Dell Precision T3420 SFF i7-7700K + RTX 3050 6G LP, Can it game?

[@remix3434]

I have built almost the same setup for a friend only with i7 8700, 32Gb ram and GeForce RTX 4060 Low Profile.

[@iamthekacper]

Hi . I had this graphics card and without undervolting it made too much noise, I recommend it. At this price, I recommend a used RTX a2000

[@itggear3400]

The RTX A2000 brand new costs around $700, while used ones are approximately $350 and are mostly mining GPU cards. Also, the A2000 is very rare to find. The RTX 3050 LP brand new costs around $170 to $200.

[@iamthekacper]

@@itggear3400 I have two RTX a2000 and mining or not, they work without problems. In Poland, the price of a used A2000 is similar to the price of a new 3050 LP. 3050 LP would be a very nice SFF card if the cooling wasn't so noisy

[@itggear3400]

Yes, you're right, If we can get the RTX A2000 at a good price, it’s a solid choice. The RTX A2000 offers alternative specs compared to the RTX 3060 in terms of memory size and CUDA cores. Additionally, the blower-style GPU design should perform well in systems with restricted airflow.

[@alinoumiere4731]

Nice video. Keep going forward, but about the gpu, it will have high temperatures since the space between Gpu and powersupply is very tiny

[@itggear3400]

Yes, the RTX 3050 LP in this video reached temperatures over 80°C, and the GPU fan was very loud. So, I decided to remove the PSU cover lid to make space for better GPU airflow. As a result, the GPU temperature became normal, and the fan is not too loud anymore.

[@alinoumiere4731]

@@itggear3400 OK

[@judasthepious1499]

@@itggear3400 it's a very smart move there to remove some part of the PSU cover.. I would've never thought of that... But maybe I would put a fan in the ODD tray, tie it with some cable ties and keep the ODD cover entrance opened to get more intake

[@itggear3400]

There is a better solution than removing the PSU lid cover. The Dell Precision T3420 uses an 8-pin ATX motherboard power connector, so we can use a 24-pin to 8-pin cable adapter with a flex PSU. This setup provides an extra 20mm gap between the PSU and GPU. While I initially considered doing this in my video, I opted for the original PSU to keep it budget-friendly.

[@itggear3400]

If we use a flex PSU with this PC, we can also install a dual-slot low-profile GPU in the PCIe x16 slot. However, we’ll need to modify the case by cutting out a section to accommodate the GPU in the second PCIe x16 slot.

[@fabsenbmx]

Nice! I did something similar but „upgraded“ the GPU fan situation. I removed the stock 50mm (very noisy) fans and attached a single 80mm fan. So much better temp and noise wise. Looks ghetto tho

[@itggear3400]

Sounds great!

[@UnCanal2]

De la 3050?

[@hovanthecool1995]

I have a question: Can you put an 8th gen i7 in here to have Windows 11 eligibility?

[@itggear3400]

The Dell Precision T3420 SFF supports 6th and 7th generation Intel Core processors, as well as Intel Xeon E3 v5 family CPUs. Unfortunately, it does not support 8th generation Intel Core processors. However, you can still run Windows 11 on this PC. Thank you!

[@hovanthecool1995]

@@itggear3400 Oh, ok. Great!

[@JardTheRat]

@@hovanthecool1995 you can easily bypass the windows 11 requirements, just watch a tutorial on youtube. I bypassed the requirements on my i5 6400 and it runs perfectly fine.

[@Intheseaabovethesurface]

Any plans to case swap? I would love to see that video. Keep up the good work!

[@itggear3400]

That's the plan!

[@SeeJayPlayGames]

I would have gotten a 300+W Flex ATX 1U power supply to make room for the card in the x16 slot. Might need adapter cables or roll your own. But anything to give more power and space for that card to stretch its legs. Also, since overclocking is out of the question with the Dell BIOS I question the wisdom of the I7-7700K (as opposed to non-K or an equivalent Xeon). I guess Intel has a tuning utility that will work, though?

[@itggear3400]

You may use a 1U flex PSU on this PC; however, you need to modify the case to be able to install a dual-slot low-profile GPU on the PCIe x16 slot. Additionally, the PSU mounting screw holes do not fit the flex PSU, so you’ll need to mod or DIY the installation of the flex PSU along with a 24-pin to 8-pin main ATX cable adapter. While Dell BIOS limitations prevent overclocking, the i7-7700K’s stock clock speed (4.2 GHz, boosting to 4.5 GHz) remains impressive, and none of the non-K or Xeon Intel CPUs can achieve this clock speed. Thank you.

[@Renato69705]

Nice video. What is the chipset of this motherboard?

[@itggear3400]

Intel C236 chipset

[@mrzam1136]

Too bad LP version is always 1.5x more expensive here in my country. Otherwise, I love to experiment this.

[@execute1d]

the stock cooler is beast though and more better for airflow, even though more noisy

[@itggear3400]

I tested the CPU cooler before recording this video. The stock cooler didn’t work well with the Intel Core i7-7700K. With the case open, the PC’s idle CPU temperature was around 68°C, and during benchmarking, the CPU reached a maximum temperature of 100°C. As a result, I decided to change the CPU cooler.

[@UnCanal2]

Claro que no, cualquiera sabe eso

[@itggear3400]

@@UnCanal2 Yes, the original CPU cooler that comes with the Dell Precision T3420 SFF isn’t efficient enough for an unlocked CPU like the Intel Core i7-7700K. I believe this is due to the lack of heat pipes, as it only has two small heat pipes in the fin heatsink. Additionally, the CPU fan is 60mm, and the fan blades are too short because the fan turbine is large, around 40mm. This is why it doesn’t transfer enough heat for the i7-7700K.

[@NVGU009]

Always good

[@judasthepious1499]

why not go with higher Xeon?

[@itggear3400]

While the Xeon E3-1245 V3 is a solid choice for productivity tasks, the i7-700K’s higher base and boost clocks make it better suited for gaming. If gaming performance is your priority, go with the i7-700K!

[@MrGillette]

Did you use an adapter to plug the GPU into the PCIe X4 slot?

[@itggear3400]

The Dell Precision T3420 SFF motherboard has a PCIe x4 slot at the first position, and it is open-ended, so I did not need to use any adapter or modify the PCIe slot to install the GPU. Thank you.

[@MrGillette]

Yes I actually had a closer look at the motherboard and it’s open ended. Thank you for replying!

[@Gaming_TechBench]

Did you try to oc

[@-S.T.P.]

that memory upgrade was pointless. you should have just doubled up the 2666 ram...

[@itggear3400]

Yes, I’m aware of it. The original RAM is ECC, so I plan to pair non-ECC RAM with an Intel Core CPU and reserve the ECC RAM for another Xeon system. Thank you.

[@dtdgughguguuijojo2658]

200 watt psu ?next pls

[@vucadao]

xeon same to i7

[@itggear3400]

Yes, but the Xeon I have is a 6th gen with a lower core clock than the Intel Core i7-7700K, which is an unlocked 7th gen Intel Core CPU.

[@jizzo2009]

@@itggear3400I don’t think you can overclock it with factory mono can you? Why not use a regular 7700?

[@itggear3400]

@jizzo2009 , I’ve already got an i7-7700K, so there’s no need for me to purchase the i7-7700. Plus, the i7-7700K boasts a base clock of 4.2 GHz and a boost clock of 4.5 GHz-higher than the i7-7700’s base clock of 3.6 GHz and boost clock of 4.2 GHz. Overclocking the i7-7700K isn’t necessary to outperform the i7-7700.