Looking for a new GPU for my T3500

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HDBlueDragon

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Apr 28, 2016
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Hey guys, I just bought a new Dell Precision T3500, specs are as follows :
Intel Xeon W3550 3.06 GHZ
8 GB DDR3 RAM
1 TB HDD
525 watt PSU
Which GPU should I get for it, a GTX 950, or wait for the new Radeon RX480, the question is, will the RX480 will fit in my PC without PSU problems, Im new to PCs.
 
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okcnaline
RX 480 is getting a fix for that issue. So that won't be a problem. And by the way, don't listen to william p's talk about VESA 103. BIOS can adjust itself to fit your screen.
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Casey Jones

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480 is advertised to be 200USD in the US, so I'm assuming it will be considerably more expensive where you're from considering the 950 can be bought for 140USD in the US. If 200 is your budget then you've already answered your own question, go with the 950.
 
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william p

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I'm working on a dell T3400. Yours is newer so some of this may or may not apply to you. I think you should have 2-+PCIe 6 pin power connectors on your PSU. Many mid range GPUs run a single 8 pin connector but come with an adapter cable to run 2-6pin to single 8 pin. An issue that's common with older Dells and newer ATI GPUs is BIOS video mode "VESA 103". The R9 cards don't support this so you can't enter your BIOS Setup screen. (the R9- 270-280 might support it since they're HD7xxx re-badged, not sure yet, R9-285 definitely NOT). Newer Crossfire cards don't have a bridge cable. PCIe 3.0 has enough bandwidth it's not needed. PCIe 2.0 should have the bridge but some people report success without it. Something to consider if you want to Crossfire in the future. Single NVidia GPU up to 8 pin power connector should be a good choice. If you're sure you don't need VESA 103 the similar R9 should work. If you go Nvidia I don't think you have native SLI support so 2 GPUs would be hard to add later.

I think stepping up to the 960 would be worthwhile. The 950 is a clipped 960 anyway.
 
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HDBlueDragon

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Apr 28, 2016
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Thank you very much :)

 
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HDBlueDragon

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Apr 28, 2016
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I have 1 six pin connector
I think I'll get the 960, the one which requires 1 six pin, but it would cost me $200, which is same as rx480 in my country, but im assuming, when the rx480 comes out in my country it would be like $300+

btw, would a RX480 work in this old thing without software/bios errors?

 
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HDBlueDragon

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Apr 28, 2016
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I'll get 950 as that FITS my budget and is 30-40 USD cheaper
 
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william p

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I'm surprised you only have 1 -6 pin connector. Dell lists support for 2x 150W GPUs on the T3500. That would require 2- 6 pins. Also Dell PSUs usualy are 305W and umder with no PCIe cable, 375W and up to 500W a single six pin, and 500W and over 2-6 pins. The +500W PSUs were an option on the T3400 maybe you have the 375W?
I don't know anything about the RX GPUs except that ATI, and Sapphire showed no interest in making their products work on older Dell computers. I was told their GCN cards don't support VESA 103. I don't know if your newer Dell needs this or not. 2GB R9-285/380s can be had for under $200 and they run very well The ITX versions are 1-8 pin The regular cards may be 2-6 pin.. If your computer doesn't need VESA 103 please post here so I won't need to bother others about this unnecessarily.
 
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HDBlueDragon

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I really dont know whats VESA 103?
 
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HDBlueDragon

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it runs r9 280x, im thinking to dump RX480 cuz of the pci e slot problems
 
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HDBlueDragon

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I dont wanna go with RX480 anymore, because after market versions are gonna require more than 1 6 pin, AMD said its gonna be faster than 980, its slower than 970, I do mostly flight simming in FSX, where team green does the job better
 
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william p

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The Dell locked BIOS doesn't adjust itself, and won't let you adjust it either. The Screen isn't the problem. The GPU can't display the resolution Dell has locked into it's BIOS settings.
BTW it's not just talk. I own two R9-285s that won't display the BIOS screen on my Dell T3400, or Dimension E520. There are threads on this at Dell forums T3400 page. As I said I don't know about the T3500. I can't buy every Dell Computer, or every AMD R series GPU to be more specific, but it is a real problem.
The E520 was an experiment fitting an ITX card into a Micro BTX that had roon for a single slot GPU. So isuues were not unexpected. The T3400 on the other hand has native support for 2 dual slot GPUs in AMD Crossfire and therefore should be expected to work. AMD and Sapphire don't seem to be inclined to fix this. If you look in my Sig. you'll see that I have actually run this combination and therefore might know what I'm talking about.
The R9-280X was a rebadged HD7970 series which hasd VESA103 support. The 285, 380 series are newer and don't have it.
Dell rpovided 2 PSUs for the T series. the 375W with 1 PCIe 6 pin and the 525W with 2 of them. The PCIe slot itself shouldn't be a problem.
 
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william p

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With what card? The R9-280 is an older card. The HD7xxxx are known to work in Crossfire on the T3400 so the rebadged R9-280 should also. AMD Tech support told me ALL their GCN cards don't support VESA 103. If the Dell BIOS adjusted itself then I wouldn't even know about this problem. BTW if you have an R9-280 that works thanks for confirming what I suspected. The 285,290,380 and up are all GCN cards. If you have one of those running and you can enter SETUP please let me know, and include which BIOS you're running. A lot of T3400 owners run A09 due to problems with the newer A11, and A14 versions.
I'm just starting the build on mine with 3 way RAID, and cooling mods to support a 4.2GHz overclock, so it's apart right now. My first configuration will be an HD6990 with an HD6970 in Crossfire. So it will be a while before I can revist the VESA 103 issue. I would love to hear about any success you've had with one of these.
 
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william p

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I've done a little more research on the VESA mode 103 issue. It seems there are different versions of GCN and the R9-285/295 Fury were the first of the 3rd generation GCN cards. So older GCN cards don't have the issue. The R10xx, and R4xx are 4th gen.

The GPU queries INT10h at boot for the BIOS video resollution. This is caled VESA BIOS Extension (VBE). Many Dells respond with 103 as the value there. Either the GPU BIOS doesn't support this value, or GCN 3rd gen. doesn't use VBE any more. Either way The BIOS Setup screnn won'

I can't be100% sure which yet. Neither AMD or Sapphire seem to be concerned that their products won't work in older Dell computers. The R9-285 I had the problem with has a dual BIOS switch to work with Legacy BIOS computers so I think it should work on an old Dell. Your Quadro was intemnded specifically for the workstation market. Compatibility with Dell there would be a necessity.

I actually don't work on anything but old Dells. I'm trying to share my experience with them to help others avoid problems I've had. They can be fussy about memory modules preffering older low density chips, high current draw on the 5V. rail, weird pinouts on the fan and I/O cables. Neither Dell or the aftermarket support upgrading these computers so precise information can be hard to come by. I might be the first person who stuck a modern ITX GPU in a 10 year old Dell. What I say is based on experience. Don't be surprised if it doesn't match "common knowledge".


 
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