I have a question about upgrading a graphics card.

[IOVLunchbox]

I just got a computer from ebay a few weeks ago and I feel like it was lacking in the gpu department.

Current setup

HP Z420

E5-1650 V1 (3.2ghz-3.8ghz) 

16gb ddr 1600mhz

2tb HD

3gb GTX 780TI

I was thinking about getting this 

and since my 600w psu only has 2 6 pin (75w per) I was gonna get this 

Is there any reason why this set-up shouldnt work?

[DGroves · Accepted solution]

you should have no issues as the 1660 card uses less watts than some of the factory recommended HP cards sold with this model system

[IOVLunchbox]

Thank you, this is the first pc I built since 2008. (8800gtx, c2d era)

[SDH]

1.  Check your boot block date in BIOS.... is it from 2011 or 2013.  If 2013 you have a version 2 motherboard in there which can run both the approved v1 and v2 processors.  Both are fine, but the v2 is worth learning about upgrading if you have one.

2.  I'm not a video card expert.

3.  You're talking standard consumer grade specs on that 75W/6-wire plug.  HP workstations usually have 18A per 6-wire plug rating.  18A x 12VDC = the HP wattage rating.  Hence, you can do more than you think with one of those.  The amperage is on the power supply label.  Easy way to find one is via search via eBay and find a good pic of the label.  This topic has been discussed in detail in prior posts here.  So, 6 to 8 adapters and 6 to dual 6 adapters are available that work just fine.

[BambiBoomZ]

IOVLunchbox,

Choosing a new GPU is best when matching the choice to the use.  Workstation perormance is optimized in terms of reliability- the reason whys o very few Xeons have unlocked multipliers, and if the primary workstation's applications use viewports, the GPU should be an OpenGL optimized + viewport support GPU such as NVIIDIA Quadro or AMD Firepro.  the specifications fro base clock speed, question of optimization for CUDA cores are considerations, as is the amount of VRAM and the bandwidth and the power consumption.

Consider running Passmark Performance Test- there's a 30-day free trial- to have an  idea of the  performance relative to the 1,306 z420's tested.  

In terms of performance, the GTX 780 Ti, one the top performing gaming cards of it's day, is a very good performance even by current standards.  On Passmark Performance Test benchmarks, the average GTX 780Ti has a 3D Mark of 8884.  That is a quite usable performance today unless, the file size is very large or intensive compute applications are used. The GTX 780 Ti has 2,880 CUDA cores and 3GB of GDDR5, 384-bit.  that bandwidth is important. The next GPU that is faster is the still current GTX 1060 3GB at 8976, which is a 192-bit GPU..  In Passmark baselines, a z420 /E5-1650/ GTX 780Ti has a 2D Mark of 633 and 3D score of 9685 .  For comparison, the highest 3D mark for any HP system using the GTX 1660 Ti is 7092 in a z620 (the motherboard is quite similar to the z420) , but that system is using an E5-2620 v2 which has a 2.1GHz base clock.  that shows the importance of the single-thread performance, which is based on the clock speed.

The GTX 1660 Ti has quite good specifications: 1536 CUDA, 6GB  of GDDR6 at 192-bit. If the subject system is to be used for applications that can be accommodated by GTX, and the GTX 780 Ti performance is inadequate, consider going to an 8GB, 256-bit such as GTX 1070 Ti: 2432 CUDA, 8GB of GDDR5 at 256-bit.  In the office z620 (E5-1680 v2 8C@4.3GHz /64GB), a GTX 1070 Ti has a 3D mark of 12629.    For comparison , the office z420 (E5-1650 v2 (6-core@4.3GHz) / 32GB) uses a GTX 1060 6GB scoring 10852 , a card purchased two weeks ago for $111.

SDH has a good thought in mentioning the value of the second version z420 motherboard as certain Xeon E5 v2's: E5-1650 v2, E5-1660 v2, and E5-1680v2's can be overclocked using the Intel Extreme Tuning Utility and that combination can dramatically improve the single thread performance.  The memory can also be DDR3-1866 instead of 1600. The current Passmark  Single Thread Mark for the z420_3 /E5-1650 v2 is 2385 where the average for the E5-1650  is 2000.  For ocomcparison, the average for the i5-7600K, a top gaming performer of 2015 is 2384 and the average for the Xeon Gold  6144 -8-core, costing  $2,925- is 2391.  The E5-1650 v2 was purchased a month ago for $89. The E5-1680 v2 8-core scores 2372 where the average is 2076. Both these systems end and use the z420 Liquid cooler for these clock speeds.The E5-1680 v2 was new, $1,723.  Of course, the motherboard can be changed- and a good percentage of the value recovered in resale, and used with the current E5-1650,1600 RAM, and stock air cooling while changes are made.  In my view, a v2 motherboard/ CPU is a better long term investment than any other change as the higher single-thread performance of the v2 will improve the performance of every subsystem without any other change.  With a boosted- clock E5-1650 v2,  the GTX 780 Ti performance may be adequate.  The v2 upgrade may mean the system will be useful an extra two years and the resale will be better than a first series.

