My 840 Just got delivered!!! It’s a ABSOLUTE BEAST! The videos don’t convey how heavy and solid this thing is! I’m probably going to go with 2697A V4’s, but the 2689 V4 and 2673 V4 look really interesting
Nice, enjoy! It really can't be experienced in video. I was surprised when I picked mine up for the first time, it really is a solid system. I do my best to make the machines look light in the videos but once you add your hardware they become really heavy - at a guess like 30kg lol. The CPU options are numerous. From my own experience I really just go for the CPU with the highest multi-core boost clock speed and the most amount of cores. The only time I wish I had more CPU grunt is when software has limited a task to utilizing 1 Core only. My hope is that by selecting a high clock speed I am saving seconds each time I need to complete a single core task (DaVinci video playback seems to be one example of single Core performance being king - i.e. I spend a lot of time waiting for 1 Core to do it's thing [lag] when the remaining 31 Cores just "chill". I favor the E5-2697A's for having the highest base clock speed without sacrificing too many cores. The E5-2673 V4 has a lot of cores but is low on clock speed and the E5-2689 V4 is low on cores but has a solid clock speed. If you can get by with less cores it might make more sense to go for the higher clock speed CPU. A quick comparison of some solid options: www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/2853.2vs2888.2vs3273.2vs2814.2vs2783.2/Intel-Xeon-E5-2689-v4-vs-Intel-Xeon-E5-2673-v4-vs-Intel-Xeon-Gold-6142-vs-Intel-Xeon-E5-2697A-v4-vs-%5BDual-CPU%5D-Intel-Xeon-E5-2697-v4 It's not an easy decision. The only consolation is that you could potentially but a pair - try them and then replace them with a different set. These CPUs will remain popular for a while yet and should sell again.
I recently purchased the Z840, and you offered helpful advice in the comments of a previous video. Just yesterday I installed an HPZ Turbo Drive G2 with 1TB of Samsung M.2 SSD memory. I set up the Turbo Drive as the system drive, and it's humming along quite nicely. Today, I plan to install 2 Xeon E5-2690 processors. Fortunately, my machine came with 128 GB of DDR4 installed and the bigger (125W?) power supply. I ordered a GPU and a Thunderbolt PCIe expansion card last night. I am floored at the incredible value of the Z840 workstation platform. Also, the tool-less design makes the upgrade process much easier for a newb like me. Thanks for the educational and entertaining videos! You have a style all your own.
Thank you for your feedback! Your Z840 sounds like it is coming together nicely. Great choice with the E5-2690's. They have a high base clock speed for the number of cores and they should give you a really good experience. Which GPU did you settle on? 128GB of RAM should be enough to get by on unless you start really pushing the size of projects. I haven't really delved into thunderbolt much but it would be a handy expansion to have - I just live of USB C. Your system is getting filled with hardware, the only question is what are you going unleash upon the hardware to make use of it's full potential? In my case the Z workstations opened up the realm of video creation (before this channel I was limited to novice landscape photography). Now the only limit is my creativity (well sort-of, I can still complain about CPU single core performance being low lol). My mission is to empower individuals with the knowledge to build their own powerhouse - opening doors to be creative. I'll keep working on making my videos more educational and entertaining. Thank you for your words.
For the Z840 I would say the Z Coolers are well worth the cost. They retain decent CPU temperatures even on the lowest fan setting. In my testing I had a 5'C drop over the stock coolers without adjusting fan speeds etc. Plus from a design perspective they are fully optimised for acoustics with the 3D Vapor chamber. My video review for them: ua-cam.com/video/q3YFqH5pdDA/v-deo.html
You have inspired me so much that I bought one of these beasts, ordered it with 2 x 2690v4 and 32gb of ram. Outstanding quality, very quiet, very fast. Perfect machine for my home theater, I'm going to replace my old 1060ti with a 3090 so my son can play a little bit and I can comfortably watch 4k movies with all madvr settings cranked up to the maximum. Thank you for all your priceless advices.
Thank you for your feedback. That's great to hear - and great choice on the dual E5-2690 V4's. The Z840 will settle nicely into the home server role. Paired with the right setup it will handle everything you throw it at, plus gaming! I guess I should let you recover from your wise purchase before I plant ideas for your next purchase (ignore this : ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxppaqWeTSyO2x4-0nK1rXCKoiEdu94Ny7 - it's definitely not a link to the HP Z840's upgrade - the HP Z8 G4 - for which I am releasing a detailed overview video this weekend lol).
@@racerrrz I installed windows 11 on this workstation and it works like a charm. Although theoretically it doesn't support w11, you can modify the registry to install w11. Just FYI..
@@1978derik Nice! I actually stumbled onto an article on the topic after I made this video - otherwise I would have made mention of it. Being able to update the registry with the updated security protocol would really extend the end-use of the Z840. I wonder how reliable the process is or if it carries any risk for bricking the system. Call me tempted to test it out. Article: h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Desktop-Operating-Systems-and-Recovery/Successful-Solution-to-update-z840-TPM-to-2-0/td-p/8847081
FWIW I've found your previous videos annoying, but enjoyed this one. Great job. Every prepper should have several of these on hand, fully maxed out. This amount of computing power will never be useless.
Thank you. The previous bunch of videos were a deviation from my normal style to try out some new ideas. The current video is a hybrid of the ideas that seemed to work and it’s good to hear that made a difference. The Z840 has cemented it self as a power horse in the X99 stable. As people upgrade their main rig to newer tech the Z840 will remain the ideal home server. Enough grunt to support ample VMs to run everything you might need.
Great video Racerz ! I picked up a 2nd z840- with 2697a v4's x2, 64 gb, 8gb quadro M4000, 12gb sata with win 11 and the 1125 psu for 319 USD. It's a very good value, totally a beast, still had the plastic protection on it, looks brand new inside and out, quiet as can be. I have an HP turbo z dual nvme with 2 -1TB intel optanes, I just put in it for boot, adding an m10 tesla 32 gb accelerator to match the quadro for the cudas and vram, makes for a cheap homelab AI machine. (btw the tesla accelerators and a100's requires a dual 6 pin to 8 pin COM eap cable, they are keyed differently than a 3080, 3090 and have opposite polarity, the cable looks the same but won't plug in) still working on adding the dual tensor chips. I have been running ProxMox on an older IvyBridge z820, that thing is a modern jet under ProxMox you can spin up multiple VM's and containers all day long, run everything you can think of. ProxMox is a huge software upgrade and these machines take advantage of it running on bare metal. All of these machines (z840 especially) were all ahead of their of time, they are about the best engineered machines available, even in 2024 and they are plenty upgradeable. My 1st one has been running for 4 yrs. with no down time other than cleaning dust. Even though the newer boards in the G4 have more lanes, the 840z has more than enough for almost any need. Keep up the good videos!
Nice find with that 2nd Z840 - those specs are solid for the price point. Interesting detail with the M10 Tesla GPU power cables. The M10 Telsa is well optimised for virtualisation and I am sure it would work well in the Z840. The power supply alteration would be a tad annoying but it should be something you can work around. I do recall reading about converting the H100 GPUs for more casual uses. The setup is a bit unusual but it would make sense to have some serious GPU grunt available from time to time. Proxmox is great for managing multiple VMs and I can't think of a better application of the Z840 in the modern day. It should handle numerous VMs with decent hardware specs on each. I bet a Z840 running 24/7 gets quite dusty unless it's in a clean room.lol. They sure pull quite a bit of air through them. I tend to clean mine out ever 6 months or so which seems too infrequent already. Thanks, will do! I need to get a bunch of videos out for the Z8 G4 already!
Hey there AngeloMichael, could you share your source for your newest z840? I’m trying to find a decent machine for my nephew who has (finally!) started his computer courses. He is now heavily into coding and has been complaining that his current machine is too slow. I gave him his current machine about two years ago . Apple iMac 27” Intel i5 6-core 3.1MHz 128GB RAM 500GB HDD The z840 line sound like a better machine. Thanks for any info you can share . BTW, his teacher states that the required software needs an 8-core machine, with 64MB RAM. The iMac is much too fiddly to upgrade, and “your results may vary”.
@@ernestgalvan9037 You really can't do better when it comes to coding. These HP workstations were created with coders, designers, researchers and creators in mind. What are his software requirements? My only complaint on the HP Z840 is the lack of Win 11 support due to age of the hardware. The more future proof option is the HP Z8 G4 - but their cost is still a little prohibitive. I am making good progress with finishing off a detailed overview of the Z8 G4 - hopefully out soon. A quick teaser trailer can be found here: ua-cam.com/video/ym4V6Z7r7ws/v-deo.html In terms of sourcing a HP Z840 or Z8 G4 - the simplest solution would be Ebay - pending your location and ability to purchase a system there. I scanned through Ebay listings and these are my top picks at the moment (affiliate links - I receive a small commission if a purchase is made via these): HP Z840: ebay.us/nJ286R HP Z8 G4: ebay.us/1Y3efU Components can be upgraded later. It’s best to secure a system with two CPUs installed - even if weak CPUs. The CPU cooler and fan are an added expense so it’s best to secure one with that already present. CPU upgrades are quite affordable right now. I have created a Xeon CPU Mega List that allows quick searching of any given CPU (all affiliate links): ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxinbLescQdmrqtvl7VzO2DW8Eaysrn3QH
Hey mate, another great vid on the z840. Keep up the good the work! It's fun to see others using this older machine and pushing it to the limits. Will upgrade my processors soon and install the Z-Coolers as well. Just added a RTX 4000 Ada, which I got from an offer I couldn't refuse. Haha. Really appreciate this card, because it's also small as hell. Also a great option for my upcoming Z8 project.
