inquiry

[MussaAttomaily]

hello there , i need help . i have the HP z820 workstation and tried to upgrade it , but neither the 2nd cpu (which is tested and working and same as the other cpu e5 2660) or the ram added to this cpu is detected , i couldn't even find them in the system information in bios . is the motherboard faulty ? or should i enable some options in bios or make connections ?

[SDH]

reply

What is the boot block date, from the first tab of BIOS?  This lets you know if your Z820 is a v1 or a v2 workstation.  You would prefer the v2.  Sometimes you can run a 2-QPI v2 processor in a v1 ZX20 but virtually never two.

The E5-2660 is a v1, or a v2?

We have seen some here load two single-QPI link processors and expect that to work.  It won't.  The E5-2660 v1 and v2 both have dual-QPI links so two of them can work together in a properly matched dual socket motherboard.

Do you know the sSpec code laser etched on the stainless top surface of the processors?  It should be only SR1AB if a v2, and there are two sSpec codes for a v1... SR0GZ is the older C1 stepping and SR0KK is the newer C2 stepping.  When doing processor upgrades I always use the same stepping if I am running two processors, and also always choose the later stepping if there are two for the processor type I'm installing.

EDIT:  Oh, and I never try to run one or two HP-certified v2 processors in a v1 workstation... that is why you want to know your boot block date before you buy.  Finally, I always update my BIOS before doing a proper processor(s) update because some later processors were not included in the "microcode" portion of earlier BIOS versions. 

I harp on this:  learn how to update BIOS from within BIOS... doing that from within a functioning operating system (especially if it is W10 and the updater was built for XP/W7) adds a significant degree of risk to your motherboard's life.