EJ_Tech

Internally this is a living document, and may change as we move forward, but as part of our push for further transparency, we are publishing it in its current form to help our community better-understand how we classify errors and what action we will be taking to rectify them.
 
Types of errors
Flubs: the host simply misspoke
Incongruencies: information within the video is not in agreement (e.g. host says “$45” while the product page shows “$47”
Bad spec: a table or MOGRT contains incorrect information (e.g. “48MB” instead of “96MB”
Bad data: a graph or visualization contains data (generated by us) that is erroneous, misplaced, or spurious. 
Bad info: a statement or representation in the video that is misleading or factually inaccurate
Types of error correction
Proactive (before the video is posted)
Video pickup: the segment is re-shot with both audio and video
Human audio pickup: new audio is recorded for the segment (visuals have coverage)
AI audio pickup: new voiceover is generated. In the best case this uses a voice model that sounds like the host. However, using a robot voice  can still work.
Text on screen: the editor overlays clarifying or correcting text
This will not be received by viewers who are not (or cannot) watching the screen
Reactive (after the video is posted)
Video Replace: replacing the video with a new version without re-uploading
This relies on YouTube and takes some time. There are fairly strict guidelines around the use of this tool and strong justification must be provided for all changes. This is preferred to a re-upload, but there is likely a soft-limit on how often we can use this resource.
Re-upload the video: Set the original, erroneous video to Private and upload a new version. This will have algorithmic effects, but must be done if replacement is not an option
Pinned comment: add a comment describing the correction. 
This will not be received by viewers who do not check the comments (common, especially for those watching on a Smart TV) and should only be used for low-severity errors.
 
Assessing & Responding to Errors
If any of the following types of errors are discovered prior to filming (e.g. during script review) , fix them before the shoot.
 
1. Very Low Severity
- The statement could possibly be misunderstood, but it’s generally true and most people would be fine with how it’s currently presented.
- eg. The host says, “One of DisplayPort’s main advantages over HDMI is its higher bandwidth,” but this is only true when comparing certain generations of the standards. HDMI 2.1, for example, has much higher bandwidth than DP 1.1.
 
Action: no action
 
2. Low Severity
- The statement is incorrect, and we should try to clarify it better in the future, but we can leave it for now because it doesn’t meaningfully impact a viewer’s purchase decision or general knowledge.
- eg. The host says, “This monitor features moderate pixel response times and contrast because it uses an IPS panel”, but the panel manufacturer is actually AUO, rather than LG, so it’s not an IPS panel - a term which is trademarked by LG - but rather an IPS-type or IPS-like panel.
 
Action: Pinned comment
Note: Pinned comment text must be approved by the Community Coordinator before being posted.
 
3. Medium Severity
- The statement is incorrect, and a minority of the audience could be upset or misled, even if it doesn’t really affect the outcome of the product evaluation for the majority.
- eg. The host says, “This GPU has AMD’s AMF video encoder, which is basically the same as NVIDIA’s NVENC,” but while the stated functionality is the same, NVENC offers better image quality, which could be important to a small minority of buyers.
 
Action: Video replaced if possible according to YouTube policy, otherwise pinned comment and above fold mention of the issue in the video description
If doing a video replace, a pinned comment should communicate this is coming and note the expected changes. This comment should be un-pinned when the video replace is complete. 
Note: Pinned comment text must be approved by the Community Coordinator before being posted.
 
4. High Severity
- The statement is incorrect, and a significant portion of the audience could be misled or make a poorly-informed purchase decision.
- eg. The host says, “This is a great gaming monitor,” when in fact, the monitor is a 60Hz VA display that, while ‘fine’ for playing games, lacks important gaming-centric features that could be easily had for the same price, making it a poor choice. 
 
Action: Video replaced if possible according to YouTube policy. Otherwise, set unlisted and disable monetization until corrective action can be taken. 
If doing a video replace, a pinned comment should communicate this is coming and note the expected changes. This comment should be un-pinned when the video replace is complete. 
Note: Pinned comment text must be approved by the Community Coordinator before being posted.
 
5. Very High Severity
- The statement is VERY incorrect—basically the opposite of correct. There is no charitable interpretation that could make this anything but completely irresponsible.
- ex. The host says, “Most games require only one high-performance core to perform their best,” when that hasn’t been true for over a decade.
 
Action: Video removed or remade

The part where it is alleged LTT auctioned off a prototype water block they promised to return is troubling. That requires an official response.

First of all, the whole Billet Labs stuff is completely absurd if true. I don't think they would intentionally sell something they couldn't, probably some massive fuck up in communications happened between the team responsible for sending it back and the people choosing the items to be auctioned, but it's still a huge issue and 100% LTT's responsibility to fix it and make sure something like this never ever happens again. 
 
About the rushed content, it's something that a lot of times crosses the border of "fun jank" to being just frustrating. Every single project they do seems to be rushed, unfinished, untested and plagued with issues and oversights. And that could be their content "brand", seems like many people enjoy the jank. But if they now want to present themselves as serious testers, someone the community can look up for reliable data with Labs, that mindset needs to change, FAST. How the hell can I trust someone who has to correct themselves almost every video? And makes errors that a basic review of the content could catch? 
 
You need to pump out 7 videos a week? Sure buddy, but maybe allow more time sensitive projects to be properly planned, executed and reviewed and throw some "here's 10 fun crap we found on aliexpress" videos to make up for it.

