The highly rated HP Pavilion Slimline PC thread

some models of 8400 do - some do not...That specific model you'll have to read up on. I know the XFX 8400GS (a model I own) does HDCP.
 
brons2 said:
........
Does the 8400HD do HDCP? I guess it doesn't matter if you're not going to do Blu-Ray with it.
Click to expand...

Probably not, as it is not mentioned in the description of this slimline model, but it does say that it supports Blue-Ray, HD DVD and Ms DirectX10.
Surprisingly, there is no mention of 8400HD in Nvidia's website.... so, I don´t really know what this card is capable of.
 
Archaea said:
some models of 8400 do - some do not...That specific model you'll have to read up on. I know the XFX 8400GS (a model I own) does HDCP.
Click to expand...

Yours have HDCP, as you well said, but Nvidia website does not mention it in their 8400GS description. Could that be that it is an additional feature included by XFX in their cards?
 
^ absolutely

As I understand it - each vendor can choose whether to pay the licensing fee to add HDCP support and the associated physical chip to their cards - it is not inherent in the 8400 chip. When I looked this up one time it wasn't a very expensive proposition either for the companies - only a few dollars --- but it adds overhead that most users never know about, cared about, or even would understand ---- so in the interest of being price competitive, many of the cheaper cards did not include HDCP support.


XFX does on the 8400GS - I investigated quite seriously to figure it out and then prolly have never needed nor used it. :)

Chaintech, BFG, Foxconn, EVGA, or whatever else vendors may or may not and may or may not differently with each of their products.

The HDCP chip that allows Blu-ray and HD-DVD support is an actual chip that is added onto the graphics card board and allows the decryption process to take place. This being said - there are software packages that can take care of that problem for you if your video card or display doesn't have the HDCP. AnyDVD is one of them.
 
Halsey said:
TIWizard- Keep us posted on your Radeon 3650. I hope it works. I was looking at a Radeon 3450 as a possible video card update, but I'd prefer the Radeon 3650 if the Slimlines can handle it.
Click to expand...

Seems to be working great...

One thing to note, don't leave your Slimline on the carpet with this card... Nothing bad will happen, but I did get 70 C temps when it was under full load.

First thing I did was place 2 dice :)D) at the back of the computer to raise the bottom vent off of the ground, then replaced the dice with a wooden board. Now under full load, I get about 60 C...

Comparison with the 3450:
Crysis on the 3450 (Yes, I dared to try :D)-
1024*768 - Pretty much everything at medium was ok, but my definition of ok is not 70 FPS (more like 25-30)
Crysis on the 3650-
1280*1024- Some things high (water at very high, I am picky about water :)), most medium, some low in order to keep the FPS high when in intense firefights.

Bioshock-
I wasn't able to try this out on the 3450, but I can play 1280*1024 at full quality just fine... Much better than a NVidia 8500 GT could do.

Vista scores:
3450: Graphics was 4.0
3650: Graphics are 5.6

Big difference.

Go for the 3650 over the 3450... No problems yet, and I don't think anything should occur.

I do have the 160W PSU, not the 180W, and I have an older AMD Slimline... All of the Slims should handle it just fine.
 
TIWizard said:
Seems to be working great...

Vista scores:
3450: Graphics was 4.0
3650: Graphics are 5.6
Click to expand...

That's great news! :) I will keep the airflow problem in mind. Recently I've been thinking that I might try this fan mod using those laptop cooling fans that 360spider found. Seems like a good idea for airflow improvement. I was wondering though, where did you get your card? I'm having a hard time finding a low profile 3650. Thanks.
 
Hi, Does anybody know the VISTA score for the ATI HD4550. I can get that card in LP format just about anywhere in the UK. I was wondering if its THAT MUCH better than my ATI HD3450 which scores Gaming 4.1, VISTA 3.7.
 
