16 Core 32 Thread HP z820 Workstation Build

[Fast_N_Curious]

Well I did it again! I simply cannot escape from the clutches of eBay, but who doesn't like new hardware, right?

Having initially ordered a Dell PowerEdge 710, news was broken to me that it was not greatest machine to mod, high noise, not a great "home server" system. And as luck would have it, there was a two day delay in shipping the server, so I worked with owner and he was gracious enough to cancel the order and refund me the money.

 

In any event, this new machine should provide many hours of enjoyment and fun as I equip it with all of the high performance hardware I can get my hands on. This is the HP z820, which still seems to have pretty good bang for the buck but yet not over the top expensive. This is a professional grade workstation that originally retailed for about $2300 dollars (and went up from there) when it first hit the market. It supports dual Xeon CPUs (e5 2600 v2 series CPUs) and a whopping 512GB of DDR3 memory.

The HP Z820 has 16 DIMM Slots supporting DDR3 ECC Memory.
The first generation Z820 using the Xeon Sandy-Bridge processor supports up to 128GB of 1333MHz memory.
The second generation Z820 using the Xeon Ivy-Bridge processor supports up to 512GB of 1866MHz memory.
This machine supports QUAD CHANNEL MEMORY

 

I will be running 4 SSDs in a raid 0 configuration and upgrading to at least 64GB of DDR3 1600 or 1866MHz RAM.

 

The Xeon E5-2673 v2 8 core 16 thread 3.3GHz CPU was chosen for a few reasons. First, I could have gone higher core count, but the trade off is clock speed, and since I'm intending to use this for benchmarking, I favored the higher clocked CPUs (plus I naturally favor per core performance over core count). Second, the E5 - 2673 v2 turbos to the magic number of 4000 MHz, So it is a beast of a CPU, and with two of them, plus hyperthreading, we are looking at serious levels of performance and very powerful number crunching machine here. Another thing, the E5 - 2673 v2 has a TDP of 110W, whereas virtually every CPU above it is either 115w, 130w or 150w, and these require the larger PSU and better cooling. So a good blend of performance and price.

 

I am building this computer to compete with AMD's 3950X or at least that's the standard to which it will be measured. Both have 16 cores and 32 threads in total. The 3950X will probably stomp on it but nevertheless it should be an interesting comparison.

 

That's not bad for under $300. But the processors were $180 each, so it's starting to add up. Still, 16 cores and 32 threads for that price is hard to beat.

 

 

 

[Sauron]

6 minutes ago, Storm-Chaser said:

I simply cannot escape from the clutches of eBay

This hits a little too close to home

[Crunchy Dragon]

Eyyyy Intel HEDT gang

 

That looks awesome dude, congrats!

[kelvinhall05]

Fuckin hell finally an interesting and unique build log.

 

 

Sick rig, I love it already lol. Old server/super high end hardware is way more interesting than modern hardware imo.

[Fast_N_Curious]

Now that is what I call a SERIOUS motherboard:

 

[Fast_N_Curious]

So I can rest easy knowing my incoming z820 workstation is definitely the later, more recent, Gen II revision, which means I will have no issues at all running the e5-2673 v2 processor. Just to note, Gen I z820s only support up to a maximum of 128GB of 1333MHz RAM and will NOT work with the Xeon 2600 v2 CPUs. You can identify which version you have by going into the BIOS and checking the boot block date: 

 

Gen I systems: 
Will have a Boot Block Date of 12/28/2011

 

Gen II systems: 
Will have a Boot Block Date of 03/06/2013

 

So if you are shopping for a z820 for yourself, best to go with the Gen II.  That will allow you to run v2 2600 family CPUs, with higher clocks and better performance.

[Fast_N_Curious]

Alright!! UPS came through in the clutch and the packages arrived last night. I was too tired to do the unboxing last night, so I wanted until today. 

 

More pictures to come. what's the other box? Well, you will just have to wait and see. Think of it as an "insurance" policy of sorts. ;)

 

 

 

[Fast_N_Curious]

Well, it's unboxing time. Unbelievable that both of these machines still had the original protective film on the sides!

Another good thing, both of these machines have the high performance 1125w PSU. Meaning I should have no problem running the higher TDP chips. 

 

[Fast_N_Curious]

SSD's I will be running are enterprise level SSDs, Specifically the Intel DC S3500 series. 