Thank you for the feedback. Nice, that Z840 of yours is sounding well-geared. Which CPUs were you considering? I quite like the RTX A2000 or A4000 as workstation alternatives - so naturally I'll give my support for the RTX 4000 Ada also. What is your end-use for the GPU? I am yet to test out a modern workstation GPU - at least on paper I prefer the extra Cudas that come with the gaming GPUs. But comparing workflow between something like the RTX 4000 Ada and a RTX 3090 Ti would be interesting I am sure.
@@racerrrz Hey man, I also considered the RTX A4000 which is also a great recommendation, but I decided to go with the Ada, because it's like the RTX A4000 on steroids. Plus, it's also a great fit for a future Z8 G5 which has PCIe 4.0. I tend to use these cards for a long period of time. Had a Quadro M4000 in my machine for almost 8 years and it really did a good job for quite some time but became incompatible (to some degree) with latest versions of the Adobe Cloud Applications. I do a lot of Premiere, Photoshop, heavy After Effects renderings and DaVinci Resolve on my machine. Also think the Ada is a good choice for the future, because of its AI capabilities. Yes, comparing the RTX 4000 Ada and a RTX 3090 Ti would be very interesting indeed! In general, it would be really great to test these pro cards vs. gaming cards. I'm sure there are lots of pros and cons that might be interesting to discover for specific users and their real-life needs.
Future-proofing your hardware is the way to go. I wish the Z8 G4 had PCIe 4.0 but it just missed out. The Z8 G5 should enter the market after coming off 3 year leases - so there could be some deals soon - but I would expect top dollar for them. Nice, the M4000 was well set up but as you said they begin to fall behind when you use the latest software. AI is booming so it is well worth securing some CPUs and GPUs that can make use of it. A match-up between the workstation GPU line-up and the gaming GPUs on the typical software platforms would make for an interesting comparison. It's nice to see you are combining a strong bunch of software packages in your workflow.
It will be a solid video - hopefully everything you need to get up to speed on the Z8 G4. Looking at the Gen 2 Scalable prices, and how quickly money evaporates, I feel like only Bruce will be able to afford them haha. Side note - buying a barebone Z8 G4 system and adding in Gold 6142's is the most cost effective setup I could figure out.
@@racerrrz I got a z8 g4 last month and it is just about done, I went with 2 6140s for now. The number of pcie lanes for nvme drives is almost silly. The L32648-00 cards are only 23 bucks on ebay and fit the personality slots. The microsemi sas was another 30 bucks, the .5 meter SFF-8643 To 4 SATA cable was plenty long for the 3.5 three bay adapter. So 7 3.5 drives, I can't afford to fill it with nvme but raid 0, I could probably use those surplus h10 optane drives. I had a bad fan on the cheep chinese cpu 1 heat sink, the replacement part number is a foxconn pva080g12q-p71-ab. Good luck with yours. P.S I went to 3 auto parts stores looking for a t-30 torx screwdriver, the green set at harbor freight are long enough.
By the way, I thikk I've found the best GPU for this beast. Alienware/Dell RTX3090 is probably the smallest or at least one of the smallest 3090s available. It's only 267mm long and 50mm wide, will fit the Z840 without any mods. It look very decent, no RGBs, no BS, just pure GPU in a very industrial design that perfectly matches the Z840.
Thank you for sharing your find. Getting a smaller RTX 3090 should free up some space for extra expansion. I would have liked more NVMe adapters on my system for video editing - but I am usually restricted to one quad adapter in PCIe Slot 6 due to GPU sizing issues. I only bought the Zotac RTX 3090 Ti because it was listed substantially under MSRP at the time (this was during the GPU pricing crisis). I suspect it was less popular because it was the largest RTX 3090 Ti on the market - meaning most gaming cases fell short of accommodating it. One perk about it has been the cooling efficiency - the GPU sits around 65'C even under heavy load. Ample cooling capacity.
great video and content about the HP z840, you talked about the max GPU length (330mm with HDD fans), but what about the max width ? my K2FA 3050 6GB is a bit tight with the PCIe chamber cover (209 mm x 118 mm x 42 mm)
Sorry UA-cam flagged your comment - I retrieved it. The GPU sizing with the PCIe cover is really just catered towards the Quadro workstation GPUs. I don't have access to all that many GPUs but for the ones I have tired none of my gaming GPUs have cleared the PCIe chamber cover (not even my GTX 970 cleared!). Width is more or less unlimited by current GPU sizing standards - you can fit a 3.5 slot wide GPU or even larger - but you will have to forgo that lower PCIe shroud. It's good to hear your RTX 3050 is sort of clearing. On my Z800 I initially made a notch on one of the PCIe shroud fins to give enough clearance, but I have just not run that shroud on any of my systems due to clearance issues. Even my Z8 G4 right now has the PCIe panel shroud removed lol.
Another great vid! I don't think I've ever seen a z840 teardown video. Another first on this channel! lol. I'm curious what kind of video editing you use this for? Is it just for the vids on this channel, or do you have other video projects that you do?
Thanks! I always try to find some additional value I can add over previous videos, and a full Z840 tear-down was my best conclusion. I haven't seen anyone go into detail on it and it is useful to know if you plan to change your 5.25" bays out for something more impressive. In terms of my Z840 - it's taking a bit more of a back seat for now. My shift into the HP Z8 G4 has helped future-proof my editing process. As capable as these systems are - they still tend to not enjoy multi-tasking. If I load up Photoshop and DaVinci Resolve at the same time I tend to get video export crashes (projects use ~29GB of VRAM typically - there is only 24GB there lol). In terms of this channel - it has been my starting base for learning how to create video - so the editing tends to be more 'edgy' - if that's a thing lol. But I am working to create a collection of tutorials that would help with learning how to customize your own system (a sneak-preview - I am busy building a website for the channel: racerrrz.com/ ). What I end up refining on this channel I apply in more structured educational videos. My vision is creating a cross between motivational, self-mastery and learning content. When I am not working on content here I am actively building-up new projects. My actual vocation is in the education niche.
@@racerrrz Very interesting, and the website looks promising, I look forward to seeing the final product. Ya making these videos sounds like a great way to learn the ropes. Personally I'm doing it backwards; I bought my z840 because it looked cool and was relatively cheap and now I'm trying to find actual uses for it, lol. So it's interesting to me to hear how folks like yourself are actually using it. Thanks for sharing!
@@myburn Fair call - I have done my fair share of those purchases (the first one I recall was buying the Gran Turismo PS1 game disk before buying the console - dedication haha). That's the beauty of the Z840 - it opens doors that were not possible previously. The limit on end-case use resides fully on your creativity. So I guess what you are saying is you are about to start a new project and you are just looking for inspiration. I was into landscape photography and I wanted a new challenge - hence the hobby grew into videography. A few years later and we are in the present moment. So I guess I can blame the Z800 I first purchased for landing me here - plus my own creativity lol
The main contributor is cost. The E5-2696 V4 (Ebay price right now $185 USD) is very similar in performance to the E5-2699A V4 (Ebay price right now $219 USD), but single core benchmarks tend to be higher for the E5-2696 V4. The E5-2699A often is more limited in supply and given a price premium because it is the top of the line CPU. I would like to think their differences would not be substantial during normal use which makes the cheaper option the better one. The comments on this Reddit post give a really good breakdown of the differences between them: www.reddit.com/r/homelab/comments/utz0s0/e52696_v4_vs_e52699_v4_which_is_the_best_option/
Thanks, I am glad you have found the videos helpful. For multi-purpose I would like to think the Z440 would serve you better since it has higher clock speeds available. From a pure server perspective the Z820 would work better since you'll have more cores to allocate to tasks. I would go Z440 and get it all geared up. If you run short on PCIe slots you could consider case swapping it into a larger case. I have all my PCIe slots in use on my Z440. Add in a GPU mounted to a riser cable and you have a solid multi-purpose system.
Nice, solid setup with the E5-2687W's! That's a monstrous amount of RAM - what's the most RAM you have managed to put into use? I think I have only managed to get ~220GB in use.lol. How are you finding the Asus sound card? I have been looking into sound card upgrades - I have been living off the 3.5mm jack since the dawn of time but it might be worth an upgrade.
@racerrrz with vmware workstation running loads of vm's and docker about 250GB ram, I have more 32GB sticks of ram to make it 512GB but it causes the machine to hang or not boot. The sound card is amazing but most of the drivers are for windows 10, unfortunately the sound card industry is dying if not dead already. Same with 5.1 speakers.
