where do I find out what has been validated? dell seams to hide this stuff. I may want to use a wolfdale or harpertown on my gen 3's thanks.

I am not aware of an all inclusive list that we post publicly. Most or possibly all of the processors in a family are usually compatible. I would suggest that you check with us once you find one you are interested in. We can check to see if it is validated and the stepping level we have validated.

Thanks

I can confirm without a doubt that the E5472 is not compatible with the Poweredge 1950 III server.  I ordered a pair of these on discount without first checking bus speed.  The E5472 is a 1666mhz FSB processor.  I have a pair of E5450s on the way.  Had to eat the cost. Oh well.  Thanks for the information in this thread. -Brian

good luck with the 5450's

I successfully installed The X5365's and have been very happy with them, gave my VM's a real kick in the rear

I can confirm without a doubt that the E5472 is not compatible with the Poweredge 1950 III server.  I ordered a pair of these on discount without first checking bus speed.  The E5472 is a 1666mhz FSB processor. 

I have a pair of E5450s on the way.  Had to eat the cost.

Oh well.  Thanks for the information in this thread.

-Brian

The 5450 meets all the requirements for the 1950III, so they should work.  The 5472, as noted, does not meet the requirements (FSB).

Glad to hear your upgrade went well.

I suspect I'll be fine and see a good boost in performance.  Part of why I went with E5450 is because they are still 80W TDP and lower power usage.  This matters when I have to pay the electric bill.

I have not checked but I assume the E5472 isn't compatible with Poweredge R300 either, as I believe that server is limited to 1333mhz front side bus as well. 

I forgot to reply after I completed my upgrade.

The E5450s did in fact work like a charm, and that PE1950 III has been running flawlessly as a small-ish esxi 5.5 host since. 

The generation 9 Dell servers, in my experience, remain one of the most reliable series I have encountered to date.  I have 11 years experience in managed IT services, and I have rarely ever seen any issue outside of the occasional hard disk replacement.  Lately I have had to replace a PERC battery here and there, but given some of these machines have been in production for 7+ years is remarkable.

-Ngt

Hi,

I have the PowerEdge 1950 too and have upgraded BIOS to the latest 2.7.0 version where is written that there should work the 5400 series processors, but when I give it there, the system will not start. I have X5462 (quad core 2.8GHz).

Please can anybody help me how to install it and use it?

Thanks.

You MUST have the revision III of the 1950 motherboard. I and II will NOT accept the 5400-series. All revisions share the same BIOS code, but ONLY the III will take 5400 CPU's.