HP 820Z for VR ?

[a2jack]

I love this machine, Yes it's a big lump ,but inside, a feast for a techie's eye.

Anyone now running one as game or VR machine on Windows ? Here's a tear down / 1080 upgrade clip. a2

 

[a2jack]

Getting closer to buying one of these with a 1080 graphic card pre-installed.

The machines I'm looking at (HP-820-Z) has an 800w PS, but it is modular and 1,100 w plug-ins are around.

I have the space, and these old work stations appear to be expandable enough to take us well into the future of VR at a reasonable cost. Here's one seller.

https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?d=hp+z820+workstation

 

[Huntn]

Getting closer to buying one of these with a 1080 graphic card pre-installed.

The machines I'm looking at (HP-820-Z) has an 800w PS, but it is modular and 1,100 w plug-ins are around.

I have the space, and these old work stations appear to be expandable enough to take us well into the future of VR at a reasonable cost. Here's one seller.

https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?d=hp+z820+workstation

How does it compare to:
https://www.digitalstorm.com/configurator.asp?id=2247323

When I built my PC in 2013 I installed a $200 card, since then I have upgraded the card twice, the last card cost $500 (Geforce 2070) a significant increase to the overall cost of the computer. A 1070 will do VR and be sure to have enough HDMI and USB ports.

Occulus Rift Rec Spec
https://www.oculus.com/blog/updatin...commended-spec-os-to-windows-10/?locale=en_US

• Graphics Card: NVIDIA GTX 1060 / AMD Radeon RX 480 or greater
• Alternative Graphics Card: NVIDIA GTX 970 / AMD Radeon R9 290 or greater
• CPU: Intel i5-4590 / AMD Ryzen 5 1500X or greater
• Memory: 8GB+ RAM
• Video Output: Compatible HDMI 1.3 video output
• USB Ports: 3x USB 3.0 ports plus 1x USB 2.0 port
• OS: Windows 10 operating system

 

[velocityg4]

While some of those may make good workstations still. They wouldn't make great gaming computers. The speed per core is too low. Most games the speed of a few cores is more important than a large number of cores.

The ones you are looking at with a GTX 1080 run about $1,800. An $1800 price in new hardware would get something which would run rings around the Z820 in gaming VR or otherwise.

Also why buy a GTX 1080? Are you getting a good deal? Looking at current prices. An RTX 2070 is cheaper and faster. An RTX 2080 runs the same price and is considerably faster.

Here is a custom build I specked out on CyberPowerPC. It would outperform those Z820 in gaming by a wide margin. The link is only good for a few days as part availability and pricing changes a lot. You can do a lot of customizing and their prices are generally reasonable. My only gripe is lack of heavy duty air cooling and few non-RGB options. All the kiddies want RGB and liquid cooling.
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1LJUWR
- Ryzen 7 2700x
- ASRock X470 Taichi motherboard
- GeForce RTX 2070 (faster than a 1080)
- 16GB DDR3 3200mhz
- 1TB Corsair SP1 NVMe SSD
- Air Cooled (I don't trust liquid cooling)
- InWin Case
- 3x Corsair SP120 RGB case fans
- Windows 10
- 750W Corsair RM series PSU (these get top marks on Johnnyguru)
- Windows 10 Pro
- $1,783

DIY would get you more for your money. I get the feeling you don't want to build it yourself.

Ignore cheap CyberPowerPC systems on Newegg. Those are junk models with the cheapest parts. The custom builds are much nicer. As you can choose all high quality parts.

 

[a2jack]

While some of those may make good workstations still. They wouldn't make great gaming computers. The speed per core is too low. Most games the speed of a few cores is more important than a large number of cores.

The ones you are looking at with a GTX 1080 run about $1,800. An $1800 price in new hardware would get something which would run rings around the Z820 in gaming VR or otherwise.

Also why buy a GTX 1080? Are you getting a good deal? Looking at current prices. An RTX 2070 is cheaper and faster. An RTX 2080 runs the same price and is considerably faster.

Here is a custom build I specked out on CyberPowerPC. It would outperform those Z820 in gaming by a wide margin. The link is only good for a few days as part availability and pricing changes a lot. You can do a lot of customizing and their prices are generally reasonable. My only gripe is lack of heavy duty air cooling and few non-RGB options. All the kiddies want RGB and liquid cooling.
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1LJUWR


- Ryzen 7 2700x
- ASRock X470 Taichi motherboard
- GeForce RTX 2070 (faster than a 1080)
- 16GB DDR3 3200mhz
- 1TB Corsair SP1 NVMe SSD
- Air Cooled (I don't trust liquid cooling)
- InWin Case
- 3x Corsair SP120 RGB case fans
- Windows 10
- 750W Corsair RM series PSU (these get top marks on Johnnyguru)
- Windows 10 Pro
- $1,783

DIY would get you more for your money. I get the feeling you don't want to build it yourself.

