HP Z4 G5 Workstation Architecture

Introduction

The HP Z4 G5 is the successor to the HP Z4 G4 personal workstation. Its architecture introduces several new functionalities and technologies. The latest Intel® memory architecture (DDR5), integrated 10GbE, I/O slot improvements (PCIe Gen 4/5) and better performance.

System Highlights

Our Best-Selling Workhorse, Now More Powerful

This high-performance desktop workstation does it all. Tackle advanced workflows—from rendering and simulation to advanced video editing and massive dataset preparation. The Z4 G5 accelerates workflows across a wide range of professional apps and provides plenty of room to expand as work evolves.

Professional performance. Whisper quiet acoustics.

Master intense workflows with up to 2 high-end professional GPUs, 26 cores¹ in a next-gen Intel® Xeon® W processor and 512 GB of memory.² Now you can render and simulate or analyze advanced datasets faster with unthrottled, whisper quiet performance.

Upgrade. Expand. Evolve.

Need to expand your workflow capabilities? Evolve your PC with space for up to 2 high-end GPUs, 512 GB memory, 76 TB storage, 2 front accessible NVMe bays, and even 5 PCIe slots (Gen 4/5).³ All easily accessible in a tool-less design.

Comprehensive security. Reliability you can trust.

Get peace of mind with a workstation that's built to endure. The Z4 undergoes 360K hours of rigorous testing, military-standard testing⁴ and is certified for pro apps. And with HP Wolf Security for Business⁵, it's protected below, in and above the OS.

Maximize your IT lifecycle

Designed for simpler IT management, the Z4 G5 desktop workstation is built for longevity with a 3 year lifecycle—longer than entry workstations. Plan for the future and avoid re-qualifying devices every year, saving you serious time and money.

HP and Sustainability

HP continues to be a dedicated player in the world of technology and sustainability* in order to help protect our shared future. Sustainably built, this product contains 40% recycled plastics** and is EPEAT Gold and TCOv9 Certified. Regarding packaging, the outer box and fiber cushions are 100% sustainably sourced.*** The production of this workstation prevented materials from ending up in the ocean or a landfill, as its fans contain ocean-bound plastic**** and all G5 products contain 10% post-industrial recycled metal. HP has also taken steps to minimize the amount of polyvinyl chloride in our products, as it is now only present in external power cables and keyboard/mouse cables.

*Based on US EPEAT® registration according to IEEE 1680.1-2018 EPEAT®. EPEAT® status varies by country. Visit www.epeat.net for more information.

**Recycled plastic content percentage is based on the definition set in the IEEE 1680.1-2018 EPEAT standard.

***Fiber cushions made from 100% recycled wood fiber and organic material. Any plastic cushions are made from >90% recycled plastic.

****Fans contain up to 25% ocean-bound plastic by weight.

New Technologies

Latest New Intel® Processor

The HP Z4 G5 Workstation uses the Intel® W790 Chipset to support the latest Intel® Xeon® W family processors of up to 26 cores and up to 250W. The Intel® Xeon® W family processors utilize two integrated memory controllers each supporting two DDR5 channels that increase the memory bandwidth over DDR4 by 50%. The processor also supports 64 lanes of PCIe Gen5, providing a substantial I/O performance increase over the previous generation.

Next generation Intel® Active Management Technology

Latest features for Intel® AMT 16.x include:

• Upgrade to Boot Guard Gen 1.1
• PCHC Firmware Component
• Intel® Total Memory Encryption (Intel® TME)

DDR5 Memory Technology

The HP Z4 G5 Workstation introduces support for DDR5 Registered DIMMs up to 4400MHz at 2 DIMMs per channel and up to 4800MHz at 1 DIMM per channel. The speed that the memory runs is determined by the processors and is limited to 4800MHz for the Intel® Xeon® W processor generation. The HP Z4 G5 supports up to 512GB of memory.

USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C®

The HP Z4 G5 configured with the Premium Front I/O module provides two USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C ports in addition to two USB3.1 Gen1 Type-A ports. The Type-C® ports each deliver up to 15W of power (3A @ 5V) when the system is running. More information on USB Technology and Performance measurements can be found in the "Resources, contacts, or additional links" section below.

