NozNJ, read the R815 Hardware Owners Manual and take notice of the BIOS settings. If you can see an option within the Integrated Device section to disable Embedded Video Controller, you are in luck.
If you are in luck, when you insert a low power <25W Video card into a PCIe slot you will then be able to change the Embedded Video Controller to "Disable" within BIOS. Save the BIOS settings and shut down. Then you can attach the video cable to your new video card and reboot the server at which point you should be seeing the boot sequence on the screen. And note you may need to open the x8 PCIe slot to allow a x16 card to be inserted or mod the card to allow it to be inserted into the x8 slot should your R815 not have a x16 slot available.
If you are lucky and a low power video card works, then you can look at trying a high power 180W card like the R9270x though you will need to make some adapter cable to provide the needed auxilary graphics power connector ideally via the PE PSU's. If you understand electronics and earth loops, etc you may be able to make an auxilary PSU work OK but i'd say it's safer and much better if you can pinch some 180W from the local PSU power board (by using less HDDs, etc). If you don't know about electronics, then best to buy something that suits your needs.
If you don't have the previosuly mentioned BIOS options, then you will have a much more interesting time trying to get a server working with a PCIe graphics card and operating like a workstation (if that's your goal).
There are a huge number of threads, some with detailed information on how to install and what issues to consider when wanting a PCIe graphics card in a server not designed to install such. Search the forum :emotion-1:
Either way, don't be like a bull at a gate. Break up the design task into manageable chunks as you wont get clear yes or no answers to such modding challenges. So, consider all the heat, power, BIOS, and software driver issues if you want reliable success, otherwise the best answer is "yes, it's impossible" :emotion-8:
Oh, and I noticed your double post here where i aded some more info :emotion-1:
Thank you for your response and I apologize at the double post. I have been searching and finding little bits here and there about which cards worked but little about desktop gaming cards. Mostly I saw them having success with Quadros or Firepros, which I just do not happen to have any on hand. In my BIOS (F2 System setup) I can find the integrated graphics button greyed out so I will try to get a low power card and attempt what you said. Thank you again i'll let you know how it goes.
Once you install a graphics card in a PCIe slot, BIOS should recognise it and the Embedded Video Controller option within BIOS Integrated Devices section will change from the previous grey, which you could not access, to solid black, which you can access and thus change to "disabled".
From there it is not an issue of Quadro/FirePro or Geforce/Radeon, rather it is an issue of what OS and what driver. If the correct graphics driver is available for the OS and card you are actually using, you are on the home run.
The unknowns are power consumption (actually where tio get the power from) and heat production (can you get it out of the case without having the system sound like a jet).
A graphics card can pull power from the slot and from the auxilary graphics connector on the card. How it is aportioned between the two feeds is not known but since the x16 slot in the server is not a graphics capable slot, BIOS will not negotiate more than 25W supplied from the slot. If the card is cleaver, it may pull more power from the auxilary graphics connector (2x3 or 2x4 connectors) but again this is unknow. This is also outside the PCIe specs since graphics cards should be put in graphics capable x16 slots. AND how much power can actually be fed via an auxilary graphics connector(s) which you must create and thus pinch power from elsewhere is also an unknown.
What is known is Dell has stated that all 6 PCIe slots can supply a total of 110W and thus the chassis can cope with 110W of heat from those PCIe cards (though it will likely sound like a jet). So if you place other devices into those PCIe slots you must take care of a reduction of heat budget/and excess of heat supplied within the chassis (which you need to get out).
This as i mentioned, low power cards are like walking while high power cards are like running :D
What i haven't mentioned is that if you want a quiet machine, the PE server will fight you on that front and drive you nuts. Making it quiet is another challenge of BIOS/Firmware hacking [:s] It's all a fun project if that is what you want but can be frustrating if you really want a simple plug and play solution...
Not to necro an old thread....but I have an R710 and for an;yone that stumbles upon this I can tell you that I installed an MSI Geforce GTX 750ti (the one without the adapter power plugs) in the 8x PCIe near the power supply with no problems other than having to modify the fan shroud a little bit. If you get one you will see what I mean. On top of that I'm also able to overclock the card with absolutely no problems. I knew that this would cut the bus speed in half by doing this, but I'm able to play any modern game on full to custom *ultra* settings and the card does an awesome job. I am very impressed and pleased with it. I hope this helps someone that finds themselves in this predicament.
Sorry for jumping barefoot in the middle of this thread :-D
but this thread looks like my last hope
Basically, I have got a Dell R900 server and with an SSD it performs really well, but I want to be able to do some computing tasks in it that require/prefer a GPU such as AutoCad, Photoshop, Catia, Ansys, Solidworks, etc.
So I am looking for a decent GPU (just for the sake of having one really) since the integrated one has only 32MB of RAM and even Windows 10 Workstation runs sluggishly on it.
I spoke to the guy who supplied the server and he suggested I would need an extra power supply but I am particularly interested in daemon6's comment since I do have a GTX 750ti already but I need some help with 'modifying the fan shroud a little bit'
Also, I was wondering if I can use GTX 1080 instead of 750 or perhaps, idealistically, use them both at the same time?
skylarking
2 Intern
•
548 Posts
0
July 26th, 2015 20:00
NozNJ, read the R815 Hardware Owners Manual and take notice of the BIOS settings. If you can see an option within the Integrated Device section to disable Embedded Video Controller, you are in luck.
