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Is it possible to install a NVIDIA Geforce card in a Dell R710 or R5400 Dual Xeon system? The server itself is certified only for Quadro systems.

I don't desire the added rendering or memory from the quadro, nor do I desire the steep price increase for a comparable quadro card. I only want a strong card for running processing on for processing services on the server.

The first key issue is clearance. The R710 reports that it can take a full length PCIE x16 card up to 9.5" however Dell allows for the Quadro 6000 that has a reported length of 9.75 inches--so Dell is maybe able to extend that 9.5" limit a bit.

The second issue is drivers. I will probably have to use Server 2008 (although I'd love to use Windows 7) and it's not clear that NVIDIA will enjoy installing Geforce drivers.

Has anyone been able to make this happen?

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Steve
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1 Answers1

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  1. I just googled the Quadro 6000-series to see what it was and my jaw dropped. I understand why you're not keen on forking out for it!

  2. The Windows 7 drivers should install on Windows 2008 just fine, if they are signed. Now that 2008 R2 actually requires a high-end graphics card for some of its fancy new Hyper-V features, you'll find full support (I assume you're using 2008 R2, but you only mentioned 2008, but the drivers will still work).

  3. I suspect that Dell might use it as an excuse for not supporting the installation, so if you have any issues your first point of call would be to remove the graphics card.

Apart from the issue of it being officially "unsupported", you shouldn't have any troubles. Dell have a bit of a history of going out of their way to provide PCI-e expansion (The M610x blade for example) so it would be highly unusual if you had any issues.

Mark Henderson
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