I am looking at the 3680 for my client. We are going to put a video card in it, specifically an RTX3060 which is the GPU recommended for the proprietary dental imaging software he runs. Problem is Dell specs claims the maximum video card height for that case is 4.37 inches but the RTX 3060 is 4.88 inches tall due to bulkier heat sync and fans and regardless of brand. So its about a half inch or so above the standard PCI bracket height which is common with most gaming cards these days. The Dell case is just over 8 inches in width and from pictures of the inside of the case its clear there is at least another couple of inches above the video card itself. Below is a link to a review that was done on this machine and the images clearly show that extra space. Not sure why Dell is claiming the video card height max is 4.37 inches. Also a linked the specs to the Dell.

Here is the review with the pictures
https://www.storagereview.com/review/dell-precision-3680-workstation-review

Here is Dells spec sheet. Look at page 25 and 26
https://www.delltechnologies.com/asset/en-us/products/workstations/technical-support/precision-3680-tower-technical-guidebook.pdf

Hi all.

I'm looking for a "off the shelf" box with an intel i9-14900k chip in it to test a "single threaded application" to it's absolute max , and dell now offer one:

Precision 3680 Tower | Dell UK

They've removed the water cooling AIO solution, and provided an "Premium air cooling solution", proudly declaring that it comes with " Unlimited Turbo Duration", which given it's pushing 253W max chat at 6.0GHz seems a bit of a challenge, but looking on here it appears the premium air cooler was a prefered choice as the AIO solution for the i9-3900k/3660 wasn't worth it.

I was wondering if anyone else had gone for this, and had any feedback on how it performs in real life, including how noisy it gets? It's meant to sit in an office environment, so noise is a concern.

I seem to recall also reading of some issues with dell boxes running the Xeon-E2488 CPU which hits thermal throttling due to insufficent power available (it being limited to 165W, not 253W) so just wanting to check feelings before i throw £2k down the drain..

Ta!

Hi all,

I just bought a Dell Precision 3680 Tower (i9-14900, RTX A1000) from a local reseller (PCGarage). To my surprise, the unit arrived with a generic CPU cooler that doesn’t match what’s shown in Dell’s official product materials.

First image is my PC. The rest is what i found on internet and on official Dell website.

More importantly, internal components shown in the Dell visual documentation seem to be missing. Specifically:

• #5: The front intake fans (#5) are missing entirely — not even installed. These are clearly shown as included in Dell’s official 3D breakdown.

• #6: The premium CPU cooler with copper heatpipes is not what I received — instead, I got a very basic and noisy cooler.

I’ve attached Dell’s official internal layout image, and it clearly shows both components as standard parts. There’s also no mention on the reseller’s site that images are “for illustration only.”

Has anyone else had a similar experience with the Precision 3680? Should I escalate this with Dell or the reseller? Is this normal for certain regional configurations?

Thanks for any advice.

Hello everyone,

I have a Dell Precision 3680 Mid Tower and I want to migrate its components to a more standard but larger case to accommodate an RTX 4080 graphics card.

Here is the Dell case : https://imgur.com/a/5ua1Z2t

Here is the 4080 in the Dell case : https://imgur.com/a/td9CRiQ

Has anyone tried this kind of migration before? Are the components (motherboard, power supply, etc.) from this Dell tower compatible with larger standard ATX cases? Are there any special precautions or modifications I should be aware of?

Thanks in advance for your advice and experiences!

Hello!

I'm looking for a little help regarding the compatibility between a tower PC and graphics card. My boss bought a Dell Precision 3680 Tower (Link) and a PNY NVIDIA RTX A2000 (Link) and asked me to install it. I don't have much experience building PCs, but I noticed right away that the tower has single height slots while the card is a double height card. Because of this, there is a metal strip that would run across the middle of the GPU. Is it still possible to install this card in this PC? If it is possible, would this metal strip significantly affect the GPU's performance since it would block about half of the exhaust airflow? Can I just cut out this metal strip to improve the GPU's airflow (I guess this would probably void the tower's warranty)?

I haven't tried to physically put the card in yet because I don't want to open the packaging in case we need to return it. I've also checked that the GPU has a maximum power draw of 70W and the PCIe slot should be able to do up to 75W (there is no additional power cable anyways). The tower has a 1000W power supply, which I guess is plenty even if the installed i9 14900K has a max power draw of 253W. Also, I realized I removed the wrong two slots in the pictures; they should both be one slot lower.

Any help would be greatly appreciated :)

I am looking at the 3680 for my client. We are going to put a video card in it, specifically an RTX3060 which is the GPU recommended for the proprietary dental imaging software he runs. Problem is Dell specs claims the maximum video card height for that case is 4.37 inches but the RTX 3060 is 4.88 inches tall due to bulkier heat sync and fans and regardless of brand. So its about a half inch or so above the standard PCI bracket height which is common with most gaming cards these days. The Dell case is just over 8 inches in width and from pictures of the inside of the case its clear there is at least another couple of inches above the video card itself. Below is a link to a review that was done on this machine and the images clearly show that extra space. Not sure why Dell is claiming the video card height max is 4.37 inches. Also a linked the specs to the Dell.

