HP Z6 G4 users in 2026
Hello, I want to start this discussion as a new owner of the Z6 G4 - was able to get one for very fair price, with 64 GB RAM, 1x 4114 Xeon silver and nvidia P4000, but it seems there is surprisingly a few information about this platform used as second hand machine - and also some misinformation. From my current research, the situation in early 2026 is as follows (my point of view, feel free to challenge me):
The highlights:
1000W PSU in all units
same motherboard from the start of production in 2017 till the end most likely in 2023/2024 (or even later?, it seems the G5 exists, but I cannot find any available for sale right now) - makes it easier to get replacement, compared to many OEM PCs with different HW MB revisions, sometimes under the same type and generation.
the intel 3647 socket - basically server socket with very few desktop motherboard options and many CPUs available from the servers being decomissioned, great for second hand upgrades.
6 channel memory - unusually high memory throughput if all memory slots are populated
many PCIe slots, 2x GPU power connectectors by default.
Cheaper memory, since it is DDR4 ECC and the workstation seems to allow also non-HP memory, compared to HP servers which complain about non-HP memory, although I'm not 100% sure about this.
the lows:
HP proprietary stuff everywhere
can fry the motherboard using regular mass produced computer fans
The really powerfull CPUs still over $1000 - especially good single thread performance is a challenge
limited hardware monitoring - the only software able to show FAN speeds, the hp performance monitor is discontinued since the end 2025 and although it should still work in offline mode, I was not able to find usable version to download.
The CPU options are probably too many, with no apparent clear naming convention as you get with i5 vs i7 or the ryzen 5 vs 7 etc with the prices from $20 to $2000. And I'm talking only about the Xeon Gold versions, which are probably the only reasonable option for upgrade these days.
The HP documentation is sparse. There is the updated quickspec document, which is good source of information, but many of the documents references online are not available anymore. Also, parts search is a pain.
All in all, I feel this is still a reasonable choice in 2026, but with quite a few caveats one should be aware. But also, some of them can be mitigated, like this memory fan requirement for higher RAM sizes, as menioned here: https://www.reddit.com/r/HSpecWorkstations/comments/1aovkmw/hp_z6_g4_ram_upgrade_and_how_to_prevent_memory/?solution=8b7d18512b0e63d58b7d18512b0e63d5&js_challenge=1&token=bbbe4bf1c9a2b5160829c4be34da58611a70e185070e02b0ea7ce923f1a16d8b&jsc_orig_r=&sort=new
I would be happy if you share your expeirence or pain points and how you resolved them.