Dell t3500 doesn't run msi gtx 1500 ti !?

[Xiximaro]

Hello, I'm new here and a bit of a noob. My nephew has a Dell Precision t3500 and he wanted to switch his GPU the standard Quadro that comes with it, to a MSI Gtx 1500 Ti so that he can game.
The problem is that after the switch, the computer became slow as a snail in general. I thought that the problem was the CPU(Xeon W3530) cause it says the usage is always 90%-100%. But reading here in forums, it says that the CPU is not that bad for the MSI I think...
Can someone tell me what is the problem? And if the problem is the CPU, can you tell me the most cheapest one to upgrade to? Cause the kid blown his money on the MSI...

Here's the Dell specs:
Model: Dell Preicision T3500
Power: 500W
CPU: Intel Xeon W3530, 2.8GH.z (4 cores)
Memory: 8GB
PCI: Express x16
GPU: NVIDIA Quadro 600(came with the build but want to switch to the MSI)

Thanks in advance.

 

[MrN1ce9uy]

Did you uninstall and reinstall the correct display driver?

 

[rcald2000]

Ximimaro Hello. Your nephews graphics card is a MSI GTX 1050 TI. I'm very familiar with the Dell Precision line. The Intel Xeon W3530 was released in Q1 of 2010 and therefore is 7 1/2 years old. Regardless, I'm pretty confident that his CPU is thermal throttling. This means that excess heat is causing the CPU to slow down itself to a prevent damage. The most likely cause is excess dust buildup inside the system. This product line is particularly prone to this problem, which I've personally witnessed first hand, as I was formerly a help desk technician to a hedge fund that had over 250 of of these and the dual processor 5500's on a trading floor.

Minimal solution is a disposal dust can (cost $5-$8). Optimal solution is one of the electronic blowers/dusters below. The 2nd one I personally own, but the 1st one is $30 cheaper. I recommend that you have your nephew start out with the disposal dust can. He should take the PC outside before he does so, since the process can be very dusty. He should blow out the CPU heatsink, the motherboard, and any of the air vents. Chances are that even the power supply is full of dust. He should obviously disconnect all electrical power from the PC, then hold power button for 10 seconds in order to fully discharge the power supply. Then he should dust away.

EasyGo CompuCleaner - Electric Computer Blower for Electronic Devices
by EasyGO
Link: http://a.co/iCO5WYF

Metro Vacuum ED500P DataVac 500-Watt, .75-HP Electric Duster
by Metro Vacuum
Link: http://a.co/bWkVzRn

 

[Susquehannock]

MSI 1050ti should be fine. Know a couple people running them in T3500. Sounds like you have not got that far yet.

The system is at 90-100% CPU usage at idle? Not going to get optimal gaming performance with that. If still running the same operating system as when the box was a workstation you may have a lot running in the background. Malware is a possibility too.

Far as temperatures ... two possible CPU coolers in these. The solid aluminum fin type, and the much better copper pipe model. Hopefully that is what you have. Can be upgraded easily. And with the latest BIOS you can run a X5687 processor. Would really wake that system up over the W3530.

 

[Xiximaro]

Did you uninstall and reinstall the correct display driver?

Yes I updated the drivers and all.

 

[Xiximaro]

Ximimaro Hello. Your nephews graphics card is a MSI GTX 1050 TI. I'm very familiar with the Dell Precision line. The Intel Xeon W3530 was released in Q1 of 2010 and therefore is 7 1/2 years old. Regardless, I'm pretty confident that his CPU is thermal throttling. This means that excess heat is causing the CPU to slow down itself to a prevent damage. The most likely cause is excess dust buildup inside the system. This product line is particularly prone to this problem, which I've personally witnessed first hand, as I was formerly a help desk technician to a hedge fund that had over 250 of of these and the dual processor 5500's on a trading floor.

Minimal solution is a disposal dust can (cost $5-$8). Optimal solution is one of the electronic blowers/dusters below. The 2nd one I personally own, but the 1st one is $30 cheaper. I recommend that you have your nephew start out with the disposal dust can. He should take the PC outside before he does so, since the process can be very dusty. He should blow out the CPU heatsink, the motherboard, and any of the air vents. Chances are that even the power supply is full of dust. He should obviously disconnect all electrical power from the PC, then hold power button for 10 seconds in order to fully discharge the power supply. Then he should dust away.

