An NVidia GTX 1050 Ti in that PowerEdge T440 without the GPU Kit.
Having recently upgraded the GPU in my Dell Precision T7910, I found myself with this card lying around (ASUS ROC STRIX 1050 Ti Gaming):
So I had this crazy thought: What if I tried to use that card in my PowerEdge T440? This would provide a decent (and silent) upgrade to the MSI 1030 GTX currently in the server.
One problem was that the card required external GPU power and I had ordered my T440 without the GPU kit, which can only be installed at Point-Of-Sale and cannot be retro-fitted afterwards.
I tried using the 1050 Ti with just the power provided by the x16 PCI-E slot but the server failed to recognize the GPU.
So I went looking into my T440 (that GPU Kit must draw power from somewhere, right?) and found a white connector on the PCB directly attached to the PSU cage:
A close inspection using my Phone revealed something looking like almost like an 8-Pin GPU connector with an informative label on the side:
Did you read "GPU_PWR" too? I surely did but that white connector was a little different from what I used to see as far as GPU power connectors go.
Then I remembered I had seen similar connectors very recently.. in my Dell Precision T7910!!
(Why change a good design when you've got one?)
Luckily, the Precision T7910, with its 1300W PSU had lots of GPU power cables (enough for 2 power-hungry 6-pin or 8-pin GPUs) and I was pretty sure I'd never use more than one GPU in my T7910, A nice 1660 GTX was good enough for me.
So I went ahead and pulled one of the two GPU cables from the Precision T7910. Unfortunately, the 8pin cable from the T7910 didn't fit on the T440 PSU connector due to mismatched diameters on the two bottom right slots.
After trying to make those 'fingers' thinner using a cutter, I realized that those two didn't even have electrical wiring so I just cut them off:
Once this (not so) delicate surgery took place, the GPU cable fit perfectly into the GPU Power connector on the PSU PCB of my T440. The other end of the cable (6pin) made its way to the GPU card and I powered up the server, which came up perfectly.
Such cables can be ordered on ebay for about 10USD.
Here are a few pictures of the finished assembly:
In conclusion I'll state that although I like Dell PowerEdge and Precision hardware, I dislike very much the FUD surrounding those systems:
- I didn't buy my T440 with a GPU Kit (my own mistake) and Dell wasn't able to help retrofit a kit afterwards (no such solution exists).
- I still managed to power up that GTX card using an extra cable I borrowed from another system without Dell's help.
- Notwithstanding their (Dell's) desire to sell me Platinum 795W or 1100W PSU units, my complete T440 system still idles at 88Wats and never seem to exceed 200W. IMHO that 495W PSU might be just fine.
This server is probably one of the best workstations I've ever had!
So I had this crazy thought: What if I tried to use that card in my PowerEdge T440? This would provide a decent (and silent) upgrade to the MSI 1030 GTX currently in the server.
One problem was that the card required external GPU power and I had ordered my T440 without the GPU kit, which can only be installed at Point-Of-Sale and cannot be retro-fitted afterwards.
I tried using the 1050 Ti with just the power provided by the x16 PCI-E slot but the server failed to recognize the GPU.
So I went looking into my T440 (that GPU Kit must draw power from somewhere, right?) and found a white connector on the PCB directly attached to the PSU cage:
A close inspection using my Phone revealed something looking like almost like an 8-Pin GPU connector with an informative label on the side:
Did you read "GPU_PWR" too? I surely did but that white connector was a little different from what I used to see as far as GPU power connectors go.
Then I remembered I had seen similar connectors very recently.. in my Dell Precision T7910!!
(Why change a good design when you've got one?)
Luckily, the Precision T7910, with its 1300W PSU had lots of GPU power cables (enough for 2 power-hungry 6-pin or 8-pin GPUs) and I was pretty sure I'd never use more than one GPU in my T7910, A nice 1660 GTX was good enough for me.
So I went ahead and pulled one of the two GPU cables from the Precision T7910. Unfortunately, the 8pin cable from the T7910 didn't fit on the T440 PSU connector due to mismatched diameters on the two bottom right slots.
After trying to make those 'fingers' thinner using a cutter, I realized that those two didn't even have electrical wiring so I just cut them off:
Once this (not so) delicate surgery took place, the GPU cable fit perfectly into the GPU Power connector on the PSU PCB of my T440. The other end of the cable (6pin) made its way to the GPU card and I powered up the server, which came up perfectly.
Such cables can be ordered on ebay for about 10USD.
Here are a few pictures of the finished assembly:
In conclusion I'll state that although I like Dell PowerEdge and Precision hardware, I dislike very much the FUD surrounding those systems:
- I didn't buy my T440 with a GPU Kit (my own mistake) and Dell wasn't able to help retrofit a kit afterwards (no such solution exists).
- I still managed to power up that GTX card using an extra cable I borrowed from another system without Dell's help.
- Notwithstanding their (Dell's) desire to sell me Platinum 795W or 1100W PSU units, my complete T440 system still idles at 88Wats and never seem to exceed 200W. IMHO that 495W PSU might be just fine.
