I have two Dell T320 servers, which work great. But I’d like to have some more CPU power, so think about upgrading to the T420. It is almost the same, except that on the T420 main board, which seems to be otherwise the identical PCB, the second CPU socket is actually installed. (In the T320 it’s just empty soldering points.) My question is: Is the air baffle the same, or do I need a new one if I swap out the main board? I am aware that I will need a second CPU heatsink.
Thanks.
the shroud appears to be the same, as illustrated on p49 of each model’s service manual:
https://dl.dell.com/topicspdf/poweredge-t320_owners-manual_en-us.pdf
https://dl.dell.com/topicspdf/poweredge-t420_owners-manual_en-us.pdfThanks.
If you look at the markings on the baffle in the T320, it’s marked to indicate the second CPU as well as the second bank of RAM slots. I think it’s safe to say it’s identical.
Thanks. Right now I’m away from the machine so can’t look, but I’ll keep an eye open for a T420 mainboard and a second CPU, then. It’ll still be a decent machine, I think, with two E5-2470 V2. DDR3 ECC-RAM is also dirt cheap these days.
