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HP Recommended
HP Z440 Workstation
Microsoft Windows 10 (64-bit)

Hewlett-Packardians,

 

Thanks to a quirky listing, 4AM auction end time, and at an unavoidably low price, I've bought an HP z440 for $60:

 

HP z440 (R0): E5-1620 V3 / 32GB (4X 8GB) DDR4-2133 / Quadro K4200 4GB / HP ZTurbo Drive 256GB NVMe  / W10 Pro  > HP 2711X  27"

Passmark Rating = 4304 / CPU rating = 10682 / 2D = 644 / 3D= 4440 / Mem = 2818 / Disk = 127573669 / Single Thread Mark = 2201_ [6.23.23]

 

_Tried with a GTX 1060 6GB:


HP z440 (R1): E5-1650 V3 / 32GB DDR4-2133 / GTX 1060 6GB / HP ZTurbo Drive 256GB  + HP/HGST 4TB / HP OEM W10 Pro > HP 2711X 27"

Passmark Rating = 5205 / CPU rating = 14073 / 2D = 643 / 3D= 9720 / Mem = 2736 / Disk = 13669 / Single Thread Mark = 2268_ [6.16.23]

 

What a difference even a three generation old GPU makes!

 

The thing is, there are listings of z440's in Passmark Performance Test v 11.0 using the E5-1650 v3, posted as running the E5-1650 v3 boosted from a 3.8 to 4.6GHz Turbo. I think that the PCIe 4.0, faster DDR4 RAM and NVMe drives should allow this system to run ahead of the z620.

 

The thing is, how were the 1650 v3 set to the x4.6 multiplier?  I  tried a 2019, I hoped, contemporary version of XTU- Intel Extreme Tuning Utility 6.4.1.2. but the multiplier setting is greyed out.

 

How are users setting the multipliers on E5-1650 v3 - apparently along with several other Xeon E5-16XX  v3 and E5-26XX v3's ?   I'd very much like to have a Passmark Single Thread Mark of at least 2500. I feel that the system using an NVMe M.2 boot drive can exceed the performance of the z620's E5-1650 V2 on an AHCI drive.

 

Cheers,

 

BambiBoomZ

 

HP z620_2 (2017) (R11) > Xeon E5-1650 v2 (6C@ 4.6GHz) / z420 Liquid Cooling / 64GB (HP/Samsung 8X 8GB DDR3-1866 ECC registered) /GTX 2080 Ti 11GB / Samsung SM951 M.2 512GB AHCI + Samsung 970 EVO M.2 NVMe 500GB + HP/HGST Enterprise 6TB / Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 sound interface + 2X Mackie MR824 / 825W PSU / Windows 7 Prof.’l 64-bit (HP OEM) > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H (2560 X 1440)
[ Passmark Rating = 6420 / CPU rating = 16142 / 2D = 843 / 3D= 14062 / Mem = 3142 / Disk = 14842 / Single Thread Mark = 2550  [6.6.22]

4 REPLIES 4
HP Recommended

Bambi,

 

What a great deal! I wish I had a breakthrough on overclocking these in W10/W11 similar to what you and Brian1965 found for the ZX20 family in the W7Pro64 past. Hopefully another forum member has a method to share.

 

I do have some tips to add now and in the next few days. First, the latest BIOS update came out this April 2023, and it is 2.61. HP continues to confuse itself on how to apply the BIOS update from within BIOS... the only way I'll do it and the safest way. They don't seem to get that the method is different from the ZX20 family versus the ZX40 (and beyond) families. We used to just put the .bin file on the top level of a thumb drive, cold boot, F10 into BIOS and go to Upgrade System ROM and BIOS would find the thumb drive and go from there. As of the ZX40, instead, you put the .bin file down in the bottom folder of 3 specifically named folders. So, you end up with Hewlett-Packard\BIOS\New\M60_0261.BIN on your thumb drive and navigate to Flash System BIOS under the Main section from having used F10 to get into BIOS. The BIOS is more complicated than for the ZX20 and earlier families. I can fill you in on that later, and I don't run AMT and do only use Legacy (not UEFI).

 

These workstations sing under W11. There are ways to easily clean install W11 using the Rufus method favored by Paul Tikkanen and DGroves, and I developed a "hybrid" method posted here on the forum. I have never been able to upgrade a W10Pro64 Z440 install to W11 using my method but am working with DGroves using his clean install technique. The newer versions of BIOS have TPM turned on by default whereas the older versions had it turned off by default. Thus, if you now set BIOS to Factory Defaults that can result in a glitch during cloning of a W11 install so I turn TPM off in BIOS to prevent that. I have not yet tried a clean W11 install with TPM upgraded to 2.0 and TPM turned on in BIOS. Mine came with TPM 1.2, but the chip can be firmware upgraded back and forth between 2.0 and 1.2.

