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HP Recommended
Z820
Microsoft Windows 7 (64-bit)

I have a Z820 workstation with dual Intel Xeon E5 2650 processor, recently I purchased 2 units of Intel Xeon E5-2697 v2 and the 1125W power supply unit.

 

I changed the PSU and processors, but the system was not able to boot, black screen with the system fan spinning at full speed.

 

Tried updating the BIOS to latest (3.91 Rev.A), put 1 processor instead of 2, same issue.

 

Anyone can help me on this?

6 REPLIES 6
HP Recommended

What is the boot block date of your Z820?  You can read up on that in this forum if you did not know that there are two for the Z820 and also 2 for the Z420 and Z620.

 

If you are trying to run v2 processors in a v1 Z820 that will not work reliably.

HP Recommended

Boot block date is 12/28/2011... after some reading and realised the v2 processor will need boot block date 2013 to work.

 

This requirement not mentioned in the Z820 quickspec document, it only mentioned that v2 processor need 1125W psu.. sucks..

HP Recommended

Despite currently not being able to upgrade your processors to two fast v2  versions you can still upgrade your processors to two faster v1 versions.  And, at least you now know the answer to your issue.

 

You can also buy a used v2 motherboard off eBay and upgrade that first and then upgrade to a v2 processor set later.

 

HP supported adding a second processor that is identical to the first, but even that has its gotchas..... the first "gotcha" is that both the processors need to be matching "dual-QPI link" processors rather than two "single-QPI link" ones.  Only dual-QPI link processors can talk with the motherboard and the second processor simultaneously..... which is what is needed for 2 processors to be working on one motherboard simultaneously.

 

The early QuickSpecs only deal with the v1 workstations, and later ones deal with the v2 workstations.  Note that the later v1 workstation can run both the v1 and the v2 processors, but the earlier v1 workstations can only run the v1 processors.  Not all processors that you think will work may.... for your original v1 HP motherboard stick with the v1 era HP QuickSpecs to choose from if you want to install 2 matching processors for your computer.  And make sure they have 2 QPI links each.

HP Recommended

@PatrickSG wrote:

Boot block date is 12/28/2011... after some reading and realised the v2 processor will need boot block date 2013 to work.

 

This requirement not mentioned in the Z820 quickspec document, it only mentioned that v2 processor need 1125W psu.. sucks..


It would be a terrible shame if you abandoned this project, since you already gone to all the effort of getting the two v2 CPU's and a new PSU.  This has the potential to be a very powerful system.

 

The options are basically either a new board or one of the DIY methods I outlined here: https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Business-PCs-Workstations-and-Point-of-Sale-Systems/how-to-find-a-z620...

 

Looking at the Z820 board, the bios chip is in the bottom right corner of the board and what is potentially encouraging is that access to it is a lot easier than in the Z420 / Z620 (no HDD connectors in the way) - but obviously the risks of bricking your board and potentially damaging something else in the process are the same regardless.

HP Recommended

don't think i will get another pair of v1 CPU since I already have the v2 CPU, let's see how much is a v2 board so that the CPU won't get wasted...

HP Recommended

Patrick,

 

That will be a reasonable project, and you'll be happy with the results.  I've not worked on the v2 Z820 workstations, but can offer a bit of info:

 

There is an excellent link HERE to review.  Dan is a very helpful HP engineer with information not available elsewhere.

 

HP has a parts system that includes Spares P/N and Assembly P/N for the same part.  When you search for Z820 spare parts with Google you'll find the SP P/N list (but not the AS P/N) shown below.  I added the red annotations:

 

Z820 v1 and v2 motherboard SP PNs.jpg

 

Next step is to do a google search for the assembly part number, and the latest I found is 618266-003.  There is also a 618266-001 version (which is the Z820 v1 motherboard) and a 618266-002.  On these images you can see the SP P/Ns and the AS P/Ns on the motherboard labels.  There are also some PCB REV: 1.00 that I have seen that are the v2 motherboards.  Here are some v1 and v2 pics:

 

618266-001.jpg618266-002.jpg618266-003.jpg

 

 

Last tip.... if you get a brand new MB from HP there is a process that allows you to enter the chassis S/N of your box and even set the MAC and UUID, I believe.  Skylarking in here has posted some on this.  This is how HP service can convert a failed motherboard to matching values in a new motherboard so that programs licensed to the MAC or UUID can still work on the same box.  One needs to have those values archived from before the motherboard fails, of course.  Not many know this or archive such things or use such programs.  W10 activation, as an example, is based on MS harvesting the UUID from the box and keeping that in its W10 activation servers centrally.

 

EDIT... key tip.... the number scheme for the v1 versus v2 is different than that for the Z420/Z620 v1 versus v2.

† The opinions expressed above are the personal opinions of the authors, not of HP. By using this site, you accept the <a href="https://www8.hp.com/us/en/terms-of-use.html" class="udrlinesmall">Terms of Use</a> and <a href="/t5/custom/page/page-id/hp.rulespage" class="udrlinesmall"> Rules of Participation</a>.