Dell Workstation Owners Club

[lexluthermiester]

There have been a ton of posts lately about Dell workstation PC's in other threads that have begun to derail things a bit. Thought it might be a good idea to create this thread for people to share/post info/pics and ask questions.

 

[remixedcat]

I got a Dell Precision T3400.

CPU:Intel Core2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.40GHz 1066 RAM:3.9 GB
GPU: Quadro FX 1700

 

[lexluthermiester]

I got a Dell Precision T3400. CPU:Intel Core2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.40GHz 1066 RAM:3.9 GB GPU: Quadro FX 1700

You could get a 1333mhz FSB based CPU for that system. The Yorkfield Xeons are an excellent choice as they are currently very inexpensive and offer C2Quad Extreme performance without the cost. For example the Xeon X3360 or X3370 would give you nearly double the performance you are getting now from your Q6600.
X3360@$20 https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Xeon...040624&hash=item239e1af4ed:g:RN8AAOSwdGJatzwt
X3370@$60 https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Xeon...073865&hash=item4679e58aad:g:HMoAAOSwheFaw8ap
The X3370 is a bit pricy, but still worth it. The X3360 is no brainer. As long as you update your bios(if you aren't up to date) before you swap them out, you're golden.

 

[remixedcat]

Not too bad price wise. Nice

 

[MortySimmons]

Would like to make a game ready system from a Dell 7020. The PSU has max. 275 Watt, not enough for a GTX 1070. The board has an 8 pin power connector so I ordered an adapter from 24 to 8 pin to use an ordinary ATX PSU instead of the low profile designs from Dell which seems kind of unique and I did not found any higher rated replacements.
Another idea was to use a separate PSU from a Dell thin client which has an external PSU like a laptop. It is a DA-2 Series PSU. Has anyone the pinout for the MB from the 7020 and the layout of the pinout from the external PSU? Will they match?
This way I can deliver power to the board and the graphics card separately.

 

[insane 360]

i'll throw my hat in here, i've got several and most are all in use for some purpose

two t7500 - one is a dual x5675 xeon with 36gb of ram, running quadro 4000 gpu still and windows 10. right now its my plex server and does some light in home streaming until i get another workstation up.
the other t7500 has a single x5675 and 24gb of ram along with 4 1tb wd hard drives. running freenas 11.1 and serves are my nas and ubiquity controller for my AP

t5810 - lower end quad core xeon 2.8ghz (can't remember the model will fill in later) and 32gb of ram and a k2200 4gb gpu, 512gb ssd from samsung. its going to be my main workstation with cpu upgrade sometime when the prices come down for 2011v3.

t3610 - also a quad xeon ~3.1ghz with a k420 quadro and will be my wifes main workstation

t3500 with one xeon x5675 and 12gb of ram and quadro 2000 gpu, was a test box just to play around with cpu mining a few months back...its going to be repurposed as my projector pc upstairs.

older precision 390 that i was trying to get a sticker modded e5420 xeon to work in it. currently a core2duo of 2.4ghz or so running with 8 gb of ram. hoping to just have it setup with linux mint or as a fun box to play around with, not sure yet.

i've got a few older optiplex's around too but they aren't exciting, i get some good hand me downs though and really like the build quality of the dells.

 

[remixedcat]

Interested in selling some of those?

Got a Optiplex 960
It came with a core 2 duo but will upgrade it to the Q6600 out of my sis's old system.
4GB RAM, 250GB HDD

 

[lexluthermiester]

Would like to make a game ready system from a Dell 7020. The PSU has max. 275 Watt, not enough for a GTX 1070. The board has an 8 pin power connector so I ordered an adapter from 24 to 8 pin to use an ordinary ATX PSU instead of the low profile designs from Dell which seems kind of unique and I did not found any higher rated replacements.
Another idea was to use a separate PSU from a Dell thin client which has an external PSU like a laptop. It is a DA-2 Series PSU. Has anyone the pinout for the MB from the 7020 and the layout of the pinout from the external PSU? Will they match?
This way I can deliver power to the board and the graphics card separately.

If you're talking about the low profile version of that system, then yes the PSU is going to be a limiting factor. But there isn't room for a full size video card in that system. You may wish to set your sights on a low profile version of the Geforce 1050. They are damn decent cards and will run all but the last(past year) games at 1080p with good quality. Keep AA off an AF to 4x or 2x. Also that system with take any of the i7-47xx series CPU's, but a i7-4770T would give the best performance without taxing the PSU.