They changed that ever since they start using numbers in SSD names. Now WD Red is the one with DRAM while Blue doesn't.
 
I myself don't like their HMB for the masses approach, RAM is not cheap these days and it's not like they're giving customers discounts for not getting on-SSD DRAM.

Heyo,
 
I happen to have a p104-100 (1070 version) for the exact purpuse that LTT made a vid about. (In a VM, now use it for space heating)
 
I installed Folding@ home and can confirm that you don't need any bios or driver mods to fold.
 
Hope this image make more sense to you than it does to me.

 
If you wan't me to test something else, feel free to ask :)
 
__ David

I haven't tested it, nor am I sure when I'd have time to, but I would go so far as to say it would probably work even without the modified driver, since the mining cards should still have CUDA / OpenCL compute enabled by default. With the driver, the cards work in WDM mode and can be used with DirectX / OpenGL rendering, just obviously without any native outputs.

GPU folding isn't supported on MacOS
https://foldingathome.org/support/faq/installation-guides/mac/requirements/
You'll need to set up Boot Camp so you can run Windows.
Also thermals is an issue on laptops, especially on that i9 MacBook. Keep an eye on temps.

Source:https://foldingforum.org/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=32424
Quote:
by toTOW » Sun Mar 15, 2020 11:28 pm
The servers have WUs to distribute, but you guys are so enthusiastic that they can keep up with the pace ...

Please be patient.    

Make sure you have read the entire post for the event and the general setup guides before you start here. Most advice and tutorials on how to do stuff is given or linked to in those posts.
This FAQ is more for troubleshooting and questions that where asked multiple times.
Anny suggestions or found errors in the FAQ? Please comment below or send me a message! 
Thanks for your feedback and/or contribution: @GOTSpectrum, @Kaemmelot, @Gegger, @dsamg, @Favebook, @Koeshi , @mousesack1080, @Spotty, @gmouz, @RestlessRancor and @rkv_2401!
 
I Installed F@H but it won’t start / F@H doesn’t start anymore?
Slot is sitting on "Ready" / I get the error “WARNING:WUXX:FSXX:Failed to get assignment from xxxxx: No WUs available for this configuration”/ My slot is stuck at downloading?
Slot is sitting on "Sending" / failing to send results
Slot is sitting on "Failed"
(GPU) slot sitting on "waiting for idle" 
Where can I select to specifically fight against COVID-19?   
Which projects are fighting against COVID-19? 
I requested my passkey but didn’t get it for hours?
Can I use my account+passkey on multiple systems?
My web control doesn’t work/keeps refreshing?       
My Viewer isn't working. Is my computer doing anything? 
I have a high core count CPU (especially AMD) and my GPU performance gets tanked when I also fold on my CPU?     
Is my hardware fast enough to reach the requirements for the event/ can I be competitive?
I get the error “Bad State detected... attempting to resume from last good checkpoint. Is your system overclocked?” or “Following exception occurred: Particle coordinate is nan”?
Can I fold on GPU and CPU at the same time?     
What’s my F@H name that I need to input into the google form?
Where can I make sure that I am properly signed up?              
I have been folding for another team previously. Can I still join LTT and participate in the event?
My PPD seems low compared to other guys with the same hardware?
I have completed a work unit, but my score doesn’t go up?
My score and username isn’t displayed in the web UI?
Official F@H stats page is not loading/producing errors?
Is there a way to go hard on the gpu and medium on the cpu?
Why do I only have 0-1% usage on my GPU in taksmanager?
I want to stop contributing to Folding@home. What do I do now?
What's the difference between Timeout and Expiration / Why is my expected credit and PPD ticking down when I need longer for a WU?
Connected to the  question Above: Can I reduce downtime by predownloading work units?
I get Error: :Receive error: 10053: An established connection was aborted by the software in your host machine.?
I should have almost x points base on the FAHControl log but on the stats page it say only <x?
 

With the new Cores and the release of new GPUs, there is a lot of information floating around from various sources. Not, if any, is official unfortunately. So, in this thread I am going to post some info I have found to be pretty trustworthy as well as results I know from my own tests.
 
I invite other users to post their findings. NOTE!! Do not simply post PPD results and the like. This thread is for posting config examples that you know to work based on your testing. Yes, testing, meaning you have multiple systems, GPUs, whatever, to back up your claims. Or you have read, post links if possible, trusted sources.
 
This will hopefully allow you, the average user, who might be considering some GPU upgrades, to get some information that may pertain to your environment. Also, NOTE, all this info is very subjective to the testers environment and settings. Mileage will always vary. Most of this directly effects multi GPU configs. 
 
General Information
Unfortunately most of the info you see on the Stanford site is out of date. Much of the information is from 2013 when the new website was launched and has not been updated much. So, when reading things there, take it with a grain of salt. There have been a lot of upgrades and changes over the past two years.
 
Supported GPUs
There is a file, called the GPU White-list, that contains a listing of all supported GPUs. This does NOT mean that because your GPU is in there, it is supported. This list is updated with new cards but never has old cards removed.
 
As per the Folding Forum, the somewhat official information source, here are the currently supported cards:
 
Officially Supported GPUs
AMD -> HD 5000 Series or higher
Nvidia -> GTX 400 Series (Fermi) or higher
 
That was from 2013. I think the minimum's supported have now gone up, but I am not positive. 
 
