Hi, Thank you very much for the further information, in my case is it then the correct population of the two 4Gb rams is to be populated in DIMM1 (Black) (Channel B #13) and DIMM2 (white) (Channel B #12) in this case will the  system  operate in single channel mode?

I still could not configure my Z800 to boot from P410 controllers (I have 2 in it). I did configure boot volume for the controller, but cannot see it in BIOS and wheh I run Windows setup it says that Windows cannot be installed on that disk as it is not bootable on the machine. I tied Windows 7 Pro (as it came originally with the machine) and Windows 10. It boots fine from RAID volume defined in onboard LSI controller. I updated BIOS and P410 firmware to the latest.

Anybody has an idea?

Thank you very much,

Dinko

Brian1965,

The Samsung SM951 AHCI is just miles better than almost any other SSD that can be used in older systems.  I have one in a z420 (E5-1660 v2 / 32GB / Quadro K4200 / Intel 730 480GB) on a Lycom DT-120 M.2 to PCIe adapter card (about US$22). I updated the BIOS to the latest as recommended- apprarently, some earlier zX20's won't see an M.2 as a boot drive. After setting up the partition /formatting, the z420 saw it immediately and the OS/programs were migrated from the Intel 730. After resetting the boot order it worked extremely well. 

The Intel 730 480GB in the z420 had a Passmark Disk rating of 4794- still quite good and changed to 11559 with the SM951. As great as the performance is by the numbers, it seems as though little changed in terms of disk function time elapsing. save large transfers. Startup  time was slightly faster. I was hoping it would very noticeably speed up the time saving large (200MB+) 3D CAD models,  but the disk is waiting on the CPU.

I see that there are instructions on the way to convert the BIOS in z420, z620, and z820 to UEFI-Based:

http://h20564.www2.hp.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docId=c03465686

> and - correct this if wrong but it means that with some degree of fuss, an HP zX20 can use NVMe.  There is a z420 on Passmark Performance Test baselines listed as having an Samsung 950 Pro 256GB NVMe and with the 2nd highest z620 disk score of 15187  Highest is 21138 :"Areca ARC-1880-Vol#000".  A quick scan of z620 results doesn't show any other disk mark for an M.2  although these could be hiding behing a RAID controller as those appear as the boot drive.

My current project is upgrading a z620 to use as a rendering and for calculation- intensive work: analysis, Matlab, simulations, and etc. (Replaces Dell Precision T5500 / 2X X5680/ 48GB / Quadro K2200).  The z620 arrived with an E5-1620 / 8GB / and Firepro V5900 (2GB)/ 1X 750 + 2X 500GB HD.  In progress, this is now 2X  E5-2690 / 40GB / Quadro K2200, eventually 64GB and Quadro M2000.

The z620 setup is being done on the dog's dinner of elderly SATAII drives. The debate though is whether to add an HP Z Turbo Drive 256GB G3G88AA, which uses the Samsung SM951 AHCI as the drive, or use the Intel 730 from the z420.  Disk (and 3D) speed is not the highest priority in the z620 as it gets projects that more or less run on their own- a few minutes over 10 or 20 hours is not critical.  Have you found siginificant advantages to the SM951 in your z620?

Do you recognize this z620 baseline on Passmark:   Rating = 4335 / CPU=19578 / 2D= 518 / 3D =0.0 / Mem- 2207 / Disk (SanDisk Ultra II) : 3743.  > If so, I'd enjoy knowing the Passmark disk score using the SM951.

My z620 originally: HP z620 (Original) Xeon E5-1620 4-core @ 3.6 /3.8GHz) / 8GB (1X 8GB DDR3-1333) / AMD Firepro V5900 (2GB) / Seagate Barracuda 750GB + Samsung 500GB + WD 500GB
[ Passmark System Rating= 2268 / CPU= 8361 / 2D= 857 / 3D = 1608 / Mem =1584 / Disk = 574 ] 7.13.16  - not too bad for a $270 system,..

First revision:

 HP z620 (Rev 1) Xeon E5-2690 (8-core @ 2.9 /3.8GHz) / 40GB (4X 8GB +4X 2GB DDR3-1600) / AMD Firepro V5900 (2GB) / Seagate Barracuda 750GB + Samsung 500Gb + WD 500GB / 800W > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit >
[ Passmark System Rating= 2304 / CPU= 14732 / 2D= 723 / 3D = 1665/ Mem =2709 / Disk = 456 ] 7.20.16> -the second lowest disk score!