Flex-IO Interface

The HP Z4 G5 adds a rear Flex-IO interface which grants customers the ability to customize their rear I/O ports without using additional PCIe slots or USB ports with external adapters. See the external I/O section for more details.

Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 6

The HP Z4 G5 offers flexible Wi-Fi® connectivity with an option for Wi-Fi 6 via Flex-IO module and an integrated antenna, or Wi-Fi 6E via PCIe slot module and an external antenna.

I/O and Storage

Internal I/O

The HP Z4 G5 provides a total of five high-performance Graphics and I/O slots including one PCIe5 x16, two PCIe4 x16, and two PCIe4 x4 dedicated electrical slots. An additional two PCIe4 x4 buses feed the two on-board M.2 slots. The Z4 G5 also supports an optional Front Removable NVME storage enclosure and has two PCIe4 x4 buses to support two Front Removable M.2.

The HP Z4 G5 provides an internal 1-port USB3.0 header, an internal 2-port USB2.0 header and an internal 1-port USB2.0 header.

Storage

The HP Z4 G5 supports five 6Gb/s SATA ports on the Intel® W790 Chipset's SATA controller. The SATA controller operates in RAID mode.

A header is present on the mainboard to support the addition of an Intel® VROC upgrade key to support RAID on NVMe devices.

External I/O

On the front I/O area, the HP Z4 G5 can be configured two ways:

• The Entry Front I/O option provides 4 USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A ports (the left-most supports battery charging), combo headset/microphone jack, and the option for an SD card reader.
• The Premium Front I/O option provides 2 USB3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C® ports, 2 USB3.1 Gen1 Type-A ports (the left-most supports battery charging), combo headset/ microphone jack, and the option for an SD card reader.

In the rear I/O area, the HP Z4 G5 provides 4 USB 3.1 Gen1 ports via a hub and 2 direct USB3.2 Gen1 ports, 2 gigabit Ethernet LAN ports, audio Line-In, audio Line-Out and PS/2 ports. The HP Z4 G5 rear I/O area also provides a Flex-IO module connector which can support up to one of the following (optional) Flex-IO Modules: Serial Port v3, Dual USB-A 3.2 Gen1, USB-C® 3.2 Gen2, 10GbE RJ45 single port, 2.5GbE RJ45 LAN single port, 1GbE LC Fiber single port, 1GbE RJ45 single port, and a Wi-Fi 6 + Bluetooth® 5.2 WLAN w/ INTAnt. Additional rear I/O ports can be added via PCIe add-in cards.

Graphics

The HP Z4 G5, depending on system configurations, can support up to three 75W cards, or up to two 180W cards or one 250W card. If a graphics card is not configured in the system at the time of purchase, it is highly recommended that the following fan AVs be added to the configuration in order to ensure full performance and avoid POST errors when a graphics card is added later: 57L00AV (HP Z4 G5 PCIe Retainer with Fans) and 57K40AV (HP Z4 G5 Fan and Front Card Guide Kit). Note that the HP Z4 G5 Fan and Front Card Guide Kit is required in order to use the HP Z4 G5 PCIe Retainer with Fans. These fans can also be purchased aftermarket. Please consult the platform QuickSpecs for more information.

Other Features

• Three PSU options are available with output wattages of up to 1125W at 115V/60 Hz and 1450W at 230V.
• Rear panel power on/off switch and LED for easier rack maintenance.
• ENERGY STAR® certified configurations, China's Energy Conservation Program (CECP) configurations, European Union's ErP LOT6 2013 power limit of 0.5W in Max Power Savings off mode.

Intel® vPro™™ manageability with support both for DASH and Intel® AMT (Advanced Manageability Technology) on all the Xeon® processors. IT managers have increased flexibility in optimizing their Enterprise manageability strategy across HP's Commercial Laptops, Desktops and Workstations.

HP Z4 G5 vs HP Z4 G4 Feature Comparison

Figure 1: Z4 G5 vs Z4 G4 Feature Comparison

HP Z4 G5 - CPUs Supported

Figure 2: Intel® Xeon® W-2500 Processors supported at introduction

*1 DPC

Figure 3: Intel® Xeon® W-2500 Processors supported at CPU refresh

All processors feature Intel® vPro™™ Technology, feature Intel® Turbo Boost Technology, and support hyperthreading.