Ignore cheap CyberPowerPC systems on Newegg. Those are junk models with the cheapest parts. The custom builds are much nicer. As you can choose all high quality parts.

Thanks for this info. It is exactly what I needed to make this decision. OK... this has stooped me from popping on the HP 820z.

I will scope out all you have written over the holiday and post back here.
Yes, I'm a bit reluctant to jump into a build, as my eyes are not what they used to be. LOL. a2

 

[velocityg4]

Thanks for this info. It is exactly what I needed to make this decision. OK... this has stooped me from popping on the HP 820z.

I will scope out all you have written over the holiday and post back here.
Yes, I'm a bit reluctant to jump into a build, as my eyes are not what they used to be. LOL. a2

If you can't do it yourself. The custom build from CyberPowerPC arrives already built with Windows installed. There are a few others which do this. The last I checked CyberPowerPC offers the most options.

If you have a Microcenter nearby. I think they'll build a computer if you buy parts from them. I don't know their service fee for this. Parts prices are pretty good their.

You can also order all the parts for a custom build. There are likely techs in your area whom will come to your home and assemble it for a reasonable fee.

 

[cube]

Yes, I'm a bit reluctant to jump into a build, as my eyes are not what they used to be. LOL. a2

Do you have grandchildren?

 

[Huntn]

While some of those may make good workstations still. They wouldn't make great gaming computers. The speed per core is too low. Most games the speed of a few cores is more important than a large number of cores.

The ones you are looking at with a GTX 1080 run about $1,800. An $1800 price in new hardware would get something which would run rings around the Z820 in gaming VR or otherwise.

Also why buy a GTX 1080? Are you getting a good deal? Looking at current prices. An RTX 2070 is cheaper and faster. An RTX 2080 runs the same price and is considerably faster.

Here is a custom build I specked out on CyberPowerPC. It would outperform those Z820 in gaming by a wide margin. The link is only good for a few days as part availability and pricing changes a lot. You can do a lot of customizing and their prices are generally reasonable. My only gripe is lack of heavy duty air cooling and few non-RGB options. All the kiddies want RGB and liquid cooling.
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1LJUWR
- Ryzen 7 2700x
- ASRock X470 Taichi motherboard
- GeForce RTX 2070 (faster than a 1080)
- 16GB DDR3 3200mhz
- 1TB Corsair SP1 NVMe SSD
- Air Cooled (I don't trust liquid cooling)
- InWin Case
- 3x Corsair SP120 RGB case fans
- Windows 10
- 750W Corsair RM series PSU (these get top marks on Johnnyguru)
- Windows 10 Pro
- $1,783

DIY would get you more for your money. I get the feeling you don't want to build it yourself.

Ignore cheap CyberPowerPC systems on Newegg. Those are junk models with the cheapest parts. The custom builds are much nicer. As you can choose all high quality parts.

Thanks for this info. It is exactly what I needed to make this decision. OK... this has stooped me from popping on the HP 820z.

I will scope out all you have written over the holiday and post back here.
Yes, I'm a bit reluctant to jump into a build, as my eyes are not what they used to be. LOL. a2

If building is too much, consider this Digital Storm Prebuilt:
https://www.digitalstorm.com/configurator.asp?id=2247283 which includes a Geforce 2060, competitively priced at $1400. When I initially built my PC in 2013 I compared my build price to their purchased price and I save about $200 building it myself.

They have a $999 version that I think is technically VR capable, but I’d talk to them on the phone first about it. Personally I would stay away from traditional brands like Dell and HP because sometimes they use proprietary components that can tie you to them for future upgrades, but I’m not an expert on this topic.

​

 

[cube]

If building is too much, consider this Digital Storm Prebuilt:
https://www.digitalstorm.com/configurator.asp?id=2247283 which includes a Geforce 2060, competitively priced at $1400.

They have a $999 version that I think is technically VR capable, butbI’s talk to them on the phone first about it. Personally I would stay away from traditional brands like Dell and HP because sometimes they use proprietary components that can tie you to them for future upgrades, but I’m not an expert on this topic.

View attachment 846618​

I imagine that someone who likes workstations would hate a desktop without external bays.

 

[Huntn]

I imagine that someone who likes workstations would hate a desktop without external bays.