The only time I got the 512GB ram to run was with vmware esxi. I wanted to pass-through gpus to vm's and use parsec to game on any device. It worked really well and plan to do it again when I get the hard drives I want as I want install truenas scale as a vm and pass through the disk controller.
@@jerwal83 That's odd, maybe some of the modules have some memory faults? I would have expected the full 512GB to give trouble-free operation. I am surviving on 96GB on my Z8 G4 right now, but I might upscale to 256GB again - every so often the RAM use climbs to uncomfortable levels when I render videos lol. I tend to export my projects in segments to reduce the chances of peaking out memory. The sound cards feel like a retro item these days. I presume modern audio connections are decent enough if sounds cards aren't being produced as much, but if I can get my hands on a good unit I will.
I have an idea for this build and I just wanna share here. With the help of Linux KVM, you could theoretically run entirely two systems inside this simultaneously. For Example, if I want to use linux as my main system but at the same time I want a capable windows gaming machine, I could just dedicated one processor and its RAM to that Windows VM while also passing through a GPU to it . And for my main linux host system, I could have its own seperate processor and RAM with its own GPU. This is all theory, I wonder if this is possible, I would love it if you give this idea a try!
Hi, that is entirely possible if you use the right software. Using Proxmox as the main software to drive the dual OS system you'll be able to do it. You can specify how much hardware resources (CPU cores / RAM etc.) to allocate your OS. KVM wise there are many options out there. I did look into them but I have not bought one just yet because I was hoping to find a cheap KVM with dynamic device mapping (retains device connection even when switching which prevents screen disconnection issues between device switching - i.e. multi-monitor desktop switching to a single screen when disconnected), but I have not found a cheap KVM with this feature just yet. I have actually done this in my FMS Mini server build (taking a Mini PC and turning it into a server!). I had my Mini PC's hardware shared between TrueNAS, Ubunto and Win 10 all at the same time - the joys of virtual OS. I am yet to finish off a video on this however!
@@racerrrz @abeelsiddiqui1989 I've routinely got my z840 running 3 different VMs at once. 1 is Windows, 1 is MacOS, 1 is another Windows or Linux depending on my mood. Each VM has its own dedicated GPU, Monitors (yes plural!) , Keyboard, Mouse, and Headset. The amazing thing is I'm doing this without any extra USB hubs or KVM switch or anything. Just all plugged into the stock ports. The z840 is a very fun machine :)
@@myburn That sounds like a worked Z840, nice job with the VM setup! Out of interest - what KVM are you using? I have been searching for a decent one to get the job done while also being worth of featuring on the channel. I concluded EDID emulator functionality is somewhat a must but that doesn't seem to be a common offering on them. My challenge has been the outputs I need. I am mostly on two monitors - a 4K 60FPS DP1.4 and 1080p writing tablet (USB C and HDMI combo). Having the same peripherals connected to both systems would be a bonus also. So far the Rytaki Pro 8K 4 PC 2x DP and 1x HDMI is my front runner (Amazon).
@@racerrrz Thanks :) Sorry if I wasn't clear, I am NOT using a KVM for this crazy setup. So I have no advice for you there. I have a unique GPU card, Monitors, keyboard, mouse, headset for each VM, and everything is just plugged into my z840. Thankfully the z840 has a ton of USB ports, and I think I am dangerously close to maxing out how much wattage my z840 can give to GPUs . If you walk into my office room it looks like I have 3 different PC setups spread across 2 desks, but everything connects back to a single z840 . That being said I have absolutely no use for all these different VMs... I just wanted to set it all up because it's cool, lol
@@myburn Ah nice haha, that sounds more like my setup - except I have different systems for each application / end-use. I feel like a room full of workstations all controlled from a single station is the ideal end case (ignoring the power bill). The coolest thing for me was remote desktop. Accessing multiple computers from one system is the dream. Multi-tasking and all that. I'll have to continue my hunt for the best KVM (it will make it into a video eventually). Ideally - being able to keep the same keyboard, mouse, microphone and writing tablet connected to multiple systems would be the dream. That way I can get the one system to export a project while I continue to work on the next project. Right now I wind up having to wait out video project renders to ensure no crashes (GPU use tends to peak out and even just watching a UA-cam video can cause issues - hence the need for a second system).
Thanks RACERRRZ for all the great information but what about the Price ? €621.43 + shipping and I made a deal 30min ago with the seller: what do you think it's shipping from USA to Netherlands ? no inside case images hhhmmmm? config: HP Z840 28 cores 2x Xeon E5-2680 V4 64GB DDR4 R5-430 512GB SSD+1TB HDD WIFI W11
Well done on getting your offer accepted. That sounds reasonable if it doesn't include shipping and taxes - but if it includes shipping that would be a really good price. I can land this one for US $731.02 (affiliate link) landed at my door step (GST / VAT included): ebay.us/WNvZ02 The price will differ for you pending the shipping and tax amount, but you can compare your offer to this ebay item. (it might be the same item given that this is the cheapest one on Ebay). Comparing that to Z840's on my local marketplace that is a really good price - they sell for ~$900 - 1700 USD [pending config] locally in NZ.
@@racerrrz thks for this great respons, I left the deal to cool-off and later on checking your deal, and yes the deal wash only shipping to the Netherlands but cut" it off because no images from the inside of the hardware. see you in the next video 👍💯
Hello Thanks for the nice and informative information. It was really very useful for me. I have an HP Z840 computer. It has E-2690 V4 dual processor. I bought two E-2695 V4 processors from E-Bay. It was not included in the table you created. Which processor is the E-2695 V4 processor equivalent to in the table you provided? I have a question: Can the PSU of HP Z820 be used in HP Z840? Thanks.
Hi. I am glad you found it useful. There were quite a number of other decently good CPUs in the range but I opted to condense it down to a small range of low to high core CPUs - and focusing more on the top end of the range and highest clock speed CPUs. I had the E5-2695 V4's in my first version of the list but it ended up getting removed. The E5-2697 V4 is really similar, same core and threads but higher base and boost clock speeds and slightly higher TDP. The main advantage of the E5-2695 V4 will be price - they are around half the price of the E5-2697 V4 and ~$5 USD less than the E5-2697A V4 (which has 2 cores less but more clock speed). In terms of the Z820 PSU, I am 100% certain that they are not identical in terms of pinouts. Their output ratings are also different - Z820 does 1275W peak, Z840 does 1450W peak. I am sure you saw my related video but just in case - HP Z820's version of this video: ua-cam.com/video/qkvHQSwyxVQ/v-deo.html - PSU specs at 9min 23sec. If you compare timestamp 7:10 in this video and 9min 46sec in the Z820 video you'll see the plugs in the systems have a different number of pins. So no chance on that one unfortunately.
Sorry about that! The only reason is cost. The HP Z640 has never come up at a reasonable price for me and the cheapest one in recent times was ~$650 USD (on my local market place). If I have to choose between a bunch of hardware bits for projects and a Z640 it seems I always go for the hardware. And yes, but actually the Z640 shares more with the Z440 than that - it is the same motherboard! The major changes are those to accommodate the second CPU riser - which also means less memory slots on the Z640's main board (only 4 RAM slots on there - the other slots are blank to leave bandwidth for the CPU riser board's 4 slots). But essentially it is a Z440 with a CPU mod. I would opt for the Z840 over the Z640 with the reduced complexity and cost. I am still hopeful that I will manage to secure a Z620 and a Z640. I have not done videos on either of them, but I did do one video on the Z600 (it's an old video now but still cool to watch).
@@racerrrz thats interesting you say that, because when it comes to pricing, z840 is by far the most expensive in my region, to the point that in the same price you could build a solid modern Ryzen 5000 build. So z440 and z640 are my only options. But hey, love your channel, keep up the good work.
@@AbeelSiddiqui Thank you for the feedback, much appreciated. It makes sense for the Z840 to be more expensive but I guess pricing here for me is based on availability. The Z620's and Z640's seem really rare, where there are many Z440's and Z840's. Strange really! I quite like the look of the HP Z6 G4 also, and it has a solid lineup of CPUs. It is a fine line between these 10 year old systems and a more modern system. Generally, I would like to think you end up better-off price wise with the Z840 over a modern system, but if you can spend a little more on newer hardware you can assemble a really nice performer. I did a comparison a while back - it's really up to preference and end-use. For single core performance however there isn't much to beat the modern CPUs. www.reddit.com/r/HSpecWorkstations/comments/18vvze9/modern_vs_ancient_cpu_debacle/
Is it possible to enable resizable BAR on the HP Z4xx series of workstation? I have seen people do it with the chinese lga 2011 v3 mobos, so I wonder if its possible to do it here too
This would be CPU limited. The Broadwell Xeons do not have this feature - thus excluding the Z440, Z640 and Z840 from using resizable BAR. The HP Z4 G4, Z6 G4, and Z8 G4 all have resizable BAR in the BIOS thanks to the newer generation of Scalable Xeons that support the function. I presume the Chinese LGA 2011 V3's are running a modified BIOS because those CPUs do not officially support resizable BAR (there are methods for introducing this it seems). Officially only from Intel 10th Gen CPUs was resizable BAR supported. But there are those who try to find ways around this: github.com/xCuri0/ReBarUEFI/issues/91 . So far - it doesn't seem possible on the older HP machines.
