IBM System x3650 M5 Upgrade Guide
Maximize the performance and lifespan of your System x3650 M5 (M5). Every upgrade option below is verified compatible.
Upgrade Networking
Stepping up from 1GbE to 10GbE or 25GbE eliminates network bottlenecks for VM migration, iSCSI storage traffic, and backup windows. Most modern workloads benefit from at least 10GbE.
00AE914 IBM N2225 SAS/SATA HBA
00AE918 IBM N2226 SAS/SATA HBA
00AG570 IBM Emulex Vfa5.2 2X10GBE SFP+ PCIe Adapter
00AG573 IBM Emulex Vfa5.2 2X10GBE SFP+ PCIe Adapter
00E1652 IBM PCIE2 Ethernet Adapter
00E1681 IBM PCIE2 Ethernet Adapter
Upgrade Accessories
Rails, bezels, cable management arms, and drive caddies keep your server organized and serviceable. Replacing worn accessories extends the physical life of your equipment.
00FK818 IBM HDD Backplane 150MM Cable
00FK819 IBM HDD Backplane 150MM Cable
00FK840 IBM SAS Cable 12GB S 835 770MM
00FK841 IBM SAS Cable 12GB S 835 770MM
00JY824 Emulex VFA5 Fcoe/Iscsi Sw for PCIe Adapter (fod)
00KA516 IBM HOT-SWAP Fan
Upgrade Storage
Moving from spinning disk to SSD or NVMe storage provides the largest single performance improvement — often 10-50x faster I/O. Consider NVMe for boot drives and high-IOPS workloads.
00AJ000 IBM 120-GB SATA 2.5 MLC HS SSD
00AJ005 IBM 240-GB SATA 2.5 MLC HS SSD
00AJ010 IBM 480-GB SATA 2.5 MLC HS SSD
00AJ015 IBM 800-GB SATA 2.5 MLC HS SSD
00AJ025 IBM 240-GB 2.5 SATA MLC Ss SSD
00AJ030 IBM 480-GB 2.5 SATA MLC Ss SSD
Upgrade Controllers
Upgrading your RAID controller enables faster disk I/O, larger cache, and support for newer drive technologies. Essential when adding NVMe or SAS-4 drives.
00AE912 IBM N2225 SAS/SATA HBA
00AE916 IBM N2226 SAS/SATA HBA
00JY847 Emulex 8GB FC 1-PORT HBA
00JY848 Emulex 8GB FC 2-PORT HBA
00JY849 Emulex 16GB FC 2-PORT HBA
00KH483 N2226 SAS/SATA HBA
Upgrade Power Supplies
Higher-wattage PSUs provide headroom for future upgrades — more RAM DIMMs, GPUs, or additional drives. Redundant hot-swap PSUs also protect against single-point power failures.
00AL533 IBM High Efficiency 550W Power Supply
00AL534 IBM High Efficiency 750W Power Supply
00AL535 IBM High Efficiency 750W Power Supply
00AL536 IBM High Efficiency 900W Power Supply
00E6729 IBM 1400W AC Power Supply
00FK930 IBM High Efficiency 550W Power Supply
Upgrade Memory
Memory is the most impactful upgrade for virtualization and database workloads. Upgrading from 64GB to 128GB or 256GB can dramatically improve VM density and application response times.
00D4957 IBM 4GB 2Rx8 UDIMM DDR3-1600 PC3-12800E ECC Memory
00D4966 IBM 16GB RDIMM DDR3-1600 PC3-12800R ECC Memory
00D4993 IBM 8GB 2Rx8 RDIMM DDR3-1600 PC3-12800R ECC Memory
00D4995 IBM 8GB 2Rx8 RDIMM DDR3-1600 PC3-12800R ECC Memory
00D5014 IBM 4GB RDIMM DDR3-1600 PC3-12800R ECC Memory
00D5018 IBM 8GB RDIMM DDR3-1600 PC3-12800R ECC Memory
Upgrade GPU
This category provides verified compatible upgrade paths. ICD engineers validate every part for compatibility with your specific server model and workload requirements.
00MKC Dell NVIDIA Quadro P5000 16GB GDDR5X GPU (Dell Pn)
00P2530 IBM Gxt 135P Graphics Card 2849
00P5756 IBM 2849 GXT135P PCI Graphics Accelerator
00P5758 IBM 2849 GXT135P PCI Graphics Accelerator
03N5853 IBM GXT135P PCI Graphics Card 2849 00P5758
03N5855 IBM Gxt 135P Graphics Card
Upgrade Cooling
This category provides verified compatible upgrade paths. ICD engineers validate every part for compatibility with your specific server model and workload requirements.
09N7285 IBM 3560-1RU Blower Fan Assembly
44E5083 IBM 8852 Bladecenter Blower Module
46D0338 IBM X3500 X3400 120MM System Fan
RFQ-SRV-FAN Server Fan - to Be Specified
RFQ-SRV-HEATSINK Server Heatsink - to Be Specified
Upgrade Processors
CPU upgrades deliver more cores and higher clock speeds. If your workload is CPU-bound (compilation, analytics, HPC), upgrading from 8-core to 16+ core processors provides significant throughput improvement.
00J6393 IBM Intel Xeon E5-2407 V2 2.4GHZ 10MB 4C
00KA067 IBM Intel Xeon E5-2620 V3 6C 2.4GHZ CPU
00KA068 IBM Intel Xeon E5-2630 V3 8C 2.4GHZ CPU
00KA069 IBM Intel Xeon E5-2640 V3 8C 2.6GHZ CPU
00KA070 IBM Intel Xeon E5-2603 V3 6C 1.6GHZ CPU
00KA071 IBM Intel Xeon E5-2609 V3 6C 1.9GHZ CPU
Upgrade Power & Cooling
This category provides verified compatible upgrade paths. ICD engineers validate every part for compatibility with your specific server model and workload requirements.
00KA517 IBM Heatsink for 8871 AC1 3650 M5
00MU235 IBM Lenovo Fan for X3500 M5
00MV921 IBM Cooling Fan for X3650 M5
00N6409 IBM Xseries 235 Front Fan
00N6991 IBM Fan for Xseries 330 335
00N7248 IBM Netfinity 4500 6000 Rear Fan
Upgrade Complete Server
This category provides verified compatible upgrade paths. ICD engineers validate every part for compatibility with your specific server model and workload requirements.
8670-11X IBM Eserver Xseries 345 RAM 512
86857EU IBM Xseries Xeon Mp 2.0GHZ
86859RX IBM Xseries 255 Xeon Mp-2.8g
More System x3650 M5 Resources
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