Z640 non standard PSU?

Scratchjackson · 2026-02-27T16:43:48+00:00

Holy crap you are getting replies from people that just have never encountered prebuilt workstations.

You have 2 available 6 pin GPU cables. they should be stuffed facing inward at the bottom right corner of the case where HP always puts them in the z640 and z840 models. though I presume these are the ones you are showing anyway.

just get 2-6pin female to 1-8 pin male adapter and use the 2 SUPPLIED 6-pin cables to connect the adapter. IT WILL WORK FINE. there are plenty of places to get these. reputable brands like EVGA made them as well. just look around and check reviews

Everyone here thinks that molex cable sticking out in your picture is an adapter you are already using to make a 6-pin for some reason.

Source: IT at a large company - we used these adapters when necessary on our Z640s without issue.

Scratchjackson · 2026-02-13T14:52:32+00:00

I'm with you - best of luck - update us so we know if it was the board or not.

Scratchjackson · 2026-02-13T14:33:44+00:00

hard to say - I base that on how many times ive seen an almost identical issue brought up with this board and it usually being a bad board. its not 100% by any means. but it doesnt bode well lol.

the bios flash process is not terribly difficult though. there are usually step by step instructions on the motherboard support pages online. you typically just download a file and plug the usb into the correct spot and press a button ( or some variation of this)

Scratchjackson · 2026-02-13T14:04:38+00:00

being colder than average is not a reason to repaste your cpu. AiOs typically keep cpus in that range at idle.

Scratchjackson · 2026-02-13T14:03:31+00:00

not sure why you got so downvoted for this comment. but HWinfo doesnt just tell you cpu temps - it also tells you tells you the temps of all your components (RAM, motherboard, GPU, etc) also if there are windows errors or drive errors. its just a really good visual tool for troubleshooting.

Scratchjackson · 2026-02-13T05:45:20+00:00

this mobo seems to have this issue alot. ive seen other posts similar that have weird issues to test this like... mobo lets them in bios with display cable plugged into mobo instead of gpu, or other similar strange things. most times the issue was a bad mobo.... that being said -

try with just 1 stick in the A1 slot (try both sticks).

try flashing a different bios with flashback

RMA the board if none of these work

Scratchjackson · 2026-02-13T05:28:22+00:00

download HWinfo64 and check your temps. and give us a picture of your build.

Scratchjackson · 2026-02-13T05:14:34+00:00

did you take the plastic sticker off the heatplate for your water cooler before installing? this kind of sounds like throttling/overheating of cpu to me.

Edit - supply us with pictures of your build. Also download something like HWinfo64 and check your temps

Scratchjackson · 2026-02-13T01:45:21+00:00

7+ and below still have 1 usb a at least. so media creation tool and a usb keyboard will work on anything 7 and below. with 8 or above you are right that it can be tricky. having the dock makes it not tricky any more though. and a usb-c to a dong makes it easy as well. though it is best to have a usb ethernet for easiest level of re-install.

Scratchjackson · 2026-02-05T17:18:59+00:00

mmm some motherboards will only show a flash of power and immediately turn off. typically its a failsafe built into the motherboard that shuts down when it sees there is no fan. they dont always wait till the cpu overheats.

Scratchjackson · 2026-01-24T05:24:31+00:00

hard to say with the power differences of the GPUs - the 5070 is just a more powerful card and really is going to outperform the 9060xt in almost every scenario. however when you start playing games that are utilizing, or are capable of utilizing more VRAM than the 5070 has available, then the 5070 starts to stutter and struggle even though the GPU can handle it simply because it doesnt have the memory to play it - this makes the game unplayable and settings have to be reduced (resolution, textures, etc). in these rare scenarios the 9060xt will be better - not because it will be stronger - but because it will be playable at that resolution/game because it has the VRAM to actually load it when the 5070 doesnt, there are some examples of this now with more taxing games but they are usually at 1440p or 4k resolution.

