The highly rated HP Pavilion Slimline PC thread

Archaea, correct me if I'm wrong, but you indicated before that you were playing "1080p sources" (WMV files). Have you actually played HD DVD or Blu-ray movies directly (from disc) or ripped (but kept in their native format)?

I've played several 720p DIVX and WMV files (I can't recall if I've tried playing any 1080p files) with just the stock 6150LE on-board graphics and they play great. But my understanding is that HD DVD and Blu-ray are using much higher bitrates. The 8500/8600 cards have specific technology that allows for playing these formats. Theoretically, I might be able to play HD DVD native files with even my on-board 6150LE graphics if my CPU was fast enough, but that doesn't mean that much/any of that is being handled by the graphics card.
 
Hmm, I think I do not have enough power because I am getting real bad framerates now. I will remove the tv card later and try again...hmmmm
 
So just for fun, I downloaded the 1080p version of the 300 Trailer in WMV-HD format. I played it back on my 1680x1050 monitor and it appeared to play and sound just fine (no skipping or stuttering). This was with my 2GB-upgraded, but otherwise stock s3020n (3800+ CPU, on-board 6150LE graphics).

This pushes me back towards the idea of converting ripped HD DVD / Blu-ray movies into a different format (like WMV-HD) and just sticking with the on-board graphics, which would save me money and keep internal heat down.

One thing I didn't think to do, though, was to check task manager to see how hard my 3800+ CPU was working when playing that 1080p WMV-HD trailer. I'll have to do that next.
 
Scott R said:
So just for fun, I downloaded the 1080p version of the 300 Trailer in WMV-HD format. I played it back on my 1680x1050 monitor and it appeared to play and sound just fine (no skipping or stuttering). This was with my 2GB-upgraded, but otherwise stock s3020n (3800+ CPU, on-board 6150LE graphics).

This pushes me back towards the idea of converting ripped HD DVD / Blu-ray movies into a different format (like WMV-HD) and just sticking with the on-board graphics, which would save me money and keep internal heat down.

One thing I didn't think to do, though, was to check task manager to see how hard my 3800+ CPU was working when playing that 1080p WMV-HD trailer. I'll have to do that next.
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So,let me get this straight,you just upgraded the RAM ,the rest of your system is the same as you first bought it? Thanks for the info! :)
 
Mustanguy said:
So,let me get this straight,you just upgraded the RAM ,the rest of your system is the same as you first bought it?
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I'm also interested in this. Have you upgraded the video/directx drivers?

And actually, would upgrading the drivers from nvidia's websites for any onboard graphics even do anything?

Example... these are the latest, would downloading and installing those show any improvement for the onboard graphics from stock?
 
Right, the only thing I've upgraded is the RAM. And I honestly don't think the RAM upgrade was even necessary. I played 720p WMV-HD movie trailers flawlessly prior to my RAM upgrade, and I'll bet that I could have played the 1080p versions as well.

Again, I think the important point here is bitrates. When I check the properties of the 1080p WMV-HD trailer for the movie "300" it lists the bitrate as 8000kbps (I believe that's 8 megabits per second, right?). According to one web page I just Googled, HD DVD supports bitrates up to approx 30 Mbps and Blu-ray up to 40 Mbps. So if you tried to play a raw HD DVD ripped movie, you'd need a system capable of handling that 30 Mbps stream, and I don't believe the 3800+ / 6150LE combo would be up to snuff. But the beauty of it is that, for the non-purists/elitists, 8 Mbps 1080p still looks awfully good and can be handled by a much simpler/cheaper system (like the stock 3020n).

One thing I'm not sure about: if I go out and buy a Blu-ray / HD DVD ROM drive (an LG model has just come out which goes for under $300 and comes with software for playing Blu-ray and HD DVD discs), could I rip and convert these movies even if I don't have a graphics card capable of playing them in their native format? I suspect yes.
 
