Technical white paper HP Z1 G2 Workstation New functionalities and technologies in the next generation of the HP Z1 Workstation New functionalities and technologies in the next generation of HP Z1 Workstations bring accelerated performance and greater reliability to the all-in-one workstation class. Table of contents Chassis and system highlights ..............................................................................................................................................
HP recommends Windows. Technical white paper | HP Z1 G2 Workstation Chassis and system highlights The HP All-In-One (AiO) workstation line continues to offer professionals the ability to bundle all the features of a workstation in a compelling form factor. Below we will discuss the attributes of the second generation HP Z1 Workstation (HP Z1 G2) chassis and system highlights and updates.
Technical white paper | HP Z1 G2 Workstation HP recommends Windows. Optional Thunderbolt™ 2 module The Z1 G2 is compatible with an optional module that adds up to two (2) ThunderboltTM 3 2 ports module. Tray load optical drive bay The Z1 G2 includes a new tray load bay for the optical device, allowing the installation of a greater variety of devices or the ThunderboltTM 2 module. Updated stand features The Z1 G2 stand has a number of significant improvements over the previous generation stand.
Technical white paper | HP Z1 G2 Workstation HP recommends Windows. System architecture The HP Z1 G2 Workstation features the Intel® Xeon® processor E3-1200 v3 family and 4th generation Intel® Core™ processors based on the new Intel micro-architecture. Upgraded ME9 manageability, Intel-integrated USB 3.0 and optional ThunderboltTM 2 features deliver improved productivity and stability.
Technical white paper | HP Z1 G2 Workstation HP recommends Windows. Intel USB 3.0 The Intel C226 PCH has a USB 3.0 hub integrated into the PCH and provides the 2 side USB 3.0 ports on the Z1 G2. The Intel C226 USB 3.0 controller provides cost-effective support for greater I/O bandwidth than was provided by the HP Z1 solution. More information on the USB 3.0 Technology and Performance measurements can be found in the “Resources, contacts, or additional links” section below.
Technical white paper | HP Z1 G2 Workstation HP recommends Windows. Storage The Z1 G2’s two 6Gbps SATA ports support one 3.5” HDD or up to two 2.5” SFF hard drives or SSDs. RAID mode 0 or RAID mode 1 is supported on configurations with two like drives. The Z1 G2 supports mSATA storage devices such as SSD or cache. This allows the customer to use a fast mSATA device for the OS/Application drive and the slower standard SATA drives for storage. The Z1 G2 supports a maximum of 3 drives: 2 x 2.
HP recommends Windows. Technical white paper | HP Z1 G2 Workstation External DisplayPort connection The DisplayPort connection on the rear I/O supports DisplayPort 1.1 and functions as an output or as an input. As an output, it can drive an external monitor with resolution up to 2560 x 1600 @ 60 Hz. As an input, an external source such as a notebook can be connected and drive the Z1 G2’s internal display. The HP MyDisplay application must be installed for the input/output feature to function.
Technical white paper | HP Z1 G2 Workstation HP recommends Windows. Z1 G2: Processor line-up Figure 1. ECC Error Correcting Code (ECC) memory is supported on workstation Intel® Xeon® SKUs and on Intel Core™ i3 SKUs, thereby improving data integrity. If ECC memory is used in conjunction with a non-ECC processor SKU, ECC protection is not available and the DIMMs will appear to the system as non-ECC memory. Desktop PCs do not typically support ECC.
HP recommends Windows. Technical white paper | HP Z1 G2 Workstation Z1 G2 block diagram Figure 2. Changes/Improvements over 21 Same/Similar as Z1 4th generation Intel Core / Intel Xeon E3-12xx v3 processor MXM 3.1 (PCle3 x 16) Graphics Slot Intel HD 4400/4600/P4600 Graphics (certain CPUs) 4x DDR3-1866 slots PC3-14900 UDIMM ECC/nECC 6 External, 3 Internal USB ports: 1 x USB 3.0 1 x USB 3.0 with charging function 7 x USB 2.0 2560x1440 LCD (opt. Touch) Optional Thunderbolt 2 module PICIe.
Technical white paper | HP Z1 G2 Workstation HP recommends Windows. Storage Below is information on common storage features and new features specific to the HP Z1 G2 Workstation. Storage features • 3 - 6Gbps SATA connectors – One for ODD – Two for HDDs or SSDs • Accommodates one 3.5” HDD (with 3.5” drive carrier) Or • Two 2.5” SFF HDDs or SSDs (with 2.
Technical white paper | HP Z1 G2 Workstation HP recommends Windows. RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) RAID provides a method of combining multiple disks into a single logical volume to increase performance or create data redundancy. There are two levels of RAID configuration that can be implemented on the Z1 G2 depending on the user’s need for performance or redundancy. RAID configurations supported are: RAID0 – Creates a single volume that has data striped across 2 drives.
Technical white paper | HP Z1 G2 Workstation HP recommends Windows. Other limitations when SRT is enabled. • Only one disk or RAID volume can be accelerated per system. • Once a RAID volume is accelerated, a second RAID volume cannot be added to the same array. • Matrix arrays (more than one RAID array sharing the same set of drives) are not supported. • Once a solid-state drive is configured to be used as a cache device, the option to create a recovery volume is no longer available.