There are 5  of 157, z620's on Passmark with 3D = 0.0

Cheers,

BambiBoomZ

HP z420  (2015) > Xeon E5-1660 v2 (6-core @ 3.7 / 4.0GHz)  / 32GB DDR3 -1866 ECC RAM  / Quadro K4200 (4GB) / Samsung SM951 M.2 256GB AHCI + Intel 730 480GB (9SSDSC2BP480G4R5) + Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX  1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > 600W PSU> > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit > Logitech z2300 speakers > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H  (2560 X 1440)>
[ Passmark Rating = 5581 > CPU= 14046 / 2D= 838 / 3D= 4694 / Mem= 2777 / Disk= 11559]  [6.12.16

I am saving up some cash for a future upgrade to a either Z800 or a Z600, perhaps if the circumstances allow a Z420 with Xeon HC (6 core) cpu which already has a 6 Gbps SATA interface in comparison to the current 3 Gbps SATA interface of my current XW6600.

I am considering a raid 0 solution Captain WD but i am primarily interested in faster boot loading and faster program loading.

Just investing an LSI or Adaptec card that will not run on later Workstation is n ot a prudent way I reckon.

You are very welcome, .

---

himaryuk wrote:

Hi, Thank you very much for the further information, in my case is it then the correct population of the two 4Gb rams is to be populated in DIMM1 (Black) (Channel B #13) and DIMM2 (white) (Channel B #12) in this case will the  system  operate in single channel mode?

---

If I am reading the information correctly, this should make the memory operate in dual channel.  I was surprised by this information, myself.  It may be common in workstations, but I haven't seen it in PC's.  I would, however, try populating Channel A first.  If this doesn't work, then, try Channel B.

Hi, and thank you for your support and further information.

I found in the technical reference guide for this model in page section 3.3.1 section memory upgraing that we can install 1GB ram in socket 1, for populating two 1GB rams one is populated in socket one and the other one in socket three, so the system will run in dual channel mode,but the instruction did not say about populating 4GB rams in the same way, would that mean the system does not support populating 4GB rams in the same way?

is there an adverse effect on the system if we populate ram as trying?

thank you.

Hi,

Thank you again, I omitted to send you copy of the page of memroy upgrade in the technical reference manual for this model for your kind comment about my question.

Thank you.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Here are my Passmark scores;

Passmark System Rating= 4262 / CPU= 19625 / 2D= 566 / 3D = 4718 / Mem =1807 / Disk = 6629

System: 2x 2670, 64GB 1866MHz, 256GB Samsung SM951 (via ASUS Hyper M.2 X4 Mini) boot disk, 480GB SanDisk Ultra II, 2TB 7200rpm, 4TB 5900rpm, Quadro K4200, Tesla M2090, Syba 2 Port USB 3.0 and 2 Port SATA III PCIe 2.0 x 4

I understand my memory although rated at 1866MHz is in fact only running at 1600Mhz. I believe this is dependant on my processors only being the E5-2670 and therefor limited to 1600MHz and not the E5 v.2 versions which run at 1866MHz.

Using CrystalDiskMark 5 gives the folowing;

From left to right:- 2TB 7200rpm drive, 480GB SanDisk Ultra II and Samsung M.2 SSD SM951

Similarly, haven't noticed a huge difference in boot up speed but file transfer speed has improved quite a bit.

I picked up the Tesla M2090 very cheaply (since they are older generation cards) but I think it may be throttling the system performance (i.e. using up valuable PCIe lanes). With only the K4200 installed, Solidworks rendered a 5000 x 4000 image in about 7mins 40secs. After installing the Tesla M2090 this increased to 8mins 15secs? I think I will try removing some of the add-in cards (e.g. an additional SATA III card and Tesla M2090 cards) and re-run the benchmarks. I think the Z620 benchmark test you found was mine when I first got the Z620.

Just to complete the picture, I pulled the Tesla M2090 and Syba SATA III cards from the Z620 and re-run the tests.

Here are my new Passmark scores;

Passmark System Rating= 4218 / CPU= 19623 / 2D= 571 / 3D = 4623 / Mem =1641 / Disk = 8112

System: 2x 2670, 64GB 1866MHz, 256GB Samsung SM951 (via ASUS Hyper M.2 X4 Mini) boot disk, 480GB SanDisk Ultra II, 2TB 7200rpm, 4TB 5900rpm, Quadro K4200

Using CrystalDiskMark 5 gives the folowing;

So it appears either the Tesla or Syba cards (or both) were reducing the bandwidth of the M.2 SM951 but again, no major increase in boot speed. I expect you need to follow the instructions in the link above to perform a UEFI boot disc to see an real improvement in boot speed. Would be interested to hear from anyone you has performed the clean install as listed in BambiBoomZ post (specifically on a Z620) above and if they notice any real improvement in performance.