It is a solid CPU for the price. Yes, the Z840 can do either Haswell V3's or Broadwell V4's. I settled on the E5-2697A V4 as the most ideal CPU due to the high clock speeds, decent core counts and decent pricing. I just checked the E5-2697V4 and it can be had for as little as $35 USD on Ebay.
You have got me on that one, I am not sure what you mean by 'gaming bots'? I have used my Z840 for both work and gaming and it suited that role really well. Decent expansion options, and, at the moment any how, relatively affordable upgrade paths.
@racerrrz I use the HPbz 840 for funning gaming bots for a game called evony return of the king. I love my machine, but the clock speed hamper me because I run 14 bots on 36 cores. I still working out if this machine is actually running turbo at 3.8 or not and seems to bottle neck on vram issue that I solved with 3060 12g gpu, but wondering If running 2 ssd 1T in raid will help?
@@troyklesick4566 Sorry about my slow reply. Nice, I have not played Evony return of the king but it's cool that you have managed to use your Z840 for funneling bots for the game. Which CPUs have you got in your system? The best way to get the most out of your system is to aim for more cores (Dual E5-2699V4), 2400MHz ECC RAM and an NVMe boot drive. That should give you the best possible performance from the Z840 - but the system performance will have a limit which may not easily be removed without upgrading to a newer system. Using a RAID 0 drive may increase performance but usually the system is only as fast as the slowest component in the configuration.
@racerrrz I am currently running 2697 v4 and 2400 ecc 1t ssd drive becouse I could not get the z840 to accept the nvme m.2 drive also now looking in to running raid 0 if I can figure out how to set up the bios and the windows 10. Any help would be appreciated....
That's strange, what issues did you run into with your NVMe? I have not had many issues with these systems and getting NVMes to work, and you are in luck, I have a heap of videos on the topic. I would recommend this video first : ua-cam.com/video/xqg0uQ93KTg/v-deo.html - then there are follow-up guides on each quad adapter that I tested. The Asus Hyper M.2 V2 was my best all rounder. Great price, decent speeds, solid temps - and I am daily driving that in my HP Z8 G4 at the moment.
The HP Z8 G4 overview video is taking shape nicely. I have a short "trailer" video out soon to showcase some of the content for that system. I will give a full guide on CPU selection, RAM selection, PCIe slot upgrades, and a full tare-down - all in one video resource.
Nice. How are you finding the Z840 as a Linux server? It should have more than enough grunt to run any processes you can throw at it. Cool to see two GPUs in your system!
This number varies a lot depending on the hardware loaded in. The base system with dual CPU and an NVMe should be ~250-300W on idle in the OS. My Z840 with dual E5-2697 V3, 256GB RAM, RTX 3090 Ti several HDDs + SSDs and PCIe add-ins was ~350W idle and up to 760W max load. That power will include my two monitors and peripherals too. So not too crazy but it would cost a fair amount to keep powered 24/7 as a server etc.
The dual Intel CPUs are power hungry but then all those cores get tasks done quick. At least you don't need a heater in winter - but you will need an aircon in summer lol.
ACERRRZ can you pimp my ride I have a G8G4 - Nvidia RTX A5000 / 2 - Gold 5120 2.19 gz processors and 96 gb ram - hd of 476 gb about to die - I have a evil phone game I'm trying to beat can you help me pimp my ride?
Your system has some power but it would not complain about being even more amped. Go for dual Gold 6142's - they are the most cost effective upgrade. 96GB of RAM should dominate nearly everything you throw at your system. Something like the Samsung 970 Evo Plus or equivalent NVMe would give you a huge boost to dominate in the evil phone game.
I have posted 118 videos and responded to nearly 1000 comments on this channel and surprisingly - not many people have asked this question: Why the helmet? There has been only two other individuals who have asked this same question and each time I seek to improve my answer. Maybe it's my fascination with Biker Mice From Mars when I was younger, or maybe I have seen too many Top Gear episodes, or maybe I have sworn I shall walk the Way of the Mand'alor, or maybe it was my race track entry denial - reason: forgetting his helmet, or maybe I struggle with bright studio lights, or maybe it's because I'm Batman, or maybe it's to prevent hair strand contamination of my filming compositions, or maybe I am in exile until I hone my skills sufficiently to become a real UA-camr. All I know is that my inspiration for this UA-cam channel struck me on a stormy night while on the roads of Forza Horizon 4 - powered by my HP Z840 Workstation. The helmet is a symbol of the knowledge I seek to share. Our experiences shape who we are. RACERRRZ.
@@tomv3999 We are a growing community, and in all fairness not everyone will find this channel's content useful. I view viewership more from a value perspective. Once your content provides sufficient value you will receive a larger audience, and this requires me to improve my craft. Hence why I opt to respond to all comments while I am able to. If you are willing, I would appreciate your feedback on how to further improve the value of my videos.
Still kicking, even if only slowly haha. The E5-2690 V3's really have some punch to them. 9 Internal drives - which adapters are you using for the extra storage drives? I was looking at the Z840's upper 5.25" bays and I do wonder if a 3x slot 5.25" HDD caddy could be made to fit (something like the FlexCage MB975SP-B R1). Not sure how I feel about cutting away metal from a Z840 chassis but that would help a fair amount for populating those SATA/SAS chipsets. Solid system there.
@@racerrrz 1 Turbo Z (1) in slot , 1 Turbo-Z Quad (4) in slot , then 3 SSD's (3) and 1 Spinner (1) in the side bays... no cutting required. Having a dual slot RTX3080Ti helps to have room to fit the cards with no cooling or room issues...
@@TheRealD00berZ Nice - solid setup. I am yet to land a single slot Z Turbo drive. The RTX 3080 Ti will be one of those keep-for-a-long-time type of GPUs. It's nice that you can get all your PCIe adapters in without having to resort to shenanigans (riser cables lol).
@@racerrrz Why do you not install the High-density storage option Then you can install 8 drives in the case, a turbo-Z Quad, and a Turbo-Z single and have 13 drives?? Transforms the four standard internal 3.5" form factor drive bays into eight 2.5" bays. then if ya wanna get all fancy you can add 2 in the front bay ( or 4) so then you will have 15 or more drives in the case without any cutting or modification?? Just curious! > part number K5J28AA
@@TheRealD00berZ That would be the most ideal method to get more out of the Z840's storage system. I just don't own many if any 2.5" HDDs. This adapter would be quite a viable method to also get a bunch of SSDs fitted to the system. I think cost is prohibitive, the adapter seems to be quite rare and I have not seen it for less than ~$400-600 USD. Something like the StarTech BRACKET25X2 that converts 1x 3.5" bay to 2x 2.5" bays would be cheaper - the only issue is the Z840's fixed SATA / SAS connectors (the SSD drives end up mounted in the middle of the bay - not offset). This adapter would work well in something like the Z440's case though. I do like the 5.25" bay to 8x SSD adapters (e.g. ToughArmor MB998SP-B ) - I could do with support for 16x SSDs in a Z840! lol The only catch is they are ~$280 USD each - I want cheap storage adapters so I can spend more on the actual storage drives.
My 840 Just got delivered!!! It’s a ABSOLUTE BEAST! The videos don’t convey how heavy and solid this thing is!
I’m probably going to go with 2697A V4’s, but the 2689 V4 and 2673 V4 look really interesting
Nice, enjoy! It really can't be experienced in video. I was surprised when I picked mine up for the first time, it really is a solid system. I do my best to make the machines look light in the videos but once you add your hardware they become really heavy - at a guess like 30kg lol.
The CPU options are numerous. From my own experience I really just go for the CPU with the highest multi-core boost clock speed and the most amount of cores. The only time I wish I had more CPU grunt is when software has limited a task to utilizing 1 Core only. My hope is that by selecting a high clock speed I am saving seconds each time I need to complete a single core task (DaVinci video playback seems to be one example of single Core performance being king - i.e. I spend a lot of time waiting for 1 Core to do it's thing [lag] when the remaining 31 Cores just "chill". I favor the E5-2697A's for having the highest base clock speed without sacrificing too many cores.
The E5-2673 V4 has a lot of cores but is low on clock speed and the E5-2689 V4 is low on cores but has a solid clock speed. If you can get by with less cores it might make more sense to go for the higher clock speed CPU. A quick comparison of some solid options: www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/2853.2vs2888.2vs3273.2vs2814.2vs2783.2/Intel-Xeon-E5-2689-v4-vs-Intel-Xeon-E5-2673-v4-vs-Intel-Xeon-Gold-6142-vs-Intel-Xeon-E5-2697A-v4-vs-%5BDual-CPU%5D-Intel-Xeon-E5-2697-v4 It's not an easy decision. The only consolation is that you could potentially but a pair - try them and then replace them with a different set. These CPUs will remain popular for a while yet and should sell again.
