X5670 work in a hp z400

[joecool60]

will a intell Xeon x5670 work in a z400

[SDH]

I think you have a shot at this, and please do post back on your experimentation.

Read up in here on the two different versions of the Z400/Z600/Z800, and how to look at their boot block date in BIOS to tell if you have version 1 or version 2 (which is officially known as revision 1).

Then, read up on the processor limitations depending on whether you have the earlier or later version.  If you have the original version then you are out of luck due to a chipset limitation.

Then, there is info on whether a processor is listed in your workstation's QuickSpecs.  Generally if it is not listed it it will not work due to it not being present in the "microcode" part of BIOS.  Just because it theoretically should work does not mean that it will.  This rule has a very few exceptions, and this may be one of them.

Long and short of it is.... if you have the revision 1 motherboard (the later version) and you load the latest BIOS you might just get lucky and have it work.  You'll need to learn about "Performance" heatsinks, too.  If the motherboard does not see a high performance heatsink it will refuse to proceed.  You can spoof the motherboard on this, however, but it is best to use a true higher performance HP heatsink in this situation rather than the wiring spoof.

If you have free access to one of those processors and a Performance heatsink I'd recommend trying it.  You won't hurt the processor or the workstation.  There are some hints that this will work, despite it not being supposed to in the Z400 revision 1.  Everything above must line up correctly.....

Let us know.......

[Ro808]

As SDH has already mentioned above: it depends on the revision of your bios block and thus your system board.

A rule of thumb in this regard is the number of ram (memory slots) on the board. 4 slots means mk1 and if your Z400 contains 6 memory slots the board has the latest 1366 chipset. In the latter case you should (theoretically) be able to use all Xeon LGA1366 processors including the high end six cores (X5650-X5690).

If your Z400 is currently running a 130 Watt W35.. Series Xeon, you could use the same heatsink. At the same time you will gain a considerable increase in performance and save some money on the reduced power consumption.

I will check on the boot block revision number and post it in this thread.

[Ro808]

According to this thread :
http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Business-PCs-Workstations-and-Point-of-Sale-Systems/Z400-X5690-W3690-Fa...
The Boot Block Revision Date/Number is an indicator, but not a proper basis for descisions on upgrading processors.
I would therefore advise to check the number of memory slots.

Important!!!
Before you swap processors, you should update the bios to the latest version in order to avoid boot issues.

[SDH]

The post above adds some unnecessary confusion...... 

There are two motherboard versions for the Z400, the earlier and the later.  Let's agree to call the earlier Version 1 and the later Version 2.

The boot block dates for the Version 1 and Version 2 of the Z400 are provided in that other post..... and Version 1 always has 4 memory slots while Version 2 always has 6 memory slots.  This physical difference is very handy in that you don't have to boot a Z400 to see if it is a Version 1 or 2.  Just look at how many memory slots it has.... and only buy one with 6 memory slots if you have a choice.

It is not so easy with the Z600.... both the Version 1 and Version 2 have the same number of memory slots; same thing with the Version 1 and Version 2 of the Z620.

When buying these used HP workstations off eBay the sellers usually don't know the added value of a Version 2 or how to tell the difference so you often can get the more recent version for the same price.  It is nice if the seller includes a picture of the BIOS boot screen because you can sometimes see the boot block date, or reference to 6 instead of 4 memory slots in the case of the Version 2 Z400 in that picture.