RAM COMPATIBILITY
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The Precision T3500 officially supports up to 24GB of system memory including either DDR3 ECC or DDR3 non-ECC memory
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Users have successfully installed 48GB of system memory as demonstrated in the video here
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Standard 240-pin PC3-10600 DDR3-1333 (1333MHz) non-ECC modules are supported
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If ECC modules are installed they must be unregistered ECC modules. These modules are often designated as “UDIMM”
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Whenever possible, use dual-rank DIMMs in the Precision T3500.
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Dual-rank DIMMs offer better interleaving and hence better performance than single-rank DIMMs. A system populated with six 2GB dual-rank DIMMs outperforms a system populated with six 2GB single-rank DIMMs by approximately 7%.
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Dual-rank DIMMs are preferable to quad-rank DIMMs because quad-rank DIMMs will cause the memory speed to be down-clocked.
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Populate equivalent ranks per channel. Mixing single-rank DIMMs with dual-rank or quad-rank DIMMs is not recommended.
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CPU SUPPORT
Intel Xeon 6-Core Processors
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W3690 – 12M Cache, 3.46 GHz, 6.40 GT/s Intel® QPI
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W3680 – 12M Cache, 3.33 GHz, 6.40 GT/s Intel® QPI
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W3670 – 12M Cache, 3.2 GHz, 4.80 GT/s Intel® QPI
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X5690 – 12M Cache, 3.46 GHz, 6.40 GT/s Intel® QPI
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X5680 – 12M Cache, 3.33 GHz, 6.40 GT/s Intel® QPI
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X5672 – 12M Cache, 3.2 GHz, 6.40 GT/s Intel® QPI
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X5670 – 12M Cache, 2.93 GHz, 6.40 GT/s Intel® QPI
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X5667 – 12M Cache, 3.06 GHz, 6.40 GT/s Intel® QPI
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X5660 – 12M Cache, 2.8 GHz, 6.40 GT/s Intel® QPI
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X5650 – 12M Cache, 2.66 GHz, 6.40 GT/s Intel® QPI
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E5649 – 12M Cache, 2.53 GHz, 5.86 GT/s Intel® QPI
Intel Xeon Quad Core Processors
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X5687 – 12M Cache, 3.6 GHz, 6.40 GT/s Intel® QPI
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X5570 – 8M Cache, 2.93 GHz, 6.40 GT/s Intel® QPI
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X5550 – 8M Cache, 2.66 GHz, 6.40 GT/s Intel® QPI
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X5677 – 12M Cache, 3.46 GHz, 6.40 GT/s Intel® QPI
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E5675 – 12M Cache, 3.06 GHz, 6.40 GT/s Intel® QPI
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E5647 – 12M Cache, 2.93 GHz, 5.86 GT/s Intel® QPI
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E5645 – 12M Cache, 2.4 GHz, 5.86 GT/s Intel® QPI
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E5640 – 12M Cache, 2.66 GHz, 5.86 GT/s Intel® QPI
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E5630 – 12M Cache, 2.53 GHz, 5.86 GT/s Intel® QPI
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E5620 – 12M Cache, 2.4 GHz, 5.86 GT/s Intel® QPI
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E5607 – 8M Cache, 2.26 GHz, 4.80 GT/s Intel® QPI
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E5606 – 8M Cache, 2.13 GHz, 4.80 GT/s Intel® QPI
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E5603 – 4M Cache, 1.6 GHz, 4.80 GT/s Intel® QPI
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E5540 – 8M Cache, 2.53 GHz, 5.86 GT/s Intel® QPI
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E5530 – 8M Cache, 2.40 GHz, 5.86 GT/s Intel® QPI
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E5520 – 8M Cache, 2.26 GHz, 5.86 GT/s Intel® QPI
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E5507 – 4M Cache, 2.26 GHz, 4.80 GT/s Intel® QPI
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E5506 – 4M Cache, 2.13 GHz, 4.80 GT/s Intel® QPI
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W3580 – 8M Cache, 3.33 GHz, 6.40 GT/s Intel® QPI
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W3570 – 8M Cache, 3.20 GHz, 6.40 GT/s Intel® QPI
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W3565 – 8M Cache, 3.20 GHz, 4.80 GT/s Intel® QPI
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W3550 – 8M Cache, 3.06 GHz, 4.80 GT/s Intel® QPI
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W3540 – 8M Cache, 2.93 GHz, 4.80 GT/s Intel® QPI
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W3530 – 8M Cache, 2.80 GHz, 4.80 GT/s Intel® QPI
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W3520 – 8M Cache, 2.66 GHz, 4.80 GT/s Intel® QPI
Intel Xeon Dual Core Processors
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W3505 – 4M Cache, 2.53 GHz, 4.80 GT/s Intel® QPI
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W3503 – 4M Cache, 2.40 GHz, 4.80 GT/s Intel® QPI
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E5503 – 4M Cache, 2.0 GHz, 4.80 GT/s Intel® QPI
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E5502 – 4M Cache, 1.86 GHz, 4.80 GT/s Intel® QPI
CPU HEATSINKS
Two CPU heatsinks are available for the Dell Precision T3500. The 0U016F high-performace heatsink will typically keep CPU temperatures about 10 degrees centigrade cooler than the standard T021F heatsink.
