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Dell Workstation Owners Club

Adding myself to this club also, as an owner of T5500.

It came with 2x E5645, 48GB RAM, SSD & ATi 7790 Radeon HD.
Now it's has 2x X5670 & NVIDIA GTX 1650.

Here are my previous struggles:
- https://www.dell.com/community/Precision-Fixed-Workstations/T5500-back-case-fans/m-p/7476900#M3590 - now running both fans from HDD power supply adapters.
- https://www.dell.com/community/Prec...blem-with-1650-graphic-card/m-p/7434075#M3281 - managed to get it working from HDMI.
- https://www.dell.com/community/Precision-Fixed-Workstations/Air-coolers-t5500/m-p/7625852#M4358 - now running both fans from HDD power supply adapters.

Next upgrade is the front cooler for mob CPU, ordered the bigger one (used on T5500 & T7500).
 
Yet another update, because, that's what we like to do... we like to keep our friends informed on things.

This is all still for my T7500, my T3500 is just sitting in a corner pouting right now.

So, I went and bought an abs box just bigger than the Northbridge, and cut a hole for the fan to fit, plus modified for the clips (I'm still looking for a different heatsink to be honest as I don't have the Dell fan one). Attached the fan as a pull "up" fan to bring the heat into the airflow, added it to my fan controller (see previous for the front fan on the Hyper 212), and powered it up.

Works great, pulls the heat off, dumps it into the airflow, with one problem. I do a smoke test every so often to check the airflow itself, and I'm noticing that it's becoming turbulent over that fan. I tested it in a push "down" configuration, and while not as bad, there's still some turbulence, but the temperatures are about 20F different from the pull "up".

I'm wondering if in a down configuration, as it's sucking air out of the flow onto the northbridge, but because I don't have a vent hole for it to go (even though, I'm about an eighth of an inch up, it's simply trapping the air inside, which is causing the higher temperature.

The other option, which I just thought of while typing this, is this: Does some aftermarket company make a much smaller heat pipe system that I could use, that way the fan itself stays inside the airflow? Has anyone heard of something like this? I have an old Frio 12 that I could cannibalize if I need to for testing, but is there such a thing already on the market? And if so, would that be a significant temperature change from the pull "up" configuration?
 
Hey TPU

So I have a question about running dual GPU in the T3500.

So with the RX570 it performs very excellent with DX11,12 and Vulkan APIs but when running an app that uses openGL I found that AMD has pretty much given up on that API and nvidia runs circles around it. After reading up I saw a 1050 or 1650 would do very well in the specific application and I'm starting to see them around $50 but it's a big performance hit in gaming if I switched to one of those at this time for full time usage. I want to wait for a 1070ti after the first of the year (or mid next year) knowing people will start to replace them with 3070s and other cards. So now to my question if I found a great deal on a 1050 can I run both cards in the system at the same time? And how does this work if I want one to take the main workload on a specific task but still have main output through the 570. And how would the PSU do if I did this and kept the TDP of the CPU at 180 while running both cards. I imagine I'm asking a lot since the RX570 pulled 100TDP at load and know the 1050 will pull the 75TDP from the PCI slot. I doudt if this was even possible both wouldn't pull heavy load at the same time when tasking the other but don't know . This may not be the best specific location on this forum but it does also involve the T3500 so hoping some expertise from this group may help as well.

Thanks
Uno
 
unoproph said:
So now to my question if I found a great deal on a 1050 can I run both cards in the system at the same time? And how does this work if I want one to take the main workload on a specific task but still have main output through the 570.
Click to expand...
Technically yes. But the card that is connected to the Display would be the primary card and would be the only one used unless a program can address and use the other one directly.

unoproph said:
And how would the PSU do if I did this and kept the TDP of the CPU at 180 while running both cards.
Click to expand...
If you have one of the standard 525w PSU's you will likely run into issues. Those two cards on there own would not be a problem, but together with the CPU you're using the potential for issues is there. I would upgrade to a 750W PSU if you want to do such a config. But that is my school of thought, there are others who may have other opinions. I prefer to error on the side of caution rather than push the limit of a PSU.
 
So, since I couldn't figure out how to ... wait.. nevermind, there it is...

lexluthermiester said:
Technically yes. But the card that is connected to the Display would be the primary card and would be the only one used unless a program can address and use the other one directly.
Click to expand...
I would have thought that the card in the Slot2, where the one in Slot4 would be the secondary in a two card system, but I haven't tried it yet.

lexluthermiester said:
If you have one of the standard 525w PSU's you will likely run into issues. Those two cards on there own would not be a problem, but together with the CPU you're using the potential for issues is there. I would upgrade to a 750W PSU if you want to do such a config. But that is my school of thought, there are others who may have other opinions. I prefer to error on the side of caution rather than push the limit of a PSU.
Click to expand...

I'd say at a minimum go with a modular supply sitting anywhere between 850W and 1050W to be on the safe side. I say modular, only because you can add the second set of gpu power cables without having to deal with using an adapter of some kind. I use that wattage range, only because it'll give a little more headroom when it comes to power. A friend of mine runs 1080ti's in SLI (not your configuration, but using as example), and had issues until he went to an 850W supply.