This comment caught me a bit by surprise, I went back and looked and the Lynx Computer I recommended (previous post) and it appears not to have a DVD drive in it, unless I overlooked it in the list of components. Definitely worth a discussion with the builder who might be able to accommodate an external bay using a different case.

Is this a new standard? My last purchased MBP lost it’s DVD drive and I had to buy an external USB drive for it. Now granted I rarely use the DVD drive, especially on my PC, but it can help when building a new system. Are games still sold on DVDs? It’s been a long time since I purchased a game that came on a disk. Most of my pruchases now are downloads, some quite large 5GB+. One game on Steam (ARK:Survival Evolved) is about 30GB with the DLCs and mods.

The case I used in my build is a Fractal Design Define XL R2 which looks similar but it has a door on front that covers the external bays but in 6 years the price has increased by 50% to $145 from $90. And they say there is no inflation... :-/

​

 

[cube]

This comment caught me a bit by surprise, I went back and looked and the Lynx Computer I recommended (previous post) and it appears not to have a DVD drive in it, unless I overlooked it in the list of components. Definitely worth a discussion with the builder who might be able to accommodate an external bay using a different case.

Is this a new standard? My last purchased MBP lost it’s DVD drive and I had to buy an external USB drive for it. Now granted I rarely use the DVD drive, especially on my PC, but it can help when building a new system. Are games still sold on DVDs? It’s been a long time since I purchased a game that came on a disk. Most of my pruchases now are downloads, some quite large 5GB+. One game on Steam (ARK:Survival Evolved) is about 30GB with the DLCs and mods.

The case I used in my build is a Fractal Design Define XL R2 which looks similar but it has a door on front that covers the external bays but in 6 years the price has increased by 50% to $145 from $90. And they say there is no inflation... :-/

View attachment 846621
View attachment 846624​

There's a trend in new cases not having external bays because youtubers only care about games, looks, and overclocking.

 

[velocityg4]

This comment caught me a bit by surprise, I went back and looked and the Lynx Computer I recommended (previous post) and it appears not to have a DVD drive in it, unless I overlooked it in the list of components. Definitely worth a discussion with the builder who might be able to accommodate an external bay using a different case.

Is this a new standard? My last MBP lost it’s DVD drive and I had to buy an external USB drive. Now granted I rarely use the DVD drive, especially on my PC, but it can help when building a new system. Are games still sold on DVDs? it’s been a long time since I purchased a game that came on a disk. Most of my pruchases now are downloads, some quite large 5GB+. On game on Steam is about 30GB with the DLCs and mods.

The case I used in my build is a Fractal Design Define XL R2 which looks similar but it has a door on front that covers the external bays but in 6 years the price has increased by 50% to $145 from $90. And they say there is no inflation... :-/

​

Most people have no need for an optical drive. Optical drives are an afterthought in many custom builds now. Unless one specifically needs one. Why waste space and material that could be used for better cooling or a cleaner design?

Much like VGA. The big OEM brands are slow to remove it from their computers. So, it is not standard yet. Outside of boutique and custom built desktops.

 

[cube]

Most people have no need for an optical drive. Optical drives are an afterthought in many custom builds now. Unless one specifically needs one. Why waste space and material that could be used for better cooling or a cleaner design?

Much like VGA. The big OEM brands are slow to remove it from their computers. So, it is not standard yet. Outside of boutique and custom built desktops.

You don't need to remove external bays to get good cooling.

The PC market is overrun by fads now (eg: LED).

 

[Huntn]

There's a trend in new cases not having external bays because youtubers only care about games, looks, and overclocking.

Most people have no need for an optical drive. Optical drives are an afterthought in many custom builds now. Unless one specifically needs one. Why waste space and material that could be used for better cooling or a cleaner design?

Much like VGA. The big OEM brands are slow to remove it from their computers. So, it is not standard yet. Outside of boutique and custom built desktops.

On my Mac I record data on DVDs, I have a folder with receipts and copies of electronic bills, even though they are backed up to the cloud, a creature of habit. On my PC it is very rare that I use my DVD at all, so I could see purchasing a separate USB DVD drive for the rare occasion it is needed, but I used it several times when I built it to put the initial drivers on it, although I also downloaded updated drivers, and Windows 7 (2013 Build) was installed from a thumb drive, so...

 

[cube]

On my Mac I record data on DVDs, I have a folder with receipts and copies of electronic bills, even though they are backed up to the cloud, a creature of habit. On my PC it is very rare that I use my DVD at all, so I could see purchasing a separate USB DVD drive for the rare occasion it is needed, but I used it several times when I built it to put the initial drivers on it, although I also downloaded updated drivers, and Windows 7 (2013 Build) was installed from a thumb drive, so...

