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Does Ultrascope REALLY work with the HP Z400 ???
I’m building a bare-bones Ultrascope system for my Resolve setup, and I just purchased a refurb Z400 system on eBay for a fairly good price, based on BMD’s own “Verified Systems” list (https://www.blackmagic-design.com/support/detail/supportnotes/supportnote/?sid=3956&pid=4022&os=win&isSDK=0&snid=6333)
After doing further research into finding a graphics card that will work well in the Z400, I stumbled upon a Toms Hardware review of the Z400, and it mentions that it is based on the Intel X58 chipset, which BMD specifically warns against in the VERY SAME support note!
So which is it? How can the Z400 system be a “Verified System” when it runs the very same motherboard chipset that BMD explicitly dis-recommends in it’s minimum system requirements list?
I am going to be a tad bit upset to find out that I wasted my money on the Z400 if it does not in fact work well with the latest Ultrascope.
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4 Replies
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I ONLY use the Z400 for Ultrascope builds. However you cannot CANNOT use the default graphics card. You MUST use one of the specified graphics cards to get this to work.
Bob Zelin
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[Robert Glanns] “After doing further research into finding a graphics card that will work well in the Z400, I stumbled upon a Toms Hardware review of the Z400, and it mentions that it is based on the Intel X58 chipset, which BMD specifically warns against in the VERY SAME support note!”
BMD is rather ambiguous in their reference to X58:
“Intel X58 based motherboards are current not recommended.”
…as it may refer to Intel X58 chipset in general, or to Intel-manufactured motherboards only, that are based on X58. In the latter case, there are plenty of non-Intel motherboards based on the X58 chipset, including that in the Z400.
Bottom line, they do endorse the Z400; you could also interpret their ambivalence about X58 as “any X58 motherboard we don’t endorse, is not supported – although it doesn’t mean it won’t work.”
P.S. Hmmm, “are current not recommended”? Same people wrote it that uttered “all your base belog to us”?
Alex (DV411)
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Thanks Bob,
Do you have a preferred graphics card for your installations?
I know BMD has their list, but seriously, if Bob Z. tells me to specifically buy THIS or THAT card for the Z400, I will buy it, no questions asked. I don’t have time to be researching the cheapest/good-enough card for this thing! If it works for Bob, it works for me
Please advise 🙂
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Yeah…we are working on cleaning these kinda ambiguous notes up now. The problem is the 1.0 of the X58 chipsets did not work. Intel then changed it, so that most of the newer motherboard with the X58 chipsets will work fine.
So, typically if the motherboard is not one of the FIRST ever X58 chipsets it should work. Unfortunately they never really made an easy way to identify which is which.
Also there is further confusing because our USB 3.0 products actually very much love to be on X58 chipsets. Again we are working to make that more clear.
Sincerely,
Joshua
Director of Support
Blackmagic Design Inc.
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