dell T3500 good for folidng?

[bobfreeman]

the dell t3500 is on sale on newegg flash for $389. I was wondering how good of a machine it would be for a 24 hour folding rig. specs are

 

• Single W3690 Six Core 3.47Ghz Processor
• 12GB of RAM
• 300GB 10K VelociRaptor SATA Hard Drive
• DVDRW Optical Drive
• Nvidia Quadro FX 580 512MB GDDR3 Graphic Card
• 575W Power Supply
• Windows 7 Professional 

[QueenDemetria]

 

the dell t3500 is on sale on newegg flash for $389. I was wondering how good of a machine it would be for a 24 hour folding rig. specs are

Well, it would fold , but honestly its not that great of a machine just for folding. The GPU is old and low end, and the CPU is just "okay". If you threw a 750 ti or something in it then it would be a pretty decent machine for Folding.

[iHardware Shelden]

Yes but run the chrome client since it is more CPU bound and will do great on those smaller work loads like my Q6600 which I actually need to start folding with again since it is getting cooler...

[Omnislash89]

CPU Folding: Hex-core will be pretty awesome in terms of compute on the standard FAH Client. No need to stoop to the Nacl client, since you're looking at the definite possibility of bonus points making it the more attractive CPU tool. At 6 cores, you should be plowing through smaller WU's within 2 hours, if that.

GPU Folding: You might not get a terrible amount of PPD with that GPU, but if you're dead-set on leaving your laptop plugged in at night to run CPU/GPU WU's, go ahead! No reason not to, since you won't be OC'ing anything on that machine (hopefully).

Other thoughts: That is a very old Xeon. Really surprised they stuck it in there, but I suppose Dell had no reason to invest in a more modern lithography if it meant being able to throw around marketing lines with "Xeon" and "laptop" in the same sentence. I don't think you will expect to gain anything special over a similarly-clocked 4930K (IVB) or even a non-unlocked 4790 (HZWR). After a point, number of transistors on die become a real factor, even if you've got a 2-core advantage. I pray prolonged running of both folding options in FAH doesn't cause you any unseemly heat issues.

 

[ADeadlyGinger]

Side note, how will this thing hold up as a general gaming rig? Could I toss a decent GPU in it and be alright? or is the PSU going to be an issue? Personally I actually really like the idea of a gaming rig disguised as a workstation.

[QueenDemetria]

GPU Folding: You might not get a terrible amount of PPD with that GPU, but if you're dead-set on leaving your laptop plugged in at night to run CPU/GPU WU's, go ahead! No reason not to, since you won't be OC'ing anything on that machine (hopefully).

Laptop? This is a desktop lol, but its also kind of old too, like LGA 1366 old. I couldn't find it on Newegg, but I have to imagine its a refurb machine or similar(like slightly used). 

http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/precision-t3500/pd

 

Side note, how will this thing hold up as a general gaming rig? Could I toss a decent GPU in it and be alright? or is the PSU going to be an issue? Personally I actually really like the idea of a gaming rig disguised as a workstation.

For $389 US that's actually a pretty good deal. The CPU is good enough for most things, has plenty of RAM, and the PSU is pretty good too(Delta OEM). Something like a 250x, 260x, 265, 750 ti, 950 would make it a solid budget rig, and someday something like a 390, 970, 980, Fury would still run great.

[ADeadlyGinger]

Laptop? This is a desktop lol, but its also kind of old too, like LGA 1366 old. I couldn't find it on Newegg, but I have to imagine its a refurb machine or similar(like slightly used). 

http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/precision-t3500/pd

 

For $389 US that's actually a pretty good deal. The CPU is good enough for most things, has plenty of RAM, and the PSU is pretty good too(Delta OEM). Something like a 250x, 260x, 265, 750 ti, 950 would make it a solid budget rig, and someday something like a 390, 970, 980, Fury would still run great.

 

Would a 970 go in without upgrading the PSU?

[QueenDemetria]

Would a 970 go in without upgrading the PSU?

It depends on what version of the PSU you get. Its a modular PSU and they created different cables for some of them. Some have two 6 pins, while some only have one 6 pin(there are a few that don't have any). Its uses one big connector instead of multiple little ones(like regular PSU's) so the best option would be to get a new PSU since there would be less worry and the proper cables.

 

Edit: You would have to remove one of the HDD slots too:

http://en.community.dell.com/cfs-file/__key/communityserver-discussions-components-files/3514/6052.T3500.JPG

[dark_xzyph3r]

 

the dell t3500 is on sale on newegg flash for $389. I was wondering how good of a machine it would be for a 24 hour folding rig. specs are

 

• Single W3690 Six Core 3.47Ghz Processor
• 12GB of RAM
• 300GB 10K VelociRaptor SATA Hard Drive
• DVDRW Optical Drive
• Nvidia Quadro FX 580 512MB GDDR3 Graphic Card
• 575W Power Supply
• Windows 7 Professional 

 

 

You could always buy mine off of me

[Omnislash89]

Laptop? This is a desktop lol, but its also kind of old too, like LGA 1366 old. I couldn't find it on Newegg, but I have to imagine its a refurb machine or similar(like slightly used). 

http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/precision-t3500/pd

 

For $389 US that's actually a pretty good deal. The CPU is good enough for most things, has plenty of RAM, and the PSU is pretty good too(Delta OEM). Something like a 250x, 260x, 265, 750 ti, 950 would make it a solid budget rig, and someday something like a 390, 970, 980, Fury would still run great.

I somehow got it confused with Lenovo's Xeon offerings which just came out. I wondered why the Xeon looked older in Intel Ark.