Also the equivalent Quadro, FireGL and such cards are also supported.
 
The dedicated GPU compute cards, NVidia Tesla, Intel Phy and others, are not supported.
 
PCIe Slots
You can use PCIe x1 size through x16 sized slots for folding with GPUs. There are various types of expanders that allow your x16 card to plug into a x1, for instance, slot. Also, v1 through v3 of the PCI Express specifications is also supported. Now, here is where is gets complicated. Different Cores and Projects need differing amounts of bandwidth. 
 
In my testing, and some others, about two years ago, we found no PPD decrease when using x1 slots versus x16 slots (PCIe v2). Back then though Core17 was just coming out and there was no Core18. This has changed somewhat. If you get Core15 and some Core17 assignments, this still won't make a difference. But, on Core18 it can. Some have seen up to a 20% drop on PDD when going from x16 to x4 slots. At this point though, v2 or v3 slots don't seem to make much of an impact. So, where does this leave you?
 
If planning to make a multi GPU folding system, try and get/use as many x16 slots as possible. You can use x4 and x1 with the use of expanders, but depending on the work you get assigned, you might notice some PPD decline now on those cards.
 
CPU Impact
This is primarily a NVidia issue, mostly attributed to NVidia drivers. So, the rule of thumb when folding with a NVidia GPU and CPU folding, is to leave one core free per GPU to maximize your GPU Folding performance. In the case of AMD, it is simply recommended to leave a single core free for one or more cards as the impact isn't as great.
 
So, what is going on? Well, it turns out when Folding on NVidia there seems to be a lot of polling. If you watch the CPU, yes, you can see it pegged pretty high, but if you look at something like the heat output, it actually isn't generating much. The CPU isn't actually working that hard, just being consumed with polling queries. Apparently not having the core free can greatly increase processing time, which in turn affects the QRB bonus. But, the CPU isn't actually doing a whole heck of a lot. The GPU is still doing all the work, just there seems to be this polling mechanism for some reason. 
 
SLI and Crossfire
If you have two cards with either of these enabled, no fear. There is minimal impact on Folding from having these technologies set.
 

 
Hopefully some of you find this useful and as mentioned, feel free to add your findings. 
 
Just remember, I will remove posts not on topic and specifically containing config info.
 

 
Update October 2015
 
Drivers
As many have seen, sometimes updating to the latest version, especially when folding, is not always the best thing. One of the more current versions for NVidia is simply crushing folding. If you are on a version and everything is running tip top, pay close attention to what those new updated version are doing. 98% of the time, you don't need them as they have zero performance gain for most things. What they are doing is adding specific support for games, fixes, etc. If you don't play those games, then you don't need the update.
Just pay attention before updating drivers and be prepared to roll back if things don't go something and wait for the next round.
 
Minimum Support Cards
Officially Supported GPUs
AMD -> HD 5000 Series or higher
Nvidia -> GTX 400 Series (Fermi) or higher
 
Looks like they has been tweaked a bit, nothing official, but looks like these are now the minimum needed to get most WU's completed:
AMD -> 6000 series or higher
NVidia -> GTX 620 or higher

Please be aware that this event has been rushed through, we usually have weeks of planning and testing involved with an event of this size so bare with me as I try to rally the troops and get some hands on deck to help me out.  @Metallus97 Has written an FAQ so please check it out if you are having any problems! 
 
I will be updating you all on a possibly revised start-date and such in the next 24 hours so please follow the thread to keep up to date.
 
If all goes as planned this could be quite interesting and smooth the whole janky process out that we have been using for the last couple years.
 
I am planning to alter the OP sometime in the next 12 hours so keep an eye out for that as well. 

Daily meme to spread awareness of the LTT  Community vs. Covid-19 F@H event
 

ehm, we just had a server breakdown yesterday so... I'd rather LTT not help

I thought that people here might want to hear about this. I read this because the F@H servers are currently down due to the big influx of new users from coronavirus, and I was reading the announcement. The server down announcement is here: https://foldingforum.org/viewtopic.php?f=61&t=32424
 
The storage thing is mentioned in a comment from the same mod:
 
Re: Temporary server outages
by bruce » Sun Mar 15, 2020 12:04 am
By the way we're now anticipating the possibility of running out of space.

luckily we literally just setup two new 100TB servers
Many of the older server are only 15T

We plan to offload stuff to the cloud as soon as something can be set up but some preliminary analysis will be required before it's useful to other organizations. bruce   Considering they've only got 200TB of storage and a few old servers, I thought maybe some people here would know a way to help them with that, or maybe even dare I say LMG group themselves
 

Yeha... dude to almost every tech press/YouTube/forum etc outlet reporting about the matter the F@H servers are getting buuuuuusted hard. This will take them guys some time to up their capacities and deal with the HUGE amount of now folders.
 
And guys: This is so awesome to see! Not only on our team but overall the rise in available power is just FKN AMAZING.
Well I guess most of us have the time to do this now now... like me

Looks like my ex-mining RX 570 still has a lot of compute work to do.

Quite the opposite, actually. Reducing lanes has little to no effect on GPU compute. Totally different workload compared to gaming that doesn't require nearly as much bandwidth. 
 
https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/hpc/PCIe-X16-vs-X8-with-4-x-Titan-V-GPUs-for-Machine-Learning-1167/#hardware
 
There have been some pretty insane GPU compute + PLX implentations with buckets of GPUs and other PCI devices mooching off of a single chip. 
 

