Exceeding motherboard's TDP by 5 watts - okay?

[Cylon Agent]

I replaced a Xeon E5-1620 with an E5-2690 and just realized the new CPU exceeds my motherboard's TDP by 5 watts. Is this a big deal assuming good cooling? Seem like the equivalent of a modest overclock, but figured I'd ask as these LGA2011 boards are surprisingly expensive. Assuming all is stable, should I try to place some kind of heatsink over the VRM?

 

Thanks!

[Zando_]

What board? And AFAIK VRMs are good to over 100C a lot of the time, they need to get quite hot before it's a big issue. If you're worried, pointing a fan at the VRM should do the trick. 

[Garett1]

I did that for years with a FX 8350 but it was quite a bit more than 5 watts lol. You will be fine.

[porina]

Those CPUs have TDPs of 130W and 135W respectively. Your mobo is rated to deliver 130W only? Sounds a bit low as that wouldn't even cover turbo operation. Please give a link to the specific mobo used where power is specified. 

 

If that is the case, there is a possible workaround, you can simply configure the power limit to 130W or even lower.

[Cylon Agent]

4 hours ago, porina said:

Those CPUs have TDPs of 130W and 135W respectively. Your mobo is rated to deliver 130W only? Sounds a bit low as that wouldn't even cover turbo operation. Please give a link to the specific mobo used where power is specified. 

 

If that is the case, there is a possible workaround, you can simply configure the power limit to 130W or even lower.

The board im currently using is a Dell 8HPGT workstation board, which Dell claims in compatible with processors up to 130w. https://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/sln290703/the-hardware-specifications-for-the-precision-t3600-desktop-workstation?lang=en

 

It's an annoying board that required me to re-pin an ATX power supply to accommodate its strange standard. That said, its been a good Blender (and secondary gaming) machine and extremely stable. I've also an Asus board but its got some damage to its socket, so I am thinking of buying one of these cheapos if I must: https://amzn.to/2REjoEE.  

 

Thanks everyone!

[porina]

40 minutes ago, Cylon Agent said:

The board im currently using is a Dell 8HPGT workstation board, which Dell claims in compatible with processors up to 130w.

Dell sticks to the TDP as long term power limit. I'm not sure how it would behave with an unsupported CPU. I would hope it just sets the power limit to 130W if that's all the board can handle. That means you might lose a little on turbo clock in some situations but shouldn't be that big a difference.

 

40 minutes ago, Cylon Agent said:

I've also an Asus board but its got some damage to its socket, so I am thinking of buying one of these cheapos if I must: https://amzn.to/2REjoEE.  

Looks familiar... they're interesting to play with. Still not done much with mine yet. Only got it to use up some spare ECC REG ram I had.

 

 

[unclewebb]

Dell's X58 boards were intended to be used with 130 Watt CPUs.  They could run at well over that spec without any problems.  Here is an example of a T3500 running all 6 cores at full steam with the TDP limit bumped up to 180 Watts.

 

 

I am pretty sure that 135 Watts vs 130 Watts is not going to be a big deal.  As long as the BIOS recognizes your new CPU and boots up, everything will be OK.  If the bios does not recognize this CPU, it will not post, leaving it hanging at the BIOS screen.

[Cylon Agent]

18 hours ago, unclewebb said:

Dell's X58 boards were intended to be used with 130 Watt CPUs.  They could run at well over that spec without any problems.  Here is an example of a T3500 running all 6 cores at full steam with the TDP limit bumped up to 180 Watts.

 

I am pretty sure that 135 Watts vs 130 Watts is not going to be a big deal.  As long as the BIOS recognizes your new CPU and boots up, everything will be OK.  If the bios does not recognize this CPU, it will not post, leaving it hanging at the BIOS screen.

This is an interesting tool! I didn't realize changing/bypassing the allowable TDP could be done so easily with software. Hopefully it will POST! I'll test things out this weekend and report.

[Cylon Agent]

Just thought I'd close this out. Xeon e5-2690 is now installed and it simply booted up normal. Interestingly, the BIOS detects the CPU's TDP as135. Runs at 32C idle (didn't stress it yet). VRM is cool to the touch.

 

Thanks everyone!