document Z420 (v2 bootblock, v3.96 bios) compatibility with 32 Gb lrdimms (hint: it fails)

[jurriaank]

This is just to document that my Z420 (bios 3.96, v2 bootblock) doesn't like 32 Gb lrdimms. It doesn't boot with 8, with 4 or even with 2 - generating the 'five beeps' of dislike every time.

It works fine with other memory. So, if you're googling if your 664693-001 is compatible with a Z420, proceed with caution - it doesn't work in mine. This is HP 32GB 4Rx4 PC3L-10600L memory, that works just fine in a very cheap Chinese Huananzhi X79 motherboard, by the way (but that has only 4 slots, alas).

[BambiBoomZ]

Jurriaank,

A quick survey of the z420 specification reveals that the memory configuration is:

1.  "DDR3, UDIMM (Unbuffered), ECC"   

__ A.  However,  ECC Registered also works. See below. The  z420 motherboard appears to be extremely similar to  z620 which as a potentially dual processor system must use ECC registered. The z420 differs in that the second processor riser socket is not installed even though the traces and installation points are still visible.

2. "Maximum Memory Supported  _ Supports up to 64GB"

Also, consider:

1.  That PC3L-10600L is running at 1333MHz whereas the z420 V2 may use up to 1866MHz

2.  This is anecdotal, but from results, either the the z-X20 BIOS and/or the memory controller apparently does not like load reduced RAM. In a couple of tries, it returned unpredictable memory training errors.

I strongly recommend using HP part no. labelled memory. I would also that I have never noticed that the use of registered memory has any performance deficit as compared to unbuffered.     

BambiBoomZ

HP z420_3: (2015) (R11) Xeon E5-1650 v2 (6C@ 4.3GHz) / z420 Liquid cooling / 64GB (HP/Samsung 8X 8GB DDR3-1866 ECC registered) / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB/ Samsung 860 EVO 500GB + HGST 4TB / ASUS Essence STX / Logitech z2300 2.1 / 600W PSU > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit (HP OEM ) > Samsung 40" 4K

[Passmark System Rating: = 5644 / CPU = 15293 / 2D = 847 / 3D = 10953 / Mem = 2997 Disk = 4858 /Single Thread Mark = 2384 [6.27.19]

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]

[Brian1965]

Hi Jurriaank, you might want to look at this post;

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Business-PCs-Workstations-and-Point-of-Sale-Systems/256GB-of-RAM-is-Po... 

[jurriaank]

That post is why I thought it would work. The same memory works perfectly in my Z620 as well, by the way.

[Brian1965]

I noticed that the HP part number on your ram modules (664693-001) is different to that used in the link I posted (712384-081). As you will see below, the memory specifications do differ substantially.

664693-001

HP 32GB 1333MHz PC3L-10600L-9 DDR3 Quad-rank x4 1.35V Module NEW

General Information

• Manufacturer: Hewlett Packard Enterprise

• Manufacturer Part Number: 664693-001

• Manufacturer Website Address: https://www.hpe.com

• Brand Name: HPE

• Product Name: 32GB DDR3 SDRAM Memory Module

• Product Type: RAM Module

Technical Information

• Memory Size: 32 GB

• Memory Technology: DDR3 SDRAM

• Memory Voltage: 1.35 V

• Number of Modules: 1 x 32 GB

• Memory Speed: 1333 MHz

• Memory Standard: DDR3-1333/PC3-10600

• Error Checking: ECC

• Signal Processing: Registered

• CAS Latency: CL9

• Device Supported: Server

Physical Characteristics

• Form Factor: DIMM

712384-081

HP RETAIL DDR3 32 GB LRDIMM 240pin 1866 MHz / PC3-14900 CL13 1.5

General Information

• Manufacturer: HP Inc.

• Manufacturer Part Number: 712384-081

• Manufacturer Website Address: https://www.hp.com

• Brand Name: HP

• Product Name: 32GB DDR3 SDRAM Memory Module

• Product Type: RAM Module

Technical Information

• Memory Size: 32 GB

• Memory Technology: DDR3 SDRAM

• Memory Voltage: 1.50 V

• Memory Speed: 1866 MHz

• Memory Standard: DDR3-1866/PC3-14900

• Error Checking: ECC

• CAS Latency: CL13

• Device Supported: Server

Physical Characteristics

• Number of Pins: 240-pin

• Form Factor: DIMM

I'm guessing the Z420 is just a bit fussy regarding which brand or type of LRDIMM modules will work. It would also appear that 32GB RDIMMS also seem to work in the Z420 and Z620 systems as per this post. Unfortunately, Zack4485 didn't state the part number of the memory modules he's using.