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.
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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
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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
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Notes
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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

