First Look: Dells New Intel Nehalem-Based Workstations

by Nicholas Kolakowski

In addition to shipping with the Intel Xeon 5500 “Nehalem” chips, the Dell Precision T7500, T5500 and T3500 all feature an Intel Turbo Mode, which adapts processor speed based on application needs, including the capacity to overclock.

The Dell Precision T3500 features up to 24GB DDR3 ECC memory as well as an integrated memory controller. It is the most affordable in the new series, with pricing starting at $999.

The Dell Precision T5500 has a memory capacity of up to 72GB along with dual-socket Intel Xeon performance in a small-footprint system. Pricing starts at $1,620.

All three workstations, including the T5500 shown here, include an E-SATA port for fast external storage and up to 1.5TB SATA (Serial ATA) hard drives for local storage. They also feature Intel QuickPath and Direct Cache Access.

The T5500, like the T7500, supports Nvidia Tesla GPU compute solutions.

The Dell Precision T7500 offers up to two quad-core processors, up to 192GB of three-channel DDR3 ECC memory up to 1066 or 1333MHz, and dual native Gen 2 PCIe x16 graphics slots with up to 450 watts (two 225W or single 300W). The system starts at $1,800.

The T7500 supports Nvidia SLI technology without a riser. Dell claims that the system has over 1 billion configuration options.