 

I'm running a E5-1650 v3 and a E5-1650 v4 in the two Z440s I have here to experiment with. Prices for the processors have dropped pretty significantly, and there is no v3 to v4 issue like we experienced with the v1 to v2 processors in the ZX20 v1/v2 family.

 

I surely would run at least a ZTurboDrive G2. I've picked up some 1TB lightly used HP and Lenovo PM981a Samsung NVMe SSDs for less than what you paid for the whole Z440, but shipping was free. You never told us what shipping cost, by the way 🙂. Turns out 1TB M.2 sticks in new laptops are too small for some users.

 

I now usually run a single ZTD G2 card in slot 4 (which is x8 lanes electrical, had a nice big heatsink, and takes up only one PCIe slot width). That can have a NVMe-controller or an AHCI-controller M.2 SSD in place... either will work fine in a ZX40. For an AHCI-controller M.2 sticks I'd only use a SM951 512GB version, but the NVMe ones currently available are faster. Which brings me to bifurcation. Yes, the recent versions of BIOS have added that to the Z440/Z640/Z840. Hence, it is quite easy to split slot 4's 8 electrical lanes into two x4 electrical lanes both running at PCIe Gen III speeds (which is the max most NVMe M.2 SSDs can currently use). And, my new-straight-from-HP-brand-new ZTD Dual Pro (no HP M.2 drives included) has the medium length x8 slot interface to let x4/x4 bifurcation work in slot 4. In contrast, a ZTD Quad Pro has an even  longer x16 slot interface, so you could run four M.2 SSDs in one of the x16 electrical lanes slots in your Z440. I've already tested here with 2 recycled 1TB drives in the ZTD Dual Pro and x4/x4 bifurcation turned on for slot 4... it works perfectly. I'll work next on a clean install of W11 for booting from the upper (primary) card socket in the ZTD Dual Pro and using the lower (secondary) card socket to run a 1TB NVMe  documents drive. I won't be using a SATA HDD or SSD in that Z440 build.

 

However, unlike the Z4 G4 family next generation the option of using Intel VROC raiding of NVMe M.2 SSDs does not currently exist for the ZX40 family... maybe later?

 

Take a look at the PDF for the BIOS upgrade I've attached... my edit in red letters shows where HP keeps screwing up the instructions. They got it right in another area of the SoftPaq, but this is the main ReadMe document! Be aware that there can be 1 or more auto-shutdown and auto-bootup happening during the BIOS upgrade.... I just walk away for at least 10-15 minutes.

HP Recommended

SDH,

 

Thanks for the excellent, comprehensive, and informative reply- as per usual.

 

It is somewhat frustrating that despite the number of z440's running the E5-1650 v3 (< purchased for $16), E5-1660 v3, and E5-1680 v3 on Passmark  - set at up to 4.7GHz,  that the version of XTU that can set the multipliers as well the various voltages, Turbo boost duration and etc. is still elusive.

 

The BIOS was updated to 2.61 and W10 22H2 which I thought was a W11 designation by the seller.

 

This z440 was sold with free shipping.  I should mention that it's not pretty externally, but quite a lot of work has made it acceptable, well, when under the desk in the shadows,..

 

The z440 was purchased eventually to be able to run  visual AI. Here is the first text experiment of BingChat :

 

BingChat_Instruction Set 1_6.3.23:  Write a rhyming poem in quatrains in iambic pentameter in the style of Shakespeare about a futuristic GPU that predicts the end of the world in 2025

 

Resultant_BingChat_Instruction Set 1_6.3.23

 

Behold the wondrous GPU that can
Compute the future with a blazing speed
And render graphics like no other man
Or machine ever could before indeed

 

But lo, what dreadful vision does it show?
A world engulfed in flames and smoke and war
A prophecy of doom that none can know
But those who dare to look and fear no more

 

What shall we do with such a dire threat?
Shall we ignore it or prepare to fight?
Shall we despair or hope for change yet?
Shall we embrace the dark or seek the light?

 

The choice is ours, for we are not the slaves
Of fate or GPU, but free and brave

 

This was casually timed on a chronograph watch and required less than 5 seconds to complete.

 

The other two tries, the same instruction set but to poems by Allen Ginsberg and Rainer Maria Rilke  produced a few chillingly brilliant lines.