After updating to HP Devicemanager 4.7 SP3 (and also SP4) it appears that the update agent task is broken. It reports that the update is successfull, but the client don't connect to Device Manager anymore. When using the HPDM Agent controlpanel applet it reports no version number. When viewing the services applet it appears that the HPDM Agent service is gone.

Looks like the update task is seriously broken. Worse is that it doesn't include a full agent install, so how do I reinstall the agent now on the ThinClients?

Frank

You are very welcome, .

I would definitely follow the information in Table 3.3.1.  You should assure that your new memory matches the specs in Section 3.3, also.  If both are correct, there is no reason why your computer shouldn't boot.

Brian1965,

RAM:  When I bought the z620, it had a single 8GB DDR3 1333 ECC module.  The memonry perforamnce was very poor with one modeule. There was then the choice as to use 1600 or 1866,  but as I was robbing 4X 2GB from my older z420, and that was 16 

This is getting a little bewildering?

Just re-fitted the Tesla M2090 GPU and Syba SATA III PCIe cards, re-booted the computer then ran a couple of tests.

PassMark now says;

Passmark System Rating= 4336/ CPU= 19594 / 2D= 569 / 3D = 4592 / Mem =1841 / Disk = 7892

Then on CrystalDiskMark 5

What appears to be a very minor difference in transfer speed of the M.2 SSD with the Tesla and Syba cards back in?

Although not related to this thread, I just wanted to share this information since you mentioned you were interested in rendering in your post. Rendering a more detailed model in SolidWorks at 5000 x 4000 resolution without the Tesla card installed took 24m 29s (ran this test just after my previous post), with the card back in it took 24m 10s, so no noticable improvement in real terms.Would be very interested to hear how you get on with the planned Quadro M2000 you mentioned in your post? My son is currently at university studying for a degree in 3D modelling and computer animation so I'm trying to build a decent rendering machine for using with PremierPro, Maya, etc. Looking for ways to boost the K4200 performance. All ideas welcome. Time to start searching the forum.

FYI, rendered image, 5000 x 4000 pixel resolution, (modelled by myself using SolidWorks 2016);

Brian1965, 

Memory scores on Passmark are a bit confusing as the memory marks can be much higher on a 16GB system than one having 96GB and so on- all over the map.  I'd gotten in the habit over the years of completing channels , if possible use all the same model of RAM, and on dual systems have the same amount of RAM for CPU 1 and CPU2.

When I bought the z620, it had a single 8GB DDR3 1333 ECC module.  The memory performance was very poor with one module. There was then the choice as to use 1600 or 1866,  but as I was robbing 4X 2GB from my other  z420 (E5-1620 / 24GB  / Quadro 4000, Samsung 840 / WD Black 1TB) As that was 1600 as are the E5 2590's, 1600 it was.  I bought 4X 8GB Kingston.  At the moment I have 2X 8GB + 2X 2GB on the main board and the same on the 2nd CPU riser so they're balanced at 20GB each and at least on on the main board there is CH1 with all slots filled and all slots are filled on the riser.  When everything else is done,  I'll make it 32GB and 32GB.

The situation with the Telsa M2090 in the z620 is intriguing as it should be throwing it's CUDA cores at the work. Your Passamark CPU mark is well above the average of 18606 for dual E5-2670's.  I certainly don't understand the rendering being slower. Solidworks has the absolutely finest multithreaded rendeirng anywhere- fully scalar, - all cores invited- whereas Adobe graphics rendering peaks at about 5-7 Cores and Premiere will decline on dual CPU's.  I've never used a Maximus setup, but I'm wondering if there are Maximus settings that could refine the configuration.

The disk score of 8112 for the SM951 AHCI in the z620 is interesting too as I had 11559 in the z420 and 11265 is average. When you say "Syba SATAIII card"  is that a PCIe RAID controller?  Curiouser,..

Query:  Oh, I have a question for you or anyone else that might know.  I have the second CPU assembly all ready to go both the E5-2690 and RAM.  However,  I do not have the rear panel "riser guide" that supports the left side (facing) of the riser assembly.  See this part at 1:05-1:08 of

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sArSaUlcbiw

The right-hand bracket is present,  but the bracket that replaces the uppermost PCIe slot cover on the rear panel is missing.  Did your z620 have that guide bracket already or where did you find one? I'm going bonkers trying to find one of these.  There so invisible I wonder if everyone uses them?

I'm sorry to say I find the HP replacement parts impossible.  There should be an exploded diagram of the systems and labelled with links to parts number and ordering. The Parts Surfer is nearly useless as you have to know the part number in advance or sort though dozens of numbers and obscure referenced listings.   My 4 previous HP systems have been new, but the first used one is difficult to upgrade as it requires parts.  Perhaps I'm missing the magic instant part finder pages.

Sorry for such long posts.