I recently purchased the Z840, and you offered helpful advice in the comments of a previous video. Just yesterday I installed an HPZ Turbo Drive G2 with 1TB of Samsung M.2 SSD memory. I set up the Turbo Drive as the system drive, and it's humming along quite nicely. Today, I plan to install 2 Xeon E5-2690 processors. Fortunately, my machine came with 128 GB of DDR4 installed and the bigger (125W?) power supply. I ordered a GPU and a Thunderbolt PCIe expansion card last night. I am floored at the incredible value of the Z840 workstation platform. Also, the tool-less design makes the upgrade process much easier for a newb like me. Thanks for the educational and entertaining videos! You have a style all your own.
Thank you for your feedback! Your Z840 sounds like it is coming together nicely. Great choice with the E5-2690's. They have a high base clock speed for the number of cores and they should give you a really good experience. Which GPU did you settle on? 128GB of RAM should be enough to get by on unless you start really pushing the size of projects. I haven't really delved into thunderbolt much but it would be a handy expansion to have - I just live of USB C.
Your system is getting filled with hardware, the only question is what are you going unleash upon the hardware to make use of it's full potential? In my case the Z workstations opened up the realm of video creation (before this channel I was limited to novice landscape photography). Now the only limit is my creativity (well sort-of, I can still complain about CPU single core performance being low lol). My mission is to empower individuals with the knowledge to build their own powerhouse - opening doors to be creative. I'll keep working on making my videos more educational and entertaining. Thank you for your words.
One big benefit with the 3d vapor coolers is that the noise level does not increase even with cpus at full tilt.
For the Z840 I would say the Z Coolers are well worth the cost. They retain decent CPU temperatures even on the lowest fan setting. In my testing I had a 5'C drop over the stock coolers without adjusting fan speeds etc. Plus from a design perspective they are fully optimised for acoustics with the 3D Vapor chamber. My video review for them: ua-cam.com/video/q3YFqH5pdDA/v-deo.html
Racerzz, back on the beat
droppin' the Z840 wrap-sheet
🏎️💨
Caught red-handed haha. The Z840 is making a 10th birthday comeback. It's an old system that just keeps on adapting to new roles.
You have inspired me so much that I bought one of these beasts, ordered it with 2 x 2690v4 and 32gb of ram. Outstanding quality, very quiet, very fast. Perfect machine for my home theater, I'm going to replace my old 1060ti with a 3090 so my son can play a little bit and I can comfortably watch 4k movies with all madvr settings cranked up to the maximum. Thank you for all your priceless advices.
Thank you for your feedback. That's great to hear - and great choice on the dual E5-2690 V4's. The Z840 will settle nicely into the home server role. Paired with the right setup it will handle everything you throw it at, plus gaming!
I guess I should let you recover from your wise purchase before I plant ideas for your next purchase (ignore this : ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxppaqWeTSyO2x4-0nK1rXCKoiEdu94Ny7 - it's definitely not a link to the HP Z840's upgrade - the HP Z8 G4 - for which I am releasing a detailed overview video this weekend lol).
@@racerrrz I installed windows 11 on this workstation and it works like a charm. Although theoretically it doesn't support w11, you can modify the registry to install w11. Just FYI..
@@1978derik Nice! I actually stumbled onto an article on the topic after I made this video - otherwise I would have made mention of it. Being able to update the registry with the updated security protocol would really extend the end-use of the Z840. I wonder how reliable the process is or if it carries any risk for bricking the system. Call me tempted to test it out.
Article: h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Desktop-Operating-Systems-and-Recovery/Successful-Solution-to-update-z840-TPM-to-2-0/td-p/8847081
@@racerrrz my unit works flawless since few days now. All updates installing without any issues, all drivers are working either.
FWIW I've found your previous videos annoying, but enjoyed this one. Great job. Every prepper should have several of these on hand, fully maxed out. This amount of computing power will never be useless.
Thank you. The previous bunch of videos were a deviation from my normal style to try out some new ideas. The current video is a hybrid of the ideas that seemed to work and it’s good to hear that made a difference. The Z840 has cemented it self as a power horse in the X99 stable. As people upgrade their main rig to newer tech the Z840 will remain the ideal home server. Enough grunt to support ample VMs to run everything you might need.
Great video Racerz ! I picked up a 2nd z840- with 2697a v4's x2, 64 gb, 8gb quadro M4000, 12gb sata with win 11 and the 1125 psu for 319 USD. It's a very good value, totally a beast, still had the plastic protection on it, looks brand new inside and out, quiet as can be. I have an HP turbo z dual nvme with 2 -1TB intel optanes, I just put in it for boot, adding an m10 tesla 32 gb accelerator to match the quadro for the cudas and vram, makes for a cheap homelab AI machine. (btw the tesla accelerators and a100's requires a dual 6 pin to 8 pin COM eap cable, they are keyed differently than a 3080, 3090 and have opposite polarity, the cable looks the same but won't plug in) still working on adding the dual tensor chips. I have been running ProxMox on an older IvyBridge z820, that thing is a modern jet under ProxMox you can spin up multiple VM's and containers all day long, run everything you can think of. ProxMox is a huge software upgrade and these machines take advantage of it running on bare metal. All of these machines (z840 especially) were all ahead of their of time, they are about the best engineered machines available, even in 2024 and they are plenty upgradeable. My 1st one has been running for 4 yrs. with no down time other than cleaning dust. Even though the newer boards in the G4 have more lanes, the 840z has more than enough for almost any need. Keep up the good videos!
Nice find with that 2nd Z840 - those specs are solid for the price point. Interesting detail with the M10 Tesla GPU power cables. The M10 Telsa is well optimised for virtualisation and I am sure it would work well in the Z840. The power supply alteration would be a tad annoying but it should be something you can work around. I do recall reading about converting the H100 GPUs for more casual uses. The setup is a bit unusual but it would make sense to have some serious GPU grunt available from time to time. Proxmox is great for managing multiple VMs and I can't think of a better application of the Z840 in the modern day. It should handle numerous VMs with decent hardware specs on each. I bet a Z840 running 24/7 gets quite dusty unless it's in a clean room.lol. They sure pull quite a bit of air through them. I tend to clean mine out ever 6 months or so which seems too infrequent already. Thanks, will do! I need to get a bunch of videos out for the Z8 G4 already!
Hey there AngeloMichael, could you share your source for your newest z840?
I’m trying to find a decent machine for my nephew who has (finally!) started his computer courses. He is now heavily into coding and has been complaining that his current machine is too slow.
I gave him his current machine about two years ago .
Apple iMac 27”
Intel i5 6-core 3.1MHz
128GB RAM
500GB HDD
The z840 line sound like a better machine.
Thanks for any info you can share .
BTW, his teacher states that the required software needs an 8-core machine, with 64MB RAM.
The iMac is much too fiddly to upgrade, and “your results may vary”.
@@ernestgalvan9037
You really can't do better when it comes to coding. These HP workstations were created with coders, designers, researchers and creators in mind.
What are his software requirements? My only complaint on the HP Z840 is the lack of Win 11 support due to age of the hardware. The more future proof option is the HP Z8 G4 - but their cost is still a little prohibitive. I am making good progress with finishing off a detailed overview of the Z8 G4 - hopefully out soon. A quick teaser trailer can be found here: ua-cam.com/video/ym4V6Z7r7ws/v-deo.html
In terms of sourcing a HP Z840 or Z8 G4 - the simplest solution would be Ebay - pending your location and ability to purchase a system there.
I scanned through Ebay listings and these are my top picks at the moment (affiliate links - I receive a small commission if a purchase is made via these):
HP Z840: ebay.us/nJ286R
HP Z8 G4: ebay.us/1Y3efU
Components can be upgraded later. It’s best to secure a system with two CPUs installed - even if weak CPUs. The CPU cooler and fan are an added expense so it’s best to secure one with that already present. CPU upgrades are quite affordable right now. I have created a Xeon CPU Mega List that allows quick searching of any given CPU (all affiliate links):
ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxinbLescQdmrqtvl7VzO2DW8Eaysrn3QH
Hey mate, another great vid on the z840. Keep up the good the work! It's fun to see others using this older machine and pushing it to the limits. Will upgrade my processors soon and install the Z-Coolers as well. Just added a RTX 4000 Ada, which I got from an offer I couldn't refuse. Haha. Really appreciate this card, because it's also small as hell. Also a great option for my upcoming Z8 project.
Thank you for the feedback. Nice, that Z840 of yours is sounding well-geared. Which CPUs were you considering? I quite like the RTX A2000 or A4000 as workstation alternatives - so naturally I'll give my support for the RTX 4000 Ada also. What is your end-use for the GPU? I am yet to test out a modern workstation GPU - at least on paper I prefer the extra Cudas that come with the gaming GPUs. But comparing workflow between something like the RTX 4000 Ada and a RTX 3090 Ti would be interesting I am sure.