LTT Folding Team's Emergency Response to Covid-19
 
Starts March, 27th (00:00 GMT)
Ends April, 9th (23:59 BST)
 
 
Sign up for the event here:
Sign ups will close March 26th, 23:30 (GMT)!
REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED
Thank you to all who have joined and are folding.
If you have missed the deadline to register for the event you can still fold for the LTT team (# 223518) and help fight Covid-19!
 
 
 
If you are unsure on how to fill in the form ask on the thread below. If you make a mistake filling out the form please use the thread linked below.
https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/1167867-covid-event-entry-corrections
 
 
Folding@home team LTT id#: 223518
(This event is only for folding for team LTT you will not qualify if you are folding independent or for another team, sorry.)
 
This event will NOT be eligible for F@H event badges.
 
Please read the whole of this post before asking any questions and use the links provided at the end for help and support!
 
If anyone is willing to help with data handling please PM me ASAP!
 
Please follow this thread to keep up to date!
 
Minimum Participation Requirements For Prizes
10 Days with activity* & 500,000 Points
(*activity is defined as completing at least 1WU for the 24 hour period)
This is our highest yet but should be possible for most people seeing as most modern GPUs and CPUs can hit this. These must be met DURING the event. Points produced before the start date do not count!
 
Prizes!!!
(possibly more to come)
Community donated prizes:
17x random Steam keys - Donated by @GOTSpectrum
 
31x random Steam Keys - Donated by @desert1701
 
20x random Steam keys - Donated by @Jaom
 
10x random Steam Keys - donated by @HrutkayMods
 
10x Steam keys for 'Broken Lines' - Donated by the games publisher Super.com
 
10x Steam keys for 'Biped' - Donated by the games publisher META Publishing
 
23x random Steam Keys - Donated by @ShirleyNeko
 
1x uplay key - Donated by @ShirleyNeko
 
23x random Steam Keys - Donated by @Jackz
 
70x random Steam keys - donated by @Cbwgoose
 
7x random Steam keys - Donated by @jakkuh_t
 
13x random Steam keys - Donated by @DocDv
 
x3 random Steam Keys - Donated by @MovvarK
 
25x random Steam keys - Community pool of keys
Draw - All Ranks
 
50USD Steam Gift Card - Donated by @Jawa_Juice
Draw - Ranks 1-49
 
3x 25USD Steam Gift Cards - Donated by @it4hoomanz
Draw Ranks 50-99, 100-149, 150-199
 
1x Humble Bundle Month - Donated by @Rbleattler
Draw Ranks 200-399
 
2x 50USD Steam gift Card - Donated by @Zberg
Draw Ranks - 1-499, 500-1000
 
50USD Steam key - Donated by @Zberg
Rank(undisclosed)*
 
*The rank is predetermined but remaining undisclosed to stop people from trying to target a certain rank. 
 
 
With the advent of COVID-19 WUs we have decided to launch an emergency response of our own. It's time to gear up our clocks and push again. For once more, united we stand, core to core, shoulder to shoulder. Not simply for glory,  but to take the fight to COVID-19. We will not sit by with idle GPUs. We will not go gently into that good night. We will take up arms for all of mankind. This is the oath we will all take to ourselves by signing up here.
We will be folding for 14 days, the recommended isolation period for those with suspected COVID-19.
 
 
MINI GIVEAWAY! (checked if okay with @leadeater)
I have created a Gleam.io giveaway to entice people to share the Folding Event on twitter!
 
5x random Steam Keys - Donated by @GOTSpectrum
 
This giveaway is not endorsed or affiliated with LMG in anyway and it 100% run by me.
 
https://gleam.io/competitions/SwdyW-steam-key-giveaway
 
Please feel free to enter!!!!
 
Folding@home is a network of volunteer computers distributed around the world that aims to perform biomedical research with the single intent of helping to further understand and develop cures for a range of diseases such as; Alzheimer's, cancer, and Parkinson's. The exact research that is done is simulating the 'folding' of proteins in the body, this is important because the function of a protein id directly related to its physical shape. And this, when the protein is created in the body it needs to reshuffle its shape to get into the correct structure to perform its task. Many illnesses can be linked to faulty proteins in the body such as many cancers and neurological issues, along with a wide number of other general health concerns. This network if compared with the TOP500 list of supercomputers would fall into 2nd, Folding@home is one of the world's fastest computing systems, with a speed of approximately 98.7petaFLOPS. It would be 50% faster than the fastest x86 computer currently listed on the top500. 
 
COVID-19
But this is not why we are here, we are here to join the legion of other folders from around the globe who have taken up the fight against COVID-19.
 
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common across the world.  These viruses can cause mild symptoms ranging from a fever and cough to more serious conditions such as severe pneumonia, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. 
In December 2019, a new strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) was first identified in Wuhan City, China.  This virus has now spread to other countries.  The UK Chief Medical Officers have declared the risk to the public to be moderate. But the risk to individuals remains low.
 