 

[Retrorockit]

I came across a couple of workstation factoids I thought I would share here.
In the LGA1366 series RAM speed is not only determined by the CPU selected, but also by how many RAM slots are used. The high end CPUs are 1333 but only if running 1 module per channel.
3 modules 1333, 6 modules 1066.
Another thing that may be of interest is that just about all of the mid tower size Dell workstations can be run in Desktop orientation. All that's required is remove the 5.25,and 3.5 drives. In stall the drives sideways, and install the Desktop plastic drive bezel. Some of them have 2x 5.25, and 2x 3.5 slots. They will lose 1- 3.5" bay doing this. The T3500 can do this but it's not in the manual.
https://www.amazon.com/Dell-CW857-Front-Chassis-Precision/dp/B00HYI23A6/ref=sm_n_se_dkp_US_pr_sea_0_1?adId=B00HYI23A6&creativeASIN=B00HYI23A6&linkId=487e11dad914303968c39241fd6fa905&tag=wwwbookcompar-20&linkCode=w42&ref-refURL=https://n.stuccu.com/s/Dell+t5400+desktop+bezel&slotNum=0&imprToken=.k2G4qEjCKYkoAxYCC.HDA&adType=smart&adMode=search&adFormat=grid&impressionTimestamp=1524160950227
There is a Blue plastic D ring at the top of the case that removes a black blade that locks the drives in/out. It must be remove to put drives in/out sideways, and them put back to lock them.
That's why these things have the double wall construction. Monitors were intended to sit on top of them. The Dell logo in the faceplate turns 90* also.

 

[Susquehannock]

As an addition to above ^^. This Kingston PDF explains populated slots vs RAM speed.

>> https://media.kingston.com/images/branded/MKF_102_Nahalem_Ref.pdf

 

[lexluthermiester]

As an addition to above ^^. This Kingston PDF explains populated slots vs RAM speed.
>> https://media.kingston.com/images/branded/MKF_102_Nahalem_Ref.pdf

Good reference document. Things did change a bit after the 32nm change-over and the ram timings/speeds worked better.

 

[MortySimmons]

If you're talking about the low profile version of that system, then yes the PSU is going to be a limiting factor. But there isn't room for a full size video card in that system. You may wish to set your sights on a low profile version of the Geforce 1050. They are damn decent cards and will run all but the last(past year) games at 1080p with good quality. Keep AA off an AF to 4x or 2x. Also that system with take any of the i7-47xx series CPU's, but a i7-4770T would give the best performance without taxing the PSU.

Thanks for your advice!
I was @work as I wrote and it seems that I mixed up some things - it is a 7040 MT and not a 7020 LP. LGA 1151 with an I7 6700 paired with 16GB Ram.
24 -> 8 Pin Adapter has arrived and the DA-2 PSU is here too. My old rig has an Enermax Liberty 620 AWT PSU - will check the specs if it will fit otherwise I try the dual PSU idea. But I am not in a hurry so it can take some time until I feel bored and need something the fiddle around with

 

[T3500]

Came across this thread from a link in the Xeon Owners Club Thread so I will say hello

Got a T3500 that came with a W3565, 12GB RAM @1066MHz, and 2x Barracuda 500GB HDDs.

Have since replaced the PSU with a Be quiet! Straight Power 11 550W and added a Zotac GTX 1060 AMP! 6GB. It games very nicely. Yesterday swapped the W3565 for an X5675 so gaining more cores/threads and allowing the RAM to run at 1333MHz (along with much larger RAM compatibility, larger memory bandwidth and more & faster QPI links. And a TDP of 95W instead of 130W). Have also added a 500GB Samsung 850 EVO for OS + games.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Came across this thread from a link in the Xeon Owners Club Thread so I will say hello

Got a T3500 that came with a W3565, 12GB RAM @1066MHz, and 2x Barracuda 500GB HDDs.

Have since replaced the PSU with a Be quiet! Straight Power 11 550W and added a Zotac GTX 1060 AMP! 6GB. It games very nicely. Yesterday swapped the W3565 for an X5675 so gaining more cores/threads and allowing the RAM to run at 1333MHz (along with much larger RAM compatibility, larger memory bandwidth and more & faster QPI links. And a TDP of 95W instead of 130W). Have also added a 500GB Samsung 850 EVO for OS + games.

I saw your post over in the Xeon Owners Club thread and thought I'd recommend a read through of the ThrottleStop thread. While the Dell mobo's don't allow for direct OCing, ThrottleStop can let you force the CPU to it's highest performance state and maintain it. Effectively 3.33GHZ on all cores.
The thread;
https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/throttlestop-overclocking-desktop-pcs.235975/
The download;
https://www.techpowerup.com/download/techpowerup-throttlestop/
If you want some tips on running it, let me know and I'll post some screen shots. You should be able to find what you need in the above thread though.

