Dell Workstation Owners Club

[howtopowerup]

I managed to score a 3070 Ti for a decent price and have spent the last few hours trying to figure out if I will be able to run it in my T7810.

The first problem, that I did not realize until after I had already bought it, is that this particular custom variant (Zotac GeForce RTX 3070 Ti AMP Extreme Holo)
is extremely power-hungry and requires 2x 8 pin plus 1x 6 pin PCIe power inputs.

My T7810 has
the 825W PSU and
a PCIe power cable that connects 8 pins on the power distribution board to two 6 pin PCIe cables (0D92C9)

Assuming this connects to a single rail of the PSU, the maximum power I can draw should be 12V*18A=216W, which is not enough for two 8 pin PCIe connectors (max. 2*150W=300W) but should probably be fine for one 8 pin and one 6 pin connector (max. 150W+75W=225W). Since I am only using NVMe drives I have 3 free 15 pin SATA power connectors that should sit on different rails on the PSU. My idea is to combine all of them to supply the second 8 pin connector of the GPU, as was done in this video:

So that leaves me with finding the best way to connect the 8 pins on the power distribution board to 8 plus 6 pins on the graphics card.
I found several cases where people experienced sudden outages when simply using a 6 pin to 8 pin adapter to connect one of the 6 pin cables to the 8 pin slot on their GPU (not sure why exactly).
But there is a Reddit thread with a slightly odd solution that was allegedly implemented by a Dell technician:

https://www.reddit.com/r/nvidia/comments/6ieqpu
1) Plug one of the 6 pin connectors on the 8 pin out on the power distribution board
2) Connect the 8 pin connector to the GPU
3) Connect the other 6 pin connector to the GPU

I don't fully understand why this works and how it solves the issue, but it is at least corroborated by one other user.

Has anyone here done what I am planning to do or at least a part of it? Does it sound sane or am I about to fry my system and burn the house down?
Thanks for any pointers.

 

[Karlos]

Still rocking my t7500, want a storage upgrade and was going to get a nvme SSD. I know on a t7500 you cannot boot off a nvme but does it matter what pcie converter card you get? If i just get one off amazon will it recognize it after booting or is there a specific one i require?

 

[howtopowerup]

Still rocking my t7500, want a storage upgrade and was going to get a nvme SSD. I know on a t7500 you cannot boot off a nvme but does it matter what pcie converter card you get? If i just get one off amazon will it recognize it after booting or is there a specific one i require?

I don't think it matters since the card is not doing anything special, just providing a different physical connector but using the same protocol. Though you should make sure it has 4 lanes per NVMe SSD if you want to be able to run them at full speed. With my T7810 I have had good experiences with the ones called PH44 sold on Aliexpress for what it is worth and they are fairly cheap.

20.24US $ 24% OFF|Pci-e Signal Split Array Card Ph44 Nvme 4 Disk Array Card Supports Ssd/m.2 Pci-e Device Of M.2 Nvme Protocol Of Hard Disk 4-disk - Pc Hardware Cables & Adapters - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

 

[Karlos]

I don't think it matters since the card is not doing anything special, just providing a different physical connector but using the same protocol. Though you should make sure it has 4 lanes per NVMe SSD if you want to be able to run them at full speed. With my T7810 I have had good experiences with the ones called PH44 sold on Aliexpress for what it is worth and they are fairly cheap.

20.24US $ 24% OFF|Pci-e Signal Split Array Card Ph44 Nvme 4 Disk Array Card Supports Ssd/m.2 Pci-e Device Of M.2 Nvme Protocol Of Hard Disk 4-disk - Pc Hardware Cables & Adapters - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

Thank you for the insight, I remember I had a similiar problem to you with my pcie power connectors on my z600, i only had a 6 pin and needed 2 8 pins so i just ran 2 power supplies and jumped them together and fed the pcie cables through the back pci slots haha.

 

[howtopowerup]

Thank you for the insight, I remember I had a similiar problem to you with my pcie power connectors on my z600, i only had a 6 pin and needed 2 8 pins so i just ran 2 power supplies and jumped them together and fed the pcie cables through the back pci slots haha.

Yeah, I have also thought about doing something like that. I may end up doing it that way if my current plan does not work out but it sounds like a bit of a hassle.

One more thing:
If you want to use multiple SSDs on a card like the one I linked the motherboard needs to support PCIe bifurcation, which I would not expect to be the case for the T7500.
You will still be able to run a single SSD with them no problem, but it might make more sense to just get a PCIe x4 card for a single SSD.

 

[Karlos]

Yeah, I have also thought about doing something like that. I may end up doing it that way if my current plan does not work out but it sounds like a bit of a hassle.

One more thing:
If you want to use multiple SSDs on a card like the one I linked the motherboard needs to support PCIe bifurcation, which I would not expect to be the case for the T7500.
You will still be able to run a single SSD with them no problem, but it might make more sense to just get a PCIe x4 card for a single SSD.

Yeah thanks for the info, just planning on running one ssd as ive already got a sata ssd in my system

 

[lexluthermiester]

I managed to score a 3070 Ti for a decent price and have spent the last few hours trying to figure out if I will be able to run it in my T7810.

