Upgrade for Z600. CPU and memory

[andeil]

Hello!

I recently received an older Z600 for free, and I am wanting to make a home-server out of it.

As far as I can tell there are different versions of this, and I believe I have version one. I can not puzzle out

which upgrades would be suitable for my situation.

Product name: HP Z600 workstation FW863AV

System BIOS: 786GA v03.15

Boot block date: 01/30/09

Processor: Intel xeon CPU E5530 @ 2.40Ghz

Memory size: 4096 MB DDR3/1066MHZ.

I would like to upgrade the CPU and RAM of the unit, and use two CPUs. Which CPUs are best for this version?

I would also like to upgrade the RAM, what would be the maximum amount of RAM on this unit?

Thanks!

Best regards.

[DGroves]

home servers rarely require dual cpu's  you will need to be more specific on just what you wish your home server to do

as a simple file server will not require much ram but would require storage, where a media server requirements are again different from a file server

[andeil]

Hello and thank you for your reply!

The server will be used for many things as i like to explore, so it might be used for files, might be used for media, might just even be used as a hypervisor/virutalization host.

I would like to get the specs as good as possible so that when I find a new project I will not be limited. 

If I understand correctly i would be able to use 2xIntel® Xeon® Processor X5570. Is this correct?

Is the RAM limited to 24GB in total on this machine, or is it 24GB for each CPU? 

[SDH]

There is a blast from the past, worth reading both pages, HERE :

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Desktops-Archive-Read-Only/Z600-X5650-upgrade/td-p/5532857

The price was right for you.  If in fact you have a v1 motherboard it is quite easy to upgrade to a v2 motherboard and then run better RAM and processors.  If you are interested I can post again how to ensure you are buying a v2 motherboard by looking at the right hand side of the bar code label always on the motherboard.  Those cost about 50.00 USD on eBay.

I then use the same fastest ECC Buffered RAM sticks that I use also from eBay at 8GB/stick... about 11.00 each... that I use on our ZX20 v2 HP workstations.  They automatically downspeed to 1333 MHz (assuming your processor is 1333 speed, shown in the QuickSpecs).  Get a good SSD for sure, also used off eBay but you can run new SATA III ones too.  The ZX00 workstations are SATA II so using a 600GB Intel 320 series off eBay can be nice if you find a good deal.  New SATA III ones have come down so much in price you might want a 500GB Samsung recent one.  I also like the Intel 545s, 512GB, which uses the nice Intel newer software for management.

Processors.... you want to stick with the fastest lower wattage processors... those let you still use a mainstream heatsink/fan.  These are about 50.00 each for ones that cost about 2100.00 USD each new.  You can choose from the top two... higher clock speed and lower cores vs lower clock speed and more cores.  I've built both ways and can't tell the difference but was swayed by more clock speed finally.  Swapping in a v2 motherboard will involved processor swapping too.  You can use your original one(s) to begin with, and I advise using the Noctua thermal paste first version rather than the newer one (it spreads better in my experience).

Latest BIOS, upgraded from within BIOS.  Never from W10.  I have a source for W7Pro64 HP installer optical discs.  That will let you upgrade to W10 for no cost.

It all depends on if you want a project like this...

[SDH]

This is probably the last Z600 QuickSpecs, v51:

HP Z600 Workstation (frc971.org)

Here is a very early Z600 QuickSpecs, v2, for comparison:

HP Z600 Workstation

Note on the processor listing for the v2 motherboards (the v51 QuickSpecs) that the top two listed there are both 95W max TDP, which the "Mainstream" heatsink/fans can cool properly.  If you go to 130W then you need the rare and expensive "Performance" heatsink/fan.  If you stick to your mentioned v1 processor(s) those are 95W max TDP so you don't need to get different heatsinks than you have.

Whatever you choose make sure to have a front case fan.  I can get you the part numbers for that if you don't have it and the black plastic holder made to fit in the bottom front of the Z600 both v1 and v2.

[andeil]

Hello SDH

Thank you for your extensive replies!

I might buy the upgraded motherboard down the road but for the time being i want to 

"keep it simple" and stick with upgrading the CPU and RAM for the current MB.

I have been able to get a couple X5550-CPUs for a good price. Will i be able to install 24GB of RAM

per CPU or is it 24GB in total with these?

[DGroves]

 upgrading the motherboard "NOW" to a v2 is one of the BEST things you can do cheaply as the v2 cpu's are just as cheap as v1 but for the same price as a v1 cpu will have more cores and faster Mhz

currently the ebay market is plentiful with v2 boards causing the price to be low, (around 50.00) this will not be the case later on  as the supply of v2 boards dwindle causing the price (and availability) to sharply rise

https://www.ebay.com/itm/265247591288?hash=item3dc1fd0b78:g:D8AAAOSwzeRhBDPE

you might want to compare a v1 5550 (3-5 dollars) with a v2 5650  (7-9 dollars)

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=xeon+x5650&_sacat=0&LH_Ti...

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/Intel-Xeon-X5550-vs-Intel-Xeon-X5650/1300vs1304

[andeil]

Hi DGroves

Thank you for your reply, i see your argument about getting the V2, unfortunately the price of the V2 seems to go

a bit higher on my side of the planet.

What is a sure way to know that I am buying a V2 and not a V1? 

[SDH]

I fully agree with DGroves... to transplant in a v2 Z600 motherboard is a small amount of added work to do, but there is a large benefit from doing that.

The HP spare parts listings I found previously, shown below, gives the "Spares" part number for the two types of the motherboard, and the older one has the lower number.  The bar code label on the motherboard shows the SP number(s) on the left but I always have found the far right "Assembly" part number on the bar code to be fool proof.  That is the "AS" part number as you'll see below.  Go search, ideally, for the AS P/N (460840-003) first rather than the SP P/N (591184-001).  However, for the Z600 I believe that left number will also get you what you want. 

Don't get a v1 motherboard with a SP P/N that starts with a 4.  It is important to tell the seller exactly what you want or a packer might just throw in whatever they grab from the Z600 motherboard bin.  Be very clear about what to look for so you don't get a v1 version.