TDP Passive Cooling on Dell t3500

[Andy R.]

I currently have a dell t3500 workstation with a passive cooling head sink and w3503 xenon dual core 2c/2t CPU which has a 130TDP, I Purchased a x5670 xenon 6 core 6c/12t CPU. Which is a 95TDP My question is, can i use the stock W3503 130TDP cooler on the x5670 95TDP CPU. 

 

I am going to put a 80 or 90mm fan on the side of the cooler where it looks like one should fit perfectly. 

 

(ignore what looks like dust. It might be but its perma-dust. It doesn't come off. It might actually be corrosion i got the computer from a neighborhood friend for $3)

[Electronics Wizardy]

Thats not really passive. There is the big fan at the front that is pushing air through the heatsink. You won't need to add one

 

That seems like the higer tdp cooler, so you can just swap the cpu, no need to change cooler

[RONOTHAN##]

Worst case scenario it thermal throttles. If it does, that's when you buy the new cooler. As long as you aren't planning on overclocking that Xeon, you'll probably be fine.

[svmlegacy]

Keep in mind that TDP is not the same as actual power draw. The X5670 will draw more power and run hotter than a W3503, all else being equal. That being said, if the W3503 was a stock configuration for the T3500, then the cooling solution was designed for the workstation class CPU's and should be enough for the X5670, provided the baffles are in place.

[ProjectBox153]

That's not what I would consider to be a passive cooler. There are 2 giant fans in the front, one for the memory and one for the CPU. You don't need to add a fan. That cooler will most certainly be able to handle the Xeon X5670. I know from experience. I run a Precision T3500 with a Xeon X5675 (slightly higher clocked than your X5670) with that same cooler. There are no issues. 

If you need any help with your T3500 let me know. I've got a fair amount of experience with them. 

5 minutes ago, svmlegacy said:

Keep in mind that TDP is not the same as actual power draw. The X5670 will draw more power and run hotter than a W3503, all else being equal. That being said, if the W3503 was a stock configuration for the T3500, then the cooling solution was designed for the workstation class CPU's and should be enough for the X5670, provided the baffles are in place.

There is no baffle around the CPU area. There are 2 large fans at the front of the case, and one is directly in front of the CPU heatsink. There is a baffle over the memory, but it's not required. In fact, my T3500 has been missing that baffle since I bought the system, and even with 6 DIMMs in place and a fully loaded CPU there haven't been any heat issues. 

[thrasher_565]

you can probably add a 80mm fan too it but i its

36 minutes ago, RONOTHAN## said:

Worst case scenario it thermal throttles. If it does, that's when you buy the new cooler. As long as you aren't planning on overclocking that Xeon, you'll probably be fine.

dont think you can add a new cooler

[Andy R.]

Awesome. thanks for the quick reply guys. I figured ide be fine with the stock cooler. Just wanted to make sure. I picked up the x5670 for $18 on ebay. and its just a media server in the media room (DS family room). so its defiantly more than i need. but for $18 why not.

[ProjectBox153]

2 minutes ago, Andy R. said:

Awesome. thanks for the quick reply guys. I figured ide be fine with the stock cooler. Just wanted to make sure. I picked up the x5670 for $18 on ebay. and its just a media server in the media room (DS family room). so its defiantly more than i need. but for $18 why not.

These systems still absolutely kick ass for the price you can find them at. I paid a total of $35 for mine with a Xeon X5675, 24GB of RAM and dual Quadro GPUs. It's been basically flawless since I got it.

[RONOTHAN##]

1 minute ago, thrasher_565 said:

dont think you can add a new cooler

With zip ties, a Dremel, and perseverance, anything is possible

[Andy R.]

12 minutes ago, thrasher_565 said:

you can probably add a 80mm fan too it but i its

dont think you can add a new cooler

why cant i add a new cooler? is it a propriety CPU cooler? or CPU backplate Spacing? 

[thrasher_565]

23 minutes ago, Andy R. said:

why cant i add a new cooler? is it a propriety CPU cooler? or CPU backplate Spacing? 

propriety and threads on

[thrasher_565]

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7kp5NV9NngUhgvpo4XkVuQ