The only other issue I see, is one of heat load. You might want to see if you can find one of those expansion slot blower fan cards (attaches to a simple 4-pin molex, old HDD/CD drive power connection) to help push some of the heat out, or if you have a way to run the GPU fans at 100%, that'll help a bit as well.
 
unoproph said:
Hey TPU

So I have a question about running dual GPU in the T3500.

So with the RX570 it performs very excellent with DX11,12 and Vulkan APIs but when running an app that uses openGL I found that AMD has pretty much given up on that API and nvidia runs circles around it. After reading up I saw a 1050 or 1650 would do very well in the specific application and I'm starting to see them around $50 but it's a big performance hit in gaming if I switched to one of those at this time for full time usage. I want to wait for a 1070ti after the first of the year (or mid next year) knowing people will start to replace them with 3070s and other cards. So now to my question if I found a great deal on a 1050 can I run both cards in the system at the same time? And how does this work if I want one to take the main workload on a specific task but still have main output through the 570. And how would the PSU do if I did this and kept the TDP of the CPU at 180 while running both cards. I imagine I'm asking a lot since the RX570 pulled 100TDP at load and know the 1050 will pull the 75TDP from the PCI slot. I doudt if this was even possible both wouldn't pull heavy load at the same time when tasking the other but don't know . This may not be the best specific location on this forum but it does also involve the T3500 so hoping some expertise from this group may help as well.

Thanks
Uno
Click to expand...
Why don't you watch for GTX 1660 Ti? That one is similar to 1070 in speed, but is only 120W - compared to 150W of 1070.
 
lexluthermiester said:
I was talking about Dell branded PSU's with the proper wiring harness. But there's nothing stopping you from using a third party modular PSU.
Click to expand...

In that case, yes. The only problem I was thinking about was finding one of the bigger ones that'll fit in the T3500. I live in the home of Dell, and even I had a problem finding a bigger supply that was new. ('d rather have new than refurbished, imho) But, I was thinking any modular PSU. All the ones I've found are fully compatible for the T3500.
 
UmbralSamurai said:
In that case, yes. The only problem I was thinking about was finding one of the bigger ones that'll fit in the T3500. I live in the home of Dell, and even I had a problem finding a bigger supply that was new. ('d rather have new than refurbished, imho) But, I was thinking any modular PSU. All the ones I've found are fully compatible for the T3500.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't worry about used Dell PSU's. I buy them frequently and rarely does one come in that doesn't work. I think there's only ever been one. Seller replaced it swiftly.

750's can be a bit hard to find right now but I did find an 875w for a good price.

Genuine Dell Precision T3500 825 Watt Switching Power Supply 0j556t for sale online | eBay

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That's a really good price for an 875w, and I keep forgetting that the 3500 and 5500 supplies are cross compatible (I haven't had a T5500).

The last used supply I had was for my R210 which was refurbished (more like blown out with air and nothing else done, but compact PSUs), which tied after about 2 weeks. The one before that for my T3500 took out half of the original motherboard because of a short inside of it, and that had been refurbished as well, so I might be biased a little bit. (I've had my share of bad new PSUs as well.) I generally look at what I can get available, and I know, that's weird coming from someone in Austin, but you'd be surprised what I don't see in the way of used/refurb.

But, at the end of the day, as long as we can get everything working, and chugging along happily, that's what matters
 
UmbralSamurai said:
That's a really good price for an 875w, and I keep forgetting that the 3500 and 5500 supplies are cross compatible (I haven't had a T5500).
Click to expand...
The PSU's are, but the wiring harnesses have a few differences. You'll have to decide which one works better for you. If you do go with a third party PSU, make sure it has the 8pin CPU EPS connector cable. Not all PSU's have them and the T3500 motherboard requires it.
 
Hello there! First post around here. Found this forum while googling stuff because I'm trying to use an "old" T3500 as a music production PC. Currently have 16Gb of Ram, a Quadro FX4800, a small 250Gb HDD and a modest 500W supply.

Here are the issues I would need help with.

Is there a way to know what my CPU is without removing the heatsink. (DxDiag shows n/a) I want to upgrade but don't know what I already have.

When I try to enter the BIOS, it simply reboots instead.. The PC was given to me a while ago when I was working for a CAD software development company. Is there a possibility the access to the BIOS has been protected in some way? Or something is wrong? Tried pulling the battery off also, didn't help.

I have a lot more questions to come but I'll start by reading through this enormous thread first!

Thanks folks!
 
Djordhan said:
Hello there!
Click to expand...
Welcome!

Djordhan said:
Is there a way to know what my CPU is without removing the heatsink. (DxDiag shows n/a) I want to upgrade but don't know what I already have.
Click to expand...
There's a number of free 3rd party programs that you can use. I personally use CPUz or CoreTemp (just for the processor information), or Speccy (if I want to know every little detail) just to get a general idea. You also can plug the service tag number into support.dell.com and that'll at least tell you what it's original configuration was. Whether it's that now, is still a question, but it's a good starting point.

