Compatibility of Z1 models (old & new)

[rh3311]

Workstation compatibility : I'm thinking of replacing a 5 yr old HP Z1 Entry Tower G5 ,  with a new HP Z1 G9 tower workstation.

Q 1 Will my 2 x internal 3.5" SSDs be able to be swapped into the new workstation?
Q 2 will I be able to remove the optical disc drive and put it into the new one?

Any advice would be appreciated.

[DGroves]

take the time to look at the quickspecs and pictures of each z1 model revision and you will most likely have your answer

https://h20195.www2.hp.com/v2/GetDocument.aspx?docname=c06315221

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/ish_5878469-5878634-16

as you can see the newer g9 comes with a 9.5mm slimline optical drive, to add another slimline optical you can use the other unused front port,..... larger 5.25 or a sec laptop 10mm drive can use a usb external case

as per the quickspecs the G9 requires a optional 550 power  supply to use a discrete video card

the z9 can use one nvme m.2 ssd and  two SATA 2.5 in drives

[rh3311]

Thank you.  It looks like I'll be able to swap over my dvd drive & Sata disks.

Just need to find out if the G9 comes with cage & cables already provided  or whether I can simply swap those over as well ?

[SDH]

You said 3.5" SATA SSDs... not too many of those out there. Sure you did not mean 2.5" SATA SSDs? That is the standard form factor. There is a nice HP inexpensive 2.5" to 3.5" form factor adapter that you should know about and search eBay for. About 8.00 USD and great if you have a spare 3.5" bay and need to put a 2.5" SSD into.

Don't forget to invest some time in videos... here are two excellent ones to review:

Unboxing video showing internals:
https://youtu.be/Bl-aOoj5bdA

HP teardown video:
https://youtu.be/Dng1WNAh2S4

[rh3311]

Sorry, I should have said I have 2 x 3.5 " Sata HDD..   Does that make more sense now?  I'm hoping I can just swap them into the G9?

[SDH]

The HP adapter many of us have used for years now is found via search for 654540-001 or -002 on eBay. These are excellent quality, made by Foxconn for HP in China, so buying from there and waiting a couple of weeks is fine, or buy from US.

A QuickSpecs for your intended tower is attached below... look in there and at the videos. The QuickSpecs is from the end of September this year. Two 3.5" bays are described there, for use with SATA SSD or HDD. Cables will be there for that. I'd at least shift to two 2.5" SATA SSDs by cloning your two current 3.5" SATA HDDs. So much faster...

Also I'd make your boot/applications drive a quality NVMe SSD, the little gumstick shape, because they are even faster than a SATA SSD. Your new computer comes with a dedicated socket for that. I've said this here before... an old friend used to tell me to come out of my mud hut. I followed his advice and have a much faster workstation as a result.

See below...

[DGroves]

again,.............as per the HP quickspecs for the G9 it supports up to TWO 2.5in drives so you would have to use a external SATA  to USB case  for any sata 3.5in drives

if you have one free pci-e x4 slot that will take a 3/4 to full length card read below:

if the 3.5in drives "ARE" ssd's and not SATA but "U2" interface then there are PCI-e U.2 based cards that use pci-e x4 and support ONE U.2 drive they also make these cards to hold one sata 3.5in drive 

while there are other ways to hack another drive in a system they are just that unsupported hacks/mods and methods vary/differ depending on the computer system

[SDH]

DGroves,

We seem to be having a failure to communicate. Below are from the two HP QuickSpec PDFs we have referred to, respectively. Your reference PDF is for the G5 and mine is for the G9. Both state in the "Bays" section that there are two 3.5" bays which can handle two 3.5" SATA HDDs (or two 2.5" SATA SSDs or even two 2.5" SATA HDDs which is why I mentioned the 2.5" to 3.5" form factor adapter).

From your G5 PDF:

G5

From my later G9 PDF, which I believe is what the OP is considering buying:

Z1 G9

HP also surely has made mistakes in their QuickSpecs in the past.

[rh3311]

Thanks to you all.  I'm only an amateur so not familiar with too much technical information, so excuse me if my questions are still rather basic.

So in conclusion, is it possible to say that the G9 CAN DEFINITELY take 2  x 3.5"  SATA HDDs from my old G5?

[SDH]

The answer to your question is yes... definitely.

If you would take a couple of minutes to view part of the videos I provided links for the answer is definite from those too. The official one from HP clearly shows the Z1 G9 tower's "Drive Cage" for two 3.5" drives starting at 3:33 in, and the second video shows the insides of a Z1 G9 tower including images of that drive cage with one of the two 3.5" form factor bays occupied with a 1TB 3.5" SATA hard drive, and the second 3.5" bay is empty just above. The 3.5" SATA HDD shown in place is a WDC WD10EZEX-60WN4A2.

Are you aware that you generally cannot take a boot drive from an old computer and put it into a new computer and expect it to be able to boot up and run the new computer? My guess is that you'll require some expert help on this project from a good computer shop.