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Strange computer part

CWALD

So there I was at work taking calls, replacing RAM, swapping power supplies, and updating tickets, when I get a call to replace a bad hard drive. I go over there I power off the computer, tear out all the plugs in the back, pull out the computer, and open the side panel. Only to find the strangest expansion card I have ever come across. At first I thought it was some weird GPU with modular RAM and a CPU heat sink but it turned out to be a completely separate board from the GPU with a desktop CPU and 4 memory slots. The entire computer was built around this card with a custom expansion slot on a custom motherboard in a custom case. This is an HP computer and a google search brought it up right away. But I'm still wondering why not just use a dual socket motherboard?

 

https://www.amazon.com/HP-Heatsink-710326-001-749597-001-736519-001/dp/B07SG9RKCK

 

image.thumb.png.1bbb56f3b7e21013744a0e9a9d827c0f.png

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Because that would make too much sense?

/s

 

Its probably for diffrent config. Config x has one cpu and y amount of ram, and config z gets you 2x cpu and 2y ram. 

I could use some help with this!

please, pm me if you would like to contribute to my gpu bios database (includes overclocking bios, stock bios, and upgrades to gpus via modding)

Bios database

My beautiful, but not that powerful, main PC:

prior build:

Spoiler

 

 

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11 lbs (amazon description) best put in a stripper pole.

Workstation Laptop: Dell Precision 7540, Xeon E-2276M, 32gb DDR4, Quadro T2000 GPU, 4k display

Wifes Rig: ASRock B550m Riptide, Ryzen 5 5600X, Sapphire Nitro+ RX 6700 XT, 16gb (2x8) 3600mhz V-Color Skywalker RAM, ARESGAME AGS 850w PSU, 1tb WD Black SN750, 500gb Crucial m.2, DIYPC MA01-G case

My Rig: ASRock B450m Pro4, Ryzen 5 3600, ARESGAME River 5 CPU cooler, EVGA RTX 2060 KO, 16gb (2x8) 3600mhz TeamGroup T-Force RAM, ARESGAME AGV750w PSU, 1tb WD Black SN750 NVMe Win 10 boot drive, 3tb Hitachi 7200 RPM HDD, Fractal Design Focus G Mini custom painted.  

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 video card benchmark result - AMD Ryzen 5 3600,ASRock B450M Pro4 (3dmark.com)

Daughter 1 Rig: ASrock B450 Pro4, Ryzen 7 1700 @ 4.2ghz all core 1.4vCore, AMD R9 Fury X w/ Swiftech KOMODO waterblock, Custom Loop 2x240mm + 1x120mm radiators in push/pull 16gb (2x8) Patriot Viper CL14 2666mhz RAM, Corsair HX850 PSU, 250gb Samsun 960 EVO NVMe Win 10 boot drive, 500gb Samsung 840 EVO SSD, 512GB TeamGroup MP30 M.2 SATA III SSD, SuperTalent 512gb SATA III SSD, CoolerMaster HAF XM Case. 

https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/37004594?

Daughter 2 Rig: ASUS B350-PRIME ATX, Ryzen 7 1700, Sapphire Nitro+ R9 Fury Tri-X, 16gb (2x8) 3200mhz V-Color Skywalker, ANTEC Earthwatts 750w PSU, MasterLiquid Lite 120 AIO cooler in Push/Pull config as rear exhaust, 250gb Samsung 850 Evo SSD, Patriot Burst 240gb SSD, Cougar MX330-X Case

 

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1 minute ago, HelpfulTechWizard said:

Because that would make too much sense?

/s

 

Its probably for diffrent config. Config x has one cpu and y amount of ram, and config z gets you 2x cpu and 2y ram. 

that makes sense, nowadays I would just use VMs for that but I get the feeling this is kinda old.

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2 minutes ago, Tristerin said:

11 lbs (amazon description) best put in a stripper pole.

It didn't feel that heavy but the case had a steal slot for the whole thing to slide into

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It's not that old; I use a Z640 for work. I've never opened the case though. I probably have one of those, and don't even know it.... I do know for sure it's a dual CPU, so it probably has it. I think it's fascinating. What's its connection to the main board? Is it PCIe or something else?

And I don't know about individual parts, but I do know that the machine as a whole is very heavy....

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6 minutes ago, fordy_rounds said:

It's not that old; I use a Z640 for work. I've never opened the case though. I probably have one of those, and don't even know it.... I do know for sure it's a dual CPU, so it probably has it. I think it's fascinating. What's its connection to the main board? Is it PCIe or something else?