Mustanguy and ARgnasher, are you asking these questions as potential Slimline owners or do you already own a Slimline? If the latter, you should be able to answer these questions yourselves simply by downloading some WMV-HD trailers yourselves and playing them via Windows Media Player 11. Here's a site with numerous movie trailers in WMV-HD format:
http://www.drfoster.f2s.com/trailers_hd-dvd.shtml

The trailers at the site above are in WMV-HD format, but I've also played flawless high-def movie trailers (and other content) in DIVX format from the DIVX Stage6 website here:
http://stage6.divx.com/videos/tag:trailer
 
I cant wait to get my hands on one of these. Is there anything else around the price range that compares to these?
 
Scott R said:
Mustanguy and ARgnasher, are you asking these questions as potential Slimline owners or do you already own a Slimline? If the latter, you should be able to answer these questions yourselves simply by downloading some WMV-HD trailers yourselves and playing them via Windows Media Player 11. Here's a site with numerous movie trailers in WMV-HD format:
http://www.drfoster.f2s.com/trailers_hd-dvd.shtml

The trailers at the site above are in WMV-HD format, but I've also played flawless high-def movie trailers (and other content) in DIVX format from the DIVX Stage6 website here:
http://stage6.divx.com/videos/tag:trailer
Click to expand...

I was / still am considering picking one of these up,just wondering how they are performance-wise and able to play games such as Everquest :D and also burn / edit movies.
 
Scott R said:
Mustanguy and ARgnasher, are you asking these questions as potential Slimline owners or do you already own a Slimline? If the latter, you should be able to answer these questions yourselves simply by downloading some WMV-HD trailers yourselves and playing them via Windows Media Player 11. Here's a site with numerous movie trailers in WMV-HD format:
http://www.drfoster.f2s.com/trailers_hd-dvd.shtml

The trailers at the site above are in WMV-HD format, but I've also played flawless high-def movie trailers (and other content) in DIVX format from the DIVX Stage6 website here:
http://stage6.divx.com/videos/tag:trailer
Click to expand...

I have a Inspiron 531s, which is the basically the exact build as the Slimines. I ask, because right now obviously games (CNC3 and a few older games) don't run well on the onboard 6150se graphics it came with. I noticed that my drivers weren't updated to the latest on nvidia's website since the stock ones it came with a few weeks ago. I'm not sure if drivers worked as good as they do for standard graphics cards compared to onboard.

That's why I'm confused about the drivers; would upgrading them show at least a minimal performance boost, or would they not be compatible and make things worse?

Hopefully someone on here has done this and can respond.

@boostified
Try the Inspiron 531s; just configure it with no monitor. I got it before I knew of the HP Slimlines, and I'm not sure I would've changed my mind either considering the dell's have a 250w psu compared to the hp's 160.
 
Is there room in the Slimline for a second hard drive? I assume not, but wanted to make sure.

Also, can I swap out the optical drive and stick in an XBOX 360 HD DVD drive? Or are you guys using the HD DVD drive externally?

I was thinking about picking up a Slimline s3120n that comes with AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor 4200+, 2GB RAM, 320GB HD, an ATSC TV Tuner, and remote.
 
Robario12 said:
Hope Im not threadjacking, but I installed the 8400gs from xfx...tight fit, seemed to work ok, but my comp will lock up if its on for a significant amount of time(10-15min). No reboots, only lockups. I assume this is heat related and not power supply related(which would induce a reboot). Has anyone else had this problem? What are normal temps to expect from cpu/mb with case closed? Thanks
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Hey there Robario: We are in the exact same situation. I have an s3120n and tried to put an XFX 8400GS in it. My machine didn't lock up, but it began to stutter badly particularly on OTA HD channels, and the powersupply began to run really loud (it goes without saying that the GPU got VERY VERY hot) so I sent the card back and am just running at a lower resolution. I would like to run my machine at 1680x1050, but I don't think this system has the power to do it.

I am interested in any sucesses you have had with upgrading your S3120N.

Thanks
 
iamme said:
Is there room in the Slimline for a second hard drive? I assume not, but wanted to make sure.

Also, can I swap out the optical drive and stick in an XBOX 360 HD DVD drive? Or are you guys using the HD DVD drive externally?

I was thinking about picking up a Slimline s3120n that comes with AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor 4200+, 2GB RAM, 320GB HD, an ATSC TV Tuner, and remote.
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Nope, no room for another hard drive within the case, but there is a slot on the bottom for a "pocket media drive" for pretty easy expansion.

