HP XW8400 WORKSTATION - MOTHERBOARD AND PROCESSOR UPGRADE

[AMA-UAE]

Dear Experts!

I would like to know that what options are available for me if, I would like to upgarge my HP XW8400 with a Motherboard and a Processor but using the same components from current system. My current system configuration is as follows:

1. Motherboard: Intel® Workstation Board S5000XVNSATAR
2. Dual Processor E5160 3.0GHz
3. 36GB (4x8GB + 4x1GB) ECC Buffered RAM - DDR2-667MHz PC2-5300 ECC FBDIMM 2Rx4 1.8V Fully Buffered Memory for Server/Workstation
4. 160GB Intel SSD 320 series (OS Windows 10 installed)
5. 2TB Seagate Barracuda Hard Disk
6. USB 3.0 Controller Card - PCI-E to USB 3.0 2-Port PCI Express Card,Mini PCI-E USB 3.0 Hub Controller Adapter with 15-Pin Power Connector and 1 USB 3.0 20-Pin Connector - With Two USB 3.0 internal Ports
7. Graphics Card: NVIDIA Quadro FX 3500 (256 MB)

Kindly advice me which motherboard and twin processors, I can buy which can be fit in the same HP casing (or may be can opt for customized casing if required).  I would like to complete my project with possible minimum cost and somehow competing the latest available configurations.

Many Thanks

[BambiBoomZ]

AMA-UAE,

Upgrading older systems can be quite rewarding  in that they can have such dramatic improvements for so little cost.

I was given a Dell Precision 390 and Dell Dimension E520 from 2007 by an architect's office that was closing.  They were going to be simply thrown away, but were in such beautiful condition it was a shame to toss them. 

The performance of these- which were all completely original including the hard drives, was not very good:

Dell Precision 390 (2007) (Original): Intel Core2 Duo E6300 2-core @ 1.86Ghz / 2GB (2X 1GB) DDR2-667 ECC > Quadro FX550 / 2X WD 320GB ( RAID 1) / 375W
[Passmark Rating = 397, CPU = 586, 2D= 339, 3D=75, Mem = 585, Disk = 552 ]

Dell Dimension E520 > CML (2006)( Original): Pentium D 830 dual core @3.0GHz > 2GB DDR2 667 > GeForce 7300LE > 2X Dell 19" LCD > Windows XP Professional 32-bit
[Passmark system rating = 384, CPU = 613 / 2D= 248 / 3D=72 / Mem= 562 / Disk=521]

As these systems are worth so little, I checked Passmark baselines results for the highest rated of each model and keeping the power supply limits in mind, then shopped for a good price on the components that produced the best results, plus used some parts lying about from other systems.

Fortunately, when the systems are worth so little, the parts are also very cheap and I bought the Xeon X3230 (4C @ 2.67GHz) for $32 ($15 now) and  the Core2 Quad Q6700 4C@2.66GHz  at $26 ($13 now). The Quadro K2200 4GB was $61 and the GT 440 1GB  was $34.  Memory was not expensive- about $9 for each 2GB module.  The drives were a couple of WD  Blue 500Gb lying around.

The results of the upgrade was noticeable:

Dell Precision 390 (2007) (Rev4): Xeon X3230 (4C@ 2.67GHz) / 8 GB DDR2-ECC 667 ECC / Quadro K2200 4GB / WD Blue 500GB + WD 320GB /Creative Audigy 2ZS SC > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 7.18.18

[ Passmark PT9: Rating = 1464 / CPU = 3408 / 2D= 431 / 3D=3286 / Mem= 863 / Disk= 514] [STM= 1051] 7.27.19

The 390 is soon to have a spare Samsung 850 EVO 250GB which should liven up the disk system.

Dell Dimension E520 (2006)( R4): Core2 Quad Q6700 4C@2.66GHz / 8GB DDR2 667 / GeForce GT440 (1GB GDDR5) / Windows 7 Professional 64-bit / WD 5000AAKX + WD 3200AAKS 320GB (=Orig C:) > HP 2711x 27"

[Passmark system rating = 1498, CPU = 3417 / 2D= 431/ 3D=1040 / Mem= 775 / Disk=860] [STM= 1040] 8.17.19

Because of the limited value of the system, I suggest considering this approach to the HP XW8400, that is; search performance baselines for example on Passmark and upgrading the CPU, GPU, and drives accordingly.

Here is the highest- rated HP XW8400 on Passmark of 156 systems tested:

Rating:  2102

CPU: 6867  _ Xeon X3565 (4C@3.0Ghz)

2D: 398    _ Radeon HD 6850

3D: 2210   _  Radeon HD 6850

Memory: 761  _ 3GB

Disk: 2036    _ Liteonit LJT-256L6G-11 M

The highest rated component in each category:

CPU: 6942  _ Xeon X3565 (4C@3.0Ghz)

2D: 614    _ Quadro FX 1700

3D: 5103   _  GTX 1050 Ti

Memory: 783 _ 12GB

Disk: 4320    _ Volume 0 = meaning a RAID O  The highest listed drive is  2789 with a Samsung 860 PRO 512GB

In my view,  given the time and cost, it is not worth changing the motherboard or modifying anything.  If the eventual performance is not satisfactory, consider selling the current system and buying a good HP z420, which are very reasonable today.  In the UAE one might be able to buy from Ebay DE or UK.

I bought a z420 in 2017 for $136:

HP z420_3: (Original) Xeon E5-1607 (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: (2015) (R12) Xeon E5-1650 v2 (6C@ 4.3GHz) / z420 Liquid cooling / 32GB (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]

This is the 11th highest rated z420 on Passmark of 1498 tested.

The CPU was $58, GTX 1060 6GB was $114, $104 for memory, and Samsung 860 EVO was a leftover from an HP z620.

Upgrading and seeing improvements is enjoyable- if it can be done within a reasonable cost to benefit ratio. If the system needs strong performance especially for work or gaming, it is best to consider changing a couple of generations forward as the newer parts are not disproportionately more expensive considering the performance.  For example, the Xeon X3230 2.66GHz of produces a CPU score of 3408 for $26 ( = 131 points per dollar) but the $58 Xeon E5-1650 v2- which is overclocked (using Intel Extreme Tuning Utility) to 4.3GHz, scores 15293 or 263 points per dollar almost exactly twice the cost/benefit.  That is a worthwhile +$32 - not a lot of money. Plus, there is SATA III disk, USB 3, PCIe 3.0, and a 600W PSU, so the z420 can be upgraded for a longer time.

BambiBoomZ

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

[DGroves · Accepted solution]

your goals are not compatible,.... modding a non standard case/motherboard to fit a ATX one is not a low cost item and it will never compete with systems like the z400 or newer as it's simply to old 

 the xw8400 is well past its prime, i strongly recommend a HP z400 (v2) system in its place as your proposed xw8400 upgrades will cost more than half to two thirds the cost of a used v2 z400 system