@@racerrrz Hey man, I also considered the RTX A4000 which is also a great recommendation, but I decided to go with the Ada, because it's like the RTX A4000 on steroids. Plus, it's also a great fit for a future Z8 G5 which has PCIe 4.0. I tend to use these cards for a long period of time. Had a Quadro M4000 in my machine for almost 8 years and it really did a good job for quite some time but became incompatible (to some degree) with latest versions of the Adobe Cloud Applications. I do a lot of Premiere, Photoshop, heavy After Effects renderings and DaVinci Resolve on my machine. Also think the Ada is a good choice for the future, because of its AI capabilities.
Yes, comparing the RTX 4000 Ada and a RTX 3090 Ti would be very interesting indeed! In general, it would be really great to test these pro cards vs. gaming cards. I'm sure there are lots of pros and cons that might be interesting to discover for specific users and their real-life needs.
Future-proofing your hardware is the way to go. I wish the Z8 G4 had PCIe 4.0 but it just missed out. The Z8 G5 should enter the market after coming off 3 year leases - so there could be some deals soon - but I would expect top dollar for them. Nice, the M4000 was well set up but as you said they begin to fall behind when you use the latest software. AI is booming so it is well worth securing some CPUs and GPUs that can make use of it. A match-up between the workstation GPU line-up and the gaming GPUs on the typical software platforms would make for an interesting comparison. It's nice to see you are combining a strong bunch of software packages in your workflow.
Bruce Wayne Supercomputer. 🤣 Looking forward to that one!
It will be a solid video - hopefully everything you need to get up to speed on the Z8 G4.
Looking at the Gen 2 Scalable prices, and how quickly money evaporates, I feel like only Bruce will be able to afford them haha. Side note - buying a barebone Z8 G4 system and adding in Gold 6142's is the most cost effective setup I could figure out.
@@racerrrz I got a z8 g4 last month and it is just about done, I went with 2 6140s for now. The number of pcie lanes for nvme drives is almost silly. The L32648-00 cards are only 23 bucks on ebay and fit the personality slots. The microsemi sas was another 30 bucks, the .5 meter SFF-8643 To 4 SATA cable was plenty long for the 3.5 three bay adapter. So 7 3.5 drives, I can't afford to fill it with nvme but raid 0, I could probably use those surplus h10 optane drives. I had a bad fan on the cheep chinese cpu 1 heat sink, the replacement part number is a foxconn pva080g12q-p71-ab. Good luck with yours. P.S I went to 3 auto parts stores looking for a t-30 torx screwdriver, the green set at harbor freight are long enough.
By the way, I thikk I've found the best GPU for this beast. Alienware/Dell RTX3090 is probably the smallest or at least one of the smallest 3090s available. It's only 267mm long and 50mm wide, will fit the Z840 without any mods. It look very decent, no RGBs, no BS, just pure GPU in a very industrial design that perfectly matches the Z840.
Thank you for sharing your find. Getting a smaller RTX 3090 should free up some space for extra expansion. I would have liked more NVMe adapters on my system for video editing - but I am usually restricted to one quad adapter in PCIe Slot 6 due to GPU sizing issues.
I only bought the Zotac RTX 3090 Ti because it was listed substantially under MSRP at the time (this was during the GPU pricing crisis). I suspect it was less popular because it was the largest RTX 3090 Ti on the market - meaning most gaming cases fell short of accommodating it. One perk about it has been the cooling efficiency - the GPU sits around 65'C even under heavy load. Ample cooling capacity.
great video and content about the HP z840, you talked about the max GPU length (330mm with HDD fans), but what about the max width ?
my K2FA 3050 6GB is a bit tight with the PCIe chamber cover (209 mm x 118 mm x 42 mm)
Sorry UA-cam flagged your comment - I retrieved it. The GPU sizing with the PCIe cover is really just catered towards the Quadro workstation GPUs. I don't have access to all that many GPUs but for the ones I have tired none of my gaming GPUs have cleared the PCIe chamber cover (not even my GTX 970 cleared!). Width is more or less unlimited by current GPU sizing standards - you can fit a 3.5 slot wide GPU or even larger - but you will have to forgo that lower PCIe shroud. It's good to hear your RTX 3050 is sort of clearing. On my Z800 I initially made a notch on one of the PCIe shroud fins to give enough clearance, but I have just not run that shroud on any of my systems due to clearance issues. Even my Z8 G4 right now has the PCIe panel shroud removed lol.
Another great vid! I don't think I've ever seen a z840 teardown video. Another first on this channel! lol. I'm curious what kind of video editing you use this for? Is it just for the vids on this channel, or do you have other video projects that you do?
Thanks! I always try to find some additional value I can add over previous videos, and a full Z840 tear-down was my best conclusion. I haven't seen anyone go into detail on it and it is useful to know if you plan to change your 5.25" bays out for something more impressive.
In terms of my Z840 - it's taking a bit more of a back seat for now. My shift into the HP Z8 G4 has helped future-proof my editing process. As capable as these systems are - they still tend to not enjoy multi-tasking. If I load up Photoshop and DaVinci Resolve at the same time I tend to get video export crashes (projects use ~29GB of VRAM typically - there is only 24GB there lol).
In terms of this channel - it has been my starting base for learning how to create video - so the editing tends to be more 'edgy' - if that's a thing lol. But I am working to create a collection of tutorials that would help with learning how to customize your own system (a sneak-preview - I am busy building a website for the channel: racerrrz.com/ ).
What I end up refining on this channel I apply in more structured educational videos. My vision is creating a cross between motivational, self-mastery and learning content. When I am not working on content here I am actively building-up new projects. My actual vocation is in the education niche.
@@racerrrz Very interesting, and the website looks promising, I look forward to seeing the final product. Ya making these videos sounds like a great way to learn the ropes. Personally I'm doing it backwards; I bought my z840 because it looked cool and was relatively cheap and now I'm trying to find actual uses for it, lol. So it's interesting to me to hear how folks like yourself are actually using it. Thanks for sharing!
@@myburn Fair call - I have done my fair share of those purchases (the first one I recall was buying the Gran Turismo PS1 game disk before buying the console - dedication haha).
That's the beauty of the Z840 - it opens doors that were not possible previously. The limit on end-case use resides fully on your creativity. So I guess what you are saying is you are about to start a new project and you are just looking for inspiration. I was into landscape photography and I wanted a new challenge - hence the hobby grew into videography. A few years later and we are in the present moment. So I guess I can blame the Z800 I first purchased for landing me here - plus my own creativity lol
Been trying to decide whether to get a e5-2696 v4 or a e5-2699A v4. Any specific reasons you put the 2696 above the 2699A?
The main contributor is cost. The E5-2696 V4 (Ebay price right now $185 USD) is very similar in performance to the E5-2699A V4 (Ebay price right now $219 USD), but single core benchmarks tend to be higher for the E5-2696 V4. The E5-2699A often is more limited in supply and given a price premium because it is the top of the line CPU.
I would like to think their differences would not be substantial during normal use which makes the cheaper option the better one. The comments on this Reddit post give a really good breakdown of the differences between them: www.reddit.com/r/homelab/comments/utz0s0/e52696_v4_vs_e52699_v4_which_is_the_best_option/
Hi racerrrz. I would like to ask would z440 better to have than the z820. I want a server and gamer / server in one? thanks love all your videos.
Thanks, I am glad you have found the videos helpful. For multi-purpose I would like to think the Z440 would serve you better since it has higher clock speeds available. From a pure server perspective the Z820 would work better since you'll have more cores to allocate to tasks. I would go Z440 and get it all geared up. If you run short on PCIe slots you could consider case swapping it into a larger case. I have all my PCIe slots in use on my Z440. Add in a GPU mounted to a riser cable and you have a solid multi-purpose system.
Hp z840
2x Intel xeon E5-2687W 10c (20c) 20t (40t)
384GB ECC LRDDR4 2133
ASUS RTX 2080TI 11GB
Asus ROG Xonar Phoebus Solo 7.1 PCIe Soundcard
4TB SSD
BLU RAY BURNER
Nice, solid setup with the E5-2687W's! That's a monstrous amount of RAM - what's the most RAM you have managed to put into use? I think I have only managed to get ~220GB in use.lol. How are you finding the Asus sound card? I have been looking into sound card upgrades - I have been living off the 3.5mm jack since the dawn of time but it might be worth an upgrade.
@racerrrz with vmware workstation running loads of vm's and docker about 250GB ram, I have more 32GB sticks of ram to make it 512GB but it causes the machine to hang or not boot. The sound card is amazing but most of the drivers are for windows 10, unfortunately the sound card industry is dying if not dead already. Same with 5.1 speakers.
The only time I got the 512GB ram to run was with vmware esxi. I wanted to pass-through gpus to vm's and use parsec to game on any device. It worked really well and plan to do it again when I get the hard drives I want as I want install truenas scale as a vm and pass through the disk controller.
@@jerwal83 That's odd, maybe some of the modules have some memory faults? I would have expected the full 512GB to give trouble-free operation. I am surviving on 96GB on my Z8 G4 right now, but I might upscale to 256GB again - every so often the RAM use climbs to uncomfortable levels when I render videos lol. I tend to export my projects in segments to reduce the chances of peaking out memory.
The sound cards feel like a retro item these days. I presume modern audio connections are decent enough if sounds cards aren't being produced as much, but if I can get my hands on a good unit I will.
