Question Converting HP Workstation Z2 G4 Desktop to an emulation machine

[JS3516]

Hi All,

I'm getting an HP Z2 G4 for free and wanted to turn it into an emulation machine, mostly for Dolphin. The exact spec is a 5DU92UT#ABA. I'm familiar with the concept of PC building but have never built one myself or done any work with PC hardware besides changing RAM. The plan is to be able to run at least 4K60, preferably 4K120 on my living room TV.

From what I can tell it comes equipped with:

i7-8700
Nvidia Quadro P1000
500W Power Supply
16GB DDR4 2666MHz Ram
512GB SSD

After doing some reading it seems like the P1000 only has mini-display port and I'd need a mini-display port to HDMI adapter to run it on my TV. Researching these adapters, they can push 4K30 at best. My TV does not play nice with games if the signal is under 120HZ, so while I'd prefer the signal is 120hz I can deal with playing at 60hz

For that reason, my thoughts were:

Sell the P1000 and get a used or open box GPU
I have 16GB of old 3200 MHz Corsair RAM that I was going to try and use, not sure if compatible
Get a Thermalright Assassin X120 cooler for the CPU (I assume it will fit but will need to measure)

Does anyone have thoughts or suggestions for anything different? I don't know if the PSU has a 6 pin or 6+2 connector to run a powered card, so I've been looking at used 1650's and open box 3050 6GB cards. It looks like I can get a 1650 for $80 and saw a couple open box 3050 6GB for around $130. I'd ideally like to spend under $100 total after accounting for selling the P1000. I've read that Nvidia plays nicer with Dolphin than AMD but if that's not true I could look at some AMD options

any help or advice is appreciated, thanks!

 

[TerryLaze]

If the mobo has video output I would try with the iGPU first, fewer parts to deal with less heat and noise. It can do 4k@60FPS but it won't be able to run dolphin games "upscaled" to that resolution, I don't think a 1650 could either, maybe the 3050.

 

[NedSmelly]

P1000 is capable of driving 4x displays at 4K 60Hz. It's not specced to go above 60Hz though. The trick is finding a good quality mini-DP to DP 1.4a adapter *and* DP to HDMI2.1 cable - but it can be done.

 

[JS3516]

If the mobo has video output I would try with the iGPU first, fewer parts to deal with less heat and noise. It can do 4k@60FPS but it won't be able to run dolphin games "upscaled" to that resolution, I don't think a 1650 could either, maybe the 3050.

yeah I might try that first and see how it looks/feels. Ideally I'd like to play upscaled but it might not be a dealbreaker.

 

[JS3516]

P1000 is capable of driving 4x displays at 4K 60Hz. It's not specced to go above 60Hz though. The trick is finding a good quality mini-DP to DP 1.4a adapter *and* DP to HDMI2.1 cable - but it can be done.

OK good to know. It looks like I could do that for about $40. I'm thinking I might be better off just getting a 75W card since at that point I'm already buying things I don't have, while I do have a few HDMI 2.1 cables. I have my regular PC currently hooked up by a 25' powered HDMI cable and it took me 3 tries to find a cable that would actually do 4k120. im not sure if I want to deal with the trial and error again on an adapter and cable.

I'm hoping the PSU still has a 6 pin or 6+2 so I have a few more options, I should have the PC later this week and I'll find out. They have 3-4 machines so I might just see if I can take them all and just sell them or the CPUs and GPUs to increase my budget a bit.

 

[NedSmelly]

I have my regular PC currently hooked up by a 25' powered HDMI cable and it took me 3 tries to find a cable that would actually do 4k120.

Yep - at that length, an active cable is pretty much mandatory.

I'm hoping the PSU still has a 6 pin or 6+2 so I have a few more options, I should have the PC later this week and I'll find out. They have 3-4 machines so I might just see if I can take them all and just sell them or the CPUs and GPUs to increase my budget a bit.

I have a Quadro, and when new they came with miniDP-to-DP adapter dongles in the box. So I'd pester the seller to throw in a couple. Then all you'd need is something like this ($30 USD).