 
PASSKEYS! (they're really important)
 
Don't forget to get yourself a passkey from the link below to ensure that you hit the points requirement, the passkey is a feature that was added a while ago to the Folding Client that helps to authenticate each user on the network, an added bonus of this is the fact that it allows you to qualify for QRB(Quick Return Bonus) Points, QRBs are extra points you earn for submitting work units more quickly, such as if you have faster hardware or let the client fold full time, rather than on idle. QRB credit is awarded after 10 WUs have been submitted. You can get your passkey from the link below.
https://apps.foldingathome.org/getpasskey
 
This is just a PSA for the new guys here, the folding team is a small close knit community, so here's a few things I'd like you all to keep in mind. It doesn't hurt to say thank you, if someone has genuinely helped you out don't forget to drop a reaction on their posts, help others where ever you can and finally we are a team first and always. 
 
Check your stats out here! Bare in mind it can take some time for your first WUs to appear so leave it a day or two.
https://folding.extremeoverclocking.com/search.php
 
Please follow the guides below to help with set-up and troubleshooting. These are mostly older guides but are still quite useful for most things, we are working on an improved guide and are hoping to have it ready for prime time withing the next month but in meantime these will have to do. Big Thanks to @Metallus97 for giving me a hand with the FAQ for the event and taking some of the load from me. 
 
Read the Event blog to keep up to date With any announcements!!! 
 
 
 
 

I can now confirm. COVID folding projects are now in the wild. Please keep folding!

FOLDING@HOME TAKES UP THE FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19 / 2019-NCOV

Hey guys, here's how you can link your Discord account to your floatplane.com account. This gives you a fancy Pilot role, and grants access to exclusive pilot voice and text channels.
 
Join our Official Discord!
 
Step 1: Login to Floatplane.com

 
Step 2: Navigate to your user settings via the cog wheel in the bottom left of your scren.

 
Step 3: Click on "Connected accounts" in the top left.

 
Step 4. Click the plus icon next to Discord

 
Step 5. Click "Authorize" in the popup, that pops up. 

 
Step 6. Success! You're done

 
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
Note: If you ever lose your rank on the Discord, you can click the little refresh button next to your connected Discord account, and it should force a resync.

Air Temperature sensors (Thermal sensor) fitted to my Optiplex 7010 and 9010 MT PCs:
 
9010:   2N 3904 331
7010:   2N 3904 ???  
Diagnostics screen reports 19C in room at 20C.
 
I made a sensor cable from some old cables.  Using an old 2N3904 NPN transistor, I can confirm it works in my 9010.  ie. no Alert message.   F5 Diagnostics reports 21C in room at 20C.  When holding the transistor tightly between finger and thumb, the temperature rose to reported 35C whereupon there was an audible increase in cpu fan speed.
 
I also tried a BC559 PNP transistor, and this worked too. Note the wires to the plug have to be transposed when using PNP transistors.  Diagnostics reports 23C in room at 20C though.
 
Later, I tested a number of other transistors.  Another exactly identical 2N3904 reported ambient temp of 26C?!  BC546 returned 26C.  BC212L reported over 30C.   
 
Conclusion is you may need to test a few transistors before finding one with the best operating characteristics.
 
At normal room temperature around 20C, I observed the voltage across the pins were never steady, and seem to fluctuate between 0.40 and 0.43 volts for the 2N3904 transistor I tested.
 
I also tried a 1N4148 signal diode for curiosity.   This didn't work at all.  Measured voltage fluctuated around 0.26v.
 
 
Original Dell sensor



 
Temporary DIY thermal sensor - the white 5 pin JST plug was cut in half to fit the motherboard socket.

 
 
 
 
Optiplex 7010/9010 MT/DT vs SFF motherboard
 
When choosing between MiniTower (MT), Desktop (DT) or Small Form Factor (SFF) motherboards, here are some considerations:
 
The main physical difference between MT and DT mATX boards is the MT board has 2x SATA3 + 2x SATA2 sockets, and the DT board only has 2x SATA3 + 1x SATA2 sockets.  The original Dell OEM case also offers detachable IO shields.   The Dell OEM cooler is screwed into a bracket attached to the underside of the motherboard.  There is an external ambient air temperature sensor.  There are standard header socket for 2x USB3, and 2x USB2.  This is in addition to 2x USB2 available from the Front I/O connector.
 

 
The SFF is a non-standard size board with mATX mounting points.  It is about 25-30mm wider than MT/DT boards as shown below.  The bottom edge of the board is not supported so care is required when inserting ATX power cable and any expansion card into the bottom PCI slot.  The position of the CPU socket and DIMM sockets to the far right of the board may pose a problem for some mATX cases according to comments posted by 'smart4' on reddit.   The ATX power socket is also located at the bottom of the board - check your PSU cables are long enough.   The ambient air temperature sensor is built into the SFF motherboard unlike the MT/DT variants.   There is a standard header socket for 2x USB3, but to add 2x USB2 front sockets will require connecting USB cable to the Front I/O connector.
 
The IO shield is not detachable from the original case. There are some videos on Youtube suggesting how you could make your own painted or vinyl wrapped IO shield from stiff cardboard.    There is an eBay seller in China offering custom IO shield for SFF for $4.  Search for 'Custom-tailor I/O Shield for Dell Optiplex 7010 9010' on eBay.com.

Based on photos of the SFF board, it can just about fit into my old Dell Vostro 400 MT case, but it won't fit into an Optiplex 7010 MT case.
 
Optiplex 7010 MT/DT CPU cooler
 
There appears to be two different sizes of CPU coolers fitted to MT and DT motherboards.  Here are two googled images of the DT cooler for comparison.  The MT cooler does not have an intake duct fitted above the fan.  The coolers have Dell 5 pin plugs.
 
