Question CPU and motherboard for Dell T5820

[jamesdsimone]

Bro right now is the time to get your firmware up to date, before you install OS, drivers, and apps. But to each his own....

Looks like the BIOS is 2.33.0 which is only 6 months old. 2019 must be the manufacture date. I got it to post with the video card in slot 2. I think I didn't properly save the BIOS setting the first time. The Dell BIOS is weird(imagine that) there is no "save changes and exit" like every other BIOS on the planet. I pulled the wireless adapter just in case that was causing any issues. I used HDMI since someone mentioned possible problems with DP. I have to decide how I'm going to configure it. Probable should try a live boot from a Linux USB. Do I need TPM 2.0 enabled for that?

 

[jamesdsimone]

Wow, wouldn't have expected that. Glad that you got it sorted, and that you let us know what the solution was.

Stupid Dell tricks. Yeah if anyone wants to play with a T5820 or T7820 then they can avoid all my mistakes.

 

[tcsenter]

Probable should try a live boot from a Linux USB. Do I need TPM 2.0 enabled for that?

I wouldn't think so but wrong person to ask about anything Linux.

 

[Steltek]

I'm also wondering if the original board would have worked.

It wouldn't have. The Dell BIOS on your original board would not have recognized the CPU no matter what you tried (Dell was very thorough in ensuring that it wouldn't work by excluding that family of Xeons from the original board's BIOS). The wireless adapter would only have caused an issue if it was specifically a Qualcomm WCN6856-DBS card (and only then because it was apparently an actual hardware compatibility issue).

Probable should try a live boot from a Linux USB. Do I need TPM 2.0 enabled for that?

No. Linux will boot just fine without TPM enabled as Linus Torvalds and the other developers tend to actually listen to their customers about what they need. You only need TPM 2.0 enabled if you plan to install and suffer with Windows 11 on it.

If you decide to update the BIOS, make sure to set up the BIOS recovery system on the 5820. That way, if for any reason the flash fails, you can recover the BIOS from the system drive or from an external flash drive. The owners manual should tell you how to do it.

 

[jamesdsimone]

No. Linux will boot just fine without TPM enabled as Linus Torvalds and the other developers tend to actually listen to their customers about what they need. You only need TPM 2.0 enabled if you plan to install and suffer with Windows 11 on it.

If you decide to update the BIOS, make sure to set up the BIOS recovery system on the 5820. That way, if for any reason the flash fails, you can recover the BIOS from the system drive or from an external flash drive. The owners manual should tell you how to do it.

The current BIOS should be fine to get it up and running. I'll decide on the BIOS later but will definitely check on that. I don't even think I want to suffer with Windows 10, suffice to say Windows 11 will never be installed on this machine. The wireless card says Intel. I didn't look up the specific model though.

 

[Steltek]

The wireless card says Intel. I didn't look up the specific model though.

Then it should work wherever you put it.

 

[jamesdsimone]

If anyone wants to play with a z840, one small consideration. It comes with 3 6 pin PCIe power connector which is kind of weird given the power supply is 1125w. You would think they could give you an 8 pin. The 6 pin cables are very short, at least on my machine. They are too short to connect to the GPU so you will need an extension cable. Not a big deal but it kept me from trying a new GPU until I get one. On another note, I found a great deal on Lenovo P510's if anyone wants to tinker. Great deal, I bought 4 and they gave me a discount 140USD each. E5-1650 V4 is a little weak but 650w 90+ gold PS with 6 pin/8pin PCIe power connector and 4x16 DDR4 PC2400 ECC and 3 512GB 2.5Gb SSD's plus OS. I'm sure HP uses top tier SSD's and memory. Not too long ago 12 512Gb SSD's alone would be worth the price.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/266325607965?itmmeta=01J2QNSTRVBS2Z199043P0S6BK&hash=item3e023e461d:g:8ZEAAOSwYS1iAWmw&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA0PE9AyJcBNu7QeayfzWKNETxFzIZCAMz4QnKWGUvoK06cteF7%2BwbLcZFfD7tqsS6l1yQEYypbQVyACeDqc1%2FDS3eThHLXcYSFqPxulwUPAlkmovr02l2M6uWFLHYNnThsKwn%2B81VvxrZYwU3eddWFzcluIg%2Fy%2Bhhn8B50TCxl38MlWr%2BUhgu6Yz67CYdtslFx7jE7t3eJstGzmhmf9%2Bgbdn7l1SJapBsc5QYRAKVH3HHFMRrWMJX3AoJNdOkJOaq%2BNziNh0Z0St5DnYYMbAFKaU%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR76s5_WVZA