Follow-up to xw8400 cpu upgrade -- plusr RAM and SSD

[ginger88]

Hello:  (This website is requiring a new topic after 2 weeks on inactivity, but this is a continuation.)

I received good advice from SDH and DGroves.  SDH asked for an update, and I have a couple follow-up questions.

The CPU upgrade went well:  I added two xeon 5160 cpus, and one new (to me) heatsink.  No problem with the install, and the new parts are working well.  If you are interested, I  benchmarked the new parts for comparison with the old ones.  Let me know if you'd like to see the numbers (the benchmark apps I used are for linux, so may not be meaningful to windows experience users.)  Generally, the workstation is performing better than with the original single xeon 5140, and the first upgrade to a single xeon 5345.   Overall:  8 benchmarks got better, 2 got worse, 2 were the same.

Am now looking to add RAM and an SSD, and would appreciate additional suggestions:

1.  RAM.  DGroves suggested using 8 gb ram sticks.  Will those work?  (8 gb sticks would free up memory slots, if they work.)  SDH wrote in 2016 that 8 gb sticks may not work in some xw8400s because of the memory controller.  (See https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Business-PCs-Workstations-and-Point-of-Sale-Systems/8GB-Memory-Modules... Most of the vendors I've seen sell 4 gb sticks, but one sells 8 gb. 

2.  SDH recommended Elpida or Samsung sticks.  The ebay vendors I've seen don't advertise which brand they sell -- they say "unbranded."  I wrote to ask the vendor what brand(s) they sell -- no response.  (Btw, that is the best price I've found -- $1.25 per gb.)   Would you steer clear of unbranded ram?  You may have a better idea how to search ebay -- suggestions to get better results are welcome.

3.  SSD.  SDH recommended Intel series 320 SSD.  There are lower prices for offbrand SSD.  E.g.  this one.  Do you have an opinion about/experience with offbrand SSD?  Also, will an SSD drive connect with the same cables as existing HDDs? 

Much obliged for your help!

[DGroves]

in reguards to xw8400 memory (RDimms)

almost all FBDIMM ram sold on ebay is pulls from servers, as such they are high quality modules so the maker is not to important.

as for the maker, only 2 or 3 memory venders sold FBDIMM and the memory chips used on the dimms were also very limited and again were/are high quality chips

bottom line, you do not have to worry about who makes or which memory chips are used, buy based on price/capacity and the venders return policy (if for some reason the 8gb sticks fail to work)

for SSD's take the time to find several reviews on a SSD and compare them.

lowend SSD's can sometimes be no faster than a 15k Mech drive.

due to the xw8400 having a PCI-E 1.0 bus and a SATA 3GBps controller, any mid range OLDER  midrange ssd model will work fine i recomend you stay with name brand makers

your linked SSC is a prime example of a lowend  off brand noname SSD that compeates on price not performance

you would be much better off (in my opinion) with this:

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-250GB-Internal-MZ-76E250B-AM/dp/B07864WMK8?ref_=Oct_BSellerC_12921160...

https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-MX500-500GB-NAND-Internal/dp/B0784SLQM6?ref_=Oct_BSellerC_1292116011_...

[SDH]

You'll often not get messages back for such low cost items.... it is just not worth their time.  However that workstation still has good life in it..

I have had some bad experiences personally with slightly off timing for some non-HP xw6400 and xw8400 memory.  If all the non-HP sticks were from the same source all worked fine but if I mixed in some with the original HP memory the result was intermittent crashing.  This resulted in unpredictable behavior and was not worth the cost saving.  I found it better to just buy used HP memory off eBay, which is quite low in cost these days.

Regarding the 320 series SSDs.... never has failed me, and worth the bit extra given the value of our time, and how very long these last.  I now actually prefer the non-HP versions of these because then I can use the latest Intel Toolbox for firmware updating if needed.  You can tell by looking at the label.... the non-HP will not have the characteristic serial numbers printed on the label.  Many of the HP ones require use of very hard to find HP firmware updater software.  The Intel Toolbox is very easy to find but won't work for FW updates on many of the HP ones.

Good luck on your project!