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HP Recommended

I have the following HP Z600 and I want to upgrade the CPU from the current Intel Xeon E5520  to E5650, E5660, or X5675 processors. The two basic questions I have are:

 

  • Is that possible?
  • If so, what exactly do I have to do?

Implicit in those two questions are:

 

  • Will the chipsets on the motherboard will support the newer processors?
  • Will the current heatsinks for the E5520 CPUs work or will it be necessary to replace them?

Thanks,

 

Bob

 

-------------------------------------------------------------

 

Computer
Model : HP Z600 Workstation 103C_53335X
Serial Number : 2UA01*****
Chassis : HP Mini Tower
Mainboard : HP 0AE8h
Serial Number : 2UA01*****
BIOS : HP 786G4 v03.54 11/02/2011
NUMA Support : 2 Unit(s)
Total Memory : 24GB ECC DIMM DDR3

 

Processors
Processor : Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU           E5520  @ 2.27GHz (4C 2.4GHz/2.53GHz, 2.13GHz IMC, 4x 256kB L2, 8MB L3)
Processor : Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU           E5520  @ 2.27GHz (4C 2.4GHz/2.53GHz, 2.13GHz IMC, 4x 256kB L2, 8MB L3)
Socket/Slot : FC LGA1366

 

Chipset
Memory Controller : HP 5520 (Tylersburg-36D) I/O Hub 2x 2.93GHz (5.85GHz)
Memory Controller : HP Xeon (Nehalem) UnCore 2x 2.93GHz (5.85GHz), 3x 4GB ECC DIMM DDR3 1GHz 192-bit
Memory Controller : HP Xeon (Nehalem) UnCore 2x 2.93GHz (5.85GHz), 3x 4GB ECC DIMM DDR3 1GHz 192-bit

 

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : Freescale (Motorola) 18KSF51272AZ-1G6K1 4GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-12800U DDR3-1600
Memory Module : Freescale (Motorola) 18KSF51272AZ-1G6K1 4GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-12800U DDR3-1600
Memory Module : Freescale (Motorola) 18KSF51272AZ-1G6K1 4GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-12800U DDR3-1600
Memory Module : Freescale (Motorola) 18KSF51272AZ-1G6K1 4GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-12800U DDR3-1600
Memory Module : Freescale (Motorola) 18KSF51272AZ-1G6K1 4GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-12800U DDR3-1600
Memory Module : Freescale (Motorola) 18KSF51272AZ-1G6K1 4GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-12800U DDR3-1600

 

Video Adapter : ASUS R9 270X Series (20CU 1280SP SM5.0 1.12GHz, 4GB DDR5 5.6GHz 384-bit, PCIe 3.00 x16)

 

Graphics Processor
OpenCL GP Processor : ASUS R9 270X Series (1280SP 20C 1.12GHz, 3GB DDR5 5.6GHz 256-bit)
Compute Shader Processor : ASUS R9 270X Series (1280SP 20C 1.12GHz, 4GB DDR5 5.6GHz 384-bit)

 

Storage Devices
GB0750C4414 (750.2GB, SATA150, 16MB Cache) : 699GB (C:smileyhappy:
WDC WD2002FAEX-007BA0 (2TB, SATA300/600, 3.5", 7200rpm) : 2TB (E:smileyhappy: (F:smileyhappy: (G:smileyhappy: (H:smileyhappy:
WDC WD2002FAEX-007BA0 (2TB, SATA300/600, 3.5", 7200rpm) : 2TB (D:smileyhappy: (I:smileyhappy:
ASUS    BW-16D1HT (SATA150, BD-RE, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 4MB Cache) : N/A (Z:smileyhappy:

 

Operating System
Windows System : Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 6.01.7601 (Service Pack 1)
Platform Compliance : x64

 

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Accepted Solutions
HP Recommended

Bob,

 

Correct Prefix of these processors is (x5650, x5660 and X5675)

 

Model No           Part No
 x5650                WG731AA
 x5660                WG732AA
 X5675                LB215AA

 

I have also mentioned technical information below what these prefix's means,

 

Letter Prefix:

X = Performance
E = Mainstream (rack mount)
L = Power Optimized
W = Workstation for up to 2 processors per motherboard.

 

The letters also refer to the power consumption figures of the CPUs in question. Note that the numbers associated with the letters are for the "Nehalem"-based Xeon family and older Xeons that use the letter designations have different TDP values associated with the letters.