 

[T3500]

I saw your post over in the Xeon Owners Club thread and thought I'd recommend a read through of the ThrottleStop thread. While the Dell mobo's don't allow for direct OCing, ThrottleStop can let you force the CPU to it's highest performance state and maintain it. Effectively 3.33GHZ on all cores.
The thread;
https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/throttlestop-overclocking-desktop-pcs.235975/
The download;
https://www.techpowerup.com/download/techpowerup-throttlestop/
If you want some tips on running it, let me know and I'll post some screen shots. You should be able to find what you need in the above thread though.

Cheers for that, I came across the tread before but didn't read it all, I was under the impression that you couldn't do anything on a proprietary motherboard unless you had an unlocked CPU

 

[insane 360]

Same here. Wonder if it will work for the ol' t7500 as well...if not I have might switch around and get the t3500 a go just to see it work.

 

[Retrorockit]

Cheers for that, I came across the tread before but didn't read it all, I was under the impression that you couldn't do anything on a proprietary motherboard unless you had an unlocked CPU

It depends on what your definition of overclock is. You can turn off some throttling and maybe get turbo speed all the time with TS but to run above that an unlocked CPU is required. The unlocked CPU also allows voltage to be raised.

Same here. Wonder if it will work for the ol' t7500 as well...if not I have might switch around and get the t3500 a go just to see it work.

The Dual CPUs aren't unlocked except for the Skulltrail QX9775 LGA771 CPU. You could probably tweak the turbo settings. You don't need a T3500 to try it. The T7500 can be set up with a single CPU. An unlocked Nehalem W3570 can be had for $15-20 for testing. Fastest dual CPU is the 4C/8T X5687 3.6GHz

 

[lexluthermiester]

Same here. Wonder if it will work for the ol' t7500 as well...

Your system should work the same way. Try it out! The T7500's were damn nice rigs.

The T7500 can be set up with a single CPU.

The T7500's were single socket 1366 CPU unit's. You might be thing of the T5500?

 

[Retrorockit]

The T5500 , and T7500 both had add in risers for the 2nd CPU. The T5500 riser had 3 RAM slots, the T7500 had 6 slots. Larger case, an extra expansion slot, and taller coolers were other differences. The T7500 HDD were in between the MB and PSU. The T5500 HDD were in a tray over the MB like the T3500.
https://www.ebay.com/p/Dell-Precisi...-Fan-H236f/1725012890?iid=292518790145&chn=ps

 

[lexluthermiester]

The T5500 , and T7500 both had add in risers for the 2nd CPU. The T5500 riser had 3 RAM slots, the T7500 had 6 slots. Larger case, an extra expansion slot, and taller coolers were other differences. The T7500 HDD were in between the MB and PSU. The T5500 HDD were in a tray over the MB like the T3500.
https://www.ebay.com/p/Dell-Precisi...-Fan-H236f/1725012890?iid=292518790145&chn=ps

Oh right! Never actually seen one of those in person.

 

[Susquehannock]

Those T7500 are beasts. Much larger and about 15-lbs heavier.

As luck would have it, my friend gave me yet another T3500 that he found in a back storage room behind some boxes. Oldest one in my hands so far. XPDFK board, W3550 processor, actual 1066 RAM, and no Firewire. Complete with office dust bunnies.
Have not had the chance to fire it up yet. Hopefully it has an older BIOS and Chipset driver that I can test AMD card compatibility with. I know you have been curious about that Retrorocket

 

[insane 360]

very cool. i do like the build of the t7500 over the t3500, so much expansion possible! and they are super heavy, i'm sure its made with lead and not steel...

i'm also digging the t5810 a very good build quality, but getting a better cpu (currently just has a 4 core haswell based no ht cpu) is very expansive...at least its expansive for me...2011v3 anyone have any links to a good deal on one?

 

[T3500]

It depends on what your definition of overclock is. You can turn off some throttling and maybe get turbo speed all the time with TS but to run above that an unlocked CPU is required. The unlocked CPU also allows voltage to be raised.

I've read the entirety of the thread now and I'm hooked. Might hunt down a W3680 and have a play

EDIT - I came across your question about bypassing the BIOS fan check here. My dad is an electronic engineer (works for Intel in fact!) so I might look into this.

 

[Retrorockit]

EDIT - I came across your question about bypassing the BIOS fan check here.

I found someone at OCN who said they just used a small fan with the blades removed and it worked. The issue may have been that I was not aware that the error message was persistent and needed to be cleared manually, so I thought that fix didn't work when maybe it did.

 

[insane 360]

i have 2 w3530 cpu's in my stash, would these be good to play with throttlestop in the t3500? at this point i could always make the freenas server (t7500) back into a dual x5675 workstation and the t3500 can just run a w3530 if it can be tweaked....i need more time to play around with my hardware