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HP Pavillion...

M

Moose777

2[H]4U
Joined
Oct 10, 2004
Messages
2,741
How do I go about finding out what mother board I have in this thing?

I know its an Asus board but how do I find out what model it is?
 
Open up the case and start entering identification numers into google?

Thats what I would do anyway.


What model is it? Should have a case badge.
 
Its an 873N I know its an Asus board because it looks exactly like my A8V Deluxe and almost every other component in the case has Asus wirtten on it somewhere but I can't find anything on the motherboard to support it.

I'll try the google thing. Thanks.
 
Are you trying to find some way to overclock it? Just locate the pll and use softfsb or something similar. It's easy to find because its right next to a crystal (little metal oval-shaped thing). Don't expect a whole lot though. I squeezed 5% more out of a gateway P3 box.
 
I spent a ton of time on the phone with HP over this. My question was pretty simple, why could I not just flash up to the real ASUS bios?

Apparently the boards are proprietary enough that won’t work. The Tech was even trying to be real helpful too. I know I have read a few places where it’s been tried; it ended up with the customer buying the motherboard they really wanted in the first place.

Luck
 
I work in a service center that services HP systems among other things. I can tell you that the boards are different. They usually have some of the nicer features removed. RAID controllers for example get pulled from the retail OEM units.
 
Yeah, I noticed that. I've got an Asus MoBo, not sure which one but its got a built in sound card like my A8V Delixe in the AMD machine and whereas the AMD's sound on the MoBo works the one in the HP Pavillion does not.

I've also noticed that if I cahnge out he OEM Asus video card in the Pavillion and put in a different card (Case in point I had a BFG Tech 5900XT in it about 3 months ago) the computer goes retarded and refuses to work properly.

HP has not left any room for upgrades, even adding simple things like memory is a pain in the ass because it has to be approved by HP to use. Unlike my AMD machine where I can use whatever I want, although I did use what was recommended by Asus in in for the sake of avoiding issues.

HP is garbage. I'll never buy another pre-made machine again. I'm going to stick to building them myself from now on.
 
Moose777 said:
Yeah, I noticed that. I've got an Asus MoBo, not sure which one but its got a built in sound card like my A8V Delixe in the AMD machine and whereas the AMD's sound on the MoBo works the one in the HP Pavillion does not.

I've also noticed that if I cahnge out he OEM Asus video card in the Pavillion and put in a different card (Case in point I had a BFG Tech 5900XT in it about 3 months ago) the computer goes retarded and refuses to work properly.

HP has not left any room for upgrades, even adding simple things like memory is a pain in the ass because it has to be approved by HP to use. Unlike my AMD machine where I can use whatever I want, although I did use what was recommended by Asus in in for the sake of avoiding issues.

HP is garbage. I'll never buy another pre-made machine again. I'm going to stick to building them myself from now on.
Click to expand...

No it doesn't. I install memory and off the shelf video cards into Pavillions all the time. Same with Dell's Compaq's, Gateways and E-Machines.

The parts don't have to be "approved" you just have to make sure that the requirements for that hardware are met. For example your Pavillion may not have had a strong enough PSU to run a 5900XT. Bottom line HP gives you a weak ass PSU. Especially if you've got a couple optical drives and multiple hard drives in there.

The blanket statement of "All store bought machines are proprietary" is BS. That is simply not the case. Certain components are, like the case and sometimes PSU,. but alot more of the machines is normal standardized components than you think.

Sure some issues come up with the motherboards because HP and other companies do not validate their BIOS's or boards for use with high end after market parts like 6800Ultra's because they know that the research and development time to check that stuff isn't worth it as FEW people who buy machines like that would ever bother to upgrade them like that.

Another thing is while you may have what looks like an A8V or P4P800 in a Compaq or HP, it's not. HP goes to Asus and says we need a ton of these boards for this range of processors and components. Asus then adapts a design they already have for the task by making it cheaper and removing features that aren't needed in the OEM machine. So IC's are removed, RAID controllers, AGP slots and other devices are stripped.

So while the board may be VERY close to an A8V, you can't flash it with an A8V BIOS and get an instant performance machine.

Buying a prebuilt machine from any company has it's drawbacks. The main one is that EVERYONE not just HP cuts corners. Dell for example uses SoundBlaster Sound cards and USR modems that have been striped of a few components that can't possibly save them but 50 cents per component, per machine. You then get stuck with a sound card that doesn't use the normal Creative drivers and is poorly supported by Dell. Because they feel you should simply run the recovery disk in order to fix everything. Running your own OS or retial copy of the OS isn't their problem.

I work in a retail tech shop part time and in IT the rest of the time. I did work in a retail tech shop full time for years prior to this. So I have alot of experience with this. More often than not, off the shelf components work fine in all brands of machines. Out of the thousands of unit's that myself and other technician's service and upgrade each year, only a handfull of upgrade installations go badly because of something Dell or Gateway or Compaq did. Usually if anything interferes it's the shit factory software that gets installed from the OEM companies.

Your biggest problem usually comes from companies like Gateway or Dell choosing a mainboard that doesn't have an AGP slot, or not having a power supply that's good enough for your upgrades. The fact is they cut corners on optical drives, modems, soundcards, video cards and even save 4$ or 5$ on uneeded motherboard components driving their profit margines up. At the manufacturing to distribution level some money is made on computer equipement but not much. In retail jack SHIT is made on those machines. Comp USA and Best Buy as well as others are still trying to find ways to make money on PC hardware. They have been for years. So all the companies have to try and gain some money out of the sale of these things.

But to expect a 200watt HP PSU to output enough juice for a 6800GT is just not realistic. If you wanted performance you really should have bought something else. These companies make these machines for the masses and no one else.

If you want a premade performance system you have to use Compaq's X-Series or Alienware or Falcon Northwest machines. All of which rip you off pricewise. So the best option is to build it yourself if you've got the skills.
 
That was highly informative. Thanks.

I really don't know what to say. It was good reading. I had thought about the PSU in my Pavillion not being adequate enough to run my 5900XT thats why I took it out and put the OEM card back in. I did install some memory into it a while ago and had issues with that as well. But I eventually got it fixed.

I mainly use te Pavillion ofr this type of stuff, surfing the NET and chatting with friends on AIM. I've built an AMD machine so I use that for gaming and nothing else.

I didn't think the MoBo in the Pavillion was an A8V though, just said ti looks like an Asus board, I know a lot of MoBo's look the same so its probably not.

But anyway, thanks for that highly informative response, ti was good stuff.
 
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