Here is the review with the pictures
https://www.storagereview.com/review/dell-precision-3680-workstation-review

Here is Dells spec sheet. Look at page 25 and 26
https://www.delltechnologies.com/asset/en-us/products/workstations/technical-support/precision-3680-tower-technical-guidebook.pdf

Hello!

I'm looking for a little help regarding the compatibility between a tower PC and graphics card. My boss bought a Dell Precision 3680 Tower (Link) and a PNY NVIDIA RTX A2000 (Link) and asked me to install it. I don't have much experience building PCs, but I noticed right away that the tower has single height slots while the card is a double height card. Because of this, there is a metal strip that would run across the middle of the GPU. Is it still possible to install this card in this PC? If it is possible, would this metal strip significantly affect the GPU's performance since it would block about half of the exhaust airflow? Can I just cut out this metal strip to improve the GPU's airflow (I guess this would probably void the tower's warranty)?

I haven't tried to physically put the card in yet because I don't want to open the packaging in case we need to return it. I've also checked that the GPU has a maximum power draw of 70W and the PCIe slot should be able to do up to 75W (there is no additional power cable anyways). The tower has a 1000W power supply, which I guess is plenty even if the installed i9 14900K has a max power draw of 253W. Also, I realized I removed the wrong two slots in the pictures; they should both be one slot lower.

Any help would be greatly appreciated :)

Hey guys, I have Dell Precision 3680 Tower Workstation i9-14900k with 1000W PSU which has these connectors for GPU,
👉2x 6+2-pin (i.e., 8-pin PCIe) (from PSU)
👉2x 6-pin PCIe (from PSU)

So my question is, will RTX 5080 which has 3 x 8-pin-to-16-pin connector support with my workstation, if not is there any alternative way?

Anyone can advise if it is at all possible to get WD19S docking station to work with Precision 3680 (desktop PC)?

BTW the noise made by WD19S fan is one of the most annoying noises comparable only to a noise made by a lonely mosquito in the middle of the night (not in terms of how it sounds but in terms of how annoying it is).

Hello!

I'm looking for a little help regarding the compatibility between a tower PC and graphics card. My boss bought a Dell Precision 3680 Tower (Link) and a PNY NVIDIA RTX A2000 (Link) and asked me to install it. I don't have much experience building PCs, but I noticed right away that the tower has single height slots while the card is a double height card. Because of this, there is a metal strip that would run across the middle of the GPU. Is it still possible to install this card in this PC? If it is possible, would this metal strip significantly affect the GPU's performance since it would block about half of the exhaust airflow? Can I just cut out this metal strip to improve the GPU's airflow (I guess this would probably void the tower's warranty)?

I haven't tried to physically put the card in yet because I don't want to open the packaging in case we need to return it. I've also checked that the GPU has a maximum power draw of 70W and the PCIe slot should be able to do up to 75W (there is no additional power cable anyways). The tower has a 1000W power supply, which I guess is plenty even if the installed i9 14900K has a max power draw of 253W. Also, I realized I removed the wrong two slots in the pictures; they should both be one slot lower.

Any help would be greatly appreciated :)

Looking for some advice. Does anyone know if a RTX 5070 ti, measuring 329.7 x 67.8 x 137.8mm (13" x 5.4" x 2.7") would physically fit in the Dell 3680? Thanks.

Update: if anyone is interested, the answer is no. The Dell 3680 won't fit the 5070 ti at the dimensions I quoted. It will, however, fit a smaller one. The one I eventually got measures L=304 W=126 H=50 mm.

I have been an exclusive Dell user for my whole adult life. At work, we use Dell for laptops, servers and workstations. At home, I have had various Dell desktops and laptops.

My last workhorse Dell desktop lasted 9 years (and is still going) but couldn't jump to Windows 11 so I treated myself and spent 5K+ on a new Precision 3660.

It is a lemon. Out of the box, it felt strangely cheap compared to my old T1700. The graphics card wobbled with no support, the power supply had horrible coil hiss and worst of all the fans are very noisy and have a weird fault where one revs up and down slightly. One also rattles from time to time.

Right away I started experiencing unexpected restarts.

Four calls to tech support, two tech visits, a new power supply and two new fans later the issues remain. The reliability report hovers around half. 5 out of 10.

Another call to tech support and this time I got a refund option almost immediately. Not what I want but I will take it. It is going to cost me in downtime to move to a new machine but so be it.

I have been burned. Today I spent 3.5K on a generic replacement with much higher specs. I will never go back to Dell and will be looking for alternatives at work.

Edit. I forgot the best bit, I had to lend the first Dell tech a screwdriver because he turned up with zero tools.

