[SOLVED] Hp z440 Server PC Best CPU?

[drtechnology]

So I am buying a z440 because I need a decent (but inexpensive) business system good for light video editing, heavy desktop and picture publishing and 2-monitor setup. I was on google over an hour figuring the best processor I can get, and finding a lot of conflicting ideas from different sites, so am on here as this is the "go to" for PC help

Currently, the system I want to buy has in it..... 64gb memory (DDR4), 2 tb 7200 sata hdd for files and a 512 ssd for OS/apps and a good AMD FirePro V7900 GDDR5 2GB VRAM which has 4 DP ports of which I will only be using 2 of for a dual monitor setup and a 6-Core Xeon E5-1650 v3 3.50GHz processor) AND only costs $400 - not bad huh?

So overall the system seems perfect for my needs, and has a decent processor sure, but I know I can get better. I noticed the current processor is a Socket LGA2011-3 cpu, and based on that, found this: A Core i9-9980XE 3 GHZ 18-core CPU (wow, never guessed it would be the same socket, an i9 anything...) AND if y'all know a processor better suited than this one that would be better for my z440 please tell me. I am not against other processors including xenon ones, but I was under the assumption this one is the best I can get and used ones certified and tested with a warranty incase of fault are only $700-$800 online Not bad for an i9 no?

My question is with the OS installed already (win10 pro 64 bit) if I switched the socket would windows go crazy and invalidate the OS registration and also, would I need a new CPU cooler? The fan and heatsink is massive in the computer already as was a server PC ( https://www.newegg.com/p/1B0-002P-009G5 ) or should I get the CPU cooler coming with the i9? (Thinking of buying a certified and tested, but used one to save $$$ and normally just sold as processor only)

Thanks for the help and I look forward to a cool time on here

 

[drtechnology]

Solid! How did you overclock it? In the stock HP bios you can set the multiplier manually?

Found this online for the 1650 v3 - almost do not believe it (then saw was liquid cooled cpu) dangggg - may be a bit much even if the heatsink is a massive tower lol - I am not trying to switch over to liquid cooled

 

[SamirD]

Typically most HP/Dell workstations aren't going to be the best for overclocking and are better just used at stock voltages. You might be able to do some simple stuff like all core turbo or something like that, but I would not expect anymore more.

Besides, when you have more cores and memory than systems that can overclock, you don't need to try to compensate.

 

[adrian_vg]

FWIW, I have a HP Z440 E5-1650 v3.
Bought a used one in early spring this year when my ten year old i7-homebrew gave up.
Not very excellent timing on account of being in the middle of working-from-home-because-of-covid-situation, so I needed a fast solution.
Shopped around a bit and found a likely workstation from a used servers dealer I had previously bought some Dell R710's from for my homelab.

Dealed a bit and got a Z440 with 64 GB RAM, a Nvidia Quadro K2200 and a 500 GB SSD.
When I got it I installed a 3TB spinner hd I had around and the latest Kubuntu LTS, as well as two monitors.

IIRC 16 GB x4 ECC-type sticks is teh max this model can cope, w/o getting the mandatory cooling shroud to enable adding more RAM.
You may want to keep this in mind if you're still looking to buy this workstation.

In any case, I've been very pleased with this machine. It has just laughed at whatever I've thrown at it so far.
In fact, this computer is the reason I got into PC-gaming again by way of Steam. It works quite well for my RPGs and FPSs from my mid-20s which I'm now replaying.

Ripping and encoding DVDs for the kids is reasonably fast, about 30 minutes for a 90 minutes film.
Mailing/web/terminals/Virtualbox all runs very well.

So far, no complaints.