HP Z600 V1 upgrade to V2

[Zedek]

Hi,

I own a HP Z600 V1 but am finding difficulty getting the memory to buy. The ones I get are way over priced. 

So I want to know if I can update the bios of the V1 that I have to make it a V2 since that one support the R type rams which are easier and cheaper from my end.

So basically:

Can the bios to updated to change the Z600 V1 to V2?

Thanks for our support.

[DGroves · Accepted solution]

no a bios update will not change a z600 v1 into a v2, there are hardware (physical) differences between the two motherboards

such as different chipset revisions and number of memory sockets being two of the more notable changes

currently z600 v2 boards are quite plentiful in the used channel on eBay, this results in the boards being quite cheap  however this will not last forever and as supply dries up prices will increase

you really should consider buying a used v2 board in the near future instead of waiting

if you use this forums search feature "SDH" has posted numerous times on why the z600 v2 boards are a worthwhile upgrade and how to check the board rev before buying one

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Business-PCs-Workstations-and-Point-of-Sale-Systems/Z600-CPU-support-a...

[SDH]

It is the Z400 that got more memory slots in the V1 to V2 motherboard upgrade... from 4 total to 6.  The Z600 started with 6 in V1 and still has 6 in V2.  I've posted on exactly what Spares Part number to look for on the motherboard's bar code label... on the right hand side of that label.  DGroves has worked more with the HP Z8XX series of workstations than I have by far, but I'd assume that the info below counts also for the Z800 V2 workstations.

A big change that happened for the HP ZX00 family of workstations was use of a better memory controller in the V2 workstations, especially the Z600 V2... and better faster processors too.

I have posted in here about this before:  The Z600 V2 can run the exact same fastest retired server memory that the Z620/Z420 V2 workstations can run, with max rated 1866 MHz speed, plug and play.  The newer memory controller in the Z600 V2 will down-regulate those memory stick's speed to that of the installed V2 processor (max of1333 MHz) and it runs without issue.  Which is nice if you're going to upgrade later from a Z600 V2 to a Z420 V2 or a Z620 V2 because you can take your fast memory and just switch it on over and have it run at the max speed of 1866 MHz in those workstations too..

Even nicer is that I've been able to buy the 8GB retired server sticks for as low as $11.00 USD each off eBay.  A bit under 100.00 for 8 sticks is not bad for 64GB total... and for your Z600 V2 you'd fill it up with 6 sticks at roughly 70.00 total.  I have posted here exactly the sticks I have used, and we loaded up about 20 Z420s this way last year.  Not a single bad retired stick.

Note:  This trick will not work in the Z400 V2... only the Z600 V2.  I tested for that.   As stated above the same sticks do work for both the Z420 V2 and Z620 V2.  I always fill all slots with identical size/brand/part sticks... some of the final few alphanumerics on the stick code don't matter.  Find my old posts on that memory if you wish.

Upgrading to a Z600 V2 motherboard makes sense the more you know... I agree with myself and DGroves.