HP Z400 cpu upgrade

[XenooS]

Hello everyone, well I have an HP Z400 V2 with the high performance heatsink and a Xeon W3550, I can get an i7 990x CPU for $25 (USD) Would like opinions, likes/dislikes, or just if the motherboard is only capable of handling the 1366 xeon cpus, and not 1366 i7 cpus.

Thank you so much guys, I hope you help me out. 

[SDH · Accepted solution]

Probably won't work.  HP locks down what processors will work pretty tightly with a white list in BIOS.  

Those are pretty expensive on eBay... about $200.00 so for grins it might be worth a try at $25.00.  They both use the same processor socket, both are 130W max TDP, and you have the right "Performance" heatsink/fan.  Each has only one sSpec code from the Intel Ark site, SLBVZ versus SLBEY so they're easy to search for on eBay using those two.

Intel reference pages:

HERE 

versus

HERE 

We still don't know what tag HP uses in its white lists... who knows?  Maybe some related processors have the same tag... in which case two different processors (one approved and the other not) may work fine.  I've put in non-approved processors that did not work but never caused damage (matching same socket type processors were used).  The Z400 v2 I'm typing on right now has a non-approved processor and it is one example that I know of that works just fine.... Xeon CPU X5690.

[XenooS]

First, I would like to thank you for your reply. 

Regarding the cpu, I can't just spend 25$ to test the cpu just to see if it'll work or not, if i was able to, I'd change the workstation and get a better pc.

I actually want to get the W3690 but the problem is I can't find one and the ones on Chinese sites are kind of shipping expensive to my country so yeah.

Thank you again. 

[SDH]

Happy to help... I have been working on the project of getting highest performance for lowest total cost with the HP workstations over about a decade now.  Many of us here think out of the box, try new things, and use methods that are self-certifying as solutions that HP supports (by providing us this open forum and helping support bringing prior HP workstations back into use).  This forum string is a good example:

The W3690 and the X5690 are more closely related than you would think, and that is why I believe that the non-approved X5690 works in the Z400 v2 in addition to the approved high end W3690.  You may know that the W3690 has only one QPI link and thus can only run as a single processor.  The X5690 has two, which slows it down just a bit but that does allow it to run in a dual processor motherboard such as the Z800 v2.  Not in the Z600 v2, however, which is just too tight a space, and not enough cooling..

However, the net benefit of running a single X5690 instead of a single W3690 was worth experimenting with after I heard it worked in the Z400 v2, and it did work.   it has worked with every Z400 v2 I have upgraded with this processor.  The motherboard has to be the v2 Z400 model, with 6 total memory slots (not the v1 which has just 4 memory sockets).  1 or 2 of these X5690 processors won't work in a Z600 v2... I've tried.

A speed benefit:  the X5690 and the W3690 both can run with proper HP grade 1333 memory, not just 1066, in a Z400 v2.  These little things do make a difference for the top end of a build.

W3690 Intel Ark info  HERE.

Single sSpec code of SLBW2

This is a single-processor-only processor... it cannot be run with a second W3690.

X5690 Intel Ark info  HERE .

Single sSpec code of SLBVX

Is capable to run in a dual processor workstation with two matching processors, but a Z400 is only a single processor workstation.  This single- or dual-processor capability of the X5690 is why I chose to experiment with it in the Z400 v2... I was thinking that if it did not work in the Z400 v2 then I could experiment with it in one of our Z600 v2 workstations in a single or dual processor build.  I was surprised to find that it would work in the Z400 v2, but would not work as a single or dual processor build in the Z600 v2.  However, it is HP-approved for a single or dual processor build in the Z800 v2 assuming it is being cooled by the "Performance" grade heatsink/fan specially engineered by HP for such builds.

Important to you:

The cost of these two processors (found by those 2 different sSpec codes on eBay) used to be near identical.  There is a relative glut on the market of the X5690 and thus it is less expensive now than the W3690. 

Original cost for the X5690 was $1666.00 USD according to Intel.  For the W3690 it was $999.00 per CPU World. Now used from eBay they're roughly $50.00 vs $75.00 USD, respectively.  Supply and demand is shown in eBay if you filter for price and shipping lowest first, and choose an honorable US seller if you can.

We've been happy with the X5690 in the Z400 v2.  And, it works every time I've tried with a Z400 v2... about 10 now.  For those who don't know: there is an inexpensive stock 130W max TDP "Performance" heatsink/fan that was made to fit perfectly in the Z400 v2 to run these hotter processors.  Look up 463981-001 on eBay.  In contrast, the "Performance" heatsink/fan for the Z600 and Z800 has the same cooling capacity but is smaller, rare, and expensive in comparison.... it is a tight fit in those Z600s and Z800s so HP had to do more custom engineering for the "Performance" heatsinks for those.  For the Z400 v2 there is more free space inside to accept a big inexpensive dedicated Z400 HP "Performance" processor cooler.  Lots of those were made and thus there is no problem with supply on eBay, and thus much lower cost.

[XenooS]

Hello sir, thank you for your reply.

As I checked on Google and YouTube I did find that the HP Z400 V2 supports the W3690 and the X5690, but the problem with my situation is, I can't find one for cheap, shipping included the price would go up to ~120$ which is not in my budget now for an upgrade to an older system.

But as I mentioned in the question, I did find on Facebook marketplace in my country exactly in my city an i7 990x, which is I guess the same generation as the w3690, and I can get it for cheap, checked out benchmarks and it was amazing, but I just don't know if it'll work on the workstation or not. 

Thank you everybody, I hope there's someone who's already tried it. 

[SDH]

The place to look for advances in the Z400 from HP is called QuickSpecs.  If you google for Z400 QuickSpecs you'll find lots of versions... just now I first found a version 4 from way back, and also a version 45 which shows the later v2 Z400 and lists the latest processors HP had approved for it.  The W3690 is listed in there as the fastest best one but the X5690 is not on any HP list as approved.  As you found it has been proven to work.  I'm sorry a local one for $25.00 is not available.

Here is a link to the version 45 QuickSpecs on the dectrader web site.  I have about 20 of the 45 saved from when I was figuring out the different upgrades of the Z400.  Let me know if you need an original of v45...

https://www.dectrader.com/docs/set01/51628/13276_div.html

Your BIOS version is important.... you need to upgrade to the latest version before you install a more recently released HP approved processor or your BIOS may not fire up the new processor after you install it.  That is a bad situation to be in. 

Good luck to you on your project.

[XenooS]

Thanks for the info I really appreciate your help.