If you are in luck, when you insert a low power <25W Video card into a PCIe slot you will then be able to change the Embedded Video Controller to "Disable" within BIOS. Save the BIOS settings and shut down. Then you can attach the video cable to your new video card and reboot the server at which point you should be seeing the boot sequence on the screen. And note you may need to open the x8 PCIe slot to allow a x16 card to be inserted or mod the card to allow it to be inserted into the x8 slot should your R815 not have a x16 slot available.
If you are lucky and a low power video card works, then you can look at trying a high power 180W card like the R9270x though you will need to make some adapter cable to provide the needed auxilary graphics power connector ideally via the PE PSU's. If you understand electronics and earth loops, etc you may be able to make an auxilary PSU work OK but i'd say it's safer and much better if you can pinch some 180W from the local PSU power board (by using less HDDs, etc). If you don't know about electronics, then best to buy something that suits your needs.
If you don't have the previosuly mentioned BIOS options, then you will have a much more interesting time trying to get a server working with a PCIe graphics card and operating like a workstation (if that's your goal).
There are a huge number of threads, some with detailed information on how to install and what issues to consider when wanting a PCIe graphics card in a server not designed to install such. Search the forum :emotion-1:
Either way, don't be like a bull at a gate. Break up the design task into manageable chunks as you wont get clear yes or no answers to such modding challenges. So, consider all the heat, power, BIOS, and software driver issues if you want reliable success, otherwise the best answer is "yes, it's impossible" :emotion-8:
Oh, and I noticed your double post here where i aded some more info :emotion-1:
NozNj
3 Posts
0
July 27th, 2015 04:00
Thank you for your response and I apologize at the double post. I have been searching and finding little bits here and there about which cards worked but little about desktop gaming cards. Mostly I saw them having success with Quadros or Firepros, which I just do not happen to have any on hand. In my BIOS (F2 System setup) I can find the integrated graphics button greyed out so I will try to get a low power card and attempt what you said. Thank you again i'll let you know how it goes.
skylarking
2 Intern
•
548 Posts
0
July 27th, 2015 23:00
Once you install a graphics card in a PCIe slot, BIOS should recognise it and the Embedded Video Controller option within BIOS Integrated Devices section will change from the previous grey, which you could not access, to solid black, which you can access and thus change to "disabled".
From there it is not an issue of Quadro/FirePro or Geforce/Radeon, rather it is an issue of what OS and what driver. If the correct graphics driver is available for the OS and card you are actually using, you are on the home run.
The unknowns are power consumption (actually where tio get the power from) and heat production (can you get it out of the case without having the system sound like a jet).
A graphics card can pull power from the slot and from the auxilary graphics connector on the card. How it is aportioned between the two feeds is not known but since the x16 slot in the server is not a graphics capable slot, BIOS will not negotiate more than 25W supplied from the slot. If the card is cleaver, it may pull more power from the auxilary graphics connector (2x3 or 2x4 connectors) but again this is unknow. This is also outside the PCIe specs since graphics cards should be put in graphics capable x16 slots. AND how much power can actually be fed via an auxilary graphics connector(s) which you must create and thus pinch power from elsewhere is also an unknown.
What is known is Dell has stated that all 6 PCIe slots can supply a total of 110W and thus the chassis can cope with 110W of heat from those PCIe cards (though it will likely sound like a jet). So if you place other devices into those PCIe slots you must take care of a reduction of heat budget/and excess of heat supplied within the chassis (which you need to get out).
This as i mentioned, low power cards are like walking while high power cards are like running :D
What i haven't mentioned is that if you want a quiet machine, the PE server will fight you on that front and drive you nuts. Making it quiet is another challenge of BIOS/Firmware hacking [:s] It's all a fun project if that is what you want but can be frustrating if you really want a simple plug and play solution...
Good luck with it all.
arsimos
1 Message
0
August 15th, 2015 15:00
hi im use this graphic cardn i thing i cane help watch the wideo
:550:0]
daemon6
1 Message
4
August 9th, 2016 03:00
Not to necro an old thread....but I have an R710 and for an;yone that stumbles upon this I can tell you that I installed an MSI Geforce GTX 750ti (the one without the adapter power plugs) in the 8x PCIe near the power supply with no problems other than having to modify the fan shroud a little bit. If you get one you will see what I mean. On top of that I'm also able to overclock the card with absolutely no problems. I knew that this would cut the bus speed in half by doing this, but I'm able to play any modern game on full to custom *ultra* settings and the card does an awesome job. I am very impressed and pleased with it. I hope this helps someone that finds themselves in this predicament.
Greetz,
dae
amirvenus
1 Message
0
July 10th, 2018 02:00
Sorry for jumping barefoot in the middle of this thread :-D
but this thread looks like my last hope
Basically, I have got a Dell R900 server and with an SSD it performs really well, but I want to be able to do some computing tasks in it that require/prefer a GPU such as AutoCad, Photoshop, Catia, Ansys, Solidworks, etc.
So I am looking for a decent GPU (just for the sake of having one really) since the integrated one has only 32MB of RAM and even Windows 10 Workstation runs sluggishly on it.
I spoke to the guy who supplied the server and he suggested I would need an extra power supply but I am particularly interested in daemon6's comment since I do have a GTX 750ti already but I need some help with 'modifying the fan shroud a little bit'
Also, I was wondering if I can use GTX 1080 instead of 750 or perhaps, idealistically, use them both at the same time?
DarkMist42
5 Posts
0
July 8th, 2019 14:00
OOo if you get this to work please let me know.. just got a 710 from work.. (gave it to me) i want to see if i can get decent graphics in it
Commodore_64C
1 Message
0
August 2nd, 2019 12:00
Here's a successful way to do it:
R710 with 2xGPU PCIe x16 Gaming, Video Editing, Super Server
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QViZUfUFgNo