psu and motherboard upgrade old z440

[sleon1]

I have an old HP z440. It uses proprietary power supply with 18pin and 12pin connectors to HP motherboard. What converter/adapter cables would allow me to plug the power supply to a modern ATX motherboard, which uses 24pin and 8pin connectors? Alternatively, what new modular power supply would fit into the case (the PSU is L-shaped, to fit around a bracket at the back of the case -- instead of a rectangular box that modern supplies use). Basically, how do I keep using the case, which is built like a tank, but swap into it a new ATX  motherboard and modular power supply? In advance, much and many thanks.

[NonSequitur777]

@sleon1,

Welcome to our HP community forum!

An outstanding question, as I asked myself this as well when I worked on my HP Z440 Workstation upgrade project.

In the end, I decided that the HP OEM 700-watt power supply was good enough for my graphics card upgrade purposes.  I was unable to find any special ATX power supply converter/adapter cables for the HP Z440 Workstation.

Please note that the 700-watt's two 6-pin PCIe power cables can each deliver 12V x 18A = 216-watt of power -meaning, you can use 6-pin to 8-pin PCIe adapter cables:

Hope this was helpful.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[sleon1]

Thank you nonsequitur777. I have not worried about the 6pin to 8pin conversions because I don't think I need higher-end graphics for what I hope will be a business machine, not gaming. My goal is to re-use the case but replace the power supply and motherboard with standard industry ATX motherboard and modular power supply. There's a bracket that helps to mount the PSU; I can drill out the rivets to remove that mounting piece, and then bend the folded metal out of the way, I think -- to get a modular PSU into the case; the screws to mount the power supply might or might not line up. I've got an old modular PSU I can test this approach with. I had two companies that make power cable adapters tell me that there's no way to plug the 18pin and 12pin P1 and P2 HP proprietary connectors into adapters/converters just to try to use the existing 700W HP PSU. So I think I will have to pull it and modify the case. Or ... push comes to shove, park the case in the closet and just get a  new case and new PSU. 

[NonSequitur777]

@sleon1,

Fair enough, there are indeed a number of options for you to choose from.  For most purposes, the higher-end Xeon and Intel processors compatible with the HP Z440 Workstation should meet just about any computing needs, as they have the VT-x, AVX, AVX2, and TSX instructions sets.

Good luck!

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[sleon1]

I may have solved the PSU question. SFX-sized power supplies.

This looks like it might fit.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BW9SV8HQ?tag=pcguide-best-sfx-power-supply-20&geniuslink=true&th=1

Do I have the sizing correct?

If it fits, I can re-use the case, use this as the new power supply, then power just about any standard ATX motherboard. Correct?

[NonSequitur777]

@sleon1,

That is affirmative: when you use any standard ATX motherboard (Asus, MSI, Gigabyte, etc.), any industry standard ATX power supply will be able to power it.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[sleon1]

So I pulled the motherboard out and tried to test fit a new standard-sized ATX motherboard. The screw holes in the new board do NOT align with the mounts built into the case. Another instance of HP doing proprietary stuff ... frustrating.

Which means ... HP just forced me to buy a new case online and makes it **bleep** near impossible to re-use and upgrade anything. If the business model is "make a profit by forcing the customer to buy something else," the customer is going to migrate away from HP.

Anyone know what is the most-recent Intel cpu I can mount to the HP motherboard in hopes of continuing to keep this z440 ticking -- maybe even with Windows 11?

In the interim, I'm putting the parts back into the z440, and parking it. What a waste and shame.