I have a S3200t which started out with the base 2gig ram. After speaking to HP, the said that the S3200t can handle up to 4gb. (Yes I know Vista will only show 3.2 or so).

I purchased (2) 2 gig sticks of DDR2 PC2-5300 667.

When I went to install them, my cpu would not POST.

I tried reseating the ram, but everytime I get a beep code. One short, one long, repeating.

I tried each stick by itself, together, even with mixed with my 1gig sticks. same thing, until I go back to the original 1gig in both slot, or just 1 gig in one slot.

I know it is possible that both sticks are bad, but this seems likely not, but I maybe wrong.

Also, this is not my first rodeo with upgrading ram, but certainly has been the most trying.

Has anyone ran across this before?

I have scoured everywhere with little results, but keep ending up back here... I have read through about 45 pages or so of this thread and have searched, but didn't find this particular issue.

Any thoughts or help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Halsey said:
That's great news! :) I will keep the airflow problem in mind. Recently I've been thinking that I might try this fan mod using those laptop cooling fans that 360spider found. Seems like a good idea for airflow improvement. I was wondering though, where did you get your card? I'm having a hard time finding a low profile 3650. Thanks.
Click to expand...

I didn't buy mine-- it came from a pile of them at my dad's office :D

It is a Sapphire card, which looks exactly like this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102754

Good card, and I am very pleased with the preformance and would recommend this card to all Slimline users :)
 
jgunselman said:
I have a S3200t which started out with the base 2gig ram. After speaking to HP, the said that the S3200t can handle up to 4gb. (Yes I know Vista will only show 3.2 or so).

I purchased (2) 2 gig sticks of DDR2 PC2-5300 667.

When I went to install them, my cpu would not POST.

I tried reseating the ram, but everytime I get a beep code. One short, one long, repeating.

I tried each stick by itself, together, even with mixed with my 1gig sticks. same thing, until I go back to the original 1gig in both slot, or just 1 gig in one slot.

I know it is possible that both sticks are bad, but this seems likely not, but I maybe wrong.

Also, this is not my first rodeo with upgrading ram, but certainly has been the most trying.

Has anyone ran across this before?

I have scoured everywhere with little results, but keep ending up back here... I have read through about 45 pages or so of this thread and have searched, but didn't find this particular issue.

Any thoughts or help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

The slimline only puts out 1.8Volts to the dimm slots. My first guess is that your RAM requires 2.0-2.3 volts.
 
To any of you AMD slimline owners.

4850E for $40 at newegg.com

2.5Ghz x2 @ 45 watt CPU (vs. 65 watt standard)

[H]arder, Better, Faster, Stronger
 
Well it had been a while since I tinkered with the little box I use as a DVR. Got a xfx 9400 gt. Installed the drivers, replaced the card and booted up. Very choppy video. Did a clean install with the 9400, same result. Put the 8400gs back in, still very choppy video. (disabled areo and tried lowering all of the power settings)

Did a clean install with the 8400gs and things are perfect like before. My take is if you are using this as a HTPC, stick with the 8400gs and be happy. Temps were way down with the 9400gt, though. Like in the mid fifties compared to the 8400gs which runs on my maching at around 71. Glad to see the thread is still alive and well.
 
mcnallm - After your re-install I think you should try that 9400GT again. You got the newest NVIDIA drivers I assume?
 
JTBomb said:
Hi, Does anybody know the VISTA score for the ATI HD4550. I can get that card in LP format just about anywhere in the UK. I was wondering if its THAT MUCH better than my ATI HD3450 which scores Gaming 4.1, VISTA 3.7.
Click to expand...

I recently fit a 4550 in mine. Here are the results:

Graphics 5.1
Gaming 5.2

I can't remember my previous scores exactly, but they were similar to yours.
 
Naive question: can you put the slimline horizontally - do you see any problem with this? Obviously provided that there is enough space above/below it to allow for good air circulation.

