vps_dxb,
We have two z420's and a z620 and the best results have been when BIOS is set to factory default settings with the exception of the boot order to suit the drives and the z620 has the fan setting an asterisk or two higher. as it has two hard working 130W E5-2690's.
Just to eliminate it as a possibility, go to Contrpl Panel > Power Options and ensure that the z840 power plan is set to "High Performance." This can make a remarkable difference as it maintains the CPU at a higher speed instead of a low idle.
In considering possible reasons that the z840 seems slow, it would help to know the specification, besides the E5-2620 (and is that a v3?) , RAM, Graphics card, and drives. Then what programs, and what they're doing.
If you would like, download, install, and run the free trial of Passmark Performance Test and let us know the results. Performance Test returns results that can show any obvious weaknesses in relation to the performance in the applications. For example is the system was being used for large dateset financial analysis, molecular biology, one would suspect the calculation density of the E5-2620 v3? are not quite up to the task. On Passmark, a pair of E5-2620 v3's (6-core @ have an average CPU rating of 15510, which is quite good for a server, but is equalled for example by a single E5-2658 v3 a 12-core @ 2.2/2.9GHz. This is logical as the E5-2658 has about the same clock speed but twice as many cores per processor as the E5-2620 v3. Intel lists it as costing $1,832, so it's 4X the E5-2620 v3 cost.
The CPU clock speed too is important experientially as it is the main determinant of the single-thread performance. the majority of programs, especially visualization programs- 3D CAD, animation, are single-threaded. The E5-2620 v3 Passmark single-thread mark is 1692 which is reasonable, but unless coupled with a very strong graphics card might not feel especially responsive in Revit or Solidworks.
The graphics card is another component to consider as the GPU contribues to the overall computational power. We have a Dell Precision 390 from 2007 with a Xeon X3230 4-core @ 2.66GHz (=Passmark 3631) and tested with a Quadro K4200 produced a 3D mark of 4067. In the z420 /E5-1660 v2 sysem the K4200 mark is 4694, so the 390 CPU holds the K4200 back, but with that CPU, the 3D CAD function in the 390 was quite usable tested with medium size projects.
Finally the drives are important to a perception of overall system responsiveness. The z840 is capable of using M.2 NVMe drives- the fastest which include the fastest drives in the World and that is an opportunity for noticeable improvement. The z420 /E5-1660 v2 has a Samsung M.2 SM951 256GB- but the slightly slower AHCI version and that changed the already fast 4794 of an Intel 730 480 GB to 11559.
if you install Performance Test on your z840 , it's very revealing to compare results with other z840 systems. The highest scores in each parameter for z840:
[ Passmark
Rating = 5636> 2X E5-2687w v3 / 64GB RAM / Quadro K6000 / Samsung XP941 M.2 256GB
CPU= 31347 /2X E5-2699 v3
2D= 966 / Quadro K1200
3D= 11155 / GTX 980 Ti The highest workstation card is 11077 for Quadro M6000
Mem= 2668 / 128GB in E5-2640 v3 system
Disk= 20563 / LSI MR9270-8i (The LSI is a RAID controller and hides the actual drives connected) 2nd place is 15197 using an NVMe THSN51T02DU7 TO. < I believe that is an OCZ RD400. 3rd is 13899 with Samsung SM951 512GB NVMe.
Of course, the above results are the best in every rating. The best E5-2620 v3 system (8 tested) is:
Rating = 4723>
CPU= 10694 /2X E5-2620 v3
2D= 640 / Quadro M5000
3D= 8874 / Q M5000
Mem= 1950 / 64GB
Disk= 20563 / Micron M550 256GB > That may well be a pair in RAID 0
So, this is a method to put system performance into a useful context.
Cheers,
BambiBoom_Z
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]
