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HP Recommended
Z4 Workstation G4

This may be a stupid question, but I've yet to find a location (be it on HP's site, Wikipedia, or otherwise) that has the answer in a relatively quick and easy fashion.  My awareness of HP's workstation lineup is that at some point in time, there was the Z800, Z600, and Z400 Workstations.  At some point thereafter came the Z820, Z620, and Z420 Workstations.  Thereafter that came the Z840, Z640, and Z440 Workstations.  I guess now, there are the Z8 Workstation G4, Z6 Workstation G4, and the Z4 Workstation G4, along with the Z2 and the Z1 and things of this sort.  Were there any models in between these?  Was there ever a G3 iteration of the Z4, Z6, or Z8?  Is there a better resource on HP's site to find this kind of information?  Please let me know if so.  Thanks in advance!

2 REPLIES 2
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For the ZX00 workstations each was initially available as a version 1, and later as a version 2 that could run better faster processors (plus all the earlier processors that the v1 could).  Same for the ZX20 family... v2 better and faster but the v1 is no slouch.  The ZX40 family members all do not need a later version of the motherboard to run the v4 version processors.  They all can run the HP-certified v3 and v4 processors that they are specifically certified by HP for.  So, for example, there is no Z640 v1 and v2, just v3 or v4 processors.  Memory takes a small upward leap with all the v2 motherboards for all families.

 

The options you can get for the G4 family is as you know different..... there is a significant difference between the Xeon version of the Z4 when compared to the non-Xeon version.

 

Of interest, the Z4X0 and the Z6X0 have blended more closely together as time has gone forward.  Our Z640/Z440 builds are virtually identical in performance if they have the same single processor.  Same with the Z620 v2/Z420 v2 builds if you pay attention to the cooling options in the 4 series, and use Z620 v2 server type RAM in the Z420 v2, and the same single processor.

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Yebubbleman,

 

Your chronology is correct as far as the workstation lines as is SDH's clarification of the importance of understanding versions within a single designation.

 

As to reference materials, a successful tactic appear to be to simply enter "HP z +  the system designation + spec"  in a search engine and find the original HP specifications, listing the available processors, GPU's RAM capacity /speeds, the distribution of PCIs slots, compatible disk types, physical dimensions and weights, & etc. 

 

It's necessary for most z-systems to try this more than once for each model as HP made more than one version, under the same designation. In my view HP would help it's long-time customers by differentiating versions-there could be a "G6.5" as there might been a "z625" for the E5-v2 motherboard z620. The compatibility of particular processors for upgrading an earlier HP z-system are a source of  many repeated inquiries at this site, especially regarding Xeon E5 first version and v2 version CPUs on zX20 systems. With the zX40 there are the v3 and v4 inquires. Download and save  and/or print these fro reference. It's then possible to view the various models side by side, where it will be quite easy to see for example the pint at which the more modern CPU version or NVMe drives were natively compatible.

 

In concert with the above, it is very helpful to compare real-world system performance.  For this, consider Passmark Performance Test- there's a 30-day free trial, but it's not expensive and can used for years.  There are separate performance parameters for overall Rating, CPU, 2D, 3D, Memory, and Disk and  each of these components are identified and one can move the sysem with the best 3D performance to the top and see that's it's an RTX 2080Ti or whatever.  Quadro, GTX, Radeon, or Firepro users can scan down the 3D list and see what is the top in their preferred make and model. This is also a good general check on component compatibility.

 

Here's an example, using Passmark to upgrade a z420:

 

HP z420_3: (Original) Xeon E5-1607 v2 (4-core / 4 Thread @ 2.8GHz) / 4GB (1X 4GB DDR3-1866 ECC unbuffered / NVIDIA GeForce 7100 GS / WD Blue 500GB / 400W PSU > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit (HP OEM ) > HP 2711x 27" 1980 X 1080
[Passmark System Rating: = 569 / CPU = 5492 / 2D = 538 / 3D = 60 / Mem = 1117 . Disk = 864 ] [Single Thread Mark = 1509] 9.27.17

 

HP z420_3: (R11) Xeon E5-1650 v2 (6C@ 4.3GHz) / z420 Liquid cooling / 32GB (HP/Samsung 4X 8GB DDR3-1866 ECC registered) / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB/ Samsung 860 EVO 500GB + HGST 4TB / ASUS Essence STX / Logitech z2300 2.1 / 600W PSU > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit (HP OEM ) > Samsung 40" 4K

[Passmark System Rating: = 5644 / CPU = 15293 / 2D = 847 / 3D = 10953 / Mem = 2997 Disk = 4858 /Single Thread Mark = 2384 [6.27.19]

 

> moving one of the lowest-rated z420 systems to one of the highest. Note the Single Thread Mark, which is extremely important considering how central the top CPU clock speed is to performance in so many programs. If the application is we-threaded from multiple cores, use the CPU Mark to have an idea of the relative calculation density, clock cycles per unit time.

 

HP workstation design, development, build quality, and reliability make upgrading obsolete systems useful and rewarding.  That said, consider buying the latest series system in the budget as more performance will be derived from the peripherals such as GPU and drives and for example a second version z420 can use the select E5-v2's that may be overclocked as can some E5-16XX v3 in zX40 systems.  z420_3 above was purchased for $136 and the total investment was under $650. (CPU $60 / z420 liquid cooler $60 / RAM $80 / GPU $112 / SSD $80 / HD $90). Personally, I would recommend zX20 forward for the longest potential use cycle before replacement.

 

BambiBoomZ

 

HP z620_2 (2017) (R7) > Xeon E5-1680 v2 (8C@ 4.3GHz) / z420 Liquid Cooling / 64GB (HP/Samsung 8X 8GB DDR3-1866 ECC registered) / 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]

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