HP recommends Windows. Technical white paper | HP Z1 G2 Workstation Memory configurations and optimization Below is an overview of the memory configurations for the HP Z1 G2 Workstation and recommendations to optimize performance.
HP recommends Windows. Technical white paper | HP Z1 G2 Workstation Optimizing performance Generally, maximum memory performance is achieved by evenly distributing total desired memory capacity across all operational channels. Proper individual DIMM capacity selection is essential to maximizing performance. Refer to the Optimal Memory Configuration table below for more information.
Technical white paper | HP Z1 G2 Workstation HP recommends Windows. ThunderboltTM 2 technology overview The Thunderbolt 2 module provides transformational high-speed, dual protocol I/O that enables unmatched performance over current I/O technologies with 20Gbps bi-directional transfer speed. It provides flexibility and simplicity by supporting both data (PCIe) and video (DisplayPort) on a single connection that can daisy-chain up to six devices.
HP recommends Windows. Technical white paper | HP Z1 G2 Workstation Protocol architecture Thunderbolt technology is based on a switched fabric architecture with full-duplex links. Unlike bus-based I/O architectures, each Thunderbolt port on a computer is capable of providing the full bandwidth of the link in both directions with no sharing of bandwidth between ports or between upstream and downstream directions. The Thunderbolt protocol architecture can be abstracted into four layers as shown in Figure 5.
Technical white paper | HP Z1 G2 Workstation HP recommends Windows. Performance The Z1 G2 Thunderbolt module implements Thunderbolt 2 technology. Thunderbolt 2 technology provides 20Gbps of combined bandwidth in each direction for both inbound and outbound PCI Express and DisplayPort protocols. The 20Gbps bandwidth is capable of transporting DisplayPort 1.2 4k video streams as a single stream or four 1920x1080 HD streams via the MST protocol.
Technical white paper | HP Z1 G2 Workstation HP recommends Windows. Audio features The HP Z1 G2 All-in-One form factor provides additional audio features not present in traditional tower workstations. Most notable are the high quality stereo speakers and the integrated microphone array. The Z1 G2 implements DTS Studio Sound which provides audio enhancement features. These digital signal processes augment the sound stage, creating an immersive audio experience.
Technical white paper | HP Z1 G2 Workstation HP recommends Windows. Listening experience The DTS Studio Sound UI contains many controls for optimizing the audio experience on the Z1 G2. These controls have been pre-set to sound best for a wide range of audio content. However, depending on the audio content or personal preference, adjustment may be desired. After the controls are adjusted, it is always possible to return to the original settings: use the Reset button found in the Advanced Settings tab.
Technical white paper | HP Z1 G2 Workstation HP recommends Windows. Also found in Listening Experience is the Setup tab. This gives a visual indication which jacks have devices plugged in. The right microphone and rear line-in jacks can be re-tasked as alternate functions. Right click on the jack icon in Setup tab to select the function. Figure 8: DTS Studio Sound Setup tab Recording experience These effects apply only to the integrated microphone array (not to external microphones).
Technical white paper | HP Z1 G2 Workstation HP recommends Windows. Advanced settings There is a Power Savings State which allows the user to define a delay before the system turns off the audio analog power supply. This delay triggers once audio playback has ceased. The system recognizes when playback ends/begins and automatically turns audio power off/on accordingly. When Power Saving State is enabled, runtime beeps are disabled, but diagnostic beeps during boot are not affected.
HP recommends Windows. Technical white paper | HP Z1 G2 Workstation Battery charging technology The USB Battery Charging Specification v1.2 (USB BC 1.2*) defines a special USB port that will allow some devices to charge (tablets) and other devices to charge faster (cell phones). This USB port is called a Charging port and supports at least 1.5A of charging current under normal operation, sleep, hibernate, and shutdown modes. The USB charging port can be identified by the lightning bolt icon shown below.
HP recommends Windows. Technical white paper | HP Z1 G2 Workstation Performance Table 5. Maximum charging comparison tables Maximum charging current comparison in operation mode 1.5 1.5 1 0.5 0.9 Maximum charging current comparison in sleep/hibernate/shutdown mode 1 0.5 0.5 0 0 Charging Current (A) USB 2.0 USB 3.0 1.5 1.5 Charging port 0 0 Charging Current (A) USB 2.0 USB 3.
Technical white paper | HP Z1 G2 Workstation HP recommends Windows. DisplayPort bussing The HP Z1 G2 Workstation was designed using DisplayPort interface bussing to provide the necessary capabilities to deliver greater display resolutions (up to 4Kx2K), better color depths, higher data transfer rates and support for HD video-audio formats. DisplayPort supports compatibility to VGA, DVI and HDMI with use of DisplayPort adapters.
HP recommends Windows. Technical white paper | HP Z1 G2 Workstation Graphical Sources The Z1 G2 DisplayPort bussing provides the capability to use 1 of the 2 Internal Graphical Sources to drive up to 4 displays (Internal LCD panel and 3 external monitors) simultaneously, and the capability of an External Graphical Source to drive the Internal LCD panel.
Technical white paper | HP Z1 G2 Workstation HP recommends Windows. References 1. SATA hardware RAID is not supported on Linux systems. The Linux kernel, with built-in software RAID, provides excellent functionality and performance. It is a good alternative to hardware-based RAID. Please visit h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c00060684/c00060684.pdf for RAID capabilities with Linux. 2.