11,DOLBY51,CODEC","1"
"","C858J","INFO,XTRA-LANG@V,SPN","1"
"","G424J","INFO,XTRA-LANG@V,FR","1"
"","HTH68","INFO,ESP-SIZE,384","1"
"","J471G","SRV,OS,MUI,INSTALLER","1"
"","1WMF4","SRV,OS,DOTNET,INSTALLER,WIN","1"
"","V253X","INFO,WINDOWS,11","1"
"","V253X","INFO,WINDOWS,11","1"
"","XP9T9","INFO,BOOT,CNTNR,GPT","1"
"","T2673","Service Charge,Operating      System,Windows XP             OCA-MARKER","1"
"","JRV1D","SRV,OS,W11,MUI,BP/E/F/S","1"
"","G174J","INFO,XTRA-LANG@V,ENG","1"
"580-BCVG : Dell Wired Keyboard - KB216 - US English - Black","4MJY1","KIT,KYBD,WW,KB216,B,B,C,P,G","1"
"570-BBKS : Dell Wired Mouse - MS116 - Bla ck","WPHTC","KIT,MSE,USB,DAO,PE,MS116,PB,EP","1"
"555-BLQH : Intel(R) Wi-Fi 7 BE200, 2x2, 8 02.11be, Bluetooth(R) wireless  card driver","7JX3W","SRV,DRVR,WIFI,BE200,EBT2250","1"
"","JC1RC","SRV,DRVR,BT,BE200,EBT2250","1"
"555-BLMP : Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 (2x2) 802. 11ax Wireless LAN and Bluetoot h","22V2Y","LBL,REG,WRLES,BE200,WW","1"
"","DT7J9","CRD,WRLES,M.2,INTEL,BE200,WW","1"
"490-BKRW : Intel(R) UHD Graphics","864KE","Information,PLACEHOLDER       PIECE-PART","1"
"450-AAGO : US Power Cord","5120P","Cord,Power,125V,6Feet,SJT,    Unshielded","1"
"400-BTBR : 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive + 2TB SATA 7200RPM HDD","2CYW3","HD,2T,S3,7.2,3.5,SMR,SGT-V15X","1"
"","00160","INFO,ADD BOOT HARD DRIVE","1"
"","2HMFM","INFO,C DRIVE,PCIESSD","1"
"","8F62M","SSDR,1TB,P44,30S2,KIOXIA,BG6","1"
"389-FKBJ : Regulatory Label","X4YGC","LBL,REG,PKG,SML,COIN,REPLACE","1"
"","568X1","LBL,REG,1000,FSJ,EBT2250","1"
"389-FGBD : Intel(R) Core(TM) Ultra 9 Proc essor Label","V55YV","LBL,INTEL,CU9,14,ULTRA,SMALL","1"
"387-BBCG : Not ENERGY STAR Qualified","864KE","Information,PLACEHOLDER       PIECE-PART","1"
"370-BCPK : 16 GB DDR5, 2 x 8 GB, 5200 MT/ s","GDGT0","DIMM,8GB,5600,1R,16G,DDR5,NU","1"
"","GDGT0","DIMM,8GB,5600,1R,16G,DDR5,NU","1"
"340-DSWQ : Shipping Material","DD7GP","PLCMT,EBT2250,DELLTOWERPLUS,WW","1"
"","JRRH1","SHP MTL,ACC,DCB,WW,524X470X76","1"
"","6D4X0","SHP MTL,CSHN,EPE,FR,ROTA/TRCR","1"
"","DP79F","SHP MTL,CSHN,EPE,BK,ROTA/TRCR","1"
"","08123","INFO, NO DELL DIRECT CATALOG","1"
"","H9H09","SHP MTL,BOX,RSC,BB,546X492X359","1"
"","R047J","INFO,DIRSHP,FXCN,530/530S","1"
"","3947T","LBL,BRCD,SYS BOX,GNRC,5X5","1"
"340-DNBV : Documentation","W21JJ","INFO,GNRC,OEM,TRACKING,PN","1"
"338-CRQP : Intel(R) Core(TM) Ultra 9 285K  processor (24-Core, 76MB Tota l Cache, 3.7GHz to 5.7GHz)","FG92M","PRC,ARLS,U9-285K,3.7,125W,816","1"
"332-1530 : Dell.com Order","W21JJ","INFO,GNRC,OEM,TRACKING,PN","1"
"321-BMFC : 1000W Graphite","D16WJ","ASSY,CHAS,L5+,1000,D,EBT2250","1"
"","VHTM2","BRKT,FOR M2 WIFI ANTENNA,D12","1"
"","2D3NT","CRD,PLN,MB,DELL DT,EBT2250","1"
"","GHHWT","INFO,SVC,TSH,HTSNK VR,R16","1"
"","3DGWW","SCR,6-32X1/4,HX,TF,ZPS,TRI-PT2","9"
"","6JPHH","Screw,M2X3.5,WIFI/SSD/DDPE,DF","2"
"321-BIKM : Advanced CPU air cooling","C253W","ASSY,HTSNK,COOLER,125,ROTA/TRA","1"
"210-BPFB : Dell Tower Plus EBT2250","8564U","INFO,SW,DEFAULT,NTFS","1"
"","8XD89","INFO,SWSI,DT,STD,EBT2250","1"
"","XPRGW","INFO,UEFI-CL3","1"
"","NTYW0","LBL,SVC TAG,BLANK,AQ,DT/NB","1"
"","GWK5X","INFO,MYDELL,DEP QR CODE,PKG","1"
"","5H462","INFO,AUDIO,CABLE,DETECT","1"
"","56YDJ","INFO,MYDELL,DEP QR CODE,SYS","1"
"","DF3MX","INFO,64-BIT,UEFI-MFG,PROCESS","1"
"","GNRPN","INFO,RYLTY,CHIPSETZ890,TRACARL","1"
"","5XG5H","INFO,LBL,PKG,POD,UKCA","1"
"","2RC2N","INFO,INTEL,N-VPRO,BASE","1"
"","G05NM","INFO,ADVANCED,FPWS","1"
"","0GX0T","INFO,RYLTY,INSYDE,AGS,BIOS,DT","1"
"","4564U","Information,Software,Default, Fat 32","1"
"","74FPM","INFO,MEM,OPTIMIZED","1"
"","9VY7V","INSTR,REG,BIOS,ELBL,TRACERARL","1"

