Hp Z220 Workstation

[Jb300188]

Hello. So, i have a pritty old Hp Z220 Workstation. Trying to find out if i can give it an upgrade and get the most out of it rather than just throw it away. It currently has 3 hhd satas drives one being the primary os and 32gb ram. I know these are capable of alot more power and performance, so starting with a boot from a m.2 or nvme would be perfect. Then i would like to have 1 or 2 ssd drives alongside and hopefully get a better cpu for maximum amount of single core speed. (This is important as id like to use for music production) Gpu i am not bothered about. I have limited knowledge of computing but am willing to have a play about and try to get this running best way possible also within a budget. Its going to be a pritty backwards task spending alot on a desktop limited to upgrades of this age. Its probably the only modular device i have left in my house so to have a tinker around would be cool.

If anyone could help me on where to start would really appreciate it. I understand from what ive seen newer gen nvme wont work, there are certain models i have to consider for it to be bootstrapped or something for the bios to boot. I want to just go out and get any old pcie adapter card with a nvme and try it out but thought id get some opinions before doing so. Then theres windows, which i dont have a clue on the workaround running from a new drive and cloning ect.

Hoping this can be done. Or if its at least worth doing in this day and age. 

[NonSequitur777]

@Jb300188,

Welcome to our HP User Forum!

I would like to assist.

Do you have an HP Z220 CMT (Convertible Minitower) Workstation or an HP Z220 SFF (Small Form Factor) Workstation?

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[NonSequitur777]

@Jb300188,

Regardless, the fastest processors for either workstation model are the Intel Core i7-3770K and the Xeon E3-1290 v2.

The i7-3770K is the least expensive, you can purchase one around $70, such as this eBay example [05/04/2023]: https://www.ebay.com/itm/295613036140?epid=1903943662&hash=item44d3e8f66c%3Ag%3ALIYAAOSwcqJkLunb&amd..., whereas the Xeon E3-1290 v2 is usually more than twice as expensive, but there's one right now [05/04/2023] for sale via eBay for $110: https://www.ebay.com/itm/256057304698?hash=item3b9e34667a%3Ag%3AERwAAOSwiI5j5mgq&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAA....

I have used both of them, but if you want the best of the best for your system, I would recommend the Xeon E3-1290 v2, as illustrated here in one of my HP legacy upgrade projects: https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/52160059.

Reference: UserBenchmark: Intel Core i7-3770K vs Xeon E3-1290 V2.

Hope this was helpful.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[NonSequitur777]

@Jb300188,

And just realized that you're from Great Britain:

Here is an eBay United Kingdom purchase example for an i7-3770K (£79.00): https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134431956567?epid=1333753839&hash=item1f4cc4de57%3Ag%3AHngAAOSwk5Jj2Wrf&a..., and a Xeon E3-1290 v2 (£159.99): https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285121519617?epid=3007173814&hash=item4262912001%3Ag%3Ap90AAOSw7Qpj0UET&a....

Kind Regards / Cheers,

NonSequitur777