NOISE REDUCTION
The Dell Precision T3500 can be configured to run much more quietly by taking the following steps:
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Replace the two stock 120mm cage fans with two low-noise 120mm PWM fans such as the Noctua NF-F12.
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An inexpensive adapter cable for the Dell 5-pin fan connectors on the T3500 motherboard will be required for each fan (search on eBay here)
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Replace the fan-cooled video card with a fanless PCI Express x16 video card
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Replace the 92mm power supply unit fan with a Noctua NF-B9-1600 fan.
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Note that opening the power supply can be hazardous
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Read the guide here before attempting to replace this fan
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Replace standard hard drives with solid state drives to completely eliminate drive noise and significantly improve system performance.
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Recommended SSD: Samsung 860 EVO 250GB
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DOCUMENTATION
REVIEWS
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Desktop Engineering – March 1, 2010
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PC World – May 6, 2009
OS X 10.10 YOSEMITE INSTALLATION
This installation procedure has been tested with AMD graphics. If you have an nVidia graphics card, this guide may provide some help.
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Follow the guide here to create a bootable USB drive and install OS X 10.10 Yosemite (no boot flags are necessary)
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After installation, but before running MultiBeast, go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy and select Allow apps downloaded from: Anywhere
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Run MultiBeast and select the standard “EasyBeast” option without any modifications
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Use Kext Utility to install VoodooHDA.kext version 2.8.4 (audio) and BCM5722D.kext version 2.3.5 (network)
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Restart computer
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Follow the instructions included with the VoodooHDA.kext to configure the audio settings (see notes below for audio over HDMI)
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Go to System Preferences > Energy Saver and set Computer sleep to Never (see notes below regarding sleep)
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If you encounter problems logging in to the App Store or iCloud, download this fix and follow the steps in the included tutorial
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Install any system updates available through Software Update
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If you have installed on a SSD, run MultiBeast again and install the 10.10.x TRIM Patch found under Drivers > Disk
RECOMMENDED HACKINTOSH-COMPATIBLE HARDWARE
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Wireless + Bluetooth Adapter: Fenvi T919 Broadcom BCM94360CD Adapter
No configuration necessary – automatically recognized by OS X as built-in AirPort and Bluetooth. Supports 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Airdrop, Handoff, and Bluetooth in BIOS/UEFI and Bootloader (Install in PCIe x1 slot) -
USB 3.0 Adapter: Inateck KT4006 2-Port PCI-E USB 3.0 Express Card
No configuration necessary – automatically recognized by OS X as built-in USB 3.0 Hi-Speed Bus/SuperSpeed Bus -
Bluetooth Adapter: GMYLE Micro USB Bluetooth 4.0 Dongle
(Model NPL003340 with Broadcom BCM20702 chipset)
No configuration necessary – automatically recognized by OS X as built-in Bluetooth
Notes
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Resuming from sleep takes approximately four minutes. A possible solution to this problem is discussed here
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Audio over HDMI can be enabled by following the guide here (Sound volume will be adjustable from within applications but not through System Preferences)
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Original source of VoodooHDA.kext (audio) here
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Original source of BCM5722D.kext (network) here