Time Stamps

Dell Precision 3680 Tower 4090/i9-14900k

$2500 shipped $2200 local cash

• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, 24GB GDDR6X, HDMI, 3 DP

• Intel® Core™ i9 14th Gen 14900K (36 MB cache, 24 cores, 32 threads, 3.2 GHz to 6.0 GHz, 125W)

• 64GB: 2 x 32 GB, DDR5, 4400 MT/s, ECC

• 2 TB, M.2 2280, Gen 4 PCIe NVMe, SSD

• 1000W Platinum PSU Label

• System Power Cord C13 (US 125V, 15A)

• Premium CPU Air Cooler with VR Heatsink

• Windows 11 Pro, English, Spanish, French, Brazilian Portuguese

• WLAN Intel AX211 wireless card driver

• External Antenna for AX211

• Intel Wi-Fi 6/6E (6GHz) AX211 2x2

• Internal Speaker for Precision

Dell Precision 3660 w intel i9-13900k

$2300 shipped $2000 local cash

• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, 24GB GDDR6X, HDMI, 3 DP -i9- 13900K (36MB Cache, 24 Core (8 +16), 3.0GHz to 5.8GHz (125W)) TDP -32GB 2x16GB DDR5 UD NECC, V2

• 2 TB, M.2 2280, Gen 4 PCIe NVMe, SSD

• 1000W Platinum PSU Label

• System Power Cord C13 (US 125V, 15A)

• Premium CPU Air Cooler with VR Heatsink

• Windows 11 Pro, English, Spanish, French, Brazilian Portuguese

• WLAN Intel AX211 wireless card driver

• External Antenna for AX211

• Intel Wi-Fi 6/6E (6GHz) AX211 2x2

• Internal Speaker for Precision

I will be starting a faculty position at an R1 university and need to purchase a computer for my department office.

A lot of advice on computer configurations is meant for gamers, but I'm not a gamer. I will be using it for research purposes with multiple monitors for processing data, running analyses in ArcGIS, managing datasets, editing 1000s of photos, working with multiple applications, professional video calls and delivering lectures, etc. I'm not much of a computer person, but I desperately want a machine that can keep up with me. I get very frustrated when my computer is slowing me down.

The university will only allow us to purchase Dell computers and any upgrades to my office computer will need to come from grants, so I would like the specs to be as top notch or upgradable as possible. Any advice on what to focus on would be great.

My budget is about $1,500 to $2,000.

I can choose between a Dell OptiPlex Small Form Factor (Plus 7020), OptiPlex All-in-One Plus 7420, a Precision 3280 Compact, and a Precision 3680 Tower. Portability isn't a concern for me as I'm desperately trying to only work when I'm on campus.

Right now I'm leaning towards a Dell Precision 3680 Tower with the following specs:

• Processor: Intel® Core™ i9 14900K

• Video Card: Intel Integrated Graphics

  • Not sure how to navigate the options on this, or if it's really even necessary. What would the differences be between Intel Integrated Graphics and the dizzying suite of options for AMD Radeon or NVIDIA cards?

• Memory: 32 GB (2 x 16 GB)

  • This seems like the most important to me. For my purposes I figure 32 GB should be plenty and can be expanded later, but any advice on this is welcome.

• Storage: 1 TB, M.2 2280, Gen 4 PCIe NVMe, SSD

  • I'll be relying on cloud-based storage, but I understand that local storage is still important.

  • There are a lot of options here for additional hard drives, but this seems unnecessary.

With these specs, the price is $1,927 which is basically the top of my budget. How does this look? Any advice on which specs to focus on?

Recently purchased a 3660 tower, with a 1000W power supply.
The motherboard has a PCI Express x16 Gen5 slot.

I've tried installing a Gefore RTX 4070, but it's not even recognized as a device in device manager. I've tried a GTX 1080 from a working system and see the same thing (no device found).
I contacted Dell support as at this point it looks like a defunked PCIE slot on the mobo.

They are saying only a specific list of graphics cards are supported by the motherboard:
Precision 3660 Tower Setup and Specifications | Dell US

That doesn't seem right to me. Thoughts?

I took a Dell Precision 3680, put an i9 14900k processor on it, 1000w power supply, 64gb RAM, two SATA 8TB drives, one 500gb SSD, three NVME 4 TB drives, a 4070 Ti, sound card, and UPS.

The SATA drives transfer around 70mb/s when the same drive transfers at 170-200mb/s when it's in a drive bay.

The NVME drives transfer at about 70mb/s too.

The SSD transfers around 40mb/s.

I'm on Windows 10, fully updated, Intel drivers updated, and BIOS storage configured to ACHI, not RAID ON.

Thoughts?

Dell Pc won't boot after update 24h2

Hy

Serious problem here. I updated my w11 during lunch to 24h2 after it asked me 20 times this morning, and when i came back i had a black screen. I pressed the power button to restart and it always freezes at the boot proces ( dell emblem with running circle under it)

My pc has programs i cannot afford to deinstall if i have to do a reset or something.

What are my options to do now ?

Thanks in advance !!

Windows just destroyed my pc and probably my work programs