Z4 G4 CPU Upgrade from W-21xx --> W22xx Any "Ouches"?

[Uky]

Recently picked up a second hand Z4 G4 with a W-2133 and 64GB of memory.

W10 installed and activated w/o any problems. Microsoft also offered the 2.85 Firmware which installed itself.

OK to upgrade to a W-22xx in the future or are there any mother board issues preventing this?

[DGroves]

if the cpu is listed in your HP "quickspecs" then no it will work as it's a HP approved part

the motherboards for the Intel and the Xeon models are different, and the board feature set is slightly different between the two and you cannot swap boards between models

if the cpu model is not listed, you may have a outdated quickspec (hp does update this doc file) see the hp site for the latest one

if the cpu is not listed in the latest quickspecs it may still work as hp will not test OEM only cpu models or they may not have had time to test newer cpu's or may decide not to test a specific model 

last, stay with retail only "Spec" steppings pre production cpu's on HP workstations usually have issues

https://www8.hp.com/h20195/v2/GetDocument.aspx?docname=4AA7-0828ENUC

https://render3d.bitegra.mx/infop/hp/z4g4.pdf

[SDH · Accepted solution]

I've not done this myself, but the principles are the same for the prior generation workstations.

Get the most recent HP Z4 G4 QuickSpecs to review the current offered processors. I'm sure you know there are two types of Z4 G4 motherboards. You have the Xeon type. You always want to update your BIOS to the latest version before you upgrade a processor. If you use an old BIOS with a new processor you may be backed into the corner of the old BIOS not supporting that. No fun.

Check your current memory speed... it may be slower than your new processor can run at, and in that case your new processor will throttle back to the original memory's slower speed. Not ideal. You can find a processor's max memory speed supported on the Intel Ark site. Also, faster new memory mixed with slower original memory will run at the slower speed of the old stuff. Your current processor has a max memory speed of 2166 and max TDP of 140W.

If you're lucky HP installed the faster 2933 MHz memory originally. Compare that to the newer Xeon processors HP offers for the box:

Cooling is something to think about. Look on eBay for HP Z4 G4 heatsink... you'll see what they look like. Check those and find the highest part number... those are usually from parted out workstations. 900187-001 is the latest I saw... make sure yours is at least that. Check on the HP PartSurfer site for the Z4 G4 heatsinks... hopefully that common one shown on eBay is the only one HP offers for the Z4 G4, and the one you already own.

It has a 5-pin fan plug which is usually what HP uses for its "Performance" heatsink/fan combo (6-pin plug for the ZX40 family). HP also has had "Mainstream" heatsink/fan combos for some of its workstations, with 4-pin fan plugs. Make sure if you're going to be running one of the hottest new processors you don't use a Mainstream when you needed a Performance one. I think you'll be fine.

Case and memory cooling... look into whether an optional front PCI card guide/fan kit is available (1XM33AA). I pretty much always add one to my builds if so. There also is a memory cooling "saddle" that fits over the heatsink/fan to add cooling directed to both the front/rear memory banks (1XM34AA). Both of these options have lately run very quietly, and if you're souping up a box it is nice to know these exist.