 

L = Thermal design power (expected power draw with a 100% CPU load running normal software) of 60 watts or less. These are the "low voltage" chips.

 

E = TDP of 80 watts. Intel refers to the Xeon 5500/5600s with this letter prefix as the "basic" line and as a result, the idle power draw on these chips is frequently worse than any of the other series of chips, despite the other chips possibly having a higher full-load power draw.

 

X = TDP of 95 watts. These are the "premium" mainstream chips as their TDP is not so excessive that they are difficult to cool in a rack server, yet their idle power consumption is far lower than the E-series chips.

 

W = TDP of 130 watts and higher. These are the fastest, hottest Xeons made and they are designed to be used in workstations and pedestal servers with better cooling than an average 1U or 2U rack server.

 

========================================================
Although I am an HP employee, I am speaking for myself and not for HP.
========================================================

**Click the KUDOS star on the left to say 'Thanks'**

View solution in original post

24 REPLIES 24
HP Recommended

Hi,

 

All these processor models which you have provided are compatible with this Z600 workstation.

 

Yes you can upgrade the processors to any of these models (E5650, E5660, or X5675).

 

  • Your chipset will support these processors.
  • You can use the same heat sink for these processors and it will work.

========================================================

Although I am an HP employee, I am speaking for myself and not for HP.

========================================================

**Click the KUDOS star on the left to say 'Thanks'**

HP Recommended

Shivaram,

 

An E5660 or an X5660?

 

  • The Intel web site has data on the X5660 but nothing on an E5660.
  • X5660 chips for sale on line but not E5660.
  • Google defaults to X5660 when you enter "Intel Xeon E5660."

Thanks,

 

Bob

HP Recommended

Bob,

 

Correct Prefix of these processors is (x5650, x5660 and X5675)

 

Model No           Part No
 x5650                WG731AA
 x5660                WG732AA
 X5675                LB215AA

 

I have also mentioned technical information below what these prefix's means,

 

Letter Prefix:

X = Performance
E = Mainstream (rack mount)
L = Power Optimized
W = Workstation for up to 2 processors per motherboard.

 

The letters also refer to the power consumption figures of the CPUs in question. Note that the numbers associated with the letters are for the "Nehalem"-based Xeon family and older Xeons that use the letter designations have different TDP values associated with the letters.

 

L = Thermal design power (expected power draw with a 100% CPU load running normal software) of 60 watts or less. These are the "low voltage" chips.

 

E = TDP of 80 watts. Intel refers to the Xeon 5500/5600s with this letter prefix as the "basic" line and as a result, the idle power draw on these chips is frequently worse than any of the other series of chips, despite the other chips possibly having a higher full-load power draw.

 

X = TDP of 95 watts. These are the "premium" mainstream chips as their TDP is not so excessive that they are difficult to cool in a rack server, yet their idle power consumption is far lower than the E-series chips.

 

W = TDP of 130 watts and higher. These are the fastest, hottest Xeons made and they are designed to be used in workstations and pedestal servers with better cooling than an average 1U or 2U rack server.

 

========================================================
Although I am an HP employee, I am speaking for myself and not for HP.
========================================================

**Click the KUDOS star on the left to say 'Thanks'**

HP Recommended

 

Hi 

I will like to know what is the highest chipset I can get for this machine.

I currently have dual quad core (8 Cores)  but I would like to upgrade it so that I have the maximum amount of cores my machine would be able to handle. I have just started a small business doing 3D visualisations for clients but I'm not yet in a position to buy a better machine....so upgrading for now is my only option... Any help on this will be greatly appreciated. 

HP Recommended

Xeon X5687 (quadcore) or Xeon X5690 (hexacore)

HP Recommended

I'm looking to upgrade a Z600. Is there more to it than simply replacing the CPU ? Does BIOS etc or anything need attention ?

 

I sourced an Intel X5660, dropped it in, replaced heat sink etc and fired her up.

 

Apart from the fan getting fast and noisy nothing happened. No BIOS msg, no boot warnings, nothing.

 

Replaced the original 5530 and all OK.

 

WHat am I missing ?

 

Many thanks.

HP Recommended

I did not see a critical issue in the discussion above..... about whether the workstation is fitted out with an original motherboard, or the newer Version 2 motherboard.  You can research within this forum by going to the "Search HP Forum" search box when signed in and do your searches centered around "boot block date" (which you can see in BIOS) and  Version 2, and other such search topics.  The Z620 also went through such a revision, so the general discussion about this for the Z620 will also apply to you, but not the processors themselves.