I have an idea for this build and I just wanna share here. With the help of Linux KVM, you could theoretically run entirely two systems inside this simultaneously. For Example, if I want to use linux as my main system but at the same time I want a capable windows gaming machine, I could just dedicated one processor and its RAM to that Windows VM while also passing through a GPU to it .
And for my main linux host system, I could have its own seperate processor and RAM with its own GPU. This is all theory, I wonder if this is possible, I would love it if you give this idea a try!
Hi, that is entirely possible if you use the right software. Using Proxmox as the main software to drive the dual OS system you'll be able to do it. You can specify how much hardware resources (CPU cores / RAM etc.) to allocate your OS. KVM wise there are many options out there. I did look into them but I have not bought one just yet because I was hoping to find a cheap KVM with dynamic device mapping (retains device connection even when switching which prevents screen disconnection issues between device switching - i.e. multi-monitor desktop switching to a single screen when disconnected), but I have not found a cheap KVM with this feature just yet.
I have actually done this in my FMS Mini server build (taking a Mini PC and turning it into a server!). I had my Mini PC's hardware shared between TrueNAS, Ubunto and Win 10 all at the same time - the joys of virtual OS. I am yet to finish off a video on this however!
@@racerrrz @abeelsiddiqui1989 I've routinely got my z840 running 3 different VMs at once. 1 is Windows, 1 is MacOS, 1 is another Windows or Linux depending on my mood. Each VM has its own dedicated GPU, Monitors (yes plural!) , Keyboard, Mouse, and Headset. The amazing thing is I'm doing this without any extra USB hubs or KVM switch or anything. Just all plugged into the stock ports. The z840 is a very fun machine :)
@@myburn That sounds like a worked Z840, nice job with the VM setup!
Out of interest - what KVM are you using? I have been searching for a decent one to get the job done while also being worth of featuring on the channel. I concluded EDID emulator functionality is somewhat a must but that doesn't seem to be a common offering on them.
My challenge has been the outputs I need. I am mostly on two monitors - a 4K 60FPS DP1.4 and 1080p writing tablet (USB C and HDMI combo). Having the same peripherals connected to both systems would be a bonus also. So far the Rytaki Pro 8K 4 PC 2x DP and 1x HDMI is my front runner (Amazon).
@@racerrrz Thanks :) Sorry if I wasn't clear, I am NOT using a KVM for this crazy setup. So I have no advice for you there. I have a unique GPU card, Monitors, keyboard, mouse, headset for each VM, and everything is just plugged into my z840. Thankfully the z840 has a ton of USB ports, and I think I am dangerously close to maxing out how much wattage my z840 can give to GPUs . If you walk into my office room it looks like I have 3 different PC setups spread across 2 desks, but everything connects back to a single z840 . That being said I have absolutely no use for all these different VMs... I just wanted to set it all up because it's cool, lol
@@myburn Ah nice haha, that sounds more like my setup - except I have different systems for each application / end-use. I feel like a room full of workstations all controlled from a single station is the ideal end case (ignoring the power bill). The coolest thing for me was remote desktop. Accessing multiple computers from one system is the dream. Multi-tasking and all that.
I'll have to continue my hunt for the best KVM (it will make it into a video eventually). Ideally - being able to keep the same keyboard, mouse, microphone and writing tablet connected to multiple systems would be the dream. That way I can get the one system to export a project while I continue to work on the next project. Right now I wind up having to wait out video project renders to ensure no crashes (GPU use tends to peak out and even just watching a UA-cam video can cause issues - hence the need for a second system).
Thanks RACERRRZ for all the great information but what about the Price ?
€621.43 + shipping and I made a deal 30min ago with the seller: what do you think it's shipping from USA to Netherlands ?
no inside case images hhhmmmm?
config:
HP Z840 28 cores 2x Xeon E5-2680 V4 64GB DDR4 R5-430 512GB SSD+1TB HDD WIFI W11
Well done on getting your offer accepted. That sounds reasonable if it doesn't include shipping and taxes - but if it includes shipping that would be a really good price.
I can land this one for US $731.02 (affiliate link) landed at my door step (GST / VAT included): ebay.us/WNvZ02
The price will differ for you pending the shipping and tax amount, but you can compare your offer to this ebay item.
(it might be the same item given that this is the cheapest one on Ebay).
Comparing that to Z840's on my local marketplace that is a really good price - they sell for ~$900 - 1700 USD [pending config] locally in NZ.
@@racerrrz thks for this great respons, I left the deal to cool-off and later on checking your deal, and yes the deal wash only shipping to the Netherlands but cut" it off because no images from the inside of the hardware.
see you in the next video 👍💯
Hello
Thanks for the nice and informative information. It was really very useful for me. I have an HP Z840 computer. It has E-2690 V4 dual processor. I bought two E-2695 V4 processors from E-Bay. It was not included in the table you created. Which processor is the E-2695 V4 processor equivalent to in the table you provided?
I have a question: Can the PSU of HP Z820 be used in HP Z840?
Thanks.
Hi. I am glad you found it useful. There were quite a number of other decently good CPUs in the range but I opted to condense it down to a small range of low to high core CPUs - and focusing more on the top end of the range and highest clock speed CPUs. I had the E5-2695 V4's in my first version of the list but it ended up getting removed. The E5-2697 V4 is really similar, same core and threads but higher base and boost clock speeds and slightly higher TDP. The main advantage of the E5-2695 V4 will be price - they are around half the price of the E5-2697 V4 and ~$5 USD less than the E5-2697A V4 (which has 2 cores less but more clock speed). In terms of the Z820 PSU, I am 100% certain that they are not identical in terms of pinouts. Their output ratings are also different - Z820 does 1275W peak, Z840 does 1450W peak. I am sure you saw my related video but just in case - HP Z820's version of this video: ua-cam.com/video/qkvHQSwyxVQ/v-deo.html - PSU specs at 9min 23sec. If you compare timestamp 7:10 in this video and 9min 46sec in the Z820 video you'll see the plugs in the systems have a different number of pins. So no chance on that one unfortunately.
@@racerrrz Thanks very much for your answer.
Why don't you cover Hp z640? Its like the middle child, with the form factor of z440 with dual CPU support of z840 lol
Sorry about that! The only reason is cost. The HP Z640 has never come up at a reasonable price for me and the cheapest one in recent times was ~$650 USD (on my local market place). If I have to choose between a bunch of hardware bits for projects and a Z640 it seems I always go for the hardware.
And yes, but actually the Z640 shares more with the Z440 than that - it is the same motherboard! The major changes are those to accommodate the second CPU riser - which also means less memory slots on the Z640's main board (only 4 RAM slots on there - the other slots are blank to leave bandwidth for the CPU riser board's 4 slots). But essentially it is a Z440 with a CPU mod. I would opt for the Z840 over the Z640 with the reduced complexity and cost.
I am still hopeful that I will manage to secure a Z620 and a Z640. I have not done videos on either of them, but I did do one video on the Z600 (it's an old video now but still cool to watch).
@@racerrrz thats interesting you say that, because when it comes to pricing, z840 is by far the most expensive in my region, to the point that in the same price you could build a solid modern Ryzen 5000 build.
So z440 and z640 are my only options.
But hey, love your channel, keep up the good work.
@@AbeelSiddiqui Thank you for the feedback, much appreciated. It makes sense for the Z840 to be more expensive but I guess pricing here for me is based on availability. The Z620's and Z640's seem really rare, where there are many Z440's and Z840's. Strange really! I quite like the look of the HP Z6 G4 also, and it has a solid lineup of CPUs.
It is a fine line between these 10 year old systems and a more modern system. Generally, I would like to think you end up better-off price wise with the Z840 over a modern system, but if you can spend a little more on newer hardware you can assemble a really nice performer. I did a comparison a while back - it's really up to preference and end-use. For single core performance however there isn't much to beat the modern CPUs.
www.reddit.com/r/HSpecWorkstations/comments/18vvze9/modern_vs_ancient_cpu_debacle/
Is it possible to enable resizable BAR on the HP Z4xx series of workstation? I have seen people do it with the chinese lga 2011 v3 mobos, so I wonder if its possible to do it here too
This would be CPU limited. The Broadwell Xeons do not have this feature - thus excluding the Z440, Z640 and Z840 from using resizable BAR. The HP Z4 G4, Z6 G4, and Z8 G4 all have resizable BAR in the BIOS thanks to the newer generation of Scalable Xeons that support the function. I presume the Chinese LGA 2011 V3's are running a modified BIOS because those CPUs do not officially support resizable BAR (there are methods for introducing this it seems). Officially only from Intel 10th Gen CPUs was resizable BAR supported.
But there are those who try to find ways around this: github.com/xCuri0/ReBarUEFI/issues/91 . So far - it doesn't seem possible on the older HP machines.
2667 is probably best bang for buck. Will it do v4s?
It is a solid CPU for the price. Yes, the Z840 can do either Haswell V3's or Broadwell V4's. I settled on the E5-2697A V4 as the most ideal CPU due to the high clock speeds, decent core counts and decent pricing. I just checked the E5-2697V4 and it can be had for as little as $35 USD on Ebay.