 

 
I think i5 and i7 use the same cooler.

These Dell CPU coolers screw into a metal plate attached to the underside of the MT/DT motherboards.  On initial inspection, the top half of the 1155 socket is also bolted to this plate with 3 screws.  The metal plate may need to be modified if you wish to fit an alternative CPU cooler to an MT/DT motherboard.
 
For information about using stock Intel socket 1155 cpu cooler with MT/DT motherboard, check out my post further down.
 

 
Here is a pic of what looks like a custom IO shield for 7010/9010 SFF from this ebay seller from China:
 
link to ebay.com
link to ebay.com

 
If any reader has purchased one of these I/O shields, I'm sure other readers would be interested to know how well it fits.  Uploading an image would be useful.
 
 
Optiplex 7010/9010/Precision T1650 Motherboard Jumpers

There is an undocumented 'Service-Mode' 2 pin header which is only used during manufacture.  It is not used under normal circumstances.  However, if the 7010/9010 fails to POST and power switch diagnostic lights suggest there is a motherboard fault (2 flashes, short pause, then 1 flash, long pause, sequence is then repeated), try installing a jumper across these pins.   Also, if you are unable to flash new BIOS using Windows or from a MSDOS USB flash drive, try setting this jumper.  If you are having to use this jumper, it may suggest something is not quite right with the motherboard imho.
 
MT/DT mobherboard:

 
If you wish to clear the NVRAM, turn off the computer.  Then move the jumper that is fitted across the 'Password Reset' header to the vacant 'RTCRST' header.  When you enter the F2 BIOS settings, the clock will have been reset along with all other BIOS settings.  Check the 'Legacy Boot/UEFI' boot mode and ATA/AHCI/RAID settings before attempting to boot any operating system.
 
MT/DT motherboard:

 
Optiplex 7010/9010/Precision T1650 BIOS versions
 
BIOS versions after A25 for 7010, A26 for 9010, and A24 for T1650 include cpu microcode updates for Spectre/Meltdown vulnerabilities.  These updates degrade CPU performance.  This may be a particular concern for gamers, and so you should weigh up the risks of whether or not to use the very latest BIOS.  Note that updating the BIOS carries small risk of bricking the motherboard too.
 
An annoying feature with BIOS versions up to A25/A26 which I have tested so far, is when I add or remove drives, The F12 boot menu screen often ends up with duplicate entries for some devices such as the DVD drive.  Often it is the last/bottom of the duplicate entry for a device works.
 
My Optiplex 7010/9010 DP to HDMI Monitor compatibility issue
 
I had been running A25 on 7010 and A26 on 9010 for many months without issues.  Both machines fitted with Radeon 5450 graphics cards for historical reasons.  I recently acquired an Asus GT710 DDR3 gfx card and installed it into the 9010.  Ran fine for almost a week.  Then after installing macOS Mojave, all hell broke loose with my old Samsung TV which I use as a monitor.  Whenever I tried to turn on the PC.  Dell logo would appear for split second, then disappear and it would repeat itself. I couldn't get into F2 BIOS setup.  If I enable the Service-Mode jumper, I could boot but as soon as I removed it, the issue returned.  Removing the boot drive and resetting the BIOS made no difference
 
Cut a long story short, the issue only appeared when using HDMI port on GT710 or Radeon GFX cards plugged into the 9010.  There was no issue with VGA or when I tried a different monitor with HDMI.  I did observe when I unplugged the HDMI lead from the spare monitor without turning off the PC, and plugged the lead into original Samsung TV, I would get a stable picture.  I also moved the GT710 to my 7010 and it was fine with the Samsung TV with HDMI.   I tried different Video settings in the BIOS but it didn't completely resolve the issue.   Anyway, it turns out A22 for 9010 (A21 on 7010) fixed a 'compatibility issue' for add-in graphics card. I tried A22 and the issue persisted, but as soon as I reverted to A20, the problem disappeared.   It looks like 9010 with newer BIOS has issues initialising when using HDMI on my old TV.  I have no idea why it suddenly started happening.
 
 
Optiplex 7010 DP to HDMI Audio fix
 
Another randomly occurring issue, is there is no sound when I start up Windows 10 on my 7010 MT, and use a DisplayPort to HDMI cable to my Samsung LCD TV.  When I view the Sound Playback device in Windows 10, I can see the green volume bar fluctuate but there is simply no sound coming out of he TV's loudspeakers.  Using different DisplayPort or HDMI port, completely different DP-to-HDMI cable made no difference.  Downgrading the BIOS from A25 to A20 did not fix the issue. Power cycling the TV made no difference.  It could be another specific 'compatibility' issue with my Samsung LCD TV.  However, if I unplug and reinsert the DP-HDMI cable into the TV, or reboot the PC, the sound is restored.  
 
The actual Intel Display Audio driver v6.16.0.3154 included with the HD2500/4000 graphics driver package hasn't changed since 2014.  Newer versions of the Intel Display Audio driver (eg. v6.16.0.3197 or v10.25.0.5) are available from the Microsoft Catalog, but I haven't had any success finding one which will install onto Optiplex 7010.  
 
Installing a graphics card should fix the issue because I don't recall having this issue when I was using an old Radeon 5450 card for many months.  The Radeon card comes with its own AMD HDMI audio driver.  I did recently find one other similar report of intermittent no HDMI audio on startup posted on Dell community forum where a user had upgraded from Windows 7 to 10 and started witnessing the same intermittent issue - no solution was offered.  I also haven't witnessed the issue when running macOS, but this is inconclusive because I tend to use Windows more than macOS, and the issue is very intermittent and not repeatable.
 