Cheers,

BambiBoomZ

Hi and thank you for the valuable information,I was indeed following the information on table 3.3.1 and 3.3.3, so surprised why this error message 201 appears, I was thinking of possibility that the table shows population in 1 GB rams, but not two of 4GB rams so I assume the system may accepts four 4GB rams but not two,am I correct?

Would this system accepts one ram of 8GB PC3 1333?and total of 32GB?

Thank you

A SSD should be the better choice as the faster access and seek times should provide far better performance compared to HDDs in RAID0. A SATAIII connection should allow you to use the full potential of a SSD instead of bottlenecking it to 300MB/s. Another option is to combine SSDs in RAID0 for better sequential speeds but you would see little performance increase in the random speeds. 

Consulting with the live HP support may also be a good idea here.

Captain_WD.

---

Captain_WD wrote:

A SSD should be the better choice as the faster access and seek times should provide far better performance compared to HDDs in RAID0. A SATAIII connection should allow you to use the full potential of a SSD instead of bottlenecking it to 300MB/s.

 

Captain_WD.

---

RIght now I already use Samsung 512 GB - SSD 850 Pro drive  but just plugged in to the 3 Gbps SATA connection and I would like to improve upon that.

---

Daniel,

The first thing to consider is what aspect of your system would provide the greatest benefit for it's use.  If you are doing calaculation-intensive work, it may be the CPU and/or the drives, but for visualization applications, it may be more more useful to concentrate on the GPU. The system already has the maximum32GB RAM and changing from 1333 to 1600 will not be noticeable (the faster the RAM clock speed, the higher the latency).

CPU:  Staying with Xeon's, here is a handy shopping list for Xeon E3-1200 v2's  (LGA1155):

http://ark.intel.com/products/series/75142/Intel-Xeon-Processor-E3-1200-v2-Product-Family#@Server

The E3-1245 is a good performer already.  The average Passmark CPU mark is 8075 and with a single thread mark of 1882.  As you are doing 3D CAD, having a higher single-thread perofrmance is going to be noticeble,  but it should be farily good jump to make it worthwhile. Comparing versions of the E3-1245, the E5-1245 v2 has an average mark of 9074 and single thread of 1992 and the v5 numbers are 10303 and 2157.  The Xeon E3-1200 v2 with the highest single-thread rating is the E3-1280 v2, (4-core @ 3.6 /4.0GHz) with an average CPU score of 9758 and single thread of 2139. For Unreal engine 4, that would be my suggestion.

So , in considering CPU replacement,  look at the list of E3-1200 v2's and consult the Passmark CPU Benchmark page to compare performance and then choose by need and price- cost /performance.

GPU:  Upgrading the Quadro 3000M is probably going to provide the most improvment.  In Passmark  baselines the average 3D mark of the 288 samples tested is 1329. For your use, in my view, the 3D mark should be say, 2800 or better.  Unreal Engine recommended hardware focusses completely on NVIDIA GTX and I would say, in general, consult the Passmark Videocard Benchmarks page and buy the GTX with the best performance within your budget. 

Cheers,

BambiBoomZ

HP z420 (2015) > Xeon E5-1660 v2 (6-core @ 3.7 / 4.0GHz)  / 32GB DDR3 -1866 ECC RAM  / Quadro K4200 (4GB) / Samsung SM951 M.2 256GB AHCI + Intel 730 480GB (9SSDSC2BP480G4R5) + Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX  1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > 600W PSU> > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit > Logitech z2300 speakers > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H  (2560 X 1440)>
[ Passmark Rating = 5581 > CPU= 14046 / 2D= 838 / 3D= 4694 / Mem= 2777 / Disk= 11559]  [6.12.16]

V1per,

If I understand your post correctly, you have both a GTX770M  and Quadro K2100M in a Z1. 

If that is the case, I would say that the problem is that the GTX and Quadro drivers are conflicting. BIOS doesn't know which card is primary and there are too many files with the same name.

To get your system working properly again, remove one of cards, restart, and delete the driver of the card that was removed.

I, and I think many other people have wanted a system with a GTX and  Quadro. But,  I never saw a post that it works.  

One idea to do it is to use a dual boot or VM.  Whenever changing to the other card, go into BIOS on startup, select the primary GPU, and then boot to the machine version- VM that had the driver for the selected card.  That would keep the drivers seperate.   A bit fussy, but I think I would only do that twice a week.

There are definite advantages to each kind of card. I would like to have the Quadro K4200 and a GTX 1070 in a z420.

Because you already have both cards,  it may be worth trying the VM idea. Set it up on one card or the other. Take out one card and delete the driver of the other card.  But, be careful and make restore points to recover the system.

Cheers,

BambiBoomZ