Replace MOBO in a Lenovo P700

[garyblenkhorn]

I have a Lenovo P700 workstation M30A9 - CT01WW and I want to replace the MOBO with a ASUS Maximum X Hero with a Intel Core i7-8700K CPU.

Will it fit in my case? All I can find about the ATX size in my P700 box is that is says it is a custom ATX.

 

[GhislainG]

If this is your system https://www3.lenovo.com/ae/en/workstations/thinkstation/p-series/ThinkStation-P700/p/33TS3TPP700 then the back of the motherboard probably is quite different from the standard ATX Asus motherboard. You may be able to modify the case, but it would be much easier to use a new quality ATX case.

 

[garyblenkhorn]

Thank you for your reply. I just realized that MOBO is mainly a gamer board. What would be a good workstation MOBO for the Core i7-8700k that would be good for overclocking. Your right about the case. It is probably best to get a new case.

I found the ASUS Z270-WS but it does not support 8th generation CPU's. I am not stuck on ASUS, I was just using their info.

 

[GhislainG]

You simply need a quality motherboard for the i7-8700K; a workstation motherboard usually is required for ECC memory and Xeon processors. A motherboard that has Gaming in its name can meet your requirements as well as one that doesn't; stability probably is a primary selection criteria. There are several very good Z370 motherboards, but what are your requirements (storage, PCIe slots, audio, etc.)? The motherboard that you chose is excellent with an above range price that's justified.

Quite complete list of Z370 motherboards: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/motherboard/#sort=-rating&page=1

You can check https://www.anandtech.com/show/11860/z370-motherboards-asus-asrock-ecs-evga-biostar-msi-gigabyte, http://www.faceofit.com/best-z370-chipset-motherboards/ and other reviews.

 

[garyblenkhorn]

From what I am finding out there is a big difference between a workstation MOBO and a gaming MOBO. WS MOBO's have extra parts that if one fails you have a backup to keep you productive. I had a network card go in my current one just the other day. Where a WS MOBO has 2 Network ports I simply switched my cat 5 cable over to the other port and was back in business right away. My business depends on internet connectivity constantly.

Here is the difference.
Asus Gaming Z270 - https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/PRIME-Z270-A/
Asus Workstation Z270 https://www.asus.com/Commercial-Servers-Workstations/Z270-WS/

So I think I have nailed down the MOBO I want now to be sure it will accept the i7-8700K.

Solidworks only uses a single core for 3D modeling so having Xeon CPU does not work as good for modeling. Plus I plan on overclocking the CPU to around 5 Mhz. If I was doing a lot of rendering then I would lean towards Xeon. Rendering works best with multiple cores.

 

[GhislainG]

The Z270-WS won't support the i7-8700K; a Z370 chipset is required.

A workstation mobo doesn't have full redundancy (even an expensive server doesn't). I also have a couple motherboards with dual LAN, but that doesn't provide protection against a motherboard, PSU or CPU failure.

The following Z370 motherboards have more than one LAN port:
- ASUS ROG Maximus X Apex
- ASRock Z370 Taichi
- ASRock Fatal1ty Z370 Gaming K6
- ASRock Z370 Professional Gaming
- MSI Z370 GODLIKE GAMING (Killer NIC - I prefer Intel for a workstation or server)

 

[garyblenkhorn]

Thank you so much for all your help. I did not see that ASUS Z370 board before. That is the one I am going with.

Here is what I think will be a good build. Is everything compatible?

Item QTY
CPU 1 Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor
CPU Cooler 1 Corsair - H100i v2 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
MOBO 1 ASUS ROG Maximus X APEX LGA1151 DDR4 DP HDMI M.2 Z370 EATX
Memory 2 16GB RAM DDR4 4500
SSD 2 Samsung - 850 Pro Series 512B 2.5" Solid State Drive (RAID 2)
Video Card 1 PNY - Quadro P2000 5GB Video Card
Case 1 Corsair - 750D ATX Full Tower Case
PS 1 EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 650W 80+ Modular ATX Power Supply
DVD 1 Asus - DRW-24D3ST DVD/CD Writer
OS 1 Microsoft - Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit

updated

 

[GhislainG]

2 x 16 is easier, but there are no 4500 MHz kits on the QVL; at that frequency you are limited to 16 GB total. There are a few 32 GB (2 x 16) 4000 MHz kits on the QVL: http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1151/ROG_MAXIMUS_X_APEX/M10A_DIMM_QVL_ABOVE_3000-1006_20171025.pdf?_ga=2.248581703.1943585249.1515268993-1710350688.1514386436

And a few 3000 MHz kits (4 x 16 GB): http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1151/ROG_MAXIMUS_X_APEX/M10A_DIMM_QVL_UNDER_3000.pdf?_ga=2.245393988.1943585249.1515268993-1710350688.1514386436

As can be read at the end of the QVLs, mixing kits is not recommended; therefore you should buy all the memory that you need now or replace all of it later and sell the original kit that you buy.

Are you looking for maximum benchmarks (4500 MHz memory) or optimal stability? You can rarely have both.

 

[garyblenkhorn]

I want to OC to around 5 Khz with 32 GB RAM so what would you recommend for the DDR4's?

I find I am waiting a lot when I try to open a large assembly file in Solidworks. So to me time is money. The more time I can save not having to wait is what I am trying to achieve.

My current system was set up more for math crunching for simulation as I have 2 XEON CPU's with 10 cores in each. I will still use this for dumping simulations to. But I am finding that it is not very efficient for Solidworks.

 

[GhislainG]

I'd consider a certified G.Skill kit for the motherboard that you're interested in: https://www.anandtech.com/show/11904/gskill-launches-lineup-of-trident-z-dimms-for-coffee-lake-cpus

 

[garyblenkhorn]

I would love any of those kits but unable to find them in Canada. Even trying US with no luck.

 

[garyblenkhorn]

I stand corrected as I did find this kit. https://www.amazon.ca/G-Skill-Trident-4000Mhz-PC4-32000-Channel/dp/B01N6JLZAM/ref=sr_1_6?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1515350588&sr=1-6&keywords=g.skill+trident+z+32gb+4x8

 

[GhislainG]

Then get this 3866 MHz kit on the QVL: https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820232606&cm_re=TridentZ_TridentZ_TridentZ_TridentZ-_-20-232-606-_-Product There is guarantee they will run at 3866 MHz just like you can't be sure a 4000 MHz kit will be stable at its rated frequency.

 

[GhislainG]

I stand corrected as I did find this kit. https://www.amazon.ca/G-Skill-Trident-4000Mhz-PC4-32000-Channel/dp/B01N6JLZAM/ref=sr_1_6?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1515350588&sr=1-6&keywords=g.skill+trident+z+32gb+4x8

That kit is for a Z270 motherboard; is it on the QVL or suggested by G.Skill for the Z370 motherboard?

 

[garyblenkhorn]

Thanks for that link on the 3600's. I found the over 3000 list and the one I found is not on there.

For the SSD is there any real advantage to go to M.2 vs 6GB/s? I really appreciate all the help you are giving me.

 

[GhislainG]

M.2 is significantly quicker and it's the best option for a new motherboard that includes the required slots.

 

[garyblenkhorn]

Excellent the Z370 has 2 x M.2 sockets so that will be great for a RAID 1 mirror setup. And this one is on the Device QVL. https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820250082

 

[garyblenkhorn]

Now I just found out that PCIe NVMe is the fastest way to go vs M.2. Wow this stuff gets confusing.

 

[GhislainG]

I never check the QVL for a storage device; any SSD will work.