eric · September 26, 2025, 6:38pm

Arch Linux LVM on LUKS Installation

Continuing with the Tower Plus setup, this live stream covers the installation of Arch Linux on the system. This is a very basic installation, as I plan to do most of the actual configuration of this device using the previously mentioned Ansible role. The goal for this session was simply to get the system booting on its own which, after a minor issue with the bootloader configuration, was successful! The difficulty was caused by a bespoke configuration of encrypted disks for which I had to guess at the correct configuration. Nevertheless, the system is now ready for further configuration. At some point in the past I had created a script to automate Arch installations. This experience has made me think that may be worth recovering and revising for future deployments.

For future reference, the following packages were initially installed:

pacstrap -K /mnt base linux linux-firmware intel-ucode lvm2 dhcpcd vim man-db  17.40s user 10.57s system 83% cpu 33.594 total

and the final filesystem was configured as follows:

$ lsblk                                                                                                          
NAME                               MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE  MOUNTPOINTS                                                       
loop0                                7:0    0 946.7M  1 loop  /run/archiso/airootfs                                             
sda                                  8:0    0   1.8T  0 disk                                                                    
└─sda1                               8:1    0   1.8T  0 part                                                                    
  └─home                           253:0    0   1.8T  0 crypt                                                                   
    └─volume--group--b56155f4fbd9-logical--volume--d5214c6d822b /home                                                         
                                   253:1    0   1.8T  0 lvm                                                                     
sdb                                  8:16   1  14.5G  0 disk                                                                    
├─sdb1                               8:17   1   1.2G  0 part                                                                    
└─sdb2                               8:18   1   248M  0 part                                                                    
nvme0n1                            259:0    0 953.9G  0 disk                                                                    
├─nvme0n1p1                        259:1    0     1G  0 part    /boot                                                     
└─nvme0n1p2                        259:2    0 952.9G  0 part                                                                    
  └─root                           253:2    0 952.9G  0 crypt                                                                   
    └─volume--group--86af29d5011e-logical--volume--775b865978eb /                                   
                                   253:3    0 952.9G  0 lvm

