Upgrading Z600 rev1 with 2x X5675

[jstorme]

Hi,

I'm trying to upgrade my rev1 Z600 with 2x X5675 cpu's. Unfortunatly this doesn't seem to work.

1 processor is fine but when I install the second one it refuses to boot and the fans just run full speed.

After searching I found that my heat sinks might be the problem. The heatsinks that I have are 2x 463990-001.

Am I correct that if I want to use the X5675 cpu I need to get the high performance heatsinks 463981-001?

Will these high performance heatsinks fit in the Z600?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

[DGroves · Accepted solution]

this has been answered/posted here many times previously if you had searched this forum for previous posts you will have seen that a rev 1 z600 motherboard does not officially support the xeon 56xx line only the 55xx series is supported

while some people have been able to run a 56xx on a rev one board this is not guaranteed and i personally don't know of anyone who is able to run two 56xx cpu's on a z600 rev 1 board reliably

to use dual 56xx cpu's you will need to buy a rev 2 motherboard, the riser card works with both board revisions

and yes, the higher wattage cpu's should be used with the optional performance heatsinks

[SDH]

Agree with DGroves except the "riser" he refers to is for the Z620.  The Z600 has both sockets built into the one motherboard.  He knows that, just moving fast.

Those processors are an excellent choice for a v2 motherboard, and are 95W rated, as are your heatsinks... .those are what I use.  They are the "Mainstream" heatsinks for this workstation; the "Performance" rated ones are rare and expensive.  Now you just need to buy a version 2 motherboard and swap it in, which is not too difficult at all.  Tape up and out the cables as you release them, and put them back in with the new used motherboard.

Read up in here on how to ensure you pick a version 2 motherboard from eBay.  The board may be "branded" for use under Windows in which case you can use the HP OEM COA installer CD set.  You would not know that unless you had a HP install set and tried to use it once you got the motherboard.  If that does not work you just need to install W7Pro64 some other way and then W10Pro64 activate it.  These run great under W10 off a SSD, and I use another SSD as my "documents" drive.

One benefit of the v2 in the Z600 is that it can run the 8GB sticks I've been posting about recently.... the sticks that were used in many servers, and I have posted pics of those.  At 6 sticks at about 10.00 each with good eBay skills that is not a bad price for 48GB of RAM.  Those sticks are rated for higher speed but they will downregulate to your processor's speed.  I've done that experiment for you already.

[jstorme]

Hi SDH and thank you for the feedback. I ordered 2 x5570 in the meantime that I want to test out first. Cheap as chips on eBay for just over 25 euros. If these don't give me the performance boost I'm looking for I'll take a look at swapping out the motherboard. That part that I need is the SP#591184-001 am I correct? Also, not that expensive on eBay. Thank you.

[SDH]

That should work,  but I never use the left side part number(s) on the bar code label.  The reliable way is to use the right side part number on the bar code label.  From one of my prior posts:

"This is easier:  There is a Spares Part Number on the left side of the bar code label.  If it is 461439-001 it is a version 1.  And, there is an Assembly Part Number on the right side of the bar code label.  If it is 460840-001 or -002 it is a version 1.  In contrast, for the version 2 boards the SP# will be 591184-001 and the AS# will be 460840-003."

So, look for a bar code label with the number on the right side ending in -003.  Never buy one that ends with -001 or -002.  The top pic is the one to buy, not the bottom pic one.  Communicate to the seller what you must have.... I've seen some sellers use the wrong picture.  Get that communication documented either in your messages or on the message to seller part of the buy documentation.

A couple of pics... the top pic shows a version 2 Z600, and the bottom pic shows a version 1 Z600.  Using the boot block date from BIOS is easiest, but the board has to be up and running to get that:

[jstorme]

Hi SDH,

I finally did what you suggested. Switched out the motherboard for a V2 and installed 2x X5675. All working perfectly atm.

Noticeable increase in response time. Now with some extra memory I'm good for the next couple of years. Thank you.

Kind regards,

jstorme

[SDH]

Happy to help.... that is a great workstation when optimized the way we've developed here in the forum.  It helps that a number of the best parts were also used in now-retired servers so there is a good source of quality used parts such as fast memory and fastest processors.  For perspective... it is hard to beat up a processor or memory stick if it has only been run at stock specifications and therefore the quality of these used parts on eBay tends to be very high.  The X5765 sold new by Intel is listed at $1443.00 USD.  Today on eBay from trusted US sellers you can get a used one for about $36.00 including shipping.