Ever considered do one of these with the HPZ 840 for Gaming Bots
You have got me on that one, I am not sure what you mean by 'gaming bots'? I have used my Z840 for both work and gaming and it suited that role really well. Decent expansion options, and, at the moment any how, relatively affordable upgrade paths.
@racerrrz I use the HPbz 840 for funning gaming bots for a game called evony return of the king. I love my machine, but the clock speed hamper me because I run 14 bots on 36 cores. I still working out if this machine is actually running turbo at 3.8 or not and seems to bottle neck on vram issue that I solved with 3060 12g gpu, but wondering If running 2 ssd 1T in raid will help?
@@troyklesick4566 Sorry about my slow reply. Nice, I have not played Evony return of the king but it's cool that you have managed to use your Z840 for funneling bots for the game. Which CPUs have you got in your system? The best way to get the most out of your system is to aim for more cores (Dual E5-2699V4), 2400MHz ECC RAM and an NVMe boot drive. That should give you the best possible performance from the Z840 - but the system performance will have a limit which may not easily be removed without upgrading to a newer system. Using a RAID 0 drive may increase performance but usually the system is only as fast as the slowest component in the configuration.
@racerrrz I am currently running 2697 v4 and 2400 ecc 1t ssd drive becouse I could not get the z840 to accept the nvme m.2 drive also now looking in to running raid 0 if I can figure out how to set up the bios and the windows 10. Any help would be appreciated....
That's strange, what issues did you run into with your NVMe? I have not had many issues with these systems and getting NVMes to work, and you are in luck, I have a heap of videos on the topic. I would recommend this video first : ua-cam.com/video/xqg0uQ93KTg/v-deo.html - then there are follow-up guides on each quad adapter that I tested. The Asus Hyper M.2 V2 was my best all rounder. Great price, decent speeds, solid temps - and I am daily driving that in my HP Z8 G4 at the moment.
how about one generation up HP Z8
.',;::::;,'. root@diazolvera.localdomain
.';:cccccccccccc:;,. ---------------------------
.;cccccccccccccccccccccc;. OS: Oracle Linux Server 8.9 x86_64
.:cccccccccccccccccccccccccc:. Host: HP Z840 Workstation
.;ccccccccccccc;.:dddl:.;ccccccc;. Kernel:
.:ccccccccccccc;OWMKOOXMWd;ccccccc:. Uptime: 3 hours, 49 mins
.:ccccccccccccc;KMMc;cc;xMMc;ccccccc:. Packages: 2420 (rpm), 5 (flatpak-user)
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ccccc;MMo;ccccc;MMW.;ccccccccccccccc; Terminal Font: Monospace (11pt)
ccccc;0MNc.ccc.xMMd;ccccccccccccccc; CPU: Intel(R) Xeon(R) E5-2630 v3 (16)z
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cccccccc;.:odl:.;cccccccccccccc:,. GPU 2: NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030
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':cccccccccccccccc::;,. Disk (/home): 36.24 GiB / 69.59 GiB ()
Disk ): 600 GiB / 686)
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The HP Z8 G4 overview video is taking shape nicely. I have a short "trailer" video out soon to showcase some of the content for that system. I will give a full guide on CPU selection, RAM selection, PCIe slot upgrades, and a full tare-down - all in one video resource.
Nice. How are you finding the Z840 as a Linux server? It should have more than enough grunt to run any processes you can throw at it. Cool to see two GPUs in your system!
how many watts at idle? 100, 200, 300?? :)
This number varies a lot depending on the hardware loaded in. The base system with dual CPU and an NVMe should be ~250-300W on idle in the OS. My Z840 with dual E5-2697 V3, 256GB RAM, RTX 3090 Ti several HDDs + SSDs and PCIe add-ins was ~350W idle and up to 760W max load. That power will include my two monitors and peripherals too. So not too crazy but it would cost a fair amount to keep powered 24/7 as a server etc.
@@racerrrz daaaaang, i did not expect 350w at idle, even with that spec. uuuuf. thats a lot, lol. cheers.
The dual Intel CPUs are power hungry but then all those cores get tasks done quick. At least you don't need a heater in winter - but you will need an aircon in summer lol.
Rad
ACERRRZ can you pimp my ride I have a G8G4 - Nvidia RTX A5000 / 2 - Gold 5120 2.19 gz processors and 96 gb ram - hd of 476 gb about to die - I have a evil phone game I'm trying to beat can you help me pimp my ride?
Your system has some power but it would not complain about being even more amped. Go for dual Gold 6142's - they are the most cost effective upgrade. 96GB of RAM should dominate nearly everything you throw at your system. Something like the Samsung 970 Evo Plus or equivalent NVMe would give you a huge boost to dominate in the evil phone game.
@@racerrrz thanks!
Why are you wearing the stupid motorcycle helmet?
I have posted 118 videos and responded to nearly 1000 comments on this channel and surprisingly - not many people have asked this question: Why the helmet?
There has been only two other individuals who have asked this same question and each time I seek to improve my answer.
Maybe it's my fascination with Biker Mice From Mars when I was younger, or maybe I have seen too many Top Gear episodes, or maybe I have sworn I shall walk the Way of the Mand'alor, or maybe it was my race track entry denial - reason: forgetting his helmet, or maybe I struggle with bright studio lights, or maybe it's because I'm Batman, or maybe it's to prevent hair strand contamination of my filming compositions, or maybe I am in exile until I hone my skills sufficiently to become a real UA-camr.
All I know is that my inspiration for this UA-cam channel struck me on a stormy night while on the roads of Forza Horizon 4 - powered by my HP Z840 Workstation.
The helmet is a symbol of the knowledge I seek to share.
Our experiences shape who we are.
RACERRRZ.
@@racerrrz The small number of responses you received are indicative of your viewership.
@@tomv3999 We are a growing community, and in all fairness not everyone will find this channel's content useful. I view viewership more from a value perspective. Once your content provides sufficient value you will receive a larger audience, and this requires me to improve my craft. Hence why I opt to respond to all comments while I am able to. If you are willing, I would appreciate your feedback on how to further improve the value of my videos.
you are still around! Mine as configured:
Z840
Dual Xeon E5-2690 V3 @2.60
24 cores 48 threads
128 Gigs RAM
Hard Drives (9) total internal
1 Turbo-Z with PCIe SPCC 1 terabyte
1 Tubo-Z Quad PCIe with 4 Samsung 970 EVO Plus
1 Super Talent FTM51N325H SSD
1 Samsung Evo 860 2 Terabyte SSD
1 Seagate 1 Terabyte SSD
1 Seagate 6 Terabyte Spinner
1 WH10LS30.AVAR10B LG BluRay
1 Nvidia RTX 3080Ti FE
Still kicking, even if only slowly haha. The E5-2690 V3's really have some punch to them. 9 Internal drives - which adapters are you using for the extra storage drives? I was looking at the Z840's upper 5.25" bays and I do wonder if a 3x slot 5.25" HDD caddy could be made to fit (something like the FlexCage MB975SP-B R1). Not sure how I feel about cutting away metal from a Z840 chassis but that would help a fair amount for populating those SATA/SAS chipsets. Solid system there.
@@racerrrz 1 Turbo Z (1) in slot , 1 Turbo-Z Quad (4) in slot , then 3 SSD's (3) and 1 Spinner (1) in the side bays... no cutting required. Having a dual slot RTX3080Ti helps to have room to fit the cards with no cooling or room issues...
@@TheRealD00berZ Nice - solid setup. I am yet to land a single slot Z Turbo drive. The RTX 3080 Ti will be one of those keep-for-a-long-time type of GPUs. It's nice that you can get all your PCIe adapters in without having to resort to shenanigans (riser cables lol).
@@racerrrz Why do you not install the High-density storage option
Then you can install 8 drives in the case, a turbo-Z Quad, and a Turbo-Z single and have 13 drives?? Transforms the four standard internal 3.5" form factor drive bays into eight 2.5" bays. then if ya wanna get all fancy you can add 2 in the front bay ( or 4) so then you will have 15 or more drives in the case without any cutting or modification?? Just curious! > part number K5J28AA
@@TheRealD00berZ That would be the most ideal method to get more out of the Z840's storage system. I just don't own many if any 2.5" HDDs.
This adapter would be quite a viable method to also get a bunch of SSDs fitted to the system. I think cost is prohibitive, the adapter seems to be quite rare and I have not seen it for less than ~$400-600 USD. Something like the StarTech BRACKET25X2 that converts 1x 3.5" bay to 2x 2.5" bays would be cheaper - the only issue is the Z840's fixed SATA / SAS connectors (the SSD drives end up mounted in the middle of the bay - not offset). This adapter would work well in something like the Z440's case though.
I do like the 5.25" bay to 8x SSD adapters (e.g. ToughArmor MB998SP-B ) - I could do with support for 16x SSDs in a Z840! lol The only catch is they are ~$280 USD each - I want cheap storage adapters so I can spend more on the actual storage drives.