HP Z4 G5 Workstation

[SchuraBMW]

Does NVMe M.2 fit into the NVMe0 slot of HP Z4 G5 Workstation? If so, which side?

[SDH]

The answer is Yes. That is the upper of the two M.2 sockets on the motherboard's bottom front corner. It is also known as the primary M.2 socket, and the one just below it is the secondary M.2 socket. This is exactly opposite of the orientation on the Z4 G4 Xeon motherboards. On the Z4 G4 motherboard surface there is a small printed "SSD#0" by the lower primary socket area, and "SSD#1" printed by the upper secondary socket area.

The Core motherboards for the Z4 G4 only have only one socket in that area... I'd guess that the Core hardware can only interface with one M.2 socket but the Xeon hardware can handle two.

For your reference you can download the Z4 G5 technical manual HERE .

There is an excellent official HP video on Z4 G5 teardown that includes good views of the M.2 socket area HERE . Note that at around 1:30 in the video it shows one primary M.2 SSD in place in the top (primary) socket and no M.2 in the lower (secondary) M.2 socket. That is what you'd do if you're just running a M.2 as your boot/applications drive and want to have a 2.5" SSD or other drive as your documents drive. For our work flow we sometime run a M.2 boot/apps drive and a bigger M.2 as our docs drive... very fast.

[Z440Roger]

No, a standard M.2 NVMe disk will not fit into the NVMe0. Standard M.2 disks do fit in one of the two PCIe M.2 Sockets.

You can see it here: HP Z4 G5 - System Board Overview

The NVMe0 is number 7 on that image and the PCIe M.2 Sockets has number 21. I am not sure, but i think the NVMe0 is dedicated for the optional HP CRU Secure High Performance Storage Module.

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@SchuraBMW wrote:

Does NVMe M.2 fit into the NVMe0 slot of HP Z4 G5 Workstation? If so, which side?

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[SDH]

Z440Roger,

Thanks, you're right. I was thinking the OP was referring to the motherboard's primary M.2 socket 0 instead.

We don't have a Z4 G5 yet for me to dig into. Thanks for that side panel pic... I find those to be valuable for figuring this stuff out. I just found a YouTube video in which the cable from the optional Cru QX428 front removable NVMe drive receiver is discussed as being attached there. That Z4 G5 5.25" bay insert is shown on page 3 of the attached HP White Paper on "HP Front Accessible NVMe Storage".  The Z6 G5 and the Z8 G5 can handle the even more capable QX448 instead.

Your pic shows that HP inverted the order of the two M.2 sockets on the motherboard, with #21 showing the primary socket "0" above and the secondary socket "1" below when compared to how it is in the Z4 G4. Usually, the primary socket will have its electrical lanes going directly to/from the CPU, and the secondary M.2 socket may have its lanes go to/from the Platform Controller Hub (PCH) on the motherboard. I've always put the boot/apps M.2 stick in the primary M.2 socket to get the fastest possible performance for that one.

Edit: I tried to add in the Cru manual for their QX448 but it was too big. It can be downloaded from HERE 

https://www.cru-inc.com/downloads/1305/QX448_Manual_A9-6310-000_Rev1.1.pdf

HP has worked with Cru for many years now on integrating secure removable drives into the HP workstations. I have no idea if the HP rear interface would be the same or different from what is shown in the Cru QX448 manual. I also assume that the HP QX248 is just half of a HP QX448 internally. We'll see later...

Attached below is what to expect from Cru or HP as the special removable NVMe modules... the DIGISTOR Q80.  Also see attached HP White Paper on the removable NVMe devices:

[z8g5_user]

HP's interface to the CRU module is specific to HP, it is not the version CRU is selling. Their ports have the same female connectors as that on the motherboard and a male-male cable is included to interface the CRU to the motherboard. The Digistor modules are essentially a heatsink with a standard NVMe port inside, where your off-the-shelf NVMe SSD can be installed.