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HP Recommended
HP Z4 G4 X-series Workstation
Microsoft Windows 10 (64-bit)

I want to know if you can can install\boot Windows 10  with a Samsung 970 EVO\PRO on a HP Z4 G4 X-series Workstation in the internal M.2 slot

14 REPLIES 14
HP Recommended

yes you can by cloning the existing drive image to the new SSD (clonezilla is one such cloning app)

 

once cloned, power down, disconnect power to the old drive and power back up, the system should now boot from the ssd, if so power back down and reconnect the old drive, reboot once more and this time enter the Bios, and set the SSD to be the first device in the boot list, or the second if you wish the usb device to be first

 

the only important thing is that the original drive must be listed after the SSD in the boot order

HP Recommended

DGroves,

 

Thank you for your reply, but I don’t think you understand my question.

 

I’m currently considering purchasing a new HP Z4 G4 X-series Workstation, but prior to that I need to know if the HP Z4 G4 supports booting Windows from a Samsung 970 EVO\PRO NVMe PCIe M.2 using the system board M2 slot.

 

The reason I ask, is that the HP Z620\820 Workstations only support booting from a Samsung 950 PRO NVMe PCIe M.2, and NOT the Samsung 960 or 970. There are multiple posts in the forums about this and I’ve confirmed it with my own HP Z620 and Z820 Workstations.

 

From what I can see, it appears that HP Z Turbo Drives are Samsung 950\951 PRO’s. This leads me to believe that the HP Z4 G4’s don’t support booting from Samsung 960 or 970’s at this time.

 

The reason I want to use a Samsung 970 EVO\PRO is that it has approximately twice the performance of a Samsung 950 PRO.

 

FYI, Not that it has anything to do with my question, but I would be doing a clean installation of Windows 10 to the Samsung 970 if I can use it as a boot device.

HP Recommended

i undrstand quite well as i own z800/z820/z840 systems and i use hp turbo Z and Turbo Z G2 ssd cards in them

 

systems before the z840 do not support nvme and are limited to SATA for the most part unless you used the samsung 950pro or the intel 750 ssd card which included the missing nvme code allowing the z820

(but not the z800) to run a nvme ssd

 

and no HP did not offer a 950 ssd, the turbo z cards used the samsung XP941 or the SM951 (sata version)

 

the z840 and later systems are fully nvme/UEFI compliant and will support all current nvme ssd's including the high performance ones and the HP sales/quickspecs also cover the fact that nvme is supported as a boot disk

 

last i have covered this toic numerous times in this forum, you can use the forums "search" feature to locate them

 

HP Recommended

DGroves, again thank you for your reply and information

 

I did search the forums, and also looked at the HP Quickspecs http://www8.hp.com/h20195/v2/getpdf.aspx/c05527757.pdf but did'nt see anything specifically referencing the HP Z4 G4 Workstations booting from the M2 slots, other than HP Z Turbo Drives.

 

So just to me clear, if I purchase a new HP Z4 G4 Workstation with just a 500GB SATA drive (to save money) from HP, and then remove the 500GB SATA drive and install a new 1TB Samsung 970 EVO NVMe PCIe M.2 and do a clean installation of Windows 10, I will be able to boot from the Samsung 970 EVO?

 

While we are on the subject of HP Z4 G4 Workstations, do you think there would be any incompatibility issues with installing GeForce RTX 2080 Ti? The system comes with a 1000w power supply with up to four 6+2-pin graphics power cables.

HP Recommended

i can't help you with the video question as i don't have a z4 or a 2080, but i see no reasion it would not work as long as the card fits in the available space

 

as for the Z4 booting from a 970, again i see no issues as unlike the Z8 the Z4 lacks the two dedicated SSD slots and appears to have just normal M.2 slots on the board the text below was taken from a review and if the system used a non standard M.2 slot the reviewer sould have mentioned this.

 

https://www.tomshardware.co.uk/hp-z8-z6-z4-workstations,news-56721.html

 

HP Z4 G4

 The smallest of HP's new full size desktop workstations is the Z4. Unlike its siblings, the Z4 is a single-processor machine that uses Intel's new Xeon W processors instead of the more expensive socket 3647 models. It has eight DIMM slots and is thus limited to only 256 GB of dual-channel ECC DDR4-2666 SDRAM. Expansion slots consist of two PCIe x16, one PCIe x8, two PCIe x4, and two M.2 connectors. Support for the PCIe x4 slots is apparently added by an additional PCH.

HP Recommended

DGroves,

 

I guess I'll find out as I just ordered the following Z4 G4 Workstation, but it won't arrive until after Christmas. I'll have 30 days to test it and return it with without paying a restocking fee if I can't boot off the Samsung 970 EVO NVMe... I'll keep you posted.