This is a great little machine. Fast, Queit, Reliable. The remote is really nice and well laid out. As you may notice from this forum, it is a bit limited on how you can upgrade it as the power supply is a bit wimpy. That being said, it does everything it is supposed to do with no upgrades. I got mine refurbished from J&R for $399 and am very happy with it so far.
 
bigmak said:
Thanks for the reply! You've given me quite a bit more confidence in the 8400gs, enough so that I will take the plunge myself. I would really doubt that the 4000+ verses 5200+ CPU would make any difference in processing 1080p material, so I'll give this all a try and see what what happens.

Anyone else has any idea about the TV tuner that some of the slimline models come up (i.e. s3120n, s3220n, etc.)? Is it any good?
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Well, I have the s3120n. Both tuners (NTSC/ATSC) work very well in their standard configuration. There seemed to be come conflict with the xfx 8400gs that I tried to install. The drivers didn't get along very well. The remote control that comes with the s3120n is really nice too.
 
IndyLux said:
Well, I have the s3120n. Both tuners (NTSC/ATSC) work very well in their standard configuration. There seemed to be come conflict with the xfx 8400gs that I tried to install. The drivers didn't get along very well. The remote control that comes with the s3120n is really nice too.
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question: are there two inputs on the TV tuner? one for NTSC and one for ATSC (OTA HD)? how is the OTA HD playback?

also, not sure if you mentioned it already, but have you tried hooking up the Xbox 360 HD DVD drive to your s3120n?
 
I just set up my dads s3100n this weekend.

His Windows Vista scores were higher than my s3020n out of the box...He is keeping his stock. His scores were

Processor = 4.8
Memory = 3.9
Desktop Graphics = 3.0
Gaming Graphics = 3.1
Primary Hard-disk = 5.4
 
iamme said:
question: are there two inputs on the TV tuner? one for NTSC and one for ATSC (OTA HD)? how is the OTA HD playback?

also, not sure if you mentioned it already, but have you tried hooking up the Xbox 360 HD DVD drive to your s3120n?
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Yes, there are two separate inputs on the card. I have analog cabel and OTA HD. I am using a Terk indoor amplified HDTV antenna and get 5 bars on 5-6 channels. I am having some issues with a couple of the channels being a bit choppy, but I am assuming that is signal related (despite 5 bars) as the other channels look perfect. Free OTA HD is wonderful.

I don't have an XBox nor do I have an XBox HD DVD Player. Can't help there.

PS. If you couldn't tell from my nickname, I live in Indianapolis fairly close to the signal towers so that may make a difference. Check your local signals at http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Address.aspx
 
IndyLux said:
Yes, there are two separate inputs on the card. I have analog cabel and OTA HD. I am using a Terk indoor amplified HDTV antenna and get 5 bars on 5-6 channels. I am having some issues with a couple of the channels being a bit choppy, but I am assuming that is signal related (despite 5 bars) as the other channels look perfect. Free OTA HD is wonderful.

I don't have an XBox nor do I have an XBox HD DVD Player. Can't help there.

PS. If you couldn't tell from my nickname, I live in Indianapolis fairly close to the signal towers so that may make a difference. Check your local signals at http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Address.aspx
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cool, thanks for the info.

looks like i would just need a half height video card with DVI to get full HD goodness on my Westinghouse 37W3 LCD monitor :)
 
Just took the plunge on the s3120n refurb for $399. a slightly quicker CPU, 2GB RAM, 320GB HD, TV tuner/remote seems like a good deal. only wish the thing had DVI built in. i'm worried about people having trouble w/ the TV tuner and an external video card.
 
I started out up-grading my video to a xfx 8400gs. This was a heat-sink, no fan card. Everything worked fine until the video card started to heat up and the frame rate got choppy.

I swapped out the heatsink card for a fanned Leadtek 8400gs and now everything runs fine.

I think there just wasn't enough air around the heatsink card because of the TV tuner card being so close by.

This is a s3020n, AMD 4200, 320 HDD machine with 2GB memory.

My scores are:

Processor 4.9
Memory 5.9
Graphics 3.6
Gaming 4.5
Hdd 5.8

If anyone is looking for a xfx 8400gs to use in a non TV tuner machine I can make them a good deal on the spare card I now have.
 
sapp51 said:
I started out up-grading my video to a xfx 8400gs. This was a heat-sink, no fan card. Everything worked fine until the video card started to heat up and the frame rate got choppy.