And I don't know about individual parts, but I do know that the machine as a whole is very heavy....

It's not PCIe, its those 4 large gray blocks with a bunch of holes, I doubt if PCIe would even have enough bandwidth for something like this. You can also see a 20pin power connector in the lower left of the image.

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wtf, i kinda want one

F@H [] Autobiography [] 

 

Main Desktop and Folding Rig :

Spoiler

Cpu : I5-9400f

Gpu : GTX 1070 Founder's Edition
Psu : Seasonic G-650

Ram : G.Skill Aegis 4x8gb DDR4 2666MHz (14-15-15-34)

External Storage : 8tb Western Digital Elements Usb 3.0 Hard Drive

Storage : Samsung 970 Evo 500GB

Motherboard : ASUS B365 Pro-4 m

 

 

Gaming Laptop :

Spoiler

Cpu : I7-8750H 2.2ghz 

Gpu : GTX 1070 Max Q 

Psu : laptop b r i c k 

Ram : 16gb 2666Mhz 

Storage : 512Gb SATA SSD 

Motherboard : it's a laptop.....

 

 

old boomer (currently non-functional)

Spoiler

Cpu : I5-6400 2.7ghz (doesn't have a heatsink)

Gpu : Asus RX580 8gb (might sell)

Psu : EVGA 500 watt 80 plus

Ram : 16gb DDR3 1400mhz

Storage : 1tb Toshiba HDD (currently in main pc)

Motherboard : Generic ASUS pre-built motherboard

 

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3 minutes ago, CWALD said:

It's not PCIe, its those 4 large gray blocks with a bunch of holes, I doubt if PCIe would even have enough bandwidth for something like this. You can also see a 20pin power connector in the lower left of the image.

Ok, I see.

Also, I found this video which seems to start in the middle of a presentation, but is an HP rep explaining that the weird add-in board serves two purposes: it is more compact than a single large 2-socket motherboard, allowing for a smaller case form factor, and it makes it so that the motherboard is common with the single-processor Z4 series, thus reducing engineering and manufacturing costs.

 

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3 minutes ago, fordy_rounds said:

Ok, I see.

Also, I found this video which seems to start in the middle of a presentation, but is an HP rep explaining that the weird add-in board serves two purposes: it is more compact than a single large 2-socket motherboard, allowing for a smaller case form factor, and it makes it so that the motherboard is common with the single-processor Z4 series, thus reducing engineering and manufacturing costs.

 

 

3 minutes ago, James Evens said:

Looking at this thing it might be space constrains.

I can see it helping to make it smaller but not cheaper. The amount of development it takes to make a custom connector is repetitively light in the world of computers but still a huge undertaking. However you can pick up a refurbished z640 like the one I found for 500-600usd while the new version is 2000-3000usd.

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1 hour ago, fordy_rounds said:

It's not that old; I use a Z640 for work. I've never opened the case though. I probably have one of those, and don't even know it.... I do know for sure it's a dual CPU, so it probably has it. I think it's fascinating. What's its connection to the main board? Is it PCIe or something else?

And I don't know about individual parts, but I do know that the machine as a whole is very heavy....

Dell does the same thing on their workstations.  Here is a pic of the port on a dell 7820.spacer.png

 

The card would sit above the first CPU.

 

 

image.png.74f2ff6d8a3894d1249b7adb60d56922.png

Slayerking92

<Type something witty here>
<Link to some pcpartpicker fantasy build and claim as my own>

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9 hours ago, CWALD said:

So there I was at work taking calls, replacing RAM, swapping power supplies, and updating tickets, when I get a call to replace a bad hard drive. I go over there I power off the computer, tear out all the plugs in the back, pull out the computer, and open the side panel. Only to find the strangest expansion card I have ever come across. At first I thought it was some weird GPU with modular RAM and a CPU heat sink but it turned out to be a completely separate board from the GPU with a desktop CPU and 4 memory slots. The entire computer was built around this card with a custom expansion slot on a custom motherboard in a custom case. This is an HP computer and a google search brought it up right away. But I'm still wondering why not just use a dual socket motherboard?

 

https://www.amazon.com/HP-Heatsink-710326-001-749597-001-736519-001/dp/B07SG9RKCK

 

image.thumb.png.1bbb56f3b7e21013744a0e9a9d827c0f.png

Looks like a Bond villains luxury hideout. 

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