Z4 w-2150B CPU Support

[manusolve]

Is it likely a W2150B made for apple would work in this machine? Its similar to a W-2155 but with lower stock clock.

Quite cheap

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Intel-Xeon-W-2150B-3-GHz-10-Core-20-Threads-120W-LGA-2066-CPU-Processor/2...

I assume the ID of the chip would be different, will the BIOS reject it if its not on the list in the product spec sheet?

https://www8.hp.com/h20195/v2/getpdf.aspx/c05527757.pdf

[BambiBoomZ]

Manusolve,

In my view, there are potential problems with a non-specified processor ; the BIOS, memory control errors, reduced performance- the questionable value of buying a lower clock speed for a recent, high-quality system, and unknown problems when the BIOS is updated.

With those significant caveats in mind, it may be possible.  There are twelve system using the W-2150B on Passmark baselines of which five are not-Apple: two are Dell, one unspecified "Intel", one Precision T5820, two are Lenovo P520, and one is on a Supermicro M/B.

> Be attentive to the series of the subject Z4. the Precision T5820 is in effect, the second version of the T5800- series , following the T5810. It appears that the Z4's with Xeon W-2155 are G4.Research that carefully.

In terms of the CPU mark, the Dells are No. 2 (21985) and 3 (21771), while the Lenovos are 9 and 10, and the Supermicro No. 11.

The W-2150B appears to corresponds to the Xeon W-2155 10-core on Z4's and it appears that the additional +200MHz has a moderate effect as the Z4 with the W-2155 may have a CPU mark of 22405.

The Xeon  2155 is quite good in terms of  the single-thread performance is among the best of the LGA2066 Xeons. The Passmark STM = 2598 and the W-2150B = 2577. In my view, a single thread mark of 2500 and above is very good. That would be a good 3D CAD CPU, also fair at CPU-based rendering and well-threaded compute functions.

Personally, as the long-term, safer option, I would use a W-2155. HP applies considerable effort to select components to certify for performance and ensure reliability.

BambiBoomZ

HP z620_2 (2017) (R7) > Xeon E5-1680 v2 (8C@ 4.3GHz) / z420 Liquid Cooling / 64GB (HP/Samsung 8X 8GB DDR3-1866 ECC registered) / Quadro P2000 5GB _ GTX 1070 Ti 8GB / HP Z Turbo Drive M.2 256GB AHCI + Samsung 970 EVO M.2 NVMe 500GB + HGST 7K6000 4TB + HP/HGST Enterprise 6TB  / Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 sound interface + 2X Mackie MR824 / 825W PSU /> HP OEM Windows 7 Prof.’l 64-bit > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H (2560 X 1440)

[ Passmark Rating = 6280 / CPU rating = 17178 / 2D = 819 / 3D= 12629 / Mem = 3002 / Disk = 13751 / Single Thread Mark = 2368 [10.23.18]

[manusolve]

Thanks for the detailed answer.

I was looking at a re-manufactured Z4 G4 with a W-2102 and to then swap out the CPU with a W-2150B. The reason being much less cost than buying a machine with the W-2155 installed which are still quite expensive. (either in a machine or as a separate item) Whereas the W2150B can be picked up cheaply I guess because they are slightly odd ball.

Where did you get to the full list of baseline results on the passmark website? I can only see the last 5 entries.

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Xeon+W-2150B+%40+3.00GHz&id=3162

You are right I'm looking for good single thread performance for 3D CAD, but a 10-core machine is handy when doing other things.

Looks like the machines have a shared part# for the cooler so no worries there.

http://pro-psurf-web-glb.austin.hp.com/Search.aspx?searchText=3KX18UTR

http://pro-psurf-web-glb.austin.hp.com/Search.aspx?searchText=7UA01UC

[BambiBoomZ]

Manusolve,

As mentioned, there were no results for the W-2150B in any Z-series system and in fact a search resulted in zero results for the W-2150B in any HP system of 96,637 tested.  That is, in my view, a more than a gentle hint as the reason for the  lower cost associated with the W-2150B; it may well be a proprietary Mac Pro part, that some third party motherboard can recognize. 

Yes, the W-2155 10-core is still quite dear, but consider also the W-2145 8-core @ 3.7 / 4.5GHz. These have an average Passmark CPU =  18224 and STM = 2542; my personal threshold for a 3D CAD performance for large, complex models.  The most useful table of comparative CPU test results I've found is the Passmark "CPU Mega List" as it may be set to list in order of the Single Thread Mark:

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/CPU_mega_page.html

And, on an HP Z4 G4, the (6X) W-2145 CPU results are very good:  20469 , 20434, 30372, 30336, 20061, which are all well above the average for that processor.

One problem is that in the current situation, the prices for the w-2145 and W-2155 as separate components have greatly increased. My experience with recent, but still more or less current used systems, it is less expensive to buy the system with the intended final processor.  A W-2145 may cost US$750-$1,000 but a complete proprietary system may cost as little as perhaps US$1,200.

> Also, I meant to mention that a proprietary system with a lower end processor may also have a lower rated power supply. The Z4 G4 could have a 465W, 750W, or 1000W PSU. Before buying the W-2102 system, check the PSU rating.

What programs are you using and what are typical project sizes, and I'm guessing; is there rendering involved?

See also PM.

BambiBoomZ