 

If your processor is not listed in the Z600's hidden "microcode" list it almost never will fire up even if theoretically it could.  HP certifies only some of the possible processors, and you cannot see that list in BIOS but you can be sure to have the best most recent list by having your BIOS updated to the latest.  There are some exceptions to this rule.  For example, I am running a X5690 in a Version 2 Z400 (which was never certified for that workstation, but it works).  It is said that two of those will run in a Version 2 Z600, but I have not tried that.

 

Note that the most recent QuickSpecs for the Z600 will include the processors for the most recent Version 2 motherboard.  You may need to go back into the HP QuickSpec archives to see the evolution of what HP certified for the Z600 as things progressed from original Version 1 to Version 2.  I'll bet you have an original Version 1 motherboard.

 

Here is another topic to search for:  "performance heatsink", because you need to use a higher heat capacity performance heatsink in the Z600 with certain hot processors even if they are HP certified.  You generally can at least boot a bit into BIOS and get a warning if you are doing that, but it is good to know about this ahead of hitting that issue.

 

If you try to put one of the newer type processors certified for a Version 2 motherboard in an original Version 1 motherboard you will get no joy (and no boot).  It all is in here.......

 

Finally, if you can run 1 processor in a Z600 you can run two quite easily..... the Z600/Z800 are great workstations in that regard, in that unlike with the Z620 you don't have to buy a bunch of new parts simply to add in a second matching processor.  You just need a matching processor.  It is best to refer to the "sSpec code" of the first for that, which is laser etched atop the processors cover.  Also get a second matching heatsink/fan of the proper capacity.  These items can be found at reasonable prices on eBay, and I have had virtually no problems with used processors bought this way.

HP Recommended

Scott,

 

Many thanks for your reply. You are quite correct, I have an original motherboard !

 

I flashed the BIOS to the latest version and tried again with the X5660, this time it worked perfectly. The heatsink is as fitted, it's a bit of a beast although whether it's a 'performace' one I'm not sure.

 

The TDP of the original CPU was 80w and the x5660 is 95w. The max temp reached so far is showing as 40c although I've not loaded the processor much yet.

 

Interesting what you say about second CPU, although I'd need to ponder with Photoshop/Lightroom/Premier are programs that would make proper use of twin CPU's.

 

Cheers

 

Pete

HP Recommended

Pete,

 

Happy to help.  The BIOS upgrade fix you report likely represents a situation where your prior BIOS had an old microcode that did not include the X5660's entry, and you got a new microcode listing with the new BIOS that did include that processor, finally.

 

A new microcode list usually is embedded in a new BIOS release, but I know of at least one case where a microcode release came independent of a full BIOS upgrade (xw4600).  Not all BIOS upgrades include a microcode update.  I know of no microcode list update that deleted old processors, even from the original motherboard list when applied to a Version 2 motherboard.  I believe that all Version 2 motherboards can run all processors that the original Version 1 motherboard could.

 

An 80W processor load going up to 95 W is a small step.  Going to 120 W or above has usually been the jump that requires a "Performance" heatsink/fan in the earlier xw workstations.  Dan_in_WGBU, a very helpful HP engineer here in the forum, has stated that for the Z400/Z600 generation that the transition from a "Mainstream" heatsink/fan to a "Performance" heatsink/fan is at 95W Max TDP.  At and below 95W does not require a Performance heatsink/fan.... and when the motherboard sees a processor rated at over 95W it is programmed to demand a higher capacity unit be present.  The motherboard can see the difference between Mainstream and Performance by a small wiring change at the fan plug end, and the fan itself generally will be larger as will the surface area of the heatsink and the number of heatpipes for the heatsink.  I have seen cases where the heatsink area is larger but the fan was the same, and also where both bigger fan and bigger surface areas were used.

 

A rule that always seems to work is that if you can run one processor in a two-processor workstation you can run two.  The best way to do that is to get an identical sSpec code processor to the first, but HP has put out information that at least in some cases different sSpec codes for the same processor can work together.  I personally always match sSpec codes, regardless, and I always get the latest sSpec code if there is more than one for a particular processor.

 

Performance boost from a second processor.... not huge (not double for sure) but generally worth it if you can get a good deal on a used processor off eBay.  Expect roughly 20% boost overall, and of course more for programs that are multithreaded.  W7Pro is needed to take advantage of a second processor, and 64-bit is a given.

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