Verification of CPU suitability
Verification of CPU suitability
Ideally, I'd like this confirmed by someone who has first-hand experience here, or who can link to a solid source: I have an option to purchase a Dell Precision T7600. This would be an upgrade (possibly?) to my T5610 which I am currently running. The issue here is the T5610 has a pair of Xeon E5-2643 v2 (Ivy Bridge) chips. This is fine for my needs, but I've run out of PCIe slots. The t7600 has an extra pair of slots (yay!) but are supposedly only supported by Sandy Bridge chips. Since the two chips are pin-compatible, and assuming the BIOS is UTD, is there any reason (other than Dell being a prick about things, which is always a possibility) why I couldn't run Ivy Bridge v2 chips in the t7600? Anyone have a t7600 with Ivy Bridge chips in them, or know of anyone who has such a thing up and functional?
Initially, I didn’t have any personal experience with those chips. I’m trying to provide at least the details I discovered. From what I understand, the T7600 uses the C600 chipset, which doesn’t match the E5-2643 v2 as Dell states. It seems it only works with the E5-2643 (non-v2), though Dell confirms this. Alternatively, there might be some ships that include these chips. Checking additional sources online shows mixed reports—some confirm compatibility while others dispute it.
I understand that Dell doesn't offer a BIOS compatible with next-gen processors for their motherboards. For laptops, when using an Intel Core i5 3440M from a Dell Latitude E6530 with a Dell Latitude E5520 board and vice versa, they don't function properly despite being pin-compatible. I'm uncertain if I made an error, but the BIOS appears updated for both systems. Without examining the BIOS code, it's hard to determine if it blocks the code or omitted support for the newer processor generation.
I also came across that discussion. If it really makes sense, then upgrading would be a good move for my current setup—mainly because I’d gain two extra PCIe slots, which I really need. I’m aware the other option is buying some questionable "dual x79" boards from odd Chinese sellers and trying to salvage parts from my existing system. But I’d rather avoid the risk of my system overheating unexpectedly while I’m asleep, especially with a bad VRM failing. I’ve seen this too; HP and Lenovo have worse whitelisting policies than Dell, which is better.