HP Z840 GPU Choices

[ChuckMosher]

Greetings !

I have an HP Z840 with a Quadro M2000 graphics card. I'd like to add a GPU for machine learning, but have had difficulty finding one that will work. I have tried an RTX 4090 Ti, and a Tesla T4, with and without the Quadro installed. The system fails to boot or bring up a display.

Any advice on GPU models I could use and how to get them to a usable state ?

Thanks,

Chuck Mosher

[NonSequitur777]

@ChuckMosher,

Welcome to our HP Community forum!

An HP Z840 Workstation is either fitted with an 850-watt, a 1125-watt or the mighty 1450-watt power supply, but only the latter two power supplies are powerful enough to power an RTX 4090 Ti.  An Nvidia Tesla T4 with a low 70-watt TDP can easily be powered by the 850-watt power supply.

Here are the most powerful rigged HP Z840 Workstations submitted by its Users:

Link: https://www.userbenchmark.com/System/HP-Z840-Workstation/10342.

And as you can see, your system is compatible with just about any graphics card.

Make sure your Z840 has the most recent BIOS/driver updates: https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/hp-z840-workstation/6978842.

Also, use 6-pin to 8-pin PCIe power adapter cables or a triple 6-pin to 16-pin PCIe power adapter cable if needed.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[ChuckMosher]

Thank you for the information !

When I install the Tesla T4 in the second 16x slot with the Quattro M2000 still in the first 16x slot, I get the "6 beeps" indicating graphics card problems. My current bios is 2.04, so I've been attempting to update the BIOS to the 2020 3.03 version.

As you know, instructions are sparse and conflicting. I've gotten through using:

RPM-based Distribution Installation

To install the kernel module:
* rpm -i hpuefi-mod-<version>.src.rpm
* rpmbuild -bb $HOME/rpmbuild/SPECS/hpuefi-mod.spec
* rpm -i $HOME/rpmbuild/RPMS/<architecture>/hpuefi-mod-<version>.rpm

To install the application:
* rpm -i hp-flash-<version>.<architecture>.rpm

However, I am now stuck on the "flash" step:

/opt/hp/hp-flash/hp-flash [flags] <romfile.bin>

as there is now indication from the commands or instruction as to where the "romfile.bin" is located.

Can you help me with that as well ?

Thanks,

Chuck

[NonSequitur777 · Accepted solution]

@ChuckMosher,

The "2020 3.03" BIOS version? -I am not familiar with that version.

All right, please take a look at this detailed YouTube instructional video and see if this resolves your issue. Since this video is 5 years old, the BIOS version it deals with is 02.48 Rev.A, but the most recent (at least according to the HP Z840 driver link I provided), is 02.61 Rev.A, released in April 2023.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[ChuckMosher]

Thanks again - I found the BIOS version you referenced under Windows 10. The BIOS versions listed for Linux are different and as you pointed out older. I'll have a look at the video link !

Best regards,

Chuck

[NonSequitur777]

@ChuckMosher,

Linux -I see!  That OS wasn't tagged, so I assumed you were running Windows, my bad.

Well, I have very little Linux experience, but it stands to reason that Linux is probably the reason for the issues you described.

There may be a Linux experienced Expert or User available -perhaps @BeemerBiker could provide input to this matter.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[BeemerBiker]

@NonSequitur777 

@ChuckMosher 

I have some experience with Ubuntu and not much at all with Redhat and other distributions.,

Using 7zip to examine the latest BIOSs binaries i noticed the Linux is identical to the Windows 7.

I believe you could take the win10 M60_0261.BIN file and copy it into the tar folder where M60_0259.bin resides.  I suspect it would have to be renamed to M60_0259.bin.  Note the upper case changed to lower.  I did not see a signature file for either ROM binary so possible that is all that needs to be done is the rename.

 From looking at the version history of the 261 release, there were significant fixes since the 202 bios. At a minimum you need to upgrade to the latest Linux version 259 or insert that 261 file.  Possibly your graphics cards will work as I see problems with graphics listed.

I was unable to find a bios simulator.  Some bios have a flash option to read the bin file from a USB.  I looked at the Linux install and it does a lot more than just flash a new bios.  I noticed that the HP Featurebyte was included in the rpm install.  That and other items listed are not in any windows bios upgrade.  In any event you need to flash the bios to 259.

[emmajack780]

Your HP Z840 may have BIOS, power, or PCIe compatibility issues with newer GPUs like the RTX 4090 Ti and Tesla T4. Try updating the BIOS, checking power supply connections, and disabling Secure Boot. Compatible options include the RTX 3080, RTX 3090, or Quadro RTX 6000. Testing the GPU in another system can also help identify the issue.