Djordhan said:
When I try to enter the BIOS, it simply reboots instead.. The PC was given to me a while ago when I was working for a CAD software development company. Is there a possibility the access to the BIOS has been protected in some way? Or something is wrong? Tried pulling the battery off also, didn't help.
Click to expand...
Mash the F2 button as soon as you get lights on the keyboard itself (num lock/caps lock/scroll lock will flash)? I know that you got it some time ago, but do you happen to know if the BIOS was password protected? If so, there's a PSWD jumper. Beyond that, I don't know. I would suggest though, that if all else fails, you could flash it to the most current version which is A17.
 
Last edited:
lexluthermiester said:
The PSU's are, but the wiring harnesses have a few differences. You'll have to decide which one works better for you. If you do go with a third party PSU, make sure it has the 8pin CPU EPS connector cable. Not all PSU's have them and the T3500 motherboard requires it.
Click to expand...
That's why I usually go with fully modular, or sometimes hybrid modular. Most of the ones I found (not all) have the 8pin CPU cable.
 
...personally use CPUz...
Click to expand...
Ran CPUz and got the info I needed thanks :) I have a W3550 so just bought an X5670.

I would suggest though, that if all else fails, you could flash it to the most current version which is A17.
Click to expand...
Mashing F2 was still rebooting. No password asked. So flashed the BIOS with A17 and that solved the issue. So double thanks!

Also added 2 more 8Gb stick for a total of 32Gb, and swapped the original 250Gb HDD for a 1Tb SSD + 3Tb HDD. And finally swapped the Quadro FX 4800 1.5Gb for a GTX 1050 Ti OC 4Gb that I found for cheap. (totally unecessary for audio editing lol)

I should be good for a while now.
 
Hi all,

I just started getting a cpu2 fan failire at boot. And its running full speed.

I reset the bios and cmos and the dell Preboot system test,, not sure what else to check?

Both cpus and all ram check out so far?

Can anyone offer suggestions?
 
crazydrve` said:
Hi all,

I just started getting a cpu2 fan failire at boot. And its running full speed.

I reset the bios and cmos and the dell Preboot system test,, not sure what else to check?

Both cpus and all ram check out so far?

Can anyone offer suggestions?
Click to expand...
With the power off and PSU power cable unplugged, disconnect and reconnect all of the fans in the system from the motherboard. Plug the power cord back in and try again.
 
lexluthermiester said:
With the power off and PSU power cable unplugged, disconnect and reconnect all of the fans in the system from the motherboard. Plug the power cord back in and try again.
Click to expand...


Tried that and it didn't work, i just dont get it...
 
crazydrve` said:
Tried that and it didn't work, i just dont get it...
Click to expand...
That might be a fan controller problem. Have you tried the PSU reset procedure? I detailed the procedure in a post earlier in the thread;
www.techpowerup.com

Dell Workstation Owners Club

I finally got an U016F heatsink and it looks like it makes a nice difference: Both tests were performed with stress utility on Ubuntu at 30°C room temperatures using Noctua NT-H1 thermal paste: idle and peak temperature are only 5 degrees lower (even though I stopped the test earlier on the old...
www.techpowerup.com www.techpowerup.com

You may also want to make reference to the following;
 
lexluthermiester said:
That might be a fan controller problem. Have you tried the PSU reset procedure? I detailed the procedure in a post earlier in the thread;
www.techpowerup.com

Dell Workstation Owners Club

I finally got an U016F heatsink and it looks like it makes a nice difference: Both tests were performed with stress utility on Ubuntu at 30°C room temperatures using Noctua NT-H1 thermal paste: idle and peak temperature are only 5 degrees lower (even though I stopped the test earlier on the old...
www.techpowerup.com www.techpowerup.com

You may also want to make reference to the following;
Click to expand...

Hi @lexluthermiester

i actually got it going, had to take out all the ram and put the ram back in 1 step at a time.

Thank you for your advice.
 
Slowly continuing with the T5810 upgrades, I put a KingDian M.2 NVME drive in it. Still waiting on ram and so on. It does boot straight off the m.2 no problems so that's all pretty nice.
 

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Oops.. above benchmark was in the pcie2 slot.. this is what not wearing reading glass will do for your life.. Here it is plugged into the pcie3 slot. Well at least the above one shows you what you will get on the older machines.
 

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elfoam said:
Oops.. above benchmark was in the pcie2 slot.. this is what not wearing reading glass will do for your life.. Here it is plugged into the pcie3 slot. Well at least the above one shows you what you will get on the older machines.
Click to expand...
The only tangible difference is in read speeds. At those speeds you're really not going to notice or perceive the difference. I'm not counting the random4k writes because those kinds of writes are not common and will almost never be perceived by the user.
 
Has anyone encountered the following error....
Error allocating upper memory block for pci device -

I installed a pci usb3 card.
 
crazydrve` said:
Has anyone encountered the following error....
Error allocating upper memory block for pci device -

I installed a pci usb3 card.
Click to expand...

Is that an actual PCI card? I think I have seen that error when I had a catweasle PCI card in my T7500, its an old card that lets you write floppys for other non PC systems
 
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