I swapped out the heatsink card for a fanned Leadtek 8400gs and now everything runs fine.

I think there just wasn't enough air around the heatsink card because of the TV tuner card being so close by.

This is a s3020n, AMD 4200, 320 HDD machine with 2GB memory.

My scores are:

Processor 4.9
Memory 5.9
Graphics 3.6
Gaming 4.5
Hdd 5.8

If anyone is looking for a xfx 8400gs to use in a non TV tuner machine I can make them a good deal on the spare card I now have.
Click to expand...

how's the noise level on the video card w/ fan?
 
Actually not bad at all. A slight whine though. I have a VisionTek 1650 pro radeon on order that I am going to try to see which I like best for DVD, TV Etc... This is not a gaming machine. Purely media.
 
sapp51 said:
Actually not bad at all. A slight whine though. I have a VisionTek 1650 pro radeon on order that I am going to try to see which I like best for DVD, TV Etc... This is not a gaming machine. Purely media.
Click to expand...

This is really encouraging to hear. Do you think the fan noise was the video card fan or the increased fan noise from the power supply which may have to work harder? Is the 'whine' something you can live with, or does it detract from the unit (would you put it in your living room?).

The only other question is have you had an instance where the NVidia drivers interfered with the TV tuner? I got that message with my XFX 8400gs installed and was a little reluctant to go with another 8400gs for that reason.

I completely agree with your assessment that the heatsink crammed against the tv tuner was the downfall of the XFX in this machine. Thanks in advance for you feedback.

UPDATE... OK, as I keep thinking about, I'm not totally sure that heat was the only issue and that the power draw may have also been a problem. Are you having any problem with watching OTA HD? Does the picture start to degrade and get choppy after 5-10 minutes?
 
cool, i'd like to hear more people's experiences with external video cards. i really want an DVI interface for my 1080p monitor, but i'm not sure which will work best.

so far it sounds like the 8400GS w/ fan to cool it down works the best....
 
i end up cancelling mine s3100n, it was in stock when i ordered it then after a week they said it was back ordered... i end up ordering a dell 530 for 400

with this specs (refurb)
1 Inspiron Desktop 530 Mini-tower: Intel Pentium dual-core processor E2160 (1MB L2,1.80GHz,800 FSB)
1 Certified Refurbished
1 No Speakers
1 Dell Optical USB 2-button Mouse
1 USB Keyboard
1 Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
1 2 GB DDR2 Non-ECC SDRAM 677MHz (2 DIMMs)
1 Operating System Label
1 Software CD
1 AOL Software Documentation
1 AOL ISP Software
1 Shipping Material
1 Dell Support Software 1.0
1 No Floppy Drive
1 128MB NVIDIA 8300 GS
1 Support Software
1 ISP Search Assist
1 Microsoft Works 8.5
1 Adobe Acrobat 7.0 Reader
1 Resource CD
1 160 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)
1 Reference Guide
1 Processor Label
1 Operating System DVD
1 Roxio Creator LE
1 Image Restore Software
1 Dell Internal PCI 802.11g Wireless NIC, FH
1 16X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
 
iamme said:
cool, i'd like to hear more people's experiences with external video cards. i really want an DVI interface for my 1080p monitor, but i'm not sure which will work best.

so far it sounds like the 8400GS w/ fan to cool it down works the best....
Click to expand...

I've got the 8400GS without fan - it works fine. I've played through Warhammer 40,000 - Dawn of War in it's entire length with the XFX fanless 8400GS in my HP slimline. Probably 15-20 hours? No problems at all.

The system gets warm, but no problems with the 8400gs fanless model.

There isn't a whole lot of cool air to move over the card in the slimline case so in my estimation you aren't making it much cooler - intead perhaps just adding whining noise. You'd be better off dremeling a hole in the case side and putting a quiet 80mm fan blowing air into the side of the case.
 
I use my machine in my living room. I have had no driver problems at all. I think weather you use a TV card is very important to the heat & frame-rate skipping that can occur with the heat-sink only card that I was using.