# ipmitool sdr list full|grep Watt
Pwr Consumption | 88 Watts | ok
Complete Specs here:
- Two 4110 Xeon Silver cpus (8C/16T)
- 96 (3 * 32) Gb RAM
- Two Samsung 860 SSD Evos
- One WD Red 8Tb drive
- One H730P HBA
- One i350-4 Quad Gigabit NIC
- One 495W PSU
Hi dude, thanks for the detailed explanation. Do you think it's possible to install an Nvidia RTX 2070 or similar instead of 1050 ti? Also, my t440 is in tower mode - why can't a GPU used in this configuration and what do I need to do to convert it to rack-mode?
ReplyDeletethank you
Hi, MY T440 is in tower mode as well. As for the RTX 2070, I've only seen a single 8-pin GPU connector. I have no idea if this would be sufficient for an RTX 2070. Also, please note that I upgraded to a GTX 1660 Ti and haven't had issues at all.
DeleteHello, great article ! I have a T320 myself and willing to install a 1050 Ti, but I have some questions about the thermal impact: the T320 hold a single 120 fan to cool the passive radiator over the single Xeon, both are wrap into a Dell plastic cap, meaning there are no cooling left for the rest of the components (especially the PCI-e slots)
ReplyDeleteSo should I consider passive-cooling graphics cards only ? Or adding another fan in the chassis ? (The motherboard feature a second 5-pins plug "FAN2")
Thanks
Hi Adrien,
DeleteThe T320 is similar to the T420/430/440 systems with regards to cooling (single 120mm fan).
Depending on the other components in the system you will likely be ok with a GTX 1050 Ti (I think it's around 75W Max).
Some of the T4XX systems have an additional external Fan for cooling components (The T440 has one). You might want to get one such fan if your components run too hot.
Also, one -BIG- word of warning: if you connect something to the 'FAN2' motherboard connector, please make sure it is the correct Dell Fan part.. It is very easy to kill the motherboard if you try to connect a different PWM fan.
Good luck, please let us know how it goes.
Vincent
Hi, we have recently bought an T440 and also we have a Radeon™ RX 5500 also we have an Nvidia Quadro, we hav pluged both GPUs, connected to the "GPW_PWR" but the GPUs does not work, the fans start up but the GPU not provide video output.
ReplyDeleteThe PSU it's 495W (i think that the problem was in this PSU)
But talking with DELL'support they told me that the GPUs on that server are only accepted to power up computing capabilities for the processor, but they can not be used as graphics card. This information it's ok?? we only need the GPUs in order to get 3 Video outputs.
Thanks!
Hi,
DeleteThe only PCIe slot which can receive a x16 GPU is only enabled when you have -two- cpus in the machine. Do you have two cpus?
Also, yes, 495W seems a little light but it may just work depending on the components in the server. At any case, the T440 will tell you if the Wattage isn't sufficient.
Hi!
ReplyDeleteDon't know if you wouldd be reading this as this is quite old, but here you go.
I've come across your blog posts as I'm trying to do the exact same with my T440. I've purchased a 3060Ti and followed the same steps as you. The issue with mine is that I configured the server with only one CPU and just found out you need 2 as the x16 PCI where the GPU is connected, belongs to CPU 2. I have a Xeon Silver 4210 and to buy another one is 600€!!
If I want this configuration now I have to buy a higher PSU and a new CPU...
Thanks for posting your journey!
Hi Marc, yeah, sorry.. the only x16 slot in the T440 only gets enabled when you have a two cpu config.. it bugged me too and Dell showed me where it was written.. :( All in all, the T440 is a good machine but I've sold mine and gotten a T640 instead where I was relocated the cpus, DIMMs, PCIe, disks, everything... a T640 is like a super (double) version of the T440 (has 4 x16 slots) so IMVHO if you're getting a T440, no reason not to get a T640.. :) My 2c,
DeleteI've now sold my T430, my T440 and gotten a T630 + T640 instead.
Great machine still
Doesn't this server only support single slot GPU? is it the Gen14 T440?
ReplyDeleteWell, mine was double-width and it covered another PCIe slot, which is also why I have since then sold the T440. Yes, it was a T440 14th gen from Dell.
DeleteI meant double-wifth GPU (the 1050 GTX Ti) and yes it worked in the T440.
DeleteWhat are you using now. I was thinking of purchasing a T440 and a 1050 Ti but the card is double slot and since the documentation mentioned only supporting one slot I've been waiving over it for a couple of days.
DeleteHi SamGB, I did split the functions: I got a T630 and it is the one which has a GPU (3080 Ti) beacause. This is because 13th gen's don't freak out when using a non-quadro GPU and the noise is controllable. As for the T440, I sold it and got a T640 instead. I still have a GPU in it but it's only a Quadro P2200 (5G DDR5X) that I was luck to buy before the pandemic.
DeleteI've described both machines in other posts in my blog.
Please let me know if you have further questions.