 

Z4 G4 Workstation
Linux-ready
Intel® Xeon® W-2145 Processor (3.7 GHz, up to 4.5 GHz w/Turbo Boost, 8.25 MB cache, 8 core)
Z4 G4 1000 W Chassis
8 GB (1x8 GB) DDR4-2666 ECC Memory
Operating System Load to SATA
500 GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.5" HDD
Premium - 2 x USB 3.1 Type C; 2 x USB 3.0 Type A
HP Remote Graphics Software (RGS) for Z
No Integrated Graphics
No included Optical Disc Drive
No Included Keyboard
No Included Mouse
No Adapters Needed
HP Z Cooler
HP Z4 G4 Fan Front Card Guide
HP Z4 G4 Dust Filter and Bezel
3/3/3-year warranty
Single Unit Packaging
Z4 G4 1000 W Country Kit

 

I also ordered these parts for it:

 

1 x Samsung 1TB 970 EVO NVMe M2 Solid State Drive
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CGJNLBB/ref=psdc_1292116011_t1_B07CGGNX7S

 

4 x Crucial 8GB DDR4-2666 RDIMM (CT10895977)
http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/hp-z4-g4-workstation/CT10895977

 

1 x Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Founders Edition 11GB GDDR6
https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/graphics-cards/rtx-2080-ti/

 

If everything works out I'll add this item later for extra cooling:

1 x HP Z4 G4 Memory Cooling Solution (1XM34AA)
https://www.amazon.com/Hp-Z4-Memory-Cooling-Solution/dp/B07B3WLV66/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1543853213...

HP Recommended

did you order this system as a linux only system, (no windows os) hp on some systems had a bios that prevented the factory windows restore disk from running, i don't know if that's still done and i'm currious on this subject

 

a retail win install did work, only the factory restore was prevented from working since it shipped without a MS sticker

 

the HP "Z" line has been a well built product from the begining and gives solid value/features for the price i don't think you will be disapointed with your model.......

HP Recommended

DGroves,

 

Yes I ordered my Z4 G4 Workstation without Windows 10 Pro 64 for Workstations (-$375), as I have a Windows Professional 10 license I can use. I told the sales rep that when I ordered the system and he didn’t say there were any limitations.

 

He also checked with one of his techs, and said that I could install my own NVMe M2 SSD as a boot device, but I would have to reconfigure the BIOS settings and it would be easier for me if I just bought a HP Turbo Z drive (LOL). I told him I was technical and could figure out the BIOS settings.

 

Now after thinking about it, your comments makes me curious about being able to install my own copy of a Windows Professional 10, and any possible compatibility or limitations with not using Windows 10 for Workstations vsProfessional … I guess I’ll find out.

 

Either way, if I can't install my own copy of Windows Professional 10, or boot from my Samsung 970 NVMe M2 SSD I’ll just return it and the only thing I’m out is my time.

 

I use to work for Compaq\HP and have been using HP XW and Z series Workstations for many years; they are well designed and built systems.

 

I currently have a Z620 (Single E5-1650, 128GB RAM) and two Z820’s (Dual E5-2650, 256GB RAM) I use them for my virtualization lab environment and gaming. My Z620 is getting a little slow to game with anymore so it’s time to upgrade, let me know if you’re interested in it or one of my Z820’s.

 

I had hoped the one of the new Z’s would have a i9 9900K optional processor. I was going to get the i7-7820X model, but decided to spend the extra money for the Xeon W-2145 model for the faster processor speed and PCI lanes (https://ark.intel.com/compare/123767,126707), extra PCIe slots and extra M.2 slot that “might” allow me to RAID them (http://www8.hp.com/h20195/v2/GetPDF.aspx/c05821090.pdf)

 

HP Recommended

To anyone interested,

 

To my surprise I received my Z4 G4 Workstation yesterday (14DEC18) three weeks ahead of the scheduled delivery. It's smaller and lighter than any of my previous HP Z series Workstations.

 

I unboxed the system, opened the side panel, unplugged the SATA hard drive that came with the system and installed the following items:

 

Samsung 970 EVO NVMe M2 SSD
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Founders Edition video card

 

Next I closed the system, connected everything (keyboard, mouse, video and power) powered on the system and booted to Windows 10 Enterprise iso image (version 1809) from my IODD 2541 virtual DVD (http://iodd.kr/wordpress/product/iodd-2541/)

 

Windows recognized the Samsung 970 EVO, and installed to it. I crossed my fingers during the reboot, which seemed to take forever... and success I'm able to boot from the Samsung 970 EVO!

 

So far my primary requirements have been met, but there are a few issues:

 

1.) The Intel Xeon W-2145 Processor is spec'ed at base frequency of 3.70GHz and turbo frequency of 4.50GHz. I can't get it above 4.29GHz regardless of what I change in the BIOS or in Windows, currently set for Ultimate Performance Power Plan.

 

2.) I've run some PassMark performance test's, and the scores are a little lower than I expected. This could be because I only have one 8GB DIMM installed in the system at this time and to get full performance I need a DIMM in each channel. So I'll be ordering 3 of these Crucial 8GB DDR4-2666 RDIMM (CT8G4RFS8266) today.

 

3.) The BIOS\UEFI is a lot different from my previous HP Z series Workstations and it's a bit confusing.

 

I will continue to test the system for the next few days, let me know if anyone has any questions.

† The opinions expressed above are the personal opinions of the authors, not of HP. By using this site, you accept the <a href="https://www8.hp.com/us/en/terms-of-use.html" class="udrlinesmall">Terms of Use</a> and <a href="/t5/custom/page/page-id/hp.rulespage" class="udrlinesmall"> Rules of Participation</a>.