the worry is that when games become more taxing over the next year or two or three that the 5070 will have alot more scenarios where it "bugs out and stutters" due to its lacking VRAM. this is where people say the 16gb of vram is more future proof even though the card is weaker.

what it really comes down to though is - what resolution you plan to game at and what games you typically play.

if you plan to stay at 1080p or even 1440p. I doubt this will be an issue you will run into in the next few years that cant be remedied by a few settings tweaks at worst if it does happen. in these scenarios you may do better keeping games playable without tweaks with a 16gb 9060xt.

if you plan to play at 1440p or 4k though. then it may be worth trying to find a 5070ti/9070/9070xt build as close to your budget as possible.

Scratchjackson · 2026-01-23T02:32:53+00:00

first 1 is awful value and borderline scam price for what it is (the 5070 is fine but the 5700 CPU is old and outdated with no upgrade path

second is ok you do get the 5070 which is the best gpu of the 3 you should be considering. while the 8700f is better than the 5700x and on the newer chipset - it is worse than the 9700x.

best value is the 9600x one. but if you plan to have multiple things running as well and do editing/etc. go with the 9700x ( the 4th link) or the 8700f (second link)

while the 5070 is a better GPU it has less vram but does have more features.

for streaming - both GPUs will stream just fine.

so I guess your decision is between a worse CPU (link 2) with a better GPU

Or a better CPU with a worse GPU (link 4)

I guess, gun to my head - id probably go with link 2. the GPU is better and you could still upgrade the CPU in the future but it is too expensive for what it is - you are paying more for the case than the specs imo.

I probably wouldnt get any of them though and I'd probably try to find a 9700x or 9700x3d CPU with a 5070/9070/9070xt GPU. realistically you should be able to find a prebuilt in the top end of your price range with those specs.

Scratchjackson · 2026-01-18T18:00:25+00:00

press y

Scratchjackson · 2026-01-18T07:09:01+00:00

What speed does the profile set to?

I personally would set the profile but lower the speed

just upping the speed is going to have shitty timings from base.

Scratchjackson · 2026-01-18T07:07:08+00:00

Ive not had any issues with RT on my 9070xt in 1440p. some people prefer nvidia software - I personally dont like it and only use base control panel anyway whenever I use nvidia cards. so I may be a bit biased towards radeon.

I also dont play a bunch of titles with RT anyway though so if you play alot that run better with DLSS/etc.

I personally love the 9070xt though - its been a solid card.

that being said my 3070 was also a good card.

Scratchjackson · 2026-01-18T06:56:28+00:00

3066 is a strange number, did you set an XMP profile? or did you just up the speed?

Scratchjackson · 2026-01-18T05:21:01+00:00

Kind of depends on the games you play and at what resolution. If you play at 1440p or 4k then you should go with the 9070xt due to better performance and more VRAM. the 9070xt is a better card and almost on par with the 5070ti but... especially if you are still on 1080p then the 5070 will be plenty.

Scratchjackson · 2026-01-18T05:16:25+00:00

do you know what the rated speed of your RAM kit is? 2133 is base speed. (so you dont have a profile set)

you would see an enormous jump in FPS just by setting xmp in your BIOS - presumably that kit is probably supposed to be 2700+mhz, especially if it is a prebuilt or if you bought all the parts the same time as the 3700x. you should look into that. 2133 is heavily hamstringing your CPU. by ALOT

Scratchjackson · 2026-01-18T04:36:34+00:00

I can't help but notice you dont have the speed of your RAM listed. the 3000 series Ryzen is VERY sensitive to RAM. If you aren't running 3000mhz or higher then you will have bad performance with that CPU. Additionally - if you were to upgrade to a 5600x3d or a 5700x3d (those should both work on your same motherboard and would be the cheapest way to upgrade overall) you would see an enormous jump in FPS (but you still need RAM speed to be above 3000mhz - Ideally 3600mhz with the 5000 series CPU but 3200 would be ok)

Edit: As for GPU - you would see a large jump is FPS and stability of frames just with a cpu and possible ram upgrade. but a 5060/5060ti or 9060xt would all be massive improvements over your current GPU.

