upgrading the poweredge t110 cpu

Just because it fits doesn't mean it will work.  Both the BIOS and the chipset must support that particular processor.

According to these, i3 (500-series) is as good as the support gets:

i.dell.com/.../PowerEdge-T110-II-Technical-Guide.pdf

www.dell.com/.../pd

However, BIOS version 1.5.2 mentions the i5 ... "Updated Intel(R) Xeon(R) Processor i3 and i5 series C2 stepping microcode."  This doesn't necessarily mean that it will work, but is somewhat promising ... although, the i7-760 uses B1 stepping and the update addressed C2 stepping, which probably more than negates the "promise" of the release notes mentioning i5.  

If you can return the CPU if it doesn't work, then try it.  If you can't return it, then do some more homework ... check the chipset specs (although features may be different with Dell BIOS implementation) and call Dell support (always free in US/Canada, regardless of warranty status) to inquire if there are any i5 procs listed in their list of parts for the T110.

Friendly advice ... never use the Download Manager.  Delete any Dell cookies stored on  your system (or use another browser for this), then select Download Via Internet Browser.

Update the BIOS to the latest (1.5.2 is not the latest, but the only version that mentioned processor support).

Building a server is an option, but doing a little bit of homework on the systems might be a good idea in the future (not that building your own won't require substantial homework as well) - asking here is a great way to do that - the T110 is a bargain-basement, low-end, almost-not-considered-a-server machine, whose upgradeability and performance will obviously be limited.

Good luck.  Let us know if it works.

perhaps you can help me figure this out. i clicked on the downlaod link and it download the dell driver download manager. when i start it up it says "There are no files to download. please goto drivers and download to select files". but thats what i did...

thanks for that.

so first i need to upgrade the bios to 1.5.2... cause currently its at 1.1.x i forgot. ...

and then i'll attempt the cpu upgrade. of course this means downtime cause this is my domain controller.

and this is why i kick myself in the foot for not building my own server ... oh well :(

i figured it out got the download working.

yet another hurdle. the windows bios installer is a 32bit program and i have server 64bit.

Try running it as Administrator ... the BIOS update packages will work on either architecture.  Are you using Server 2008 or 2008 R2?  Make sure you are using this file:

ok i got the bios update installed. it was 1.8.4 or something like that.

anyhow my next question is about the heatsink / fan.

as you know the cpu dell opted for has a heatsink on it and the heatsink has a plate on the back to hold it ... its nice and easy.

now. the core i5 comes with a stock fan intel bundles.

if i remove the "old" cpu can i use the heatsink with the i5 ? will the i5 survive with the heatsink? because taking the board apart and installing the new fan will mean completely removing the motherboard. something very time consuming.

I would suspect that the i5 would need a better cooling solution that a Dual Core proc, but you'd probably have to compare the specs of the two procs you have for a better idea.

they are very similar; look here: ark.intel.com/.../48496,43230

Thanks ... I actually was going to pull up Intel's comparison when I responded, but Intel's site wasn't available right then :)  I'm no expert on overclocking and modding, so, to be honest, I'm not exactly sure what I'm even looking for.  The wattage might be the main thing that concerned me, but I don't know how/if that affects the temperature of the chip.  If nobody here has some experience/input on this, it might be a generic-enough question to be better-suited to the likes of a modder's forum, like overclock.net.

I am going to do the swapout tonight and see how it goes.

i'll update this thread on success or failure. thanks.

still havent done the upgrade yet and am a bit hesitant. although i did find this:

scroll down to where it says "Supported chipsets"... as we know the T110 (first generation) has a 3420 chipset.

en.wikipedia.org/.../LGA_1156

The Desktop chipsets that support LGA 1156 are Intel's H55, H57, P55, and Q57. Server chipsets supporting the socket are Intel's 3400, 3420 and 3450

so we'll see.

Update: Mission failed.

The motherboard has no where to connect the CPU fan for power.

and without a fan the i5 wouldnt work with the stock heatsink.

I am very upset and will NEVER purchase a dell product again.

Why, because you purchased the lowest-end server you could find and wanted to put a high-end client CPU in it?  

Unless you build your own, using parts that have a broader range of support (after all the motherboard mfg doesn't have to support your "built" configuration, Dell must guarantee a system's complete package of performance and reliability), you will have limited abilities to mod the system, regardless of the brand name.  OEM servers are not designed to be modded - they are designed to be configured as out-of-box solutions to meet your computing and business needs.

I'm sorry it didnt' work out for you, but I think you knew it was a long shot going in, and now you're surprised when it doesn't work :)