I'm currently using the 'High Definition audio device' driver shipped with Windows 10 after uninstalling the 'Intel Display Audio' driver. This appears to have resolved the problem.
 

 
 
Do I need to use Intel Rapid Storage Technology (IRST) driver ? 
 
The Dell download website for Optiplex 7010 lists a IRST v13.x driver.  When I've used AS SSD benchmarking tool to test my SSD, the results come out inferior to IRST v12.9 and Microsoft AHCI/SATA driver.
 
Unless you plan to use RAID, there is no need to install any IRST driver.  I've been using 7010 (UEFI) with Crucial MS500 SSD primary drive and  Western Digital Blue 7200rpm 1TB secondary hard drive with the default MIcrosoft AHCI/SATA driver and not witnessed any issues in Windows 10 since original installation in May 2018 to the present. (January 2020)  I should also add I amended the Power scheme such that the drives do not go to sleep for 2 hours (default setting is 20 minutes).
 
 

I can confirm when I fit a 2mm pitch jumper across pins 7 and 8, it eliminates the "Alert! Front I/O Cable failure" message on my Optiplex 9010 Mini Tower (MT) motherboard during POST.  
 

 
On MT motherboards, a jumper must also be placed across pins 18 and 20, to connect pin 20 to Ground.  Otherwise, only 3 of the 4 SATA ports are visible in the BIOS setup menu - updated 16 Jan 2019.
 
This should also work for the Optiplex 7010 'Mini Tower' (MT) motherboard.
 
The 7010 'Desktop' (DT) motherboard looks almost identical apart from only having 3 SATA sockets.
 
Posts in the earlier quoted Reddit link, indicate the SFF motherboard also has the same 20 pin Front I/O connector.
 
 
When starting the internal F5 Diagnostics, there may be a confusing warning about the Front USB cable being disconnected - this is for the front USB3 sockets, not for the front USB2 sockets.  The USB3 cable is not checked during normal POST.
 
A search on Amazon and eBay reveals some sellers offering these headers:
 
2mm Pitch 2x10 Pin Female Dual Row Gold Straight Header Strip
 
If the separator/spacer is removed, perhaps the legs can be splayed out to 2.54mm pitch to enable regular leads to be attached to the legs. 
 

 
 
 
I had an old 2.5 to 3.5 IDE cable adapter (Search '2.5 to 3.5 IDE' on eBay) - I removed the black plastic shroud covering the soldered connections from the adapter before taking the photo btw.   Using a coping saw and fine file, I fabricated two adapters as shown below.

 
The plug on the right has solder bridging two tracks on both sides.  Regular 2 pin power switch and power LED header plugs can then be inserted.  There is no Alert! Power Cable message.

 
The adapter doesn't feel particularly secure when inserted into the header socket.  Stiff cables attached to the adapter may need extra support/cable management to prevent them lifting the adapter off the header socket.  Applying some spots of glue to the 2mm pitch header plug may help.

 
In hindsight, I think I should have fabricated a 20 pin (2.0mm) to 22 pin (2.54mm) adapter, which would have given me the option to cut some of the green coloured silk screened copper tracks, and solder new link wires to enable the relevant pins to accept an unmodified 10 pin HD-audio header plug.  Instead, I made a separate 12 pin to 10 pin converter cable out of some old 'shielded' leads for connecting the HD-audio plug and incorporating the 1k resistor required by the HDD LED.
 
HD audio converter 12 pin into 10 pin cable shown below.   

 
Here is my wiring table to convert the yellow HD audio header plug to Optiplex Front I/O header.

Windows 10 update will automatically install a Realtek HD audio driver version 6.0.1.6070 (2015).  When using this driver, note when inserting headphones into the front audio sockets, it does not mute the DisplayPort audio.  In Windows 10, to listen through the headphones, go to Sound->Playback and change the default playback device from DisplayPort/HDMI to the Speakers/Headphones.  There is no issue when using the rear Line-Out audio socket and switching to headphones.
 
I have also observed when I used a later Realtek HD audio driver version 6.0.1.8036 (r2.81, Jan 2017) or later, the internal loudspeaker is unfortunately also enabled when using the rear Line-Out audio socket, so you will need to disconnect the internal speaker from the motherboard.  This later driver also installs the rather useful Realtek HD Audio Manager - it can displays notification when any audio cable is inserted or unplugged.  Check out the posts later in this thread for download links for latest Realtek HD audio drivers.
 
The adapter doesn't lean excessively because the heavy cables rest against the floor of the metal case.

I bought a cheap Optiplex 7010 DT motherboard along with Dell heatsink/fan off eBay and successfully installed it into an old Vostro 400 (Inspiron 530) mini tower case after cutting a hole in the back for a new IO shield.  There are no 'Alert' messages on power up for the Power switch, Front I/O, temperature sensor, and case fan, after completing all the mods.  The front microphone and headphone jacks working fine.  Windows 10 detects when the 3.5mm plugs are inserted.
 
The old case had a 3 pin case fan which is not compatible with 4/5 pin fan connector on the motherboard.  I connected the fan to 5 volt supply, and wired the RPM signal from the fan to the tacho/RPM sense pin on the 5 pin case fan header on the motherboard. 1,200 rpm is reported by the motherboard.  This works fine as I have no plans to install any demanding GFX card. 
 
