Wonder if anyone can assist. I am based in the UK and just ordered a precision workstation with an NVS 290 card. I intend to use 3 monitors and therefore require to purchase another card and have opted for the same, a 290. The pc does not come with sound and therefore I will need to buy a basic sound card. Without knowng the spec of the motherboard I have no way of knowing whether the motherboards has 2 pci e 16 slots to accomodate the 2 nvs 290 cards. I am sure it has a spare pci slot for a basic sound card. As one cannot slot a pci e16 into a pci I feel its imperative to get this correct. Do you which motherboard comes with a t3400? or where i can get the info. The pc has not arrived yet and wanted all parts to arrive at the same time. Hope the above makes sense.
Are you sure it does not come with on board (albeit crappy) sound? Of course a sound card is an option, as is an external USB sound module. Regardless, it has more than enough slots for your needs. If you use the two PCIE video cards, your sound card will then be PCI. Read: http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/wst3400/en/ug/ug_en.pdf HTH.
Makes lots of sense. You can either see if Dell tells you in the specs what slots are available, or call them. They work for you. Make them earn their dollars. Good luck with your new system.
Not to worry... 1. The T3400 DOES come with onboard sound... on an x38 mobo. 2. The T3400 mobo has 2, PCIEx16 slots.... I like the T3400 so much that I've purchased 3 of them... I am currently running a T3400 with 2x, NVS 290, PCIEx16 cards, for my 4-monitor primary trading rig. You could also run an NVS 290, + 290 PCIEx1 or a 280 PCI along with one NVS 290x16... so long as your video requirements don't exceed 1600x1200, DVI.
2 months ago i also ordered a T3400 with NVS 290 and two monitors... nice machine... It has an onboard soundblabla... I just ordered the Dell speakers separately... works fine...
I have a T3400 and while it did not come with a souped up fancy sound card, rest assured it has sound; I did not have to upgrade to get it. Edit: Looks like we all answered at once and beat that horse to death.
wow! Thats answered all my questions and more and so effeciently. Cheers! I know where to come for my pc issues.
Yeah... Bottom Line... "The T3400 is GOOD!" Dell has abandoned the middle-grade mobo (as in the Dimension line). Dell now has only (1) cheapo mobos for the Inspiron and Vostro desktop lines and (2) decent, near-high-end mobos for XPS and Precision lines. I was nearly flabbergasted at the value of the T3400... VERY good for the price and capabiltity of the base configuration offered. (Keep in mind that you probably don't want to upgrade too much with Dells ... they're know hosers on that... but their base models are often good values...)
btw: ordered my T3400 on gnome's recommendation (started a thread for my evaluation)... Thank you again for your advice