First, welcome to TPU and the thread! Second, nice score on the GPU!

The first problem, that I did not realize until after I had already bought it, is that this particular custom variant (Zotac GeForce RTX 3070 Ti AMP Extreme Holo)
is extremely power-hungry and requires 2x 8 pin plus 1x 6 pin PCIe power inputs.

Ok, what you'll likely need is a "Y" splitter cable. Something like the following;

https://www.amazon.com/JZYMOD-Corsair-Modular-Supplies-inches/dp/B093Q47K2W

 

[imrazor]

I pulled a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi (model # SB0770) out of an old T5400 (which I have since parted ways with.) I have transplanted the card to my T5500 successfully, and even found Windows 10 drivers for it. The only fly in the ointment is the need to reach around to the back of the chassis whenever I want to swap between speakers and headphones.

Apparently there was an SB0880 model available for the T5500 as a replacement for the SB0770. Is there any chance I could use the cable for an SB0880 to hook my SB0770 to the front panel headphone jack?

@Karlos Never was able to get my T5500 to boot off NVMe due to a lack of native NVMe support in the BIOS. I think there are a few Samsung NVMe drives that have the necessary BIOS extensions, but they're pretty uncommon.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Is there any chance I could use the cable for an SB0880 to hook my SB0770 to the front panel headphone jack?

Yes. It should work perfectly.

 

[Caring1]

I managed to score a 3070 Ti for a decent price and have spent the last few hours trying to figure out if I will be able to run it in my T7810.

Wait, that card says not for resale, we need pics of the full card and the back story on how you managed to score it.

 

[frankr2994]

I managed to score a 3070 Ti for a decent price and have spent the last few hours trying to figure out if I will be able to run it in my T7810.

The first problem, that I did not realize until after I had already bought it, is that this particular custom variant (Zotac GeForce RTX 3070 Ti AMP Extreme Holo)
is extremely power-hungry and requires 2x 8 pin plus 1x 6 pin PCIe power inputs.

My T7810 has
the 825W PSU and
a PCIe power cable that connects 8 pins on the power distribution board to two 6 pin PCIe cables (0D92C9)

View attachment 231392
Assuming this connects to a single rail of the PSU, the maximum power I can draw should be 12V*18A=216W, which is not enough for two 8 pin PCIe connectors (max. 2*150W=300W) but should probably be fine for one 8 pin and one 6 pin connector (max. 150W+75W=225W). Since I am only using NVMe drives I have 3 free 15 pin SATA power connectors that should sit on different rails on the PSU. My idea is to combine all of them to supply the second 8 pin connector of the GPU, as was done in this video:

So that leaves me with finding the best way to connect the 8 pins on the power distribution board to 8 plus 6 pins on the graphics card.
I found several cases where people experienced sudden outages when simply using a 6 pin to 8 pin adapter to connect one of the 6 pin cables to the 8 pin slot on their GPU (not sure why exactly).
But there is a Reddit thread with a slightly odd solution that was allegedly implemented by a Dell technician:

https://www.reddit.com/r/nvidia/comments/6ieqpu
1) Plug one of the 6 pin connectors on the 8 pin out on the power distribution board
2) Connect the 8 pin connector to the GPU
3) Connect the other 6 pin connector to the GPU

I don't fully understand why this works and how it solves the issue, but it is at least corroborated by one other user.

Has anyone here done what I am planning to do or at least a part of it? Does it sound sane or am I about to fry my system and burn the house down?
Thanks for any pointers.

Are you using 2 CPUs? I've often wanted to do something better with that psu board. thought about buying a board from like a 7920 which has much more on it. Everything mounts differently in a 7920 though but it may serve as a starting point on making something.

 

[Mr Bill]

I pulled a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi (model # SB0770) out of an old T5400 (which I have since parted ways with.) I have transplanted the card to my T5500 successfully, and even found Windows 10 drivers for it.

I have that same sound card running in my old ASRock G41M-S3 build, it's running windows 10, and 10 installed the drivers and it works great, just can't find any software for it, to be able to use an equalizer or other sound options.

 

[lexluthermiester]

I have that same sound card running in my old ASRock G41M-S3 build, it's running windows 10, and 10 installed the drivers and it works great, just can't find any software for it, to be able to use an equalizer or other sound options.

Daniel_K's Official Blog

Modified drivers for Creative soundcards

danielkawakami.blogspot.com

DanielK has retired from making custom updated drivers but his latest pack should work for at least a few years. Here's the direct download;

XFI_SupportPack_8_0_Refresh3

MediaFire is a simple to use free service that lets you put all your photos, documents, music, and video in a single place so you can access them anywhere and share them everywhere.

www.mediafire.com

DanielK, if you ever see this, Thank You for all the years of excellent drivers! You've been a god-send and a total boss!

 

[Mr Bill]

Daniel_K's Official Blog

Modified drivers for Creative soundcards

danielkawakami.blogspot.com

DanielK has retired from making custom updated drivers but his latest pack should work for at least a few years. Here's the direct download;

XFI_SupportPack_8_0_Refresh3

MediaFire is a simple to use free service that lets you put all your photos, documents, music, and video in a single place so you can access them anywhere and share them everywhere.

www.mediafire.com

DanielK, if you ever see this, Thank You for all the years of excellent drivers! You've been a god-send and a total boss!