EasyGo CompuCleaner - Electric Computer Blower for Electronic Devices
by EasyGO
Link: http://a.co/iCO5WYF

Metro Vacuum ED500P DataVac 500-Watt, .75-HP Electric Duster
by Metro Vacuum
Link: http://a.co/bWkVzRn

Ok that seems the better solution, I thought that I could take out the CPU and apply a new thermal paste a but didn't know if it was a good idea, glad I asked. So I'm gonna apply the paste and clean the dust of the inside of the desktop like you said. Still I found a cheap Xeon X5670 I'm gonna go with that too.
Still if it is thermal throttling, it doesn't explain why with the Quadro card the PC worked seemingly fine no? Or is it related to the thermal throttling too?

 

[Xiximaro]

MSI 1050ti should be fine. Know a couple people running them in T3500. Sounds like you have not got that far yet.

The system is at 90-100% CPU usage at idle? Not going to get optimal gaming performance with that. If still running the same operating system as when the box was a workstation you may have a lot running in the background. Malware is a possibility too.

Far as temperatures ... two possible CPU coolers in these. The solid aluminum fin type, and the much better copper pipe model. Hopefully that is what you have. Can be upgraded easily. And with the latest BIOS you can run a X5687 processor. Would really wake that system up over the W3530.

Yeah, I'm gonna go with a new processor, better safe than sorry.

 

[rcald2000]

Cool. Please let us know how it goes.

 

[Xiximaro]

Ok, I will be busy for a while for now. But when it's done I'm gonna tell how it went, thanks in advance for the replies.

 

[Susquehannock]

X5670 is a good CPU, but not much speed upgrade over your W3530. In any event, you really should update to the latest BIOS (A17) and chipset driver if going to run that Westmere processor.

Link:
http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/product-support/product/precision-t3500/drivers

 

[Xiximaro]

X5670 is a good CPU, but not much speed upgrade over your W3530. In any event, you really should update to the latest BIOS (A17) and chipset driver if going to run that Westmere processor.

Link:
http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/product-support/product/precision-t3500/drivers

Nice, thanks for the link! The processor has been bought, it'll arrive in two weeks.

 

[Xiximaro]

Hello again, the CPU arrived, I updated the BIOS and switched to the new CPU, but now the PC won't boot and it will make a loud noise(the fans). After switching back to the old one the PC works like it used to. Any thoughts on this?

 

[Susquehannock]

Does the BIOS recognize the new CPU by name?
Works with new BIOS and old CPU back in?
My suspicion would be bad CPU. Was it guaranteed tested by the seller?

 

[Xiximaro]

Does the BIOS recognize the new CPU by name?
Works with new BIOS and old CPU back in?
My suspicion would be bad CPU. Was it guaranteed tested by the seller?

I can't even get to BIOS, no boot, just the PC making loud noises. The PC works like it used to, with the old CPU back in. I bought the CPU on eBay. I too think the CPU is bad. Thank you, I'm gonna ask for a refund.

 

[rcald2000]

You have two issues here: (1) Replacement CPU not working and (2) old CPU having high utilization. Focusing on the second problem, there are two clear possibilities: either the condition is normal or it is not. I believe that it is not. If we believe that then there are three main causes of this issue: power, heat and software. Since the card is only a GTX 1050 Ti (75 watt TDP) and the Precision line has higher quality PSUs than the lower Dell models, I presume that is not the case. Software is a possible cause. Both a virus infection and an antivirus program (ironically) could cause high CPU utilization. Below are two excellent antivirus/Trojan programs that you should run consecutively. Caution: These programs will close all running applications and likely reboot the computer, so save all programs before running.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/combofix/

I still think that heat is a very real possibility. Dust out the cpu heatsink and the case air vents. Is the high utilization only when you're booted into windows on the desktop or only while play games? To test my theory about heat, you should download and run HWmonitor. Run HWMonitor during a time when you notice the high utilization. See what the CPU temp is and report it back here. If it's high then I'll ask you to keep the computer case open wild tilt on it's side. The case opening and motherboard should be facing the ceiling. That should help excess heat escape and then try to recreate the high utilization and re-check the CPU temp.

Now jumping to the first problem, I do not know the solution. However I have a feeling that the CPU isn't bad. I think it's an incompatibility. I know that you're updated the BIOS and that Dell sold this CPU as an option back than, but I believe there were approximately three versions of the motherboard for this model, not BIOS versions. I have a sneaking feeling that it's a minor incompatibility causing this issue. How much did you pay for the CPU off Ebay. Were I in your situation, I would troubleshoot the original CPU and stabilize that.