These will be run in a raid 0 configuration for ultra performance on the boot drive. 

 

[kelvinhall05]

1 hour ago, Storm-Chaser said:

SSD's I will be running are enterprise level SSDs, Specifically the Intel DC S3500 series. 

These will be run in a raid 0 configuration for ultra performance on the boot drive. 

 

ffs this build is awesome, right up my alley. Keep it up!

[Fast_N_Curious]

First impressions? It's sleek, it's fast! BIOS layout is extensive and pretty much every resource can be fine tuned or changed to suit your needs or to suit your hardware choices. Raid controller configuration was quick and painless. It's very quiet, even when under load. Very powerful machine, you can sense it.

They both look BRAND NEW because the protection film was never removed until I got my hands on it!

 

Quick briefing on the memory options available for the z820.

HP Z820 Memory Configuration

The Z820 is a Dual Processor system with 8 DIMM slots per CPU. There are four memory channels per CPU. Each memory channel manages two DIMM slots. Along with standard RDIMMs and UDIMMs, the Z820 also supports Load Reduced DIMMs, as well as options for standard or low voltage. You cannot mix different memory types. Different speeds can be mixed but the modules will function at the slowest speed installed.
Cloud Ninjas' HP Z820 Workstation Memory Upgrade Tips
 

• There are a total of 16 DIMM slots on the Dell Z820 workstation.
• Sizes supported: 2GB, 4GB, 8GB or 16GB ECC Registered (RDIMM); and 2GB or 4GB Unbuffered (UDIMM); and 32GB Load Reducing (LRDIMM).
• DO NOT MIX DIFFERENT MEMORY TYPES.
• The Z820 maxes out at 256GB of ECC Registered memory (16 x 16GB). Whereas unbuffered tops out at 64GB (16 x 4GB).
• The absolute top of the line RAM would be via load reducing memory. The Dell Z820 could get all the way up to 512GB (16x32GB) Memory.
• The Precision Z820 workstation supports memory speeds of 1600MHz or 1333MHz ECC and non-ECC DDR3 memory
• Think Long Term! Purchase the maximum amount that your Dell Precision Z820 can hold and avoid wasting time and money on modules you won't be able to use if you upgrade again.
• The total number of memory modules must equal 4, 8, 12 or 16. To properly configure your system, install a minimum of four memory modules first.

Obviously this information was written before the second revision of the z820, as the secondary version offers support for up to 1866Mhz DDR3 memory.

By far my most favorite machine, ever. And I hardly even know it! This thing is absolutely stunning... cloud 9 FTW!

 

 

[Fast_N_Curious]

New cooling system.... AND WE ARE OFFICIALLY RUNNING ON 24 Cores and 48 Threads. 

 

I can tell you one thing. These coolers are amazing. I can run something like Cinebench R15 extreme and the fans don't even kick on until you are a good 3/4 of the way through the benchmark. And even then, they are only running 20-30%. I would rate this cooling system as "phenomenal" and the best I've ever seen in any computer, ever. - How can this be demonstrated? You can lose one of the 80mm CPU cooler fans and still get home okay, in fact, you cab run any benchmark and still remain well below TJmax. It's incredible. And I tested that, that's how I know

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kelvinhall05]

i give u $10 nd u giv me pc

[Fast_N_Curious]

To gain some perspective on the cooling system of the z820 we have to look at the top "hat" that covers both CPUs. I have attached a picture with this part turned upside down. So when installed, both radiators get direct cooling from  the two 80mm fans. Moreover, there are an additional two 80mm exhaust fans that form a "channeling effect" from the front of the case to the back. This is why you can lose a CPU fan (or both) and still operate flawlessly. Obviously you don't want to run it like that for the long term. I am only emphasizing the fact that this redundancy built in to the CPU cooling system is pretty rare.  And it's rare to find a case that channels airflow like the z820... I like rare hardware  

 

 

PS note the active cooling on all 16 ram slots. Note the blower fans in the picture above. You can see how the case "divides" the airflow into channels, and it's very effective. Very impressed with the build quality of this machine. And its my favorite rig by far.

[kelvinhall05]

God this is such a cool build. What are you gonna use it for? F@H?

[Fast_N_Curious]

A brief look at the 12 core CPUs before a put them in the machine.