Thanks, when I googled for the software, his site come up, but after trying 4 or 5 different downloads, I just gave up, the sound card works, but just no software.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Thanks, when I googled for the software, his site come up, but after trying 4 or 5 different downloads, I just gave up, the sound card works, but just no software.

If the latest pack is giving you trouble, try the 2020 pack;

XFI_SupportPack_5_0

MediaFire is a simple to use free service that lets you put all your photos, documents, music, and video in a single place so you can access them anywhere and share them everywhere.

www.mediafire.com

 

[frankr2994]

Are old soundblaster cards good for any of you guys. I'd have to go through my drawer but I think I have a soundblaster live PCI card that was in an IBM server that a customer was gaming on some years back. If it's of any value id part ways for shipping cost

 

[imrazor]

@Mr Bill FWIW, here's where I downloaded the drivers from:

Daniel_K's Official Blog: Final updates for my Support Packs and farewell (danielkawakami.blogspot.com)

The top link on that page (X-Fi Support Pack 8, Refresh 3) not only got my sound card working but also installed all of the Creative support software.

Just out of curiosity, what version of Windows 10 are you using?

@frankr2994 This particular Sound Blaster sounds phenomenal. I think the sound quality on offer is kind of unusual for a Creative card - in a good way.

 

[lexluthermiester]

soundblaster live PCI card

SBLive is beyond it's usefulness for modern systems. Retro 9x/XP systems? It's a great card. But 7 on up? Audigy & XFi are still good cards.

@Mr Bill FWIW, here's where I downloaded the drivers from:

Daniel_K's Official Blog: Final updates for my Support Packs and farewell (danielkawakami.blogspot.com)

The top link on that page (X-Fi Support Pack 8, Refresh 3) not only got my sound card working but also installed all of the Creative support software.

Just out of curiosity, what version of Windows 10 are you using?

@frankr2994 This particular Sound Blaster sounds phenomenal. I think the sound quality on offer is kind of unusual for a Creative card - in a good way.

Um, I already linked those above. Literally today. But no worries.

 

[frankr2994]

SBLive is beyond it usefulness for modern systems. Retro 9x/XP systems? It's a great card. But 7 on up? Audigy & XFi are still good cards.

Good to know. I'll add it to my need to scrap pile.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Good to know. I'll add it to my need to scrap pile.

No, don't scrap it, keep it for a future retro build, just in case you need it. SBLive might not be relevant for modern systems, but it's still solid for older systems and OSes. Or, if you think you're never going to need it, put on you local parts market or ebay.

 

[Mr Bill]

SBLive is beyond it's usefulness for modern systems. Retro 9x/XP systems? It's a great card. But 7 on up? Audigy & XFi are still good cards.

I have to agree with this...

@Mr Bill The top link on that page (X-Fi Support Pack 8, Refresh 3) not only got my sound card working but also installed all of the Creative support software.

Just out of curiosity, what version of Windows 10 are you using?

I stuck that PC back in my in my store room on the property last night, I had it out just to try and see if this SB card would work in it, and it did work, just no software. I don't know what ver. of 10 it has, but I can tell you, it's all up to date with the latest updates. I might pull it out again this weekend, and try that support pack you listed, "but I'm sure I probably already did" I'll get back if and when I decide to deal with it again.
Thanks Bill

 

[Retrorockit]

I came across this chart at Purdue University from their IT Dept. They run Dells and they had a benchmark chart showing various years of Dell business computers..

Dell Model Benchmarks

engineering.purdue.edu

The highest scores are from the older 2012 Precision T3600/5600 series. By quite a bit too.

 

[80-watt Hamster]

I came across this chart at Purdue University from their IT Dept. They run Dells and they had a benchmark chart showing various years of Dell business computers..

Dell Model Benchmarks

engineering.purdue.edu

The highest scores are from the older 2012 Precision T3600/5600 series. By quite a bit too.

Not surprising, since those are 6C/12T and 8C/16T systems, while most of the rest are 4C/4T or 4C/8T. Skylake and Haswell are faster than Sandy Bridge, but not fast enough to make up for half the cores. At least in those benchmarks, apparently.

 

[sepheronx]

If someone could help me out I would appreciate it.

So I updated through Dells software for Bios update A18 on my Dell T3600. Now, it is stuck in ME Recovery State and doesn't boot. I tried pulling the CMOS Battery and waiting for about 10mins but issue is still the same. I can get into the bios but thats it. Tried to boot to a bootable USB but it prevents me from doing anything as it just states ME in Recovery State.

I tried to update the bios in order to get an E5 2665 CPU I have to work in it as the bios on the machine was first revision (never updated).

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Retrorockit]

You might ask these guys. They have a BIOS recovery section there. I had trouble starting a new thread though. Not sure if it's me or them?

Bios Mods -The Best BIOS Update and Modification Source

www.bios-mods.com