Disclaimers:

Intel® vPro™™ requires Windows 10 Pro 64 bit or higher, a vPro supported processor, vPro enabled chipset, vPro enabled wired LAN and/or Wi-Fi 6E WLAN and TPM 2.0. Some functionality requires additional third-party software in order to run. Features of vPro Essentials and Enterprise vary. See http://intel.com/vpro.

Intel® Turbo Boost performance varies depending on hardware, software and overall system configuration. See www.intel.com/technology/turboboost for more information.

Z4 G5 Block Diagram

The HP Z4 G5 utilizes the Intel® Xeon® W processor Scalable family, with integrated PCI-Express 5.0 controllers delivering a peak bandwidth of 64 GB/s per direction for 4 GB/s per lane. PCIExpress 5.0 is backward compatible with 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0. All PCIe slots will train to the highest common speed supported by the slot and card installed in the slot. PCI-Express slots will initialize at 1.0 and then transition to the max common speed through a training sequence that involves multiple adaptive training phases. It is recommended to carefully evaluate and validate PCI-Express devices that are not available or supported by HP.

The HP Z4 G5 integrates several features within the processor: Multiple PCIe 5.0 controllers, DMA caching, and two 2-channel memory controllers per processor (2 DIMMs per channel). This produces excellent performance in I/O bandwidth, remote bandwidth, and latency.

Recipe for Optimizing PCI-Express I/O Performance

For high I/O bandwidth applications, the choice of slot loading, processor, and memory configuration can be optimized to ensure maximum bandwidth available. Applications and cards sensitive to I/O latency may benefit as well from some of the tips below.

Recommended Configuration Steps

1. Place GPU and graphics cards first, following the slot order listed in Figure 3.
2. Place I/O cards next, from highest bandwidth to lowest, following the slot order listed in Figure 3. This is the optimal load order for most applications.
3. Additional I/O bandwidth refinements may be possible. If necessary, refer to the tips below

Figure 4: HP Z4 G5 I/O Slot Recommended Load Order

Memory Configurations and Optimization

The purpose of this section is to provide an overview of the memory configurations for the HP Z4 G5 Workstation and to provide recommendations to optimize performance.

Supported Memory Modules

Types of memory supported on an HP Z4 G5 Workstation are:

• 16GB, 32GB, 64GB PC5-4800-R 4800 MHz, and 5600MHz DDR5 Registered DIMMs
• Single and dual rank DIMMs based on 16Gb DRAMs are supported

Types of memory NOT supported on an HP Z4 G5 Workstation include:

• Unbuffered DIMMs
• Non-ECC DIMMs
• DDR, DDR2, DDR3, or DDR4 DIMMs
• DDR5 3DS RDIMMs

See Memory Technology White Paper for more memory module technical information.

Platform Capabilities

Maximum Capacity 512GB

• Total of 8 memory sockets.
• 2 Memory controllers with 2 channels per memory controller for a total of 4 channels and 2 sockets per channel.

Speed

• 4800MHz, 4400MHz and 4000MHz memory speeds are supported in this platform
• For 1 DIMM per channel configurations, the max memory speed is 4800MHz
• For 2 DIMM per channel configurations, the max memory speed is 4400MHz
• Memory will operate at the speed of the slowest rated installed processor or DIMM

Mixing of DIMMs in a System

• Mixing x4 DRAMs with x8 DRAMs is not supported.
• 16GB and 32GB RDIMMs supported by HP are x8 and can be mixed in a system
• 64GB RDIMMs supported by HP are x4 and cannot be mixed with other sized DIMMs in a system

Memory Features

This platform supports the new DDR5 technology:

• DDR5 supports higher bandwidths, capacities, and power efficiencies.
• Improves reliability features
• DDR5 has increased technology efficiencies
• Adds support for on-die ECC
• On-Die ECC is where the data stored on the memory module is monitored by the DRAM for errors
• Only single-bit errors are automatically corrected, multi-bit errors are not detected
• But system ECC is still supported on all RDIMMs
• Single-bit errors are automatically corrected.
• Multi-bit errors are detected and will cause the system to immediately reboot and halt with an F1 prompt error message.
• By way of comparison, non-ECC memory (not supported on this platform) does not detect or correct single-bit or multi-bit errors which can cause instability, or corruption of data, in the platform. See Memory Technology White Paper for more information.