 

CPU nirvana.... E5 2696 v2 (times two)

 

[Fast_N_Curious]

New video card, MSI GAMING X Radeon 5700 xt 8GB showed up today.

 

I tried this in the z820 chassis. It fits just fine. Only problem is, the z820 only has 6 pin PCIE connectors and I need two 8 pin connectors. 

 

To solve this problem I had to order a couple 6 pin to 8 pin adapters. 

 

While the card has the potential to pull upwards of 230 watts, we should have no problem feeding it. This z820 has the more powerful 1125W PSU. In fact you could run two of these GPUs without breaking a sweat. 

 

The HP power supply provides up to 18A power on each of the 6-pin connectors, so to be safe you should buy the HP 6-pin to 8-pin adapter versus no-name ones which mostly appear to be 18AWG and can only support up to 10A.

 

[kelvinhall05]

You gotta get a better keyboard >_<

[Fast_N_Curious]

40 minutes ago, kelvinhall05 said:

You gotta get a better keyboard >_<

Believe it or not, I like the dell keyboards. Compact and a good feel. I don't need anything more. It's a little ironic, sometimes the attractive aftermarket products for keyboard/mouse actually perform much worse than the OEM stuff. The gaming mouse, for example, that you see in one of the pictures cost me $55 and it is substantially less accurate than my 12 year old OEM Microsoft intellimouse

 

If I am doing a good bit of writing the Microsoft split keyboard is better, yes.

[Fast_N_Curious]

These SSDs will be used in the build. 

 

4 Samsung 128GB SSDs will be run in a raid 0 for maximum performance, 

 

while the other two will be dedicated to programs and gaming respectively. 

 

EDIT: Sorry for the low quality images. I did my best but there is no flash on this tablet, which makes taking pictures difficult in low light situations. 

 

[kelvinhall05]

1 minute ago, Storm-Chaser said:

Believe it or not, I like the dell keyboards. Compact and a good feel. I don't need anything more. It's a little ironic, sometimes the attractive aftermarket products for keyboard/mouse actually perform much worse than the OEM stuff. The gaming mouse, for example, that you see in one of the pictures cost me $55 and it is substantially less accurate than my 12 year old OEM Microsoft intellimouse

 

If I am doing a good bit of writing the Microsoft split keyboard is better, yes.

I mean, if you like it that's totally fine...but even as far as super cheaply made and crappy rubber dome OEM keyboards there is much better than those Dells.

[Fast_N_Curious]

4 minutes ago, kelvinhall05 said:

I mean, if you like it that's totally fine...but even as far as super cheaply made and crappy rubber dome OEM keyboards there is much better than those Dells.

LOL nice bluff. 

 

But reviews on amazon say otherwise. It gets 4/5 stars. And that's with a large sample size of 312 ratings. In fact, 65% of the user reviews on amazon give it a 5/5 rating. 

[Grabhanem]

7 minutes ago, Storm-Chaser said:

LOL nice bluff. 

 

But reviews on amazon say otherwise. It gets 4/5 stars. And that's with a large sample size of 312 ratings. In fact, 65% of the user reviews on amazon give it a 5/5 rating. 

It's almost like people have differing opinions!

[Fast_N_Curious]

22 minutes ago, Grabhanem said:

It's almost like people have differing opinions!

I know, I get it... I just wanted to set the record straight that it's not a piece of junk and actually gets decent reviews online. If it was a "crappy" piece of garbage the reviews online should reflect that. But they don't. So its not.

 

But yes, a backlit or RGB keyboard would look much better, even fantastic if I could match it with my gaming mouse. Kevin raised the issue so I will in fact look into purchasing a new keyboard today. 

 

 

[kelvinhall05]

4 minutes ago, Storm-Chaser said:

I know, I get it... I just wanted to set the record straight that it's not a piece of junk and actually gets decent reviews online. If it was a "crappy" piece of garbage the reviews online should reflect that. But they don't. So its not.

Mmm yes it is. It costs Dell literally pennies to make, and online reviews do not signify quality.

4 minutes ago, Storm-Chaser said:

But yes, a backlit or RGB keyboard would look much better, even fantastic if I could match it with my gaming mouse. Kevin raised the issue so I will in fact look into purchasing a new keyboard today. 

Not necessarily, it's less about aesthetics and more that it's mushy rubber domes, awfully cheap constuction, and bad keycaps. I can help you find a keyboard though.