My HD performance has been great. My machine is paired with a Sharp 37 in. Aquos LCD.
 
jamesbong said:
i end up cancelling mine s3100n, it was in stock when i ordered it then after a week they said it was back ordered... i end up ordering a dell 530 for 400
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where was the s3100n out of stock? i just ordered a s3120n from JandR.com and it said "in stock" status, so i'm wondering if it might be the same place...
 
The 8400gs problem is not the heat, but the power.

I have the 3120n and put in the 8400gs with the tv tuner still in there. It used too much power and my fps were real choppy and computer seemed a little sluggish. I took out the tv card and BAM...it was beautiful playback for everything.

I would like the tv tuner back in though eventually...there has to be a better powersupply out there!!!
 
Archaea and Sapp51 - I see that you're saying your machines work fine with the 8400gs, but is that WITH a TV card or without (specifically the s3120n TV card).

Morphx2 - I think we are are on the same page. Maybe the solution is to use the 8400gs and use an external USB tv tuner (with hardware encoding of course).

(GREAT THREAD GUYS! Let's keep it going.)
 
Probably need an external, too broke to work on it due to the tons of rebates to get the 3120n for free + 100 dollars. Gotta wait till I get rebates :D

I am using external USB harddrives for my movies though since internals wont fit plus its portable so its nice. I want to find a new power supply...must dig deep!

I am real happy with the machine though. Encoding at the quality I want takes around 30 hours though, so its on basically all day everyday doing work. I have to find a nice x264 encoding parameters to use :)
 
Morphx2 said:
Probably need an external, too broke to work on it due to the tons of rebates to get the 3120n for free + 100 dollars. Gotta wait till I get rebates :D

I am using external USB harddrives for my movies though since internals wont fit plus its portable so its nice. I want to find a new power supply...must dig deep!

I am real happy with the machine though. Encoding at the quality I want takes around 30 hours though, so its on basically all day everyday doing work. I have to find a nice x264 encoding parameters to use :)
Click to expand...

Did I miss something? How did you pull those rebates together to get it free? Is that still available?
 
It was a Staples thing. Basically, there was around 9 software titles to buy with tons of rebates; specifially rebates where you have to buy a computer too. And each software had enough rebates to go over the cost of the software. So I ended up paying around 1000 for the 3120n computer + 9 software titles and I am getting back 1100 dollars after rebates. :) The rebates all got validated too, just have to wait. The deal ended though Sept 28th :(
 
Ok, I have something for you folks. My s3120n came with a little IR blaster that looks like it can plug into the back of the USB receiver for the remote control. I have NO idea how to set this up or what it's function is supposed to be. Any pointers or links to how you use these things?

While on the subject of the remote, can the remote settings be changed?
 
anyone know the difference between the s3023w and the s3020N. they are both listed at j&r and the 3020 is $30 more than the 3023 so whats the extra $ for?
 
boostified said:
anyone know the difference between the s3023w and the s3020N. they are both listed at j&r and the 3020 is $30 more than the 3023 so whats the extra $ for?
Click to expand...

They probably were meant for different markets. Now they're refurbs. It seems that the specs are the same, so if you want one, get the cheaper one.
 
IndyLux said:
Ok, I have something for you folks. My s3120n came with a little IR blaster that looks like it can plug into the back of the USB receiver for the remote control. I have NO idea how to set this up or what it's function is supposed to be. Any pointers or links to how you use these things?

While on the subject of the remote, can the remote settings be changed?
Click to expand...

its for windows media center

google girder to change the buttons
 
iamme said:
where was the s3100n out of stock? i just ordered a s3120n from JandR.com and it said "in stock" status, so i'm wondering if it might be the same place...
Click to expand...

sweet! my PC shipped and it should be here tomorrow (10/31)! :D
 
Update: The onboard GeForce 6150LE played Transformers HD-DVD very choppy (via 360 HD-DVD drive). Upon installing the GeForce 8400GS AND taking out the tv tuner card...it played back FLAWLESSLY.

So if you plan on playing HD-DVD's, get the 8400GS and take out the tv card (if you have the 3120n)

The 6150LE played back VC1's mostly fine, but any MPEG4 AVC was bad
 
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