The z420 can be optimized in several directions and maintain excellent reliability.  Consider taking that process methodically and have an overall, long-term plan to give the changes the best cost/ benefit.

BambiBoomZ

HP z620_2 (2017) (R7) > Xeon E5-1680 v2 (8-core@ 4.3GHz) / z420 Liquid Cooling / 64GB DDR3-1866 ECC Reg / Quadro P2000 5GB _ GTX 1070 Ti 8GB / HP Z Turbo Drive M.2 256GB AHCI + Samsung 970 EVO M.2 NVMe 500GB + HGST 7K6000 4TB / Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 sound interface + 2X Mackie MR824 / 825W PSU /> HP OEM Windows 7 Prof.’l 64-bit > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H (2560 X 1440)

[ Passmark Rating = 6280 / CPU rating = 17178 / 2D = 819 / 3D= 12629 / Mem = 3002 / Disk = 13751 / Single Thread Mark = 2368 [10.23.18]
[Cinebench: OpenGL= 134.68 fps / CPU= 1234 cb [10.27.18]

HP z420_3: (2015) (R11) Xeon E5-1650 v2 (6C@ 4.3GHz) / z420 Liquid cooling / 32GB (4X 8GB DDR3-1866 ECC registered / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB/ Samsung 850 EVO 250GB + HGST 4TB / ASUS Essence STX / Logitech z2300 2.1 / 600W PSU > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit (HP OEM ) > Samsung 40" 4K
[Passmark System Rating: = 5600 / CPU = 15120 / 2D = 842 / 3D = 10852 / Mem = 2920 Disk = 4975 /Single Thread Mark = 2385 [6.9.19]

[IOVLunchbox]

SDH -I just checked at it is a 2013 bios boot block. Would this processor work and be worth the upgrade then?

I was thinking about getting a 1070 before the 1660ti I just wasn't sure that the psu could handle it. I figured the newer card would have less power draw then newer ones.

but if power draw is no problem

1060 6gb 

1070 8gb

Edit: sorry about the edits I just got ahead of myself looking stuff up.

     I mean in all honesty the graphics card is fine 60fps in gears of war 4 ( and a few other gamepass games) with everything turned up and 1080. I am just worried about the lowely 3gb of ram. I think the 1060 6gb would be enough to game at 1080 and not choke on the ram.

Im glad i didnt get 2 more of the 1600 8gb stick yet, i'll just get 4 1866 8gb sticks for quad channel  and call it a day.

[SDH]

Well, that is great news.

I bought 7 of the version 2 Z420s for a project, all of which came with V1 processors.... a bunch were sold that way so if you know how to check you might find a bonus, and you did.

That is a very fine processor, the E5-1650 v2, but that one you linked to is about 15.00 over what you likely can get it for.  Look up SR1AQ on eBay, order by price, and try an OBO at 95.00,  The more expensive 1660 v2 is what I went for in my personal project Z420, but I'd be happy with the 1650 v2 also.  I don't buy processors from China, and only from good US sellers off eBay, used.  Look at the SR1AP sSpec listings.  I use Noctua thermal paste.  If you look up these two for average Passmark scores you get about a 1000 higher score with the 1660 v2, at 13830 instead of 12714.  You can overclock both, as Bambi and Brian have described, I have not gotten around to that yet.  I've posted on the Z440 heatsink conversion for use in the Z420/Z620, and you'd want the Z420 optional memory fans/airflow shroud to go over that.  The Z440 heatsink has almost 2x the cooling fin area than the Z420 heatsink, so I'm thinking I can overclock with that to the degree I can avoid getting a liquid cooler.

I don't play games... and need Quadro cards.  Liking the K2200 quite a bit, but our needs really only justify a K2000 or even the Quadro 2000 cards.

The bang for the buck is just not there for the Z440 yet... the Z420 v2 is the sweet spot for our needs today, souped up.

[roison]

I'm using a Z420 with RTX2070 for three month, It works very well. 

[Diamantius]

Hi Roison,
How did you handle the 6pin and the 8pin connectors on that 2070? The Z420 only has one 6-pin connector available. 

[SDH]

Some of the earlier Z420 power supplies do have two PCIe supplemental power cables.  Later on they dropped the second one.  In HP workstations these cables are rated to draw more wattage than the "ATX standard" (which is 75W).  Also, a max of 75W can be supplied up to the video card from each of the two video slots in these workstations.

That HP power cable is rated for up to 18A which you can confirm on the side label of the power supply, so max allowed wattage would be 18A x 12VDC = 216W.  Then add in the 75W from the slot = 291W total.

We have posted in this forum on HP power adapters that allow conversion from their 6-wire to two 6-wire cables, and 6-wire to 8-wire cable, including part numbers.