I have a Dell T300 running ESXi 4.1 currently with a X3363 processor. I am planning on upgrading to the X5470 which I know supports VMDirectPath. My question is just upgrading the processor enough or will I need to upgrade the motherboard as well? I have looked at the HCL but am unclear if the T300 does support VMDirectPath.
Intel Directed I/O is a chipset feature so the BIOS of the MB should expose this option. If it's not there get the latest BIOS to see if that correct it and refer to the MB specs.
I have the latest BIOS but do not see the option. Would the option be hidden since the processor I have currently installed is the X3363?
It would need to be exposed in the BIOS. I would check the manual to see whether other features would be available with a different processor.