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Is the HP Z820 Workstation Class Machine…
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The extra hard drive could help, if you put it in the Z800, that is. The RAM will most likely not be at all helpful, since the Z800 takes a particular type of RAM – registered dual-rank memory, which gives it additional speed. The RAM must be installed in pairs, and in particular slots:
https://h20331.https://www2.hp.com/Hpsub/downloads/Mini_WP_Z800_memory.pdf
As usual there’s a document on the HP website, and it will show you how picky the setup is. This is a good thing, not a bad one. If you want to keep your old machine running, I’d just network it to the new one – you can keep your old machine as a “business” machine, for email, project tracking, etc., and keep that stuff off the Z800.
I cannibalized my old workstation, but I also had a desktop machine for business stuff. It enabled me to add all of the old 750GB drives as app drives, then I bought a solid state drive just to run the OS. I think once you see the speed of this beast, you’ll want to keep it on its’ own turf, and not try to share anything. Should you need more RAM, I’ll give you a link to a seller who sells it at a good price. As far as being a dufus, we were all dufuses at some point, and by “dufuses” I mean less knowledgeable than we need to be. Just put in your time on the HP documents site, and you’ll know more than many in a pretty short space of time. I counted down the days while my Z800 was shipping too – it’s really exciting! Wait until you crack open the box…
Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com -
Thanks, Joe! That was my original question but it was never addressed, about networking the two computers. Now I’m not going to question your advice on the RAM, but the specs on the Z800 say DDR-3 and the RAM in my baby PC is also DDR-3. Are you saying there are two types of DDR-3 RAM?
As for the other stuff I’m kind of confused. Are you saying to run the OS on one drive, the Adobe apps on another? Plus render my work onto a third drive?
Finally, I appreciate the encouragement, but at 62 I probably am a doofus. 😉
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btw, your link came up “File Not Found”.
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For some reason that link will not work when I paste it in – just try Googling “HP Z800 memory” and the PDF will show up in the first or second spot.
And at the bottom of page 4 on this pdf, there’s a brief explanation of why the separate drives:
https://www8.hp.com/h20195/v2/getpdf.aspx/4AA5-4938ENW.pdf?ver=1.0
My Z800 has an OS drive, and Apps drive, and two Media drives (on one of which I have AE and PPro caches).
In the HP memory link, which I somehow messed up, there are breakdowns of the differing types of memories. I barely understand it, but registered memory is for some reason slower than the other type (I think it’s unbuffered), but it’s more stable for large amounts of RAM in mission critical situations. Here’s an explanation I found – I have no idea whether or not it’s gospel, but it sounds convincing:
“Deciding on Registered or unbuffered really depends on what you requirements you have for the system i.e. speed, stability, amount of RAM, low cost etc. In your case, if you are going to need more than 24GB on this system then you will need to go for the registered parts.
ECC Registered memory works by controlling the data flow between the chips on the memory module thereby improving the quality of the signal and increasing the efficiency and stability of the memory. They place less electrical load on the memory controller and allow systems to be more stable with more memory modules that’s why it can support more GB using this type of memory in this system. It is usually recommended for mission-critical servers.
With ECC registered memory there is a slight performance decrease; it can be thought to run one clock cycle slower than unbuffered memory as each read and write cycle is buffered between the memory bus and the DRAM. However I doubt this will be a significant issue especially with the amount of RAM you will have.”
Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com -
Hey Joe. Yeah, I don’t ask questions and just sit back waiting for answers so I did some research while waiting and did find basically the information you gave me about ECC and unbuffered RAM and all that, so I’m good there. I’ve also been looking up Z800 demo’s and youtube videos and it appears this thing out of the box will be far more powerful than my needs so I don’t think I’ll be adding anything for a few months.
I do have one last “important” question which popped into my head when I woke up this morning. Currently my baby PC is hooked up to a 720p HDTV. I know that it’s maximum resolution of 1360 x 768 is not compatible with Adobe’s apps. I can get away with it on Premiere Pro, but on Speedgrade, the source window is so small it’s useless and it won’t let me enlarge that portion of the interface. When I had a problem with Premiere Pro and thought the only way to fix it was to re-install, I saw a small error message also stating the PPro needed a certain resolution to work properly. Will the far more powerful graphics card of the Z800 give me problems? Worst case scenario, I have a 1080p HDTV in my bedroom that I can swap out with the 720p. Do you think that will be necessary?
