Will Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti compatiable with HP Z820 ?

May 14, 2016
82
1
10,645
Hi,

I just purchased a new HP Z820 Workstation. But I need a good graphics card which will support multiple monitor and can play latest games too.

I searched for it everywhere and found a Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti (11 GB) founder edition graphics card.

So my question is, will it be compatible with HP Z820 Workstation ? If yes why and how ?

I would like to purchase asap.

I need your answer guys.

Please assist me asap.

Thanks.

 
Solution
Yes, you'll need to convert a pair of 4-pin molexes to the 8-pin.
If possible use 2 4-pin molexes from different cable runs coming from the power supply. I'm not sure if the PS has multiple 12v rails but it can only help.
May 14, 2016
82
1
10,645


Hi,

Yes, it has a great Power Supply 1125 Watt. But it has only two 6 pin connector while gtx 1080 ti needs 6 and 8 pin connector.

So will i require a molex to fix it ?

Let me know your reply...

Thanks.
 

DAVIDDAVIS

Reputable
Mar 10, 2019
1
0
4,510
Hi,

I just purchased a new HP Z820 Workstation. But I need a good graphics card which will support multiple monitor and can play latest games too.

I searched for it everywhere and found a Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti (11 GB) founder edition graphics card.

So my question is, will it be compatible with HP Z820 Workstation ? If yes why and how ?

I would like to purchase asap.

I need your answer guys.

Please assist me asap.

Thanks.

This is an old post, but for future reference I'll post my own experience. Not only is the HP Z820 an excellent machine for the Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti you can put three of the cards into the Z820. I've posted photos online of my Z820 and the process. I have electrical and engineering military experience, so there is some knowledge on my part of the basics and safety. I read a lot of non-sense online regarding PSU cables and adapters, so let us clarify in this entry a few misunderstandings. Keep in mind, the HP Z820 is not a consumer machine, it is a business-class, professional grade workstation.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/daviddavisart/photos/?tab=album&album_id=2324347777600160

The HP Z820 motherboard is more than adequate to run 1080 Ti GPUs and will take up to 500 GB of DDR3 1866 ECC DIMM MEMORY, quad channel. There are three PCIeX16 slots to stack three founder's edition 1080Ti GPUs. They must be reference style cards, to breath. The airflow in the Z820 is one of the best designed so no problem there. The PSU in the dual CPU Z820 comes with an 1125 WATT module. Enough power for three cards, however the PSU cables only come with 6-pin connectors. You will buy three adapters from HP to convert the 6-pin to 8-pin and YES, this is fine and rated for the power draw, the Adapters are sold by HP themselves. You will be able to grab extra daisy chain connectors and run them through MOLEX adapters. These adapters are SAFE, without question, rated for the power draw if you connect them correctly. I would recommend you add one more PSU, you can slide it under the DVD player and use a 2psu4you adapter to auto power on/off a second PSU, it works fine with no risk. Use the modular cables coming out of the second PSU to power the third GPU. See the facebook page link above for details if you are interested in installing 3 cards. Otherwise you can add two 1080 Ti with the available cables. Be sure to use two molex adapters that merge into one 6-pin just to spread out the watts across two adapters. Remember, you want to power that 8-pin connector with the default 6-pin cable coming from the Z820 1125 PSU.

To be clear about the 1125W PSU that comes with the HP Z820 it DOES have the power to run all components plus three 250W GPUs. Especially in Europe where the 220 volt system increases the PSU to 1400 watts. The problem we run into is the lack of 6-pin and 8-pin connectors on the older daisy chain power cables. You could theoretically, if you have the knowledge and gumption, remove one of the daisy chains all the way to the master connector at the PSU and replace it with modern 8-pin cables. It is possible, but a hassle. After studying the Z820 for a week and really taking stock of what I had and what would be optimal, I opted to add a second PSU of just 300 watts, about a 75 dollar item. Again, adding a SFX, or small form factor PSU was NOT done because the default 1125 PSU did not have the power, it just did not have the cable connectors. Nvidia GPUs with those dual connectors really gobble up cables like the cookie monster. Adding the third PSU was just the fastest and most direct way to get those last two connectors to the third GPU. This in no way is overloading the Z820 motherboard.

I took an extra safety precaution as well, which necessitated the third PSU. Where I did use Molex adapters, instead of running the 6-pin cable to one 4-pin Molex, I used two 4-pin connectors inside the Z820 to feed one 6-pin cable/connector. ((( yes, yes, I'm sure your eyes are watering over and mind glazing about now endless cable chatter, this is the reason for the graphics and pics on the Facebook link I provided ))) This simply means two, separate 4-pin connectors coming from the Z820 daisy chain (PSU) merge into one 6 pin connector (75watt). In doing so we spread out the 75 watt load across =TWO= connections, so each Molex adapter has 37.5 watts running across it. I DO NOT recommend using 4-pin molex adapters in any configuration whatsoever to supply the 150 watt 8-pin connector, nor is it at all necessary in the Z820 workstation. Please see link and pictures I have provided for clarity on this issue.

