1405 :
Is there anything that would not allow me to use this workstation as a gaming PC if I add a decent graphics card? It has a Xeon W3670 3.2 GHz CPU, 6GB tri-channel DDR3 memory, and a 525W PSU with 3 x 18a +12v rails rated for 500W. I'm wondering if there is something about workstations that don't allow them to be used as a regular desktop PC?
1405,
System: Be aware that for a surprisingly similar cost to a T3500, you can buy a T5500 which supports 96GB of RAM and has an 875W power supply. A year ago February I bought a running T5500 with a Xeon X5620 in excellent condition for $171.
CPU: The Dell Precision T3500 could make a decent gamer. The Xeon LGA1366 were an excellent series capable of contemporary performance. The RAM is 1333 but the latency is 8 or 9 whereas DDR4 is 15. However, I would suggest buying one with a low specification and upgrading. The Xeon X3670 is an excellent CPU, but as is the case with more cores, the clock speed and especially the single-threaded performance is reduced. For games- or 3D CAD- I would suggest using the LGA1366 Xeon with the highest single-thread rating and clock speed, which is the Xeon X5687 4-core @ 3.6 / 3.86GHz. The Passmark single-thread rating of the w3670 is 1415 while the X5687 rating is 1581. I have a T3500 (which I bought for $53) and added a X5677 (3.47 /3.73) rated at 1520.
RAM: The T3500 can use up to 24GB ECC unbuffered or non-ECC. The X58 chipset is triple channel so for best results do everything in a set of 3 identical modules. At least with ECC, these seem a little sensitive so I would suggest using modules that are all the same rank. In my T3500 I have 6X identical Samsung 2GB ECC and the Passmark memory rating is well above average.
GPU: The T3500 may use two GPU's up to 150W but does not support SLI. The workstation cards of that time were huge and power hungry- have a look at a Quadro 6000 6GB that uses 225W- so I think anything you can buy today will work. IY's PCIe 2.0 of course.
Disk: The weak point of the T3500 is the disk system which is SATAII 3GB/s. Two days ago I bought a PERC H310 SAS /SATA RAID controller off Ebahhh as this convert the T3500 to 6GB/s. In a Precision T5500, with the same drives a PERC H310 changed the Passmark disk score from 1940 to 2649. The H310 will also run a whole pile of 10K and 15K SAS drives so it would support an NAS server stack.
Sound: The integrated sound on a T3500 is not bad, but I'm used to using good soundcards and am adding a used Creative Audigy XS2 6.1 soundcard- $14 shipping included. This was designed in 2009 but the sound is supposed to be very good. A way to use a PCI slot ! I use M-audio 24/192 in my two main systems as those have MIDI I/O. For a good gaming experience I recommend a soundcard and I've had good results with Logitech z-series speaker systems. a couple have wired remotes - worth their weight in gold.
USB: I've waited too long but will be adding a PCIe USB 3.0 card to the T3500.
The Precision Tx500 series were beautifully made, ultra-reliable, and quiet running capable of reasonable modern performance levels.
Cheers,
BambiBoom
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Purchased for $53 + $24 shipping:
Precision T3500 (2011) (Original) Xeon W3530 4-core @ 2.8 /3.06GHz > 4GB (2X 2GB) DDR3-1333 ECC > GeForce 9800 GT (1GB)> WD Black 500GB
[[Passmark system rating = 1963, CPU = 4482 / 2D= 609 / 3D=805 / Mem= 1409 / Disk=1048]
CPU: $60 (12.15)
RAM: $43 (12.15)
GPU and Drives: Left over from T5500 upgrade
PERC H310: $29 (5.11.16, not installed)
Creative Audigy XS2 Gold 6.1 soundcard : $14 (5.13.16 not installed)
Logitech z313 2.1 speakers > $31 (new, not installed)
Results:
Dell Precision T3500 (2011) (Rev 2) Xeon X5677 4-core @ 3.46 / 3.73GHz > 12GB (6X 2GB) DDR3-1333 ECC > Quadro 4000 (2GB) > PERC 6/i + Seagate 300GB 15K SAS ST3300657SS + WD Black 500GB > 525W PSU> Windows 7 Professional 64-bit > 2X Dell 19" LCD
[Passmark system rating = 2751, CPU = 7236 / 2D= 658 / 3D=2020 / Mem= 1875 / Disk=1221]