I have two Dell T320 servers, which work great. But I'd like to have some more CPU power, so think about upgrading to the T420. It is almost the same, except that on the T420 main board, which seems to be otherwise the identical PCB, the second CPU socket is actually installed. (In the T320 it's just empty soldering points.) My question is: Is the air baffle the same, or do I need a new one if I swap out the main board? I am aware that I will need a second CPU heatsink.
Thanks.
It's much more than a fan shroud. It's a baffle specifically designed to guide cooling air over the CPU heatsinks and the RAM modules. This kind of airflow design is very common in servers. I wouldn't trust it without, especially since the CPU heatsinks have no dedicated fans, but rely on the aerodynamic functioning of the baffle.
And yes, I know they are very similar, in fact I am quite (but not absolutely) certain that they are identical except for the actual second CPU socket. It's almost as if you didn't read my post. Even the soldering points for the second CPU socket are there in the single-CPU T320. They certainly won't have different PSU connectors. They even share part numbers for the case.
It's a piece of plastic that guides air. Shroud, baffle, duct, whatever you want to call it. I've run plenty of servers without them just fine. The fans push enough air on their own. You really only need it if you're running hot due to a lot of drives, cards, or sustained CPU or RAM usage.
And honestly, I'm not sure that this one would be doing very much anyway, considering the other CPU and RAM won't have one.
Clearly you neither read my post nor looked into what the air baffle in the T320 actually looks like. So whats your point?
I both read it and looked up a picture of the part as used in the T320 and T420. My points were in my first comment.
I don't understand why people ask for advice, and when someone gives their thoughts and experience, they get combative.