The USB2 pinout on the Front IO adapter shown in above photo is compatible with standard 9/10 pin USB2 header plug.  However, most readers are more likely to use the other standard USB2 header which is visible in the above photo.   For my old case, I was therefore able to enable all four front panel USB2 sockets.
 
The old Vostro never had any front USB3 sockets, so I installed a standard USB3 front panel into the vacant 3.5" front bay and it works absolutely fine. One minor issue is I had to file flat two of the four raised bumps on the sides of the USB3 header plug.  Otherwise, when I tried to unplug the USB3 cable from the motherboard, it had a tendency to pull the plastic shroud off the USB3 header socket. 
 
As mentioned earlier, normal POST does not test for the front panel USB3 cable, but when I start F5 Diagnostics, it incorrectly reports no USB3 cable is connected even though my 3rd party USB3 bay is attached.  I can only conclude the Dell OEM USB3 cable may have a sense wire.
 
Optiplex 7010 USB3 fix for Windows 10:
I've observed on my MT and this DT motherboard that Windows 10 may not bring up the USB3 ports if they go to sleep, particularly if no device is plugged into the front or rear USB3 ports when the computer is powered up.  To fix the problem, go into Device Manager and locate the 'USB Root Hub (USB 3.0)' device and disable power saving option.
 

 
I've posted this photo and circuit diagrams for the power switch in this thread originally created by 'ThorThe1':
 
Link to Optiplex 7010 power switch thread.
 

The white cable clip is required to support the cables, otherwise, the adapter has a tendency to lean and could lift itself out of the socket when the motherboard is vertically mounted.
 

This thread describes the issues with installing an Optiplex 7010/9010 motherboard into a 3rd party ATX case. There is another thread for the Optiplex 7010 power switch and power LED pinout.
Optiplex 7010 power switch
 
I have observed if the front I/O cable is detached from the motherboard, there is an 'Alert! Front I/O Cable failure.' error message when booting up the PC. The F1 key must be pressed to continue.  I thought I would investigate what causes this and other 'Alert!' messages.
 
The Optiplex 7010 and 9010 (I have both) appear to use virtually the same motherboard in the mini tower (MT) variant.  The key difference is 9010 has BIOS support RAID.  The Precision T1650 looks very similar and also supports ECC RAM - it is also offered with Xeon e3-1200v2 family of processors, the fastest being the i3-1290v2.   The fastest Dell certified processor for the 7010/9010 is the i7-3770.  However, the e3-1230 v2 Xeon processor is apparently known to work in the 7010 too according to one Youtube video posted back in 2015.
 
The Front I/O socket on the motherboard is smaller than normal. It appears the pins have a 2mm pitch instead of the typical 0.1" (2.54mm) pitch too.  
 
 
Update (30 Oct 2018):  I've since discovered a post on reddit created by 'BlastingKap' two months earlier, who had also examined the Front I/O pinout on an Optiplex 7010:
https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/98y8x2/optiplex_7010_9010_motherboard_transplanting/
 
Update (28 Apr 2019):  I also came across this youtube video
https://youtu.be/Bz6s4wB-MDM
 
Update (2 Jul 2021):  Just a quick update.  I'm still using 7010 and 9010 MT models.  No changes to BIOS or Windows drivers since posting in this long thread more than 18 months ago.  The 9010 runs macOS Mojave, I haven't upgraded to Catalina.   Only issues I have encountered is the task bar in Windows 10 failing to respond every once in a while for past few years - restarting the Windows Explorer fixed the problem every time.  I recently found instructions on how to reregister Start process - too early to say whether it will fix the problem once and for all.   I fitted a cheap i5-3475s cpu into the 7010 in late 2020.  In early 2021, the 7010 also started to freeze or crash after exactly 30 minutes of use - I traced the problem to possibly defective or poorly seated Samsung PC3-12800 DIMMs.  I replaced the pair with Hynix PC3-12800 DIMMs.
 

 





 
Note the presence of a 1k resistor to limit the current through the LED.

 
The front USB3 sockets are served by a separate cable which plugs into blue coloured USB header socket on the motherboard. 
 

 
The pinout for the microphone and heaphone have a non-standard layout.  The HDD LED requires an extra 1k resistor.   The USB2 pinout seems to have a standard layout but a normal 0.1" pitch USB2 header plug won't fit onto the 2mm pitch pins.
 
 

 
It wouldn't surprise me if the Optiplex 7020/9020 and Precision T1700 uses the same pinout for the Front I/O connector.  The key features of the 7020/9020/T1700 are the use of Intel 4th gen Haswell processors.  The MT/DT motherboards have an 8 pin power connector, and a 24 pin ATX to 8 pin adapter is required when planning to use a third party ATX PSU.
 
The Optiplex 7010/9010 runs Windows 10 just fine.  I have encountered some USB3 and HDMI issues.  Fortunately, there are some fixes for them. 
 
The 7010/9010 can run macOS High Sierra or Mojave when using a processor with Intel HD4000 graphics, otherwise specific graphics card such as a low cost GT710 is required for any other processor.  A mac/macbook is required to create the USB bootable installation media for macOS.
 
https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/guide-install-high-sierra-or-mojave-on-the-dell-optiplex-7010-9010-desktop-pc-revision-ii.251736/