• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.
  • The forums have been upgraded with support for dark mode. By default it will follow the setting on your system/browser. You may override it by scrolling to the end of the page and clicking the gears icon.

Dell T3500 too high cpu temp when converting video.

Joined
Nov 24, 2022
Messages
360 (0.39/day)
I got the temp from 65-67 when using handbrake for converting of a 1024/720 video with 28 fps. When the computer is idle the temp is on 22-24 and watching video makes it around 30-38. I have 2 big 120mm industrial fans on the front. They works but i don't think they ever spin up. Is there anything wrong? I have tried to check the speed to the fans in SpeedFan but i don't see any fans info. I guess these Dell fans don't work with any program?
 
65-67c is perfectly normal (and honestly pretty decent) for a CPU that's being pushed hard with a task like video encode. If you're super paranoid about temps you could try repasting it but it shouldn't be throttling at all, I'd say you have nothing to worry about. Those older Nehalem-based Xeon chips are built like tanks.

Also yeah, Dell typically doesn't let you control fan speed with anything, the curves are all baked into the BIOS. Some units have a secret "Thermal Control Panel" you can access with a strange key combo when the PC is running, but not all units have it and some don't let you actually change anything, just monitor stuff.
 
Those temps look good to me too.
 
Thanks. I came up with what caused the high temp. It is the converting to the H264 codec. If i convert to 1080p with 60fps it only ends up with 40 in temp and 30% cpu usage. I guess i need a extra fan to the cpu cooler if i want to convert h264 video. 54min video takes around 12min but then the temp is 67. But with 100% cpu usuage in test programs the temp gets around that to. I guess it should not run at 100% at to long time, I don't have any fan on the cooler.

My cpu https://ark.intel.com/content/www/u...45-12m-cache-2-40-ghz-5-86-gts-intel-qpi.html
 
I got the temp from 65-67 when using handbrake for converting of a 1024/720 video with 28 fps. When the computer is idle the temp is on 22-24 and watching video makes it around 30-38. I have 2 big 120mm industrial fans on the front. They works but i don't think they ever spin up. Is there anything wrong? I have tried to check the speed to the fans in SpeedFan but i don't see any fans info. I guess these Dell fans don't work with any program?
Dell uses proprietary hardware so doubt it.

You can always look at the heatsink mounting gracket and possibly find a better air cooler or get a All in 1 water cooler to keep cpu temps at bay.
 
Thanks. I came up with what caused the high temp. It is the converting to the H264 codec. If i convert to 1080p with 60fps it only ends up with 40 in temp and 30% cpu usage. I guess i need a extra fan to the cpu cooler if i want to convert h264 video. 54min video takes around 12min but then the temp is 67. But with 100% cpu usuage in test programs the temp gets around that to. I guess it should not run at 100% at to long time, I don't have any fan on the cooler.

My cpu https://ark.intel.com/content/www/u...45-12m-cache-2-40-ghz-5-86-gts-intel-qpi.html
I mean if you want lower temps feel free to go for it, I'll never bash someone for wanting better system performance, but I seriously wouldn't lose any sleep over your current numbers. 67c to a CPU is like a warm spring day to a human. You could run that CPU at 67c for 10 years and it wouldn't skip a beat.
 
I mean if you want lower temps feel free to go for it, I'll never bash someone for wanting better system performance, but I seriously wouldn't lose any sleep over your current numbers. 67c to a CPU is like a warm spring day to a human. You could run that CPU at 67c for 10 years and it wouldn't skip a beat.
67 degrees celsius is 152 Degrees Farenheit, THAT IS NOT A SPRING DAY.

67-70 degrees farenheit is a Good Spring Day though.
 
I got the temp from 65-67 when using handbrake
Perfectly normal. Nothing to worry about.
They works but i don't think they ever spin up. Is there anything wrong? I have tried to check the speed to the fans in SpeedFan but i don't see any fans info. I guess these Dell fans don't work with any program?
This is deliberate design. Speedfan should allow control of the system fans. However, if you have a spare 80mm fan you can improve cooling quickly by attaching the fan directly to the heatsink. See below;
T3500-HeatSinkFanCombo01.jpg

As you can see, I have a red-led fan attached using aluminium tape. The fan is placed so that it is pulling air through the heatsink toward the back of the case. This is an older photo, but when this was done, CPU temps rarely peaked above 60C.

