Dell Precision T7910 Workstations

Chassis and form factor

A full-size tower of 43.05 cm high, 21.59 cm wide and 52.50 cm deep. The chassis is split into thermal zones for airflow and acoustics; Dell quotes up to 49 percent better acoustic performance than the previous generation, with liquid cooling on the processors as an option for heavy sustained loads. The power supply is externally accessible and tool-less, and it locks. Security fittings are a chassis intrusion switch, Kensington lock slot, padlock ring and the lockable supply.

The four internal bays plus the four-drive kit in the 5.25-inch bay are how the T7910 reaches eight 2.5-inch drives on its eight SAS ports.

Processors

One or two Intel Xeon E5-2600 v4 processors (Broadwell-EP), up to 22 cores each, on the Intel C612 chipset with AVX, Turbo Boost, AES-NI, Trusted Execution Technology and optional vPro. Dell's sheet names the family rather than individual SKUs, so there is no per-model table here; the range spans four to 22 cores and frequency-optimised parts such as the E5-2687W v4 that appear in our configured units. The second processor is more than compute on this machine: it brings the other eight DIMM slots and two more PCIe x16 Gen 3 slots into play. Both processors must be identical, and the second needs its own heatsink and fan module, which we list as a part. Dell's liquid cooling option replaces the standard heatsink. Earlier T7910s shipped with E5-2600 v3 on the same board; a used unit may hold either generation, and we check before quoting an upgrade.

Memory

Sixteen DIMM slots, eight per processor, quad-channel DDR4 ECC at up to 2400 MHz, for a maximum of 1 TB with both processors installed. Memory speed depends on the processor fitted, and Reliable Memory Technology PRO maps out failing locations. With one processor, eight slots are active.

Populate channels evenly: four or eight DIMMs per processor in matched sets. The 1 TB ceiling is what separates this machine from the T7810's 256 GB and is the reason it is chosen for in-memory analysis and large simulation models. Tested DDR4 registered memory is available from Doha stock.

Graphics

Four PCI Express x16 slots for graphics, up to 675 W total, which Dell specifies as three 225 W cards in three slots. The 1300 W supply is sized for three high-end cards plus two processors. Dell's list for the T7910:

Two of the four x16 slots depend on the second processor, so a single-CPU T7910 has two full x16 slots available. Modern double-slot cards not on Dell's 2016 list are often fitted to this chassis for GPU compute and rendering; the limits are slot spacing, card length, the 225 W per-card and 675 W total budget, and the auxiliary power connectors present. Ask with the card model before buying. Optional Teradici PCoIP host cards support remote use. See graphics cards.

Storage

Storage is where the T7910 differs most from other towers. An LSI SAS 3008 controller on the board provides eight 12 Gb/s SAS ports (6 Gb/s SATA as well) with software RAID 0, 1 and 10 across up to eight drives, and two Intel SATA ports serve the optical drives. RAID 5, or hardware RAID with cache, needs an optional PCIe controller.

NVMe arrives on Dell's Ultra-Speed Drive Duo (two M.2 SSDs, half-height x8) or Quad (four M.2 SSDs, full-height x16), both actively cooled, or on Intel PCIe SSD cards; there is no M.2 socket on the board. Our configured units commonly pair an NVMe system drive with SAS or SATA data drives on the SAS 3008. Drives larger than Dell's 2016 figures are in common use; the limits are the controller and operating system, not the bays. See solid-state drives.

Expansion slots and ports

• 2 x PCIe x16 Gen 3, plus 2 more x16 Gen 3 with the second processor installed
• 1 x PCIe x16 Gen 3, wired x4 (slot 1)
• 1 x PCIe x16 Gen 2, wired x4
• 1 x PCI 32-bit

Two Gigabit Ethernet ports are integrated, on Intel I217 and I210 controllers, with remote wake, PXE and jumbo frame support. Options are an Intel i210 single-port Gigabit card and an Intel X540-T2 dual-port 10GBASE-T card. Audio is a Realtek ALC3220 codec with an internal speaker. Optional add-in cards include the Ultra-Speed Drive Duo and Quad, a 1394a/b card, Teradici PCoIP host cards, a Thunderbolt 2 card and a serial card.

Power supply

A single 1300 W supply, 90 percent efficient and 80 PLUS Gold, with an input range of 181 to 240 VAC, so it is a high-line unit made for 230 V supplies such as Qatar's. It slides out of the rear of the chassis without tools and locks in place, which makes a swap a two-minute job. Dell sizes it for two processors and three high-end graphics cards. We list the 1300 W supply as a replacement part for owners whose unit has failed or who are completing a barebone.

Physical specification

Supported operating systems

Dell's list: Windows 10 Professional, Windows 8.1 Professional and Windows 7 Professional, all 64-bit; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.0 and 7.2 (required for E5-2600 v4 processors), RHEL 6.5, and RHEL 6.8 for v4 processors; Ubuntu 14.04; and NeoKylin 6.0 for China. Later releases are outside Dell's list for this model. Unlike the T7810, the T7910 was specified with TPM 2.0 under Windows 10, which is relevant to newer Windows requirements; confirm the TPM version on a specific unit with us before relying on it.

Buying a refurbished T7910 from ServerDove

We hold the T7910 in Doha as complete workstations with processor, memory, graphics and drives stated in each listing, as barebone chassis for buyers who want to build to their own specification, and as parts: the 1300 W power supply and the CPU heatsink and fan module. Refurbished units are tested before they are listed and are covered by the ServerDove warranty, with extended cover quoted on request.

Delivery across Qatar is typically one day from Doha stock. Installation and base configuration, including fitting a second processor, memory or a GPU into a barebone, are available as a service. Business customers can request a quotation for several units. Send the configuration you need on WhatsApp at +974 5521 2108, by email at sales@serverdove.com or through the contact page. For a smaller machine on the same platform see the Precision T7810; for the newer generation see the Precision T7920, or browse all Dell workstations.