/etc/default/grub and /etc/mkinitcpio.conf will be added to the Ansible role for reference.

eric · September 27, 2025, 12:59am

Nvidia Drivers on Arch Linux

In this very brief live stream, I am installing Nvidia drivers onto the new Tower Plus PC. I was only attempting to get up and running with nvidia-smi recognizing the A6000. From reading the relevant entry on the Arch Wiki, I anticipated this would be as simple as installing nvidia-open and nvidia-utils. This turned out to be a correct assumption, so after installing the packages and rebooting the system the drivers were working as expected. The next step will be configuring a graphical interface and setting up some local AI tools. Also, I intend to backtrack to cover a few of the steps taken here in the much-anticipated Ansible role I’ve mentioned previously.

eric · September 27, 2025, 4:25pm

Arch Linux Initial Configuration

Change of plans: using Ansible to customize this system while needing to experiment with configuration settings is a cumbersome project, so instead I will be doing the entire setup manually and then copying the relevant configuration files into a git repository once the system is in a suitable condition. This live stream is the beginning of that process. I install a few command-line application and then configure Xorg to start qtile as my window manager. I have opted to start with the legacy display server to guarantee performance with the Nvidia GPU; however, I may try Wayland in the future as well. By the end of this stream I have a basic .xinitrc to launch qtile. I will probably continue the setup off-stream and return with an update once more significant progress has been made.

eric · November 8, 2025, 6:48pm

This post contains affiliate links. This site receives commissions upon sales generated from such links. Thank you for your support!

A Different Direction

While I was initially able to get the NVIDIA RTX A6000 working with some AI models using LocalAI through Docker, over time I began to see more and more errors from the GPU:

[ 120.018289] NVRM: GPU 0000:01:00.0: RmInitAdapter failed! (0x23:0xffff:1552)
[ 120.018323] NVRM: GPU 0000:01:00.0: rm_init_adapter failed, device minor number 0

Thinking that I may have better luck with Debian and the Ansible role used to deploy NVIDIA drivers on my other machines, I decided to abandon Arch and revert to Debian. Unfortunately, this did not solve my issues and I ended up seeing the same errors on the new OS.

I have been using the Tower Plus’ integrated graphics ever since. While I have been pleasantly surprised by the performance of the integrated unit, it isn’t a comparison to a dedicated GPU. I haven’t even attempted running AI models without one. Having tried the A6000 in several machines over several years, I decided that it was time to try something new. so I replaced it with an RTX 4090. With NVIDIA drivers already installed, I was expecting this GPU to work with my system out-of-the box.

By specs, the 4090 is a fairly significant downgrade from the A6000. VRAM suffers a devastating reduction from 48GB to 24GB, which will have a significant impact on the model size and context window capacities of the GPU. Comparing the same AI model across cards, however, the reduction in speed of token generation is not particularly noticeable; further, the 4090 is arguably better suited for gaming and video production applications, which makes it an overall better fit for this Tower Plus PC. Unfortunately, things did not go quite so smoothly. The 4090 requires 3x8pin PCIe power cables, and the Tower Plus only has two. Luckily, I was able to get a refund for the 4090 and purchase a 5060 Ti instead.

A fairly significant downgrade; however, for gaming and video rendering the 5060 is still quite a powerful unit. I additionally purchased a second Tesla T4 to be installed in my PowerEdge servers, so these will take over hosting LocalAI through Kubernetes (which is a better way to host the service anyway).

I have decided to continue using Debian instead of Arch primarily because I did not enjoy having to configure everything in Arch as much as I had expected. Customization is a rabbit hole and Debian gives me everything I want with significantly less effort. I have, however, installed the Tiling Shell estension for GNOME, as my brief time with qtile reminded me of its fluidity and functionality. I’ve found this simple extension to be more than sufficient for my needs.

https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/7065/tiling-shell/

Using the RTX 5060 causes GNOME to boot using Xorg rather than Wayland. I would generally be fine with using X11 if it weren’t for lack of support for touchpad gestures. I currently connect both screens to the integrated GPU and only send specific tasks to the 5060, and was surprised to see that Xorg was still being used in this configuration. I haven’t decided what to do about this just yet.