I now have it setup like this;
DellT3500HeatsinkShroud&Fan01.jpg


DellT3500HeatsinkShroud&Fan02.jpg


DellT3500HeatsinkShroud&Fan05.jpg

With this config, even when soft-overclocked(using ThrottleStop & a Xeon W3680) to 4.13ghz and under full load, It stays right around 60C. Under normal conditions, the CPU rarely gets above 35C.

With that CPU, you'd be golden just adding a fan directly to the CPU heatsink.

Side note, that system can take much faster CPU's. For example, an X5675 or X5680 can be had for less than $35 and would improve your performance by a solid 30% to 40%. If you're in a part of the world that has easy access to amazon or ebay, it's an easy upgrade!
 
Last edited:
I was thinking of the biggest to my dell https://ark.intel.com/content/www/u...90-12m-cache-3-46-ghz-6-40-gts-intel-qpi.html thanks for the detailed answer. I guess i only have one free fan place on my motherboard. The one to the hard drive fan 4pin. The most cpu fans are on 3. I don't have any 4 pin contact to remade either. My hard drive only gets around 27 to 30 so i don't need any fan there. I rather have the cpu fan on the motherboard hard drive fan pins so it maybe can work normal and speed up to? If i get a original hard drive fan with 4 pins it may work to. I think it is 80mm.
 
Perfectly normal. Nothing to worry about.

This is deliberate design. Speedfan should allow control of the system fans. However, if you have a spare 80mm fan you can improve cooling quickly by attaching the fan directly to the heatsink. See below;
View attachment 274905
As you can see, I have a red-led fan attached using aluminium tape. The fan is placed so that it is pulling air through the heatsink toward the back of the case. This is an older photo, but when this was done, CPU temps rarely peaked above 60C.

I now have it setup like this;
View attachment 274906

View attachment 274907

View attachment 274910
With this config, even when soft-overclocked(using ThrottleStop & a Xeon W3680) to 4.13ghz and under full load, It stays right around 60C. Under normal conditions, the CPU rarely gets above 35C.


With that CPU, you'd be golden just adding a fan directly to the CPU heatsink.

Side note, that system can take much faster CPU's. For example, an X5675 or X5680 can be had for less than $35 and would improve your performance by a solid 30% to 40%. If you're in a part of the world that has easy access to amazon or ebay, it's an easy upgrade!

They suck! I would have made them blow... :D
 
67 degrees celsius is 152 Degrees Farenheit, THAT IS NOT A SPRING DAY.

67-70 degrees farenheit is a Good Spring Day though.
I think you’re missing the analogy. A CPU is not a human, and its operating environment is much different than ours. Even at idle, most CPUs operate outside of what a human would call comfortable. The OP was implying that this temp is just mildly hot for this type of CPU. Even the old Xeons throttle when they get too hot, but it isn’t doing so at this temp, not even close. The only reason to address it is if one just can’t bear to see their CPU get this hot. With such an old CPU, it’s probably run at this temp off and on for close to a decade.
 
I was thinking of the biggest to my dell https://ark.intel.com/content/www/u...90-12m-cache-3-46-ghz-6-40-gts-intel-qpi.html thanks for the detailed answer. I guess i only have one free fan place on my motherboard. The one to the hard drive fan 4pin. The most cpu fans are on 3. I don't have any 4 pin contact to remade either. My hard drive only gets around 27 to 30 so i don't need any fan there. I rather have the cpu fan on the motherboard hard drive fan pins so it maybe can work normal and speed up to? If i get a original hard drive fan with 4 pins it may work to. I think it is 80mm.
Dell will not spin up the fans when the CPU is only hitting 67c. Most of these workstations will not crank up fan speeds until at least 80c.

I think you're panicking about temps here. 67c is not hot, nowhere close, for a CPU.
 
Back
Top