z440 vs z2 g4

[anthony267]

Hi all, I purchased a z2 g4 i7-8700 and I was wondering if the previous gen z440 with a Xeon 1650 is a better option? Which of these 2 systems is better?

The 440 seems to support quad channel RAM whereas the z2 is only 2 channel. Also interested in the long term upgradability of each system.

A lot of people like the z440 but hardly speaks about the z2, wondering if maybe the z2 wasn't the best choice?

Thanks

[DGroves]

best computer for what use? best is dependant on your needs and available cash to buy said system

when the z440 came out SSD's were not a readily available item and the cost was prohibitive as such the z440 was designed with 3.5 mech drives of smaller capacity than what is now available when the Z2 series was released

the z440 came out when dual video cards were used in high end systems this required more pci-e slots and bigger power supplies

nowadays single video card setups are standard and these cards are faster than the older dual SLI setups of the past

the newer Z2 series cpu's are faster, fully support windows 11 and consume less power than the older systems like the z440 and may support more ram

although the z440 can install windows 11 with some minor tweaking of the win 11 installer

so unless you require a factory warranty, or max cpu speed or cpu cores many people go for the z440 due to it's lower cost  as it's CPU list includes many cpu models that are still able to hold their own against newer models

[anthony267]

Honestly its just for normal personal computing, the most strenuous thing I'd be likely to experiment with is Linux music production through ardour. I'd also like to experiment with virtual machines, both Linux and Windows.

Windows 11 support isn't a big issue as I'd primarily run linux, or ideally use only Linux + virtualization for windows specific tasks.

Another point is that I'm not convinced the z2 will run windows 7 natively, even though the z4 has win7 support. There's nothing about it in the documentation regarding the z2 specifically. The z440 I'm pretty sure runs windows 7. If I have a dual boot I want windows 7 + Linux

How do you think the Xeon e5-1650 stacks up against the i7-8700? According to the various performance calculations the 8700 is better but not by much. Also I believe the z2 has a different motherboard for Xeon and core equipped systems. U don't know if one is more desirable than the other.

I can get a z440 for half the price and spend the $100 price difference on upgrading the processor, would I end up with something better than the z2 g4? Keep in mind I plan on getting at least 15yrs use out of this system.

Regarding the other points you mentioned it sounds like the z2 is actually an improvement in those specific areas.

Thanks for your reply you already helped clear some things up for me

[DGroves]

as i pointed out previously my needs are not the same as yours

i personally use the z820/40 HP workstations and the closest thing i have to the z440/Z2 G4 is a lenovo p520

which has almost the same pci-e slots/mem/power supply config of the z440 while using the same cpu as the Z2 G4

and unlike the HP Z2, the lenovo p520 has dual internal M.2 ssd's and like the HP systems you mention the p520 is also win 7 to win 11/linux compatible

[anthony267]

According to the spec sheet the Z2 also has 2 m.2 storage expansion slots.

Also it appears the Z2 has different motherboards based on the power supply unit? Its not mentioned in the spec sheet, however another forum post seems to indicate that it is the case. As far as I'm aware the z440 can swap out the power supply without any issues, that now appears to not be the case with the Z2.

Another discrepancy is that the Z440 has PS/2 ports whereas the Z2 doesn't, so 2 USB ports will be occupied by keyboard and mouse by default.

According to the spec sheet the Z4 has win7 legacy support but there's no mention of that for the Z2. Has anyone ran win7 on the z2? I believe there's some kind of legacy option in the BIOS settings

[DGroves]

the HP  "quickspecs" for the Z2 G4 plainly state NO official support for windows 7 (page 5)

and i doubt that any of the chips used on the Z motherboard has win 7 driver support from any other 3rd party vendor

https://manuals.plus/hp/hp-z2-tower-g4-workstation-quick-specs-pdf