Best GPU Upgrade I could do with my old Z-220 CMT?

[StudioBob]

Hi and thanks for taking a look at this... '-)

My ol' Z220's working just fine but I'll soon be doing more intense video editing and compositing

and by the looks of comparisons on "User Benchmarks.com," the Nvidia Quadro 2000 is way, way, way down the list.

I was beginning to get excited about buying a new GPU but quickly realized there's only so far I could go with the power limitations of this little puppy amongst other things of course. I already figure I'll need a PCIe6 to e8 adapter if anything newer is viable.

WITH THAT SAID...Here's what I have:

HP Z220 CMT / WINDOWS 10 PRO 64 /16 GB RAM

Intel Xeon processor E3-1240v2, 3.4/3.8 GHz, 69 W, 8MB cache, 1600 MHz, Quad-Core, HT, featuring Intel vPro Technology

GPU: Nvidia Quadro 2000

Without killing myself digging any further through spec-after-spect and site-after-site trying to learn if this or that is possible, I was REALLY hoping someone here has perhaps been in my shoes and upgraded to something more robust than the quadro 2000 successfully? OR...Could at least proffer some meaningful recommendations?

I imagine there HAS to be at least a few, more modern GPUs that are a leap-forward than the old Quadro 2000 and could still function fine within this workstation's parameters, without having to upgrade this or that etc. I could be wrong of course but it's worth a shot I guess. You guys are the "Pros!"

May I thank you in advance and wish any reader of this a

safe and happy holiday season! Cheers! '-)

Thanks, Bob 

[BambiBoomZ]

StudioBob,

According to Passmark benchmarks for the z220 CMT / E3-1240 v2, the best 3D performance- which equates somewhat to compute performance, are: the GTX 1060 GTX 6GB (10255) , GTX 1650 Super (8141) and for Quadro, the K5000 (4089). For comparison,  I use a GTX 1060 6GB (EVGA SSC) in a z420 /E5-1650 v2 and the 3D = 11604.

For the z220 CMT  with any CPU, the results are the same; apparently the E3-1240 v2 has among the best single-thread performance of any z220 CMT CPU's.  

An important limitation of the system as you mention is the 400W power supply and that is also why the GPU's that perform well are the newer, more power efficient series.  The others are the core count, amount of memory, and the GPU.  that sounds as though everything is important and it is, but as always it's a question of degree; how fast does it need to be?  I for one am not unhappy if a 4K, 350MB rendering of a 120MB 3D model takes 10, 20, or 30 minutes longer on the 6-core z420 system than the 8-core z620 (which also has a GTX 1070 Ti 8GB plus M.2 OS and M.2 NVMe data drives) as I can change to the 8-core when  the 6-core imaging system is working on something. If I had one system, I'd run the 8-core in a queue at day's end.

In planning for video editing- a very demanding application, before investing in a new GPU, check the specs for the optimal system for the most demanding software you will be using: including the optimal number of CPU cores, clock speed, quantity of  RAM memory and best type of drives.  In certain applications, the core count may be as or even more important than the clock speed; and a four core- no matter how fast may be limited. There may be a good argument to move to a 6 or 8-core system and with at least a 600W power supply.  Here is a quick cut and paste re: Adobe Premiere:

Building a system for video production

The four key variables for a great video production system are memory, storage, graphics, and your processor.

Memory:

Professional video workflows rely on system memory. A good video editing workstation should have at least 32GB of memory— and as much as 128GB.

Storage/hard drives:

Fast storage is critical for video production. Use solid-state NVMe or SSD storage. Unless you have a fast RAID array, spinning disks generally do not offer sufficient speed for HD and 4K video production.

Graphics:

The GPU is used for onscreen rendering and export, priority areas for video production. Premiere Pro is engineered to take advantage of the GPU. After Effects is also GPU-optimized. 

• Graphics card with at least 4GB of memory (VRAM).
• (Optional) Multiple GPUs, including eGPUs, can be used to speed up rendering and export.

Processor/GPU:

For CPUs, clock speed matters more for After Effects. Multiple cores have more impact for Premiere Pro. The sweet spot for running both applications is a fast CPU with 8 cores.

• Core i7 or Core i9 Intel processors or AMD equivalents are strongly recommended.
• Fast clock speed at least 3.2 GHz, or higher.
• 8 cores are ideal for Premiere Pro. The application can use more cores, but without significant added benefit. Depending on the task, Premiere Pro runs at 93-98% efficiency with 8 cores.

BambiBoomZ

Image Editing System:

z420_3: E5-1650 v2 (6C @4.3GHz) / 64GB DDR3-1866 ECC reg / GTX 1060 6GB / Samsung 860 EVO 500GB + HGST 7K6000 4TB > Windows 7 Pro (HP OEM) > Samsung 40" 4K monitor

[DGroves]

you can replace the proprietary HP power supply with a standard ATX unit that has the necessary wattage and AUX GPU connectors and use this adapter which is certified for the 220 (many are not)

a QUALITY name brand 600/650 watt supply should suffice. avoid those $29.00 700 watt no name supplies

spend the time to read the reviews from sites that actually do power supply testing in a proper way

https://www.jonnyguru.com/

https://www.anandtech.com/tag/psus

https://www.amazon.com/COMeap-Power-Adapter-Workstation-12-inch/dp/B06XW7RWNH

[StudioBob]

BBZ-

Thank you so much for taking the time to provide such a meaningful and detailed

response to my query. I truly do appreciate it and will indeed do some further due-diligence prior to purchasing

or upgrading, based upon your candid and professional advice. '-)

Thank you and best wishes for a healthy and fun 

holiday season!

Bob

[StudioBob]

DGroves-

Once again, great ideas from this forum and I thank you for 

taking the time to offer ideas and solutions for an upgraded power supply.

I will indeed review and research via the links provided and go from there. 

THANKS for your help!   '-)

Have a safe and fun holiday season!

Bob 

[SDH · Accepted solution]

Bob,

We've used a lot of those Quadro 2000 video cards and they have been fine.  There is a significant step up to the Quadro K series, the Quadro K2000.  This has current nVidia driver support, updated every few months, but driver updates for the Quadro 2000 stopped some years ago.

The one in this series I prefer for my own use is the K2200 which has more VRAM and is significantly faster.  It can be driven by the 75W that your top PCIe x16 video slot provides straight up from the slot.  It does not need a supplemental PCIe power cable... my recall is that it draws 68W max.  Video cards have benefited from higher performance while needing less power over time.  Swapping in a different power supply may be a layer you did not want to undertake.

The Quadro K2000 and K2200 cards are available at reasonable prices, used, on eBay and they have been rock solid for us.  If you really need more then the advice from Bambi and DGroves is the way to go.

[StudioBob]

SDH-

How great to hear of a simple, yet proven upgrade without

having to spend too much on a now somewhat dated workstation.

I will indeed see if one such GPU could be purchased reasonably.

Thanks for your input on this and I wish you a safe and fun holiday season! '-)

[StudioBob]

SDH

Took your advice and picked up a new K2200 and installed it yesterday.

Took awhile to install the current driver for it, (especially because of forgetting to disable Avast temporarily)

but it eventually finished and all was fine. I then ran some complicated planar tracking moves on Vegas 18 that were hiccuping with the old 2000 GPU but now, flowed just fine. I THANK YOU for this idea and since it was easily "ready" for this older workstation, it was a breeze to install.

THANKS AGAIN!

Bob