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October 12th, 2019 08:00

T320 With Win 10 Pro for Workstations

I inherited a Poweredge T320 that was previously used as a domain controller, and I would like to repurpose it as a graphics/video workstation. Recently, I read an article about the new Windows 10 Pro for Workstations. Seeings that the hardware between a workstation and a server are really not that different, I'm curious if the T320 will support Windows 10 Pro for Workstations. Has anyone tried this combination yet, and what problems did you encounter?

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16.3K Posts

October 13th, 2019 07:00

It will most likely work fine, however it is NOT supported ... that really just means it is completely up to you to try it and make it work. Dell would in no way assist in troubleshooting either the installation of or issues arising from running a client OS on a server.

Windows Server 2016 is the highest OS officially supported on the T320, which kernel codebase is the same as Windows 10 PRE-1803. So, there is a chance (albeit probably a small chance) that running Windows 10 1903 could result in some drivers not working or other small bugs being present in hardware-interfacing functionality.

What is your reason for looking at Windows 10 for Workstations? There are some definite differences, but the only HARDWARE difference is not relevant, because the T320 is a SINGLE-socket server (Workstation licensing supports 4 CPU sockets). Entry-level servers (like the T320) have only one CPU, while mainstream servers have two CPU sockets. There are a few very high-end servers that support 4 CPU's, so you would need a Workstation license to install Windows 10 on a system like that, but NOT for a single or dual socket server.

Like I said, there are a few cool features of Workstation, but you do NOT need to spend more on Windows just because you are installing it on a server.

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October 13th, 2019 13:00

I'm looking at Windows 10 Pro for Workstations as a means of running Adobe CC on the T320. I've already checked the requirements for Adobe CC and a couple of the programs require Windows 10 Pro. I'm thinking that if the T320 will support the Windows 10 Pro for Workstations then I can avoid the cost of purchasing a workstation. The T320 was given to me (no cost to me) and it's really no louder than my desktop computer. I know that Dell isn't going to invest the time or money to test this combination. I was simply asking the question to see is one of the users to this forum had tried this combination, and whether or not they were successful.

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December 1st, 2019 15:00

I recently loaded Win10 Pro (regular) on an inactive T320.  The OS wouldn't load directly to the original SAS drives on the PERC raid card.  Using the SATA port on the motherboard to a HDD and Win10Pro loading media on a USB thumb drive, I was able to load the software and get then updated drivers for the PERC cards. 

I wanted to use the T320 as a file archive spot so I located the OS drive in the open bay beneath the CD/DVD drive.  Once I was comfortable with drivers, then I connected the PERC H710 card to the front 8 bays and set up several RAID storage arrays.

 

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February 29th, 2020 02:00

Hi there, came across this thread while trying to find a resource for what graphics cards my T320 supports and wanted to chime in as I'm currently using WfWs.
Imagine Windows 10 Professional without all the Candy Crush, X-Box nonsense thrown on top of a beefy rig and that's a fair assessment of my experience. I've had no issue with it so far and it's the kind of pared-back, bloatless OS that Windows in general should be, period.

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One thing I will mention is that there is no "install" for Windows for Workstations; you have to perform a standard Win 10 Professional installation and then activate WfWs with Microsoft's own generic SKU, which is a quick search away. This 320 I use for audio engineering as the internal specs are pretty decent when you consider most production software is meant for consumer/desktop computers. You can essentially demo it with the generic SKU if you can tolerate the Unactivated Windows Sadness Party (hope you don't like hiding your taskbar!). 

Now... does anyone know of any decent gfx cards for this thing?  I'm assuming they have to be fairly cheap by now...

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