HP Z2 G4 ram issues

[DaSosa32]

Hi Forum.

I recently bought a Z2 G4 TWR PC as an upgrade project for my Elitedesk 800 G4. The unit arrived clean and in good condition. The problem was that it came with a HyperX 4x8 RAM kit, and when booting Windows, after a while, the blue screen started appearing with the "Memory Management" message.

I swapped the RAM for the Elitedesk kit, and the issue seemed to disappear. I was able to install Windows from scratch and play without problems for a while, as far as I've tested.

Out of curiosity, I tried the HyperX RAM in the Elitedesk, and it worked fine—no errors, and it even passed stress and damage tests. I was a little confuse.

So, I updated all the drivers on the Z2 and swapped the RAM again, but the problems returned.
Is there a special configuration I'm missing, or does the system simply not like that RAM kit? The RAM looks new, and I feel it's a waste for it not to work. I also don't feel comfortable selling it since it seems to work fine on the other machine.
Any advice?

[NonSequitur777 · Accepted solution]

@DaSosa32,

Welcome to our HP Community forum!

Thank you for the detailed post -this is a great question and a situation that comes up often when mixing performance RAM with HP business/workstation systems.

Even though the HyperX RAM works fine in your EliteDesk 800 G4, the HP Z2 G4 TWR is apparently a bit more selective.

Both systems require non-ECC UDIMM memory and don’t support XMP tuning or manual RAM adjustments in BIOS.

However, the Z2 -being a workstation, in my experience tends to be more sensitive to RAM that doesn’t strictly follow JEDEC specifications.

Here’s what I’d suggest:

1. Update the HP Z2 Tower G4 Workstation BIOS to the latest version -HP occasionally improves memory compatibility through BIOS updates: https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/hp-z2-tower-g4-workstation/20063240.

2. Clear CMOS before testing the HyperX kit again to ensure fresh memory training.

3. Test one stick at a time in different slots to rule out slot-specific instability.

4. Stick with JEDEC-standard memory (no XMP profiles), as the system may not be able to handle enthusiast kits such as HyperX reliably, even at their fallback speeds.

Unfortunately, if issues persist, it's likely a compatibility mismatch between that particular RAM kit and the Z2’s memory controller or firmware. I’d recommend using JEDEC-compliant RAM in the Z2 and saving the HyperX RAM for a compatible system.

Hope this helps!

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[DaSosa32]

Thanks Man, fan of your work (it make me want to tinker with this kind of business PCs).

I was researshing and seams that the XMP may be the culpcrit here. 

I'm going to try again with the cmos reset as all drivers and BIOS firmware are up to date. I'll keep informing. 

Also, i'm going to Buy a xeon e2146g cause is around 40 bucks used. It scare me a little cause it's not listed as supported in the Specs, but as i remember, You used some unlisted cpus before, hope it works.

Thanks for the atention

[NonSequitur777]

@DaSosa32,

You are very welcome: it is good to see you going boldly were few (if any) have gone before too!

I think there are good reasons to believe that a Xeon E-2146G (6-Cores, 12-Threads, 3.50 GHz up to 4.50 GHz, 80-watt TDP) is compatible with your HP Z2 Tower G4 Workstation, since it is a Coffee Lake-S WS processor, which we know to be compatible, in principle, with your PC.

Here are some of the Xeon processors (up to 95-watt TDP) Z2 G4 Users have successfully installed: Xeon E-2124G, Xeon E-2126G, Xeon E-2136, Xeon E-2144G, Xeon E-2174G, Xeon E-2176G, Xeon E-2224G, Xeon E-2236, and the Xeon E-2286G.

Looking forward reading about your next exploits!

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[DaSosa32]

After a while, all the parts arrived and were installed.

Both the processor and the RAM modules work without problems.

The RAM is Kingston, with Micron chips, 3200 MHz at CL22, which is the JEDEC standard. I chose single-rank to reduce the risk of dual-rank per module also causing problems.

So far, everything is working fine.

The processor also shows no signs of problems, although it is not on the list of officially supported models.

Attached is an image of the resource monitor.

Obviusly, the ram speed is limited by the CPU.

Thanks for the support

[NonSequitur777]

@DaSosa32,

Looking very good indeed -thank you for sharing/the follow-up!

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777