Z820 GPU INSTALLATION TECHNICAL RECAP:

Nvidia RTX and GTX GPUs require two connectors - one 6 -pin connector and one 8-pin. Note: the Nvidia GPU also draws 75 watts through its PCIe connector, so the video card essentially has three power connections: the PCIe at 75 watts, the 6-pin at 75 watts and the 8-pin at 150 watts for a total of 300 watts. GPU can/will draw or spike up to 300 watts on heavy computational load.

By default the HP Z820 comes with three 6-pin connectors dangling free inside, ready to use. How do we use these three 6-pin connectors? First, be aware that although 6-pin, these connectors are coming from 12 volt mains on the PSU and though 6-pin, will actually provide up to 150 WATTS each. Yes that's right. Look in the Z820 User Manual PDF. As well HP sales the 6-pin to 8-pin OEM adapter themselves and it is thick and high quality and 100 percent approved by HP for exactly this usage.

ONE NVIDIA GTX or RTX 1080 or 2080 INSTALLATION - PCIe 75 watt nothing to do, its ready to go. Take one of the 6-pin connectors already in the Z820 and buy a 6-pin to 8-pin adapter from HP online store. connect one of the 6 pin connectors and plug into 6 pin socket, take your 8 pin cable you just adapted and plug into 8 pin socket on GPU. You actually have one free 6-pin connector now, good for 150 watts for any PCIe device you care to use and you have xtra PCIe x8 and x16 slots accessible.

TWO NVIDIA GTX/RTX GPU INSTALLATION - Convert two of your 6-pin connectors to 8-pin with the HP adapters. Connect the two 8pin to the GPU and the last free 6pin to one GPU 6pin socket. You are missing the last 6pin cable now. No problem. Swipe two of the 4-pin connectors from the daisy chain supplying the HD-drives/accessory side. Take each 4-pin connector that is rated up to 75 Watts and run it to a "Y" style Molex adapter so you have two 4-pin cables merging into one 6-pin connector and voila, you have your last 6pin connection into your second GPU. Again, weve spread the load across two molex adapters, so not even a chance of over heating, just get good quality adapters. You have used all of your default Z820 PCIe 150W connectors and many of your extra PCIe slots might be covered by the two GPUs.

THREE NVIDIA GTX/RTX GPU INSTALLATION - The same process as above for the TWO GPU installation steps. For third GPU install a 300 watt SFX, small form factor PSU and place under DVD player. Run the modular cables from second PSU to the third GPU. If modular cables do not come with enough 6-pin and 8-pin connectors, simply use the molex adapters to make a 6-pin connector. I had to adapt my modular cables, so see my pictures and the comments in the link below to understand better this solution. You have used all of your PCIe 150 watt cables and you have covered any extra PCIe slots that were open. However, good news is, you have a ton of drive connections in the drive bay for hard drives and SSD adapter drives. You will however, have one free PCIe x8 slot open just above the first GPU. I recommend you use this last, free and accessible PCIe slot to put in a M.2 Turbo SSD card and install 3D and Adobe apps on it and use this Turbo SSD card as your cache/scratch/buffer disk.

PICTURES WITH INSTRUCTIONS: https://www.facebook.com/pg/daviddavisart/photos/?tab=album&album_id=2324347777600160

CORRECTION NOTICE: I have indicated in one of the pictures the PSU connector for the 2PSU4YOU adapter uses the Z820 24-pin cable. The adapter needs one of the Z-820's free 4-pin connectors and the 24-pin connector from the second PSU plugs into the 24pin slot next to the 4-pin cable. How does the adapter work?? Z820 4-pin connector signals adapter power is on/off and adapter sends this message via 24-pin cable to the second 300 watt PSU.

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ADVISORY ! Do not attempt to use Z820 internal cables other than the HP PCIe X16 6-pin cable (rated 150W) to use for the 8-pin 150 watt connection. Do not take other, less adequate, default HP Z820 cables from hard-drive bay device daisy chain cable and use adapters to make an 8-pin connector. Notice I said 8-pin connector, not 6-pin connector. Likewise, although the HP 4-pin connectors are rated at 75 watts, this is right on the limit and to be avoided running through an adapter in one-to-one fashion. Use a Y-adapter and spread the GPU 6-pin socket, 75-watt draw across the Y-style, two Molex 4-pin adapter points. DO NOT use the cable/connectors from the PSU daisy chain line feeding the hard-drive bay area. These low-power connectors are never to be used with adapters. Use the 4-pin daisy chain line that supplies the accessory devices. If you do not understand any of the above, don't guess, please feel free to contact me directly, I will be happy to answer questions and assist. - David
 
Last edited:
Jun 15, 2020
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Hi all, I've also purchased one of these workstations and was wondering if the Radeon RX580 would work with it? I had a smaller Nvidia card that didn't put out any display, otherwise what AMD card would work with this or what relatively cheap Nvidia card would work.

Thanks