 

However, my interest is in trying some complex visual instruction sets.  I've made in the past year about 8,000 digital art images on HP  z620_2 and HP z420_3  (This has a 32",4K monitor), for example: "Discount deChirico 4  =1 of 64X  based on deChirico's "Melancholia , 1948 (4K image size: 50.0" X 25.0", 279MB):

 

Discount deChirico 4_F_6_R1_REN _7.16.20_result.jpg

However,  I believe that full visual ChatGPT4 AI visualization require W11.

 

The z440 has a Z Turbo G2 265GB.  I've purchased  two Samsung 980 Pro 1TB- reduced to about $60 since the 990 Pro was introduced. These have maximum transfer rates up to 7,000+mb/s.

 

On the subject of boot drives for z620_2, there is an an enterprise level NVMe drive that may be configured such that it will boot the z620, normally restricted to AHCI drives:  Intel DC3700 800GB, about $110.

 

SPEChttps://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/product-specifications/ssd-dc-s3700-spe...

 

This is the most beautifully made drive I've ever seen, having a heavy machined heatsink.  It was made at the time of the transition from W7/ 8 / 8.1 to W10. The configuration appears to only require selection of an operational mode during install but further study is required. This could extend to usefulness of z620_2 fro at least a couple of years.

 

The W11 upgrade installation information is very welcome as it appears that visual AI will need the associated W11 TPM version module.

 

Cheers,

BambiBoomZ

 

HP Recommended

Bambi:

 

A few cut/paste part numbers and related information below... I use each of these in my souped up Z440s:

 

Memory cooling "saddle":  Configurations of greater than 4x memory DIMMs or that include 32GB DIMMs require use of this HP Z440 Memory Cooling Solution, which is available both CTO (J2R51AV) and AMO (J2R52AA), with embossed HP part number 748799-001 to search for on eBay. Knowing you, this is a must-have... it straddles over the nice big double-sized stock Z440's processor heatsink/fan:

 

748799-001.png

 

 

 

Front Case Fan carrier and PCIe card support:  See pic below.... I always add a front case cooling solution even if it is a ghetto mod. Here is the real deal:

 

J0P80AA.jpgIMG_4087_800x800.jpgIMG_4086_800x800.jpg

 

 

The plastic drive caddy for 3.5" drives for the Z440:  These are shorter than usual HP HDD caddies. The 3.5" plastic slider drive caddy HP used in the Z420 is too long for the Z440. Mine from a Z440 had black elastomeric bumpers but there may be some with blue bumpers. Mine had a partial curving cutout in the "front" edge of the mid-cross-connecting plastic support piece. The Z440's 3.5" drive caddies are shorter than priors because HP worked to get every spare bit of front-back depth taken out of the Z440 case.

 

Some eBay ads imply there is an old-style 9-digit hyphenated part number, but mine had no usual part number embossed in the plastic of the caddy. Here are some from prior ads that supposedly represent the caddies used in the Z440:

"HP Z440 3.5 Hard Drive Caddy Tray 727139-001 793520-001 Black"
"HP Z230 Z440 3.5 Hard Drive Mounting Rail HDD Caddy Tray 727139-001"

 

I'd simply search on eBay for "C-3598WH".  "Lot of 2 HP Z440 3.5 Hard Drive Mounting Rail HDD Caddy Tray C-3598WH" (what I bought and what fit).

 

Standard metal HP 3.5-to-2.5" form factor adaptersThese are used to place a 2.5" form factor SATA SSD in a 3.5" form factor HP caddy. Search eBay (654540-001 or 654540-002) for those. There is a "tool-less" version from HP that costs quite a bit more, but these much cheaper same-quality HP ones do require knowing how to use a screwdriver (righty tighty...):

 

654540-001 or 654540-002.jpg

 

Finally, I note HP must be clearing out brand new overstock of bare ZTD Dual Pro drives:  New unused thermal pads are in place above and below, in sealed unopened boxes. These are now 70.00 free shipping for what I paid a bit over 100.00 2 weeks ago, on eBay. Ow.

 

I hope this helps...

 

HP Recommended

Here's a little update for Bambi...

 

Regarding the Z440 front case cooling fan holder and fan there's a bunch on eBay that indicate the "kit" is for both the Z420 and the Z440 workstations. Makes it easy to find, eh?

 

Wrong. If you look closely the real ones built for the Z440 have only 5 vertical card stabilizing slots and those for the Z420 have 6. I'd bet they are not interchangable. Both do hold the Delta or the later Nicec 92x92x25mm HP case cooling fans which both have part number 647113-001. I find that the Nidec ones run a bit more quiet.

 

Here's the trick: Just search for 647113-001 (that is the fan part number only) and find those listings that include the black plastic carrier with only 5 vertical slots. Tell the seller you must have the black carrier with only 5 vertical slots, not 6:For the Z420For the Z420

 

For the Z440...For the Z440...

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