Command and Address parity is supported

Command and Address errors are detected and will cause the system to immediately reboot and halt with an F1 prompt error message.

Optimize Performance

System performance is largely based on the applications being used. Generally, to obtain the best performance, it is advised that you follow the following guidelines:

• For best performance, it is recommended to load memory into all memory controllers and channels. Since these platforms have 2 memory controllers and 4 channels, install memory in sets of 4.
• Proper individual DIMM capacity selection is essential to maximizing performance. Evenly distributing total desired memory across all operational channels and memory controllers will deliver the best performance.
• To increase overall performance, install multiple ranks in each channel. This can be accomplished by installing 2 single ranked DIMMs in the same channel.
• Maximum performance can be achieved by changing the OS power mode to Ultimate Performance in BIOS.

Figure 5: Optimal configurations for the HP Z4 G5 (Note: the following tables do not include all available orderable configurations)

Loading Rules

• Load the memory modules in order of size, starting with the largest module and finishing with the smallest module.
• Each channel includes two DIMM sockets; black and white connector pairs represent a channel. The DIMMs should be loaded first in the black sockets and then in the white sockets. The DIMMs should be loaded starting with the DIMM furthest from the CPU, with the first DIMM loaded in the right most socket and alternating sides of the CPU.
• See the figure below for loading order.

Figure 6: Loading order

A visual representation of memory slots around a CPU, numbered 1 through 8, indicating loading order.

Memory Cooling

A memory cooling duct is required for any memory configuration above 32 GB total capacity. Configurations with 32 GB or less installed total memory capacity will be cooled appropriately without the optional memory cooling duct installed.

Summary

The memory configurations of the HP Z4 G5 Workstation have been specifically crafted to meet strict long-term reliability standards with an optimized performance that provides users with seamless functionality. Design, cooling, and power solutions were validated to ensure DIMMs met max performance. HP values product quality and end user productivity, which is why the products discussed in this document are backed by HP's warranty. For more information, visit https://www.hp.com/us-en/workstations/desktop-workstation-pc.html.

Resources, Contacts, or Additional Links

Visit HP's White Paper site to learn more about the innovation in HP Workstations and the latest technologies offered in the products.

Disclaimers

1. Multicore is designed to improve the performance of certain software products. Not all customers or software applications will necessarily benefit from the use of this technology. Performance and clock frequency will vary depending on application workload and your hardware and software configurations. Intel's numbering, branding and/or naming is not a measurement of higher performance.
2. Optional, configurable features.
3. Optional, configurable features. Configurations for 76TB storage and for front accessible NVME bays are planned to be available in the first half of 2023. Configuration for 76TB requires after-market purchase. Two fronts accessible NVMe bays require a 5.25 bay carrier.
4. Testing is not intended to demonstrate fitness of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) contract requirements or for military use. Test results are not a guarantee of future performance under these test conditions. Accidental damage requires an optional HP Accidental Damage Protection Care Pack.
5. HP Wolf Security for Business requires Windows 10 or 11 Pro or higher, includes various HP security features and is available on HP Pro, Elite and Workstation products. See product details for included security features and OS requirement.
6. Wi-Fi 6: Wireless access point and Internet service required and sold separately. Availability of public wireless access points limited. Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) is backwards compatible with prior 802.11 specs.
7. Wi-Fi 6E: Wi-Fi 6E requires a Wi-Fi 6E router, sold separately, and Windows 11 to function in the 6GHz band. Availability of public wireless access points limited. Wi-Fi 6E is backwards compatible with prior 802.11 specs. And available in countries where Wi-Fi 6E is supported.
8. Intel® vPro™™ requires Windows 10 Pro 64 bit or higher, a vPro supported processor, vPro enabled chipset, vPro enabled wired LAN and/or Wi-Fi 6E WLAN and TPM 2.0. Some functionality requires additional 3rd party software in order to run. Features of vPro® Essentials and Enterprise vary. See http://intel.com/vpro