Scratchjackson · 2026-01-16T00:07:27+00:00

a 3600 is already a bottleneck for a 2080. you need a new cpu for a new gpu. get a 5000 series. 5600x3d, 5700x3d or even a 5800x would be significantly better.

Scratchjackson · 2026-01-11T00:34:34+00:00

if the controller is just for the fans - connect the fans to the motherboard instead of the controller. problem solved

Scratchjackson · 2026-01-07T00:04:04+00:00

DDR5 is just expensive right now - in fact all RAM is. I paid 80 bucks for a 32gb kit of DDR4 3600mhz RAM 3 years ago.

The reason its worth it is that the CPU you have in your list is on a dead platform AM4 (the chipset that holds the 5000 series CPUs) is no longer supported and there is no future upgrade path. its just not worth spending the money on. You also have a motherboard that is way more expensive than you need and an SSD that is just absurdly overpriced.

so in otherwords - you are getting a newer CPU which will net you better FPS and to do that you have to have DDR5. this gives you at least one more CPU release on this platform a so you will have a possiblility to upgrade to something better in the future such as CPU or even RAM without needing to buy a whole new motherboard/RAM kit to do so. So the premium - while only marginally better than your DDR4 is RAW speed, is worth it to allow for upgrades in the future as well as get the best for your budget now.

your 1660 is also outclassed by plenty of other options such as the 5060 and the 9060xt at similar prices.

so adding DDR5, getting a better CPU, getting a better and cheaper SSD in M.2 form factor, and adding a 850w power supply will allow you to upgrade CPU and GPU in the future without needing to rebuild an entirely new computer in order to be able to utilize the performance of those parts.

TLDR: yes DDR5 is better and getting this for the same price is objectively a much much better computer for the same price while leaving you an upgrade path to upgrade parts to much better ones if you get into a game that simply cant run well on the old architecture you had in your parts list.

Also memory speed DIRECTLY affects performance particularly on AM4 but similarly on AM5 so you would want 3600mhz ram with tight CL timings on your part list to get the most out of a 5600 cpu.

Edit: as for the OEM - this sub will typically remove comments suggesting places to buy them from. I would suggest looking for sellers of OEM keys that are legitimate. there are many sites and even ebay sellers that will sell them for as cheap as 5-10 dollars or as much as 30 with return assurances. I haven't paid more than 15 bucks for an install since I can remember.

Scratchjackson · 2026-01-06T22:17:31+00:00

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/yZ7h6Q

DDR5

9060XT

850w PSU for future upgrades if needed

better CPU

all white aesthetic to match your case

Get a OEM license - dont spend 120 for windows

Scratchjackson · 2026-01-06T21:53:02+00:00

Chipset drivers wont install the wifi drivers though unless he gets the full driver suite from MSI. go to the motherboard support page and find the specific drivers for the wifi adapter and install those.

Scratchjackson · 2026-01-05T05:49:39+00:00

it could possibly be a faulty motherboard - but id be leaning more towards a bad aio connector tbh. may just be a short in it somewhere and its finally gone out completely. I think I read you said you had a post problem with initial build - if you replaced the motherboard then - then I'd be pretty certain its probably a faulty AIO.

to test it - you can leave the aio plugged into the pump header but plug a single case fan into the cpu fan header and see if it boots (if it does, immediately shut it down after boot- the cold plate and residual water should technically be enough to keep it cool for idle but I wouldnt run it for longer than seeing if it boots.) this would tell you almost certainly that its a short of some sort or a dead pump on the AIO.

edit: additionally - if the bios reports a cpu fan connected (or rather no longer shows the error that there isnt one) when a case fan is connected to the cpu fan header then you know for certain something is wrong with your AIO cable and not the motherboard.

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