The HP Z600 V2 Workstation has all the base components to be converted in to a solid gaming computer.  HP Z600's are a dual socket Xeon based workstations.  The Z600 V2 supports up to 96GB of DDR3 memory and 2 Internal SAS/SATA Hard Drives.  It is important to note that it has an standard 600W Power Supply, which limits the Graphics Cards that you can install.  Let us show you how you can build an effective HP Z600  V2 Gaming PC.

 

How do I check to see if my HP Z600 is a V1 or V2?

Open your side panel and check your system board PN.

Version 1 has system board PN: 461439-001 (460840-002)

Version 2 has system board PN: 591184-001 (460864-003)

 

Where to buy?

If you haven't already acquired a HP Z600 Workstation we'd recommend checking out a company called Serverworlds.  They sell the Z600's cheap and they provide free ground shipping to the lower 48 states.   You can also try to snag them cheap on Ebay.  However, Ebay can be a bit of a gamble because you never know what you are going to get.

The goal is to purchase the Z600 with a good processor(s) and memory already installed and then you can source the graphics cards, hard drives, and other optional components from other sources.

 

What Processor(s) should I get?

High Clock speed cpu's are the way to go.

In most cases you can get by with a single processor listed below.  If you plan to stream your gaming on youtube or twitch, we recommend getting 2 processors.

Recommended Processors:

Up to 2 x 6C Xeon X5660 3.33Ghz 12MB 6.40GTs Processors | 3.60Ghz Max Turbo Frequency (SLBV6)

Up to 2 x 6C Xeon X5675 3.06Ghz 12MB 6.40GTs Processors | 3.46Ghz Max Turbo Frequency (SLBYL)

 

How much Memory should I get?

The base line should be a minimum of 16GB of memory.  However, 16GB to 32GB would be ideal.

 

Memory PNs:

4GB PC10600R 2Rx4 ECC Reg Shielded (NN876)

4GB PC10600R 2Rx8 ECC Reg (7H8J8)

4GB PC10600R 2Rx8 PC3L ECC Reg (9J5WF or H5DDH)

8GB PC10600R 2Rx4 PC3L ECC Reg (P9RN2)

8GB PC10600R 2Rx4 ECC Reg Shielded (X3R5M)

16GB PC10600R 2Rx4 PC3L ECC Reg (MGY5T)

 

*12800R modules will work as well, they will just clock down to 1333Mhz depending on the CPU speed*

 

Recommended Memory configurations:

4 x 4GB PC10600R Modules (16GB)

6 x 4GB PC10600R Modules (24GB)

4 x 8GB PC10600R Modules (32GB)

6 x 8GB PC10600R Modules (48GB)

4 x 16GB PC10600R Modules (64GB)

6 x 16GB PC10600R Modules (96GB)

It's very important to use 10600R modules because they will run at the max speed supported by the system board and processor.

 

What Hard Drive should I get?

Ideally you would want to have a Solid State Drive as your boot device as well an NVME.2 SSD to store your game libraries/large programs on.  If you are limited on budget you could go with a small SSD for your boot device and a larger capacity 7.2K SATA drive to hold your larger files/programs/games.

 

Recommended SSD Drives:

Samsung 860 EVO 2TB 2.5 Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-76E2T0B/AM)

Samsung 860 EVO 1TB 2.5 Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-76E1T0B/AM)

Samsung 860 Evo 500GB 2.5 inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-76E500B/AM)

 

Recommended large Capacity SATA Drives:

Seagate 2TB BarraCuda SATA 6 Gb/s 7200 RPM 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch Desktop Hard Drive (ST2000DM006)

 

*NVME.2 Drives cannot be used as a boot device with this model workstation*

NVME.2 PCIe Adapter (You need this if you plan to install an NVME.2 Drive in to this system):

NVME.2 SSD Adapter *Required to Install NVME.2*

 

Recommended NVME.2 SSDs:

Samsung 960 EVO Series - 500GB NVMe - M.2 Internal SSD (MZ-V6E500BW)

Samsung 970 Evo Series - 500GB NVMe -M2 Internal SSD (MZ-V7E500BW)

Samsung 960 EVO Series - 1TB PCIe NVMe - M.2 Internal SSD (MZ-V6E1T0BW)

Samsung 970 EVO Series - 1TB PCIe NVMe - M.2 Internal SSD (MZ-V7E1T0BW)

 

What Graphics Card should I get?

The HP Z600 has a 600W Power Supply.  This will limit your Graphics Card options.

 

Recommended Graphics Cards:

NVIDIA GTX 1060 6GB Graphics Card

NVIDIA GTX1660 Ti 6GB Graphics Card (takes up 3 PCI slots)

NVIDIA GTX 1070 8GB Graphics Card

NVIDIA GTX 1070 TI 8GB Graphics Card

NVIDIA RTX 2060 6GB Graphics Card

NVIDIA RTX 2070 8GB Graphics Card

 

What type of Monitor should I get?

Ideally it would be nice to get a monitor with a 144Hz or 244hz refresh rate or better monitor.  However, it really depends on the games you play.  If you play first person shooter games a 144hz or 240Hz or better monitor is a must.  If you play other games that do not require quick response time then a 60hz monitor should work fine.

Recommended Monitors:

ASUS PG248Q Full HD 144Hz 1MS 24" Gaming Monitor

ASUS VG278Q Full HD 1080P 144Hz 1MS 27" Gaming Monitor

ASUS XG258Q ROG Strix 24.5" 1080P 240Hz 1MS Gaming Monitor

 

Recap:

Using the criteria above you can build a good to borderline high end gaming system using a HP Z600 Workstation.

Sample Configuration:

HP Z600 Workstation

1 x 6C Xeon X5675 3.06Ghz 12MB 6.40GTs

32GB PC10600R (4 x 8GB)

Samsung 1TB 6GBPS SSD

GTX1660 Ti w/6GB  Graphics Card

1 x 10/100/1000 Network Port

600W Power Supply

DVD-RW

10 Pro 64Bit

 

We have tested this system with games like Dota 2, CS Go, PubG, and The Division.  The frames can range from 60FPS to 160FPS depending on the game and settings that you choose.  The system was tested using a 144Hz 27" Acer Monitor.

 

Accessories:

SteelSeries QCK Heavy Cloth Gaming Mouse Pad (Click Here)

SteelSeries Apex M750 RGB Mechnical Keyboard (Click Here)

Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum RGB Tunable Gaming Mouse (Click Here)

HyperX Cloud II 7.1 Gaming Headset (Click Here)

El Gato Game Capture HD60 Pro for a Streaming Capture PC (Click Here)

Secretlab Premium Gaming Chairs (Click Here)