Precision T3500 Processor Upgrade

Just be be more precise.. Though Intel Xeon X5550 and X5650, both being in different range of families, they have been built on same architecture, built for same chitset, same connectors, except litho and TDP. So my question is, if a board that supports Xeon 55XX series, would support Xeon X56XX series processors? Thanks, Nirav

No, not necessarily.  5600 is newer than 5500 and probably wasn't available at the time the motherboard was designed.  Whether it is capable is based on motherboard version and the BIOS.  XPDFK is the part number of a Version 2 motherboard (sticker on the motherboard) for the T3500 and will be listed in the service tag's configuration as a HDPCM part number.  From what I've been able to find is that only this latest version motherboard supports the 3600 & 5600 processors.

You left out some Like the W3570 3.20GHz at 6GT/s . There are a total of 11 approved CPU's on the dell T3500 technical guide . I'm using a t3500 with 12 Gb's of ram and a W3570 CPU quad core .The list gives E5506 to E5540 then X5550 to X5570 CPU's but have not looked at them to see if they are 4 core or six core . I went from a W3505 to the W3570 and checked with CPU World to see or get a comparison and the W3570 is better for a quad core with 6GT/s .

I was looking for more approved Cpu's and one faster than the W3570 That I have at 3.20GHZ and 6GT/s

The W3520 is not "identical" to the i7 920. In my testing I have found video rendering to happen at nearly half speed on the xeon processor with the same gpu vs the the 920 (beside the fact that D series 920's are known to overclock like mad with little effort... . I however, can confirm this motherboard will adapt well to any of the i7 900 series processors  (like the 950 in mine) as long as you accompany it with non server DDR3 ram I don't think the i7 will play will with parity ram, although it MAY work. I am running corsair XMS3 3x2GB modules 9-9-9-24 with a measured throughput speed of 17GB p/s. Ofcourse, to deal with the difference in TDP I have adapted the 1366 retaining back plate and installed a megahelms 12 heat pipe cooler on the 950, it hardly gets above 120F. Your Xeon copper coolers in those workstations came in two varieties I've seen, four heatpipes across a 4 inch block of fins(would really not be sufficient for an I series) and there was a taller more rare 6 inch tall version... but you can pick up ultra cheap discounted coolers at performancepcs.com.

I know this thread has been kicking around a while,

But I'm currently attempting an upgrade of a Dell T3500 to an X5650 chip.

upgaded the bios to A17, and installed the new chip, and throws an error:

Amber light, flashing lights 2, 3, 4.

Apparently this is "bios not execute"

If that's the case, it tells me it's either an architecture mismatch, or that the chip is a dud (and it's not new)

Could anyone here shed some light on this issue? is there a trick or jumper somehwere I'm missing?
Or have I purchased a dud chip?

for now I'll just have to live with the old dual core.

Hi,

You did not need to upgrade your bios for this chip. As old as A 08 works.

So with upgraded BIOS, can you boot alright with old processor?

Is, so it is most probably a failed X5650 (Bought from Amazon i guess)

2-3-4 combination is for USB failure an not any system failure.

Do you also get some beeps after some while?

Try Dismantling everything and try putting everything back again.

if no luck, as for a refund.

Cheers,

Nirav

I'll reiterate the part where I state that "I'm using the machine to write this"

The only change to the system has been the CPU.

Swapping back to the original CPU works fine.

Booting fine with A17 bios version.

Yes the CPU is a second hand - (from Ebay), contacted seller and he informs me the chip was never tested and offered refund.

I will seek another chip.

I do have 10 port USB hub connected (powered), and had disconnected the power all peripherals on initial power up to ensure these did not interfere.

Definitely sounds like a bag chip. I have an I7 950 I just pulled from a working T3500 build. If you aren't running eec ram, I can confirm it works with the A17 bios. I'll let it go for $60. I also have the corsair xms3 1333 (2gb X 3 modules)I was running with it. 120 for all 4 pieces.

Yes it was indeed a dud chip.

Purchased another X5650 and works fine.

I can also confirm that PC3 10600 1333 high density ram does not.

I suspect the high density is the issue as the type and speed is reportedly ok.

I have the 2nd revision motherboard (XPDFK)

I know this is an old post, but its an old computer.

According to the Bios Rev A08:

Dell Precision T3500 System BIOS, A08

My T3500 was A08 bios to begin with,
I updated to A17

The first X5650 chip I purchased was a dud, the second one worked just fine.
with the A17 bios, hyperthreading is disabled by default, if you use windows, you may want to enable it again.

So my question is this:

I just purchased a Dell T3500 service tag <ADMIN NOTE: Service tag removed per privacy policy> shipping date of 5/2009. I would like to install a  Xeon w3690. As mentioned above the literature states any of teh 3500 or 3600 series. Will this work? Do you see any problem?

X5000 series is not the same as W3000 series so in general off the bat I would say No its not going to work. There are T3500's on ebay with 6 core W3690 but I have no idea what motherboard version and bios version they have.There was more than 1 motherboard revision.  This is true for many dells.  The E510/5150 for example will not support Pentium D with 2005 motherboard but with A05 bios 2006 revision motherboard works just fine. If you want to try this UPDATE THE BIOS before trying a new cpu.

If the bios is old like A01 then do updates gradually.  Aka A03 A05 A09 A13 etc.

Chris M might have a list of Validated CPU's for this platform.

I have a T3500 with a W3530 in it and I was wondering if I could put a W3680 in there or I need to get the W3690?