xw8200 Workstation Processor Upgrade

[jconroy]

Hi everyone! I recently acquired a xw8200 workstation. I know its old technology but it runs quite well actually, even with win7. However, I was hoping to squeek some more life out of it as a secondary computer. The first thing I want to do is max out the processors. I THINK it supports Irwindale processors (as well as the advertised Nocona's). But I cant find confirmation of this or a list of compatible processors ANYWHERE. Those old Xeons are about $10-15/cpu on "that auction site."

Does anyone have any idea if 3.8GHz Irwindales are compatible? I see SL7ZB and SL8P2 widely available but cannot find confirmation of compatibility.

THANKS!

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

You may also want to post your question on the HP business support forum -- xw Workstations section.

http://h30499.www3.hp.com/t5/Workstations-z-series-xw-series/bd-p/bsc-272#.U2bBBf1OXGg

As far as the list of supported processors, you can find that info at the link below, or on in the service manual for the xw8200 on the support and driver page for that model.

http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/archives_Division/11976_div_v23/11976_div.PDF

[jconroy]

Thanks Paul,

I will post to that section as you've recommended. I'm pretty sure the "3.6 GHz (2 MB L2 cache)" as stated in the QuickSpecs is the Irwindale processor. However, the Irwindale processors are up to 3.8GHz. However, it seems the 3.8 was released in late 2005, which is after the xw8200 was released - probably why the QuickSpecs say it supports up to 3.6GHz Xeons (there was no 3.8 Xeon at the time). But the chipset should support it, right?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

My recommendation would be to check the BIOS release notes on the driver page for your model.

Those will list the fixes and enhancements for each BIOS release (if you click on the revision history tab).

The chipset may support the processor, but if the microcode for the processor is not included in the BIOS, there is a good chance of it not working, or producing a microcode error.

[jconroy]

The latest BIOS version is 2.10 - which I have currently installed. No enhancements related to processors on this revision - and HP did not provide a revision history. It was hard to find, but I did find this on the internet related to BIOS update 2.08a:

"ENHANCEMENTS: - Adds processor microcode patches for CPU type 0F4A."

Therefore, I would assume any subsequent BIOS revision would support 0F4A CPUs?

I also found this on Intel's site regarding one of the processors I mentioned:

S-Spec: SL8P2

Core Stepping: R-0

CPUID: 0F4Ah

Core Freq (GHz): 3.80

SO....They should be compatible, yes?

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

Yes to your first question.  The BIOS updates are cumulative.

I would agree with your assumption, but you will never know for sure one way or the other until you install it.

[jconroy]

Thanks again Paul, you've been very helpful! I am going to order them and install them immediately. It's not a huge investment if they don't work, I just wanted to make an informed decision. Probably no one else cares - is anyone still using 9 year old workstations? Nevertheless I will post the results so as to make them public for anyone else's needs.

John

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Anytime, John.

Glad to have been of assistance.

Looking forward to reading about a successful upgrade.

Best Regards,

Paul

[jconroy]

Well I'm happy to report that the two SL8P2's (3.8GHz Xeons) I purchased are working fine. So that problem is solved. They seem to be running VERY hot though. They idle around high 50's to 60 degrees C. Under load, the fans speed up and never allow the processor to get over the mid to high 60s but boy is that hot. I'm not new to applying thermal grease and feel confident I did an acceptable job. I used Arctic Silver and even pulled one again to make sure that I'm getting proper coverage. There seemed to be a light coat over almost the whole processor. So maybe I'll have to upgrade my cooling solution for these new ovens...err....processors.

Thanks for the help though!!!

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Glad the processor upgrade went well, John.

I have read that sometimes it can take up to a week for the thermal bond to be at its best on a new application.

I have had that issue too when upgrading a processor a couple of times.

Prior to the upgrade I never recalled the fan going over idle speed.

After I got my hands on it, the fan sometimes sounded like a jet plane taking off when the processor was under load.

I was pretty sure I also did a good job with the thermal compound and tried several types.

As a result, I have decided that is one area I will no longer get involved with, after my last two LGA 775 processor upgrades did the same thing on two different HP business PC's (dc7100 and dc7600).

I hope you can figure out the hot running problem.

Best Regards,

Paul