I want to integrate the slimline with my hifi gear, and putting it horizontally
somehow helps to make it look like another hifi component.
 
The vast majority of side holes would be on the underside me thinks

And the bigger problem would be that the motherboard would be on top making all the heat soak into the motherboard as it rises if you wanted to be able to use your CD-ROM
 
Archaea said:
.....And the bigger problem would be that the motherboard would be on top making all the heat soak into the motherboard as it rises if you wanted to be able to use your CD-ROM
......
Also the bottome of the case is slighly bloomed out right - so it wouldn't lay perfectly flat either I don't think.
Click to expand...

Good points. Horizontally is a NO.
Thanks.
 
Archaea said:
The vast majority of side holes would be on the underside me thinks

And the bigger problem would be that the motherboard would be on top making all the heat soak into the motherboard as it rises if you wanted to be able to use your CD-ROM
Click to expand...

Um...Doesn't it just matter which way you rotate the slimline?? :confused: I mean, the way my CD-ROM drive is placed, I can lay it on its side just fine, with the holes on top and CD-ROM drive right side up. I thought it was the same for all slimlines, but I guess other models have a different orientation...idk...:confused:

BTW, has anyone tried replacing the 160W PSU found on the AMD Slimlines with the 180W PSU that ships w/ Intel Slimlines?
 
Wow, ATI HD4550 looks great, thanks RobHP and miltuxon! Those VISTA scores are better then mine for graphical performance, pushing them ALL up to around 5.0 without killing the PSU. FANTASTIC.
 
The Sapphire HD4550 is perfect for HTPC duty, but becareful if you want to play games, as the performance is quite shoddy. I'd spend extra $10-20 and get the low profile 9500gt in case of gaming itch.
 
Considering I just bought a build to order Slimline about 2 months ago, that kinda sucks, because after looking at the feature set I would have definitely built one of those instead. I had to upgrade the video card for HDMI and step up the proc a little bit, on the 3700 I wouldn't have had to.

Also, that Radeon 4550 looks real nice for HTPC duty, except for the lack of HDMI. Does it support HDCP?
 
miltuxon said:
The score for my Sapphire HD 4550 512MB < 25w of power consumption on my Slimline s3041la 160W PSU, running without any problem so far.

Graphics 5.1
Gaming 5.2
Click to expand...

That is a vera impressive card, me like! :D However, I think I might stick with getting the HD 3650 for now since it seems like it runs games slightly better than the 4550, and I do believe the 3650 has an HDMI port, which is great for a HTPC. :cool:
 
360Spider said:
Sparkle to Release Low Profile GeForce 9600 & 9800 Cards

There's quite a few things I like about these cards:
1. GDDR3
2. 512MB of it!
3. Looks to be a lot more quiet than the KFA2 9600GT.
4. Roughly double the stream processors on the 9800GT (112) from the KFA2 9600GT (64).
5. HDMI(!!!!!) and DVI
6. Comes out in January

Cons:
1. Needs an extra PCI-e power connector. (No prob for me.)
2. Gigantic heat sync. (Don't plan on a PCI card with this.)

Providing power consumption is within range of my current 9600GT, you can be sure I'll be upgrading to this ASAP.:D

Here's some more high-res pictures of the cards. Click on the pictures at the bottom.
Click to expand...

;)

And same here miosis.:)
 
I wanted to give you guys an update on what happened to my machine.

I had my machine die on me after I installed a GeForce 9500 GT without upgrading the power supply. Luckily it was still under warranty so I shipped it back to HP about three weeks ago. They paid for shipping. Naturally I never told them that I broke it by installing a graphics card that was beyond the capabilities of the stock PSU.

Well I just got the machine back today and I read the service report that says I had damaged BOTH THE MOTHERBOARD AND CPU, but oddly enough not the stock power supply. Thankfully HP replaced both with no fuss. So my machine is practically brand new again.