1. Optical drive
2. 2.5" hot swap drive
3. 3.5" hot swap drive
4. Additional front panel interfaces
5. Card reader
6,7. System controller

 

[Huntn]

1. Optical drive
2. 2.5" hot swap drive
3. 3.5" hot swap drive
4. Additional front panel interfaces
5. Card reader
6,7. System controller

Which case (and price) do you recommend for this? I’m not familiar with hot swappable drives, and see no pressing need for them.

 

[cube]

Which case (and price) do you recommend for this? I’m not familiar with hot swappable drives, and see no pressing need for them.

I see cases with up to 10 external bays. There are multi-drive hot-swap cages which take 3.

Only 8 that already have USB 3.0 and none that already have USB-C.

There's a basic case with 7 external bays for 60 euro if you can find it:

Then it jumps to 140 euro for a nice one:

This one would be both more and less capable for 165 euro:

 

[Huntn]

I see cases with up to 10 external bays. There are multi-drive hot-swap cages which take 3.

Only 8 that already have USB 3.0 and none that already have USB-C.

There's a basic case with 7 external bays for 60 euro if you can find it:

Then it jumps to 140 euro for a nice one:

This one would be both more and less capable for 165 euro:

Would you agree that the average user/gamer has no need for hot swappable external bays?

 

[cube]

Would you agree that the average user/gamer has no need for hot swappable external bays?

It is easier to plug a drive in a dock than fitting it in a case when you need to copy stuff. Some things you can only do through SATA (even hard with eSATA).

It's like the optical drive. You can buy an external one but it is nicer to have it integrated (besides the caveat above).

 

[Huntn]

It is easier to plug a drive in a dock than fitting it in a case when you need to copy stuff. Some things you can only do through SATA (even hard with eSATA).

It's like the optical drive. You can buy an external one but it is nicer to have it integrated (besides the caveat above).

For myself this would be happening on my MBR which has no bays. I have 3 external hard drives connected to it and hook up the DVD when I rarely need it.

My PC is strictly for gaming. Of interest when I go looking to buy a hard drive (external), I have not noticed any drives designed for hot swappable docks. Everything I’ve noticed so far are internal drives or external USB drives.

 

[cube]

For myself this would be happening on my MBR which has no bays. I have 3 external hard drives connected to it and hook up the DVD when I rarely need it.

My PC is strictly for gaming. Of interest when I go looking to buy a hard drive (external), I have not noticed any drives designed for hot swappable docks. Everything I’ve noticed so far are internal drives or external USB drives.

You just plug an internal drive into a dock.

For example, if you want to upgrade the hard drive firmware in an external case, you normally have to take the drive out and connect it via SATA to a PC.

An external dock is likely not work for this even if it is connected via eSATA to the PC.

Of course, you can just connect the drive directly to the motherboard.

 

[a2jack]

I see cases with up to 10 external bays. There are multi-drive hot-swap cages which take 3.

Only 8 that already have USB 3.0 and none that already have USB-C.

There's a basic case with 7 external bays for 60 euro if you can find it:

Then it jumps to 140 euro for a nice one:

This one would be both more and less capable for 165 euro:

Case seems full of plastic mounting hardware, and short of room for the big KW power supply's of the near future, but a very informative clip. Thanks. a2

(Just learning what I need to start learning.)

 

[a2jack]

If building is too much, consider this Digital Storm Prebuilt:
https://www.digitalstorm.com/configurator.asp?id=2247283 which includes a Geforce 2060, competitively priced at $1400. When I initially built my PC in 2013 I compared my build price to their purchased price and I save about $200 building it myself.

They have a $999 version that I think is technically VR capable, but I’d talk to them on the phone first about it. Personally I would stay away from traditional brands like Dell and HP because sometimes they use proprietary components that can tie you to them for future upgrades, but I’m not an expert on this topic.

View attachment 846618​

Thanks, but could not stand the kid bling, and that PS is maxed out at the 2070 level (600W), Otherwise good specs.

BTW. How do you work that @ bit ? LOL.

(Just learning what I will need to learn.) a2

 

[cube]

This one only has 6 external bays but it already has a combo 2.5"/3.5" dock if you can find it:

There's likely not enough space at the top for water cooling.

 

[cube]

Just 6 external slots could be OK. There are combo 2.5"/3.5" docks so it would only take one bay.
There are very good system controllers that take only one bay. So one could go down to 5.
One cannot go down to 4 because none of such cases have USB-C already and none of the card readers have USB-C 3.1.

The newest reasonable towers I see are from 2014.