Maxing out a xw4600 - Advice sought please!

[Rhothgar]

Thanks very much for adding to the mix. It's all appreciated.

So that motherboard code will automatically have the 2013 BootBlock date I am presuming?  If they are inextricably linked, then that's all I need to know in terms of what to look for ie either/or.

It's sometimes useful not to alert a seller to something which is a little more special than they perhaps realise.

It's been a long time (pre-xw4600) since I've had the need to build a PC but I am not phased by the processor nor inexperienced per se but things do move on like the UEFI Bios which I cannot seem to get my head around.  I prefer older CMOS Bios.

My brother brought an Intel NUC around the other week.  It took me a good half day timewise to get it working because it was UEFI boot, secure boot, etceteras and I had to read up and learn what does and doesn't work.  It was in a continuous cycle of getting so far through install and then saying it couldn't continue.  Of course, I had absolutely no idea if he had fiddled with jumpers and the like.

[BambiBoomZ]

Rhothgar,

The Boot Block Date for z420, z620, and z820 = 2011 for first version, 2013 for second version.  This is an embedded specification that can not be altered. If a seller will not reveal which it is, consider shopping elsewhere. 

The secure, faster, land lesser cost and effort tactic is to buy a system that is running, preferably already running the final target processor.  Of the five HP zX20 systems, purchased for this office,  two were new and three used. As mentioned in a previous post,  the used systems were purchased as working, so they could have some level of use as soon as possible and upgrades would refine and improve performance.  If the system is running, the BIOS is set, so there is less, detailed configuration and a much less steep learning curve.

BambiBoomZ