Now as soon as I got the machine back the first thing I did was reinstall windows to get rid of all the bloatware they put in (HP doesn't provide installation discs, but you can go ahead and download vista from a torrent site and use your own product key from the sticker on the side of your machine... that way you get a clean installation). Then I went ahead and put in the new power supply as well as my video card. Because of the small chassis, you need to take apart almost all the components before you can replace the PSU. Also the screw holes on the new PSU don't match the case so you need something else to hold it in place (mounting squares are your friend).

One thing to note is that this power supply is LOUD! There is definitely a very audible humming noise from the PSU's fan which can drive you crazy depending on your tolerance. I may replace the fan later, but for now I'm just happy that I got my computer back.

What lesson do I take away from all of this? Well this is probably the last time that I'm buying a small form factor computer. It's my fault really for not researching the upgrade options before buying the HP Slimline. Transforming it into a gaming rig is simply not worth the effort IMO. And unless something breaks again I'm completely finished with tweaking this machine.

Cheers
james


HP Pavilion Slimline 3500f
2.8 GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 5400+
4GB DDR2 RAM
500 GB SATA
Upgraded with XFX GeForce 9500 GT
Upgraded with IN WIN IP-P300F1-0 300W TFX12V Power Supply
 
^ James, sorry to hear about your troubles, but glad it worked out for you in the end. So apparently even the 9500 GT is too much CPU for the Slimline. I assume you got an AMD (160 W PSU) rather than an Intel (180 W PSU) system.
 
Mine is an Intel 160W PSU + XFX 9500GT working fine since november 2008. We need to think in a scientific way (just like the guys at SCI) and not make statements without hard evidence. Maybe jamesvill got a faulty PSU or motherboard or both! There's a lot of of Slimlines which are sold as refurbished systems in HP site or even eBay and it happens with all electronic stuff in mass production. Please, don't forget that...
 
Ok, my computer finally died on me...

Yes, I am the one with the 3650 :)

So far, it looks as if it is the problem with the motherboard (see recall due to defective onboard video), mainly because I get the symptoms described by the extended warranty page...

Stay tuned :D

My comp. won't display video through the video card or included VGA port, so it is something big...
 
TIWizard- That's not good, I hope everything gets resolved soon. So, the motherboard was recalled due a defective part? That's good news, in that it wasn't the 3650 that caused the damage, right? I'm still holdin out hope that it's not the card's fault lol. :cool:

James-I'm sorry to hear that your 9500GT didn't work out for you, but hopefully with the 300W psu that shouldn't be a problem again. :)
 
The motherboard was recalled due to the defective onboard video, causing computers to not turn on or display video...which is what is happening now :)

I think the 3650 is safe, and the defective chip probably killed my comp :p

Will send it in, see what happens... If I have to get a new computer, oh well. Just this time, it won't be a Slimline...
 
^not likely - if you are using a seperate VGA card - the onboard video issue where the display won't come on won't effect you.

Guys -- the problem is did not originate from the CPU or motherboard - it originated from you overloading your PSU and my opinion is ---- it isn't if your PSU will fail or cause your other components to fail when you push it too hard --- BUT WHEN!!!!

Read some PSU reviews. Most of you need to understand what ripple and noise in a power rail is. ANYTIME you overload a PSU you severly increase ripple and noise. Ripple and noise in a power line make components fail because they are getting crappy unregulated small power spikes and variances.


Not to beat a dead horse, but if you look through my posts you'll see I've been saying this the whole time...unfortunately we still have a few people saying it works on mine it should work on yours and encouraging others to jump off the cliff.

Just don't upgrade to the nine series cards without a PSU upgrade.

And I think Jamesvill hit the nail on the head --- he said what I've said in several posts already and LONG ago. The HP Slimline PCs are fantastic for a home theatre PC or light duty gaming machine - but don't intend to make them into a heavy duty gaming rigg or your headed for frustration and disappointment. They just were not engineered that way.
 
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