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You shouldn’t have problems with the graphics card which comes with your Z800. Just check the output specs on the Nvidia website. I think your card comes with DVI outputs. Check on that – at worst, if you have HDMI cables, you’ll need to get a DVI to HDMI adapter – I purchase mine from Monoprice – their quality is terrific, and the price is low:
https://www.monoprice.com/Category?c_id=104&cp_id=10419
The link will get you to a page with all sorts of adapters. DVI/HDMI are second from the top, but make sure that’s what you need. I have my Nvidia card pumped into an ACER monitor, and it looks great!
Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com -
From what I see on the Nvidia PDF, you’ve got three choices: 1 DVI, 2 DisplayPort, and 1 SDI output. That’s a lot of choices, and I can’t give you answers on which to choose, since my Nvidia card only has Displayport and DVI outputs – I currently use the DisplayPort to HDMI on my monitor, using the Monoprice adapters I gave you the link to in the last post. Here’s a link to the PDF for the card which is coming with your system. Since it’s not a capture card, the connectors are output only, so the SDI is probably out, since you won’t have a broadcast monitor. Here’s the PDF for your card specs:
https://www.nvidia.com/docs/IO/127917/NVQFX3800-4800-5800SDI_UG_v20.pdf
Here’s a good discussion on DVI vs DisplayPort:
https://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1665093/dvi-display-port-hdmi-quality.html
Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com -
Thanks, Joe. I do in fact have a DVI to HDMI adapter already, so I’m good to go. I’m moving my baby PC off the desk later and getting set up so that I only have to plug the Z800 in and attach the monitor, speakers and keyboard/mouse.
The more I read about this monster the more excited I get. I have one project that I already completed, it took 9 hours to render for 4 minutes of video, and the effects and such are sloppy because I can’t see what they look like until after I render. I’m going to open that on the z800 and see what it can do. Then I’m gonna go out and shoot some video!
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That project will be a good comparison to see what you get for results when you first kick on the Z800, then what you get after you’ve optimized the Adobe software following the guidelines.
I ended up putting my Z800 on top of my desk to avoid dust from the floor – also bear in mind that it will want to be at least a foot from the wall (the back of the machine, that is) to allow for good airflow. In the HP Z800 information documents, you’ll find the guidelines for that stuff. Your dual processesors can get pretty hot since they’re the faster models, so plenty of air will be needed. As a matter of fact, I’m in NH, where it’s pretty cold in the winter. When I have my Z800 running and my desktop as well, the temperature in my office hovers around a comfortable 69 to 70 degrees! I don’t even turn the heat up during the day…
You may also want to grab a free copy of Speccy, a great, free software package which monitors everything that’s going on under the hood on the machine – for some reason, on my machine, it shows the overall amount of RAM, but not the individual sticks – maybe has to do with registered RAM:
https://www.piriform.com/speccy
And here’s the document with all the environment requirements I was talking about above:
https://cdn.cnetcontent.com/aa/95/aa957bda-4612-48aa-be14-79f6919fd396.pdf
The above document is for high end Autodesk color correction setups, but is also a good general guide as you’re hooking everything up. When I first got my Z800, the drives which came with the machine were setup for a RAID array, so I had to learn how to “unRAID” them to use them as standalone media drives (I’m only doing HD work right now, not 2K or 4K). You will want to check whether you have the latest version of BIOS (Basic Input Output System); you can probably contact the seller to see if it’s got the latest version – my seller mentioned that BIOS had been upgraded when I purchased my machine. It shouldn’t effect your performance speedwise, but it’s good to know you have the latest version.
Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com -
In the interest of inundating you with documentation, here’s another very useful one – it’s the complete list of what was available as options when the Z800 was released – it’s a great guide as to what you might want to add, and what’s compatible with your machine:
https://www.advance.no/Pdf.aspx?id=1181
And more important – here’s a page where you input your OS version and specs (I’m using Win 7 64-bit Ultimate), and you’ll get a download page with all of the free HP software for your machine. You can get your BIOS update here if need be. There’s firmware for your Nvidia card if you need it, plus a lot more useful stuff. HP takes good care of their users, as far as information goes, so you can find anything you’re looking for right there:
That will not display correctly – use the pulldown Product Support/Repair & Warranty/Customer Self repair, and there will be all sorts of documents there.
OK – last one, I promise – page with all the maintenance and upgrade information you will EVER need! Good info at the top on the BIOS upgrade, should you need it:
The links are so long, they will not display correctly, so you’ll have to poke around to find it. Sorry…
Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com
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