The highly rated HP Pavilion Slimline PC thread

My sparkle 270 watt PSU has been 100% absolutely solid reliable....... just for the record...

There have been a couple other guys on my youtube video that have posted issues with the PC50 as well...So at this point I think I only know of one guy who says he's used the PC50 with solid reliability. Mine wasn't, and definately a few on you tube and then petrip's wasn't.

I hope that in-win works out for you.
 
Archaea said:
I've got an extra one I'll sell if you are interested with a couple stock power supplies.

$40 shipped to a US address with 160 watt PSU.

$50 shipped to a US address with 180 watt PSU.
Click to expand...
Dude, wow thats good deal! its new or used or damage? can you post pictures of hp slimline with PS here?

Thank you, man
 
Where else EBAY.....They have people that sell cases without PSU's for about 40, I happened to get lucky and got a case that had the motherboard, PSU, CD, Cooler included for 50, bucks.

From what I can tell it's in good shape, my conclusion from looking at it was the person who had it tried to put in a video card but it was too much for the stock PSU, and their willingness to upgrade went only that far. I am assuming this out because the video card slot cover was missing. I am hoping that is the case, but who knows I could fire this thing up and the MB is dead that's the chance you take.

I have seen a few other places that do sell just the case, or the case and PSU, avg price runs 40 shipped. Best thing is keep your eye open for a deal then jump on it.

My stock PSU will be up for sale once I am done with my build as well.

Happy hunting, hope you find something.

As far as the PSU I got my 300W for 18 bucks, another Ebay find! I will swap the fans out with the Scythe mini kaze my friend has two of these 40mm fans and they are almost dead silent or a mere whisper as he likes to say, and it's true. I notice the stock PSU does not have many wires..for me I am not opposed to cutting a few if I don't intend to use them but always better to tuck them up above the DVD there's some room there from what I can see, I have bags of plastic lock ties and fully intend to use them to wire up my rig. I will try to take pictures while in the process of putting it together that I think might help others seeking solutions.

Getting ready for my build hopefully all will go well, at least I will have a week or so to think things through while on my trip.
 
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Well looking more into the specs of my 18 dollar PSU.....darn it's too wide not sure why I did not check but it's 3.9" where the case fits a 3.2" I may check to see if I can modify the case but for the most part probably not. Guess I will just use it on another build at a later date.

Anyway anyone ever try using a Seasonic 250W PSU? I know they have a 400W unit but I hear it's pretty loud, so I noticed the Seasonic 250 which has 8W on the 12V2 and 14W on the 12V1 (22W sounds like enough for me).

Any thoughts? Anyone using this one at the moment?

http://www.seasonic.com/pdf/datasheet/02IPC/SS-250SU-APFC.pdf
 
Well, I'm going to go pick up my ATi 4550 here in a few hours, I know now to always put my apartment number in the shipping info :rolleyes:

I'd also like to point out that by switching to windows 7 (64-bit) I was able to use all 4GB of my ram(s3421p), while the side of the case, and HP site, say it has 3GB(3024mb). I always figured it was always in multiples of the same number, i.e. 2x2g or 3x2g or 2x1g, not 1x2g and 1x1g, correct me if I'm mistaken. Had a hunch an extra gig was sitting in there and that vista 32-bit wasn't able to use it. :D
 
beowulf7 said:
I came across this article from HP and figured it may be of use to some here. It could also apply to non-HP and non-Compaq PCs.

HP and Compaq Desktop PCs - Reducing Heat Inside the Computer
Click to expand...

Find me one that fits a slimline and cools it well enough and I'd be totally down. (article just says to buy a slot cooler for the VGA basically..)

On that note, has anyone replaced the stock heatsink/fan with success? I'm looking at a few, including this Coolermaster Model.
 
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hacad said:
Where else EBAY.....They have people that sell cases without PSU's for about 40, I happened to get lucky and got a case that had the motherboard, PSU, CD, Cooler included for 50, bucks.

From what I can tell it's in good shape, my conclusion from looking at it was the person who had it tried to put in a video card but it was too much for the stock PSU, and their willingness to upgrade went only that far. I am assuming this out because the video card slot cover was missing. I am hoping that is the case, but who knows I could fire this thing up and the MB is dead that's the chance you take.

I have seen a few other places that do sell just the case, or the case and PSU, avg price runs 40 shipped. Best thing is keep your eye open for a deal then jump on it.

My stock PSU will be up for sale once I am done with my build as well.

Happy hunting, hope you find something.

As far as the PSU I got my 300W for 18 bucks, another Ebay find! I will swap the fans out with the Scythe mini kaze my friend has two of these 40mm fans and they are almost dead silent or a mere whisper as he likes to say, and it's true. I notice the stock PSU does not have many wires..for me I am not opposed to cutting a few if I don't intend to use them but always better to tuck them up above the DVD there's some room there from what I can see, I have bags of plastic lock ties and fully intend to use them to wire up my rig. I will try to take pictures while in the process of putting it together that I think might help others seeking solutions.

Getting ready for my build hopefully all will go well, at least I will have a week or so to think things through while on my trip.
Click to expand...
hacad, Thank you to share with me and this is great tips and advice.. I had experince tp built my own pc for 6 years. So I m looking for build the hp slimline case pc for my son. :)

I will take a look @ ebay.. many thanks!, Man..
 
Well I got the HD 4550 in but I cant get past the first blue screen with the HP logo, it just locks there and wont respond. Going to try to reseat it but it was so snug it was hard to get in the first time..

Update!: I tried removing the card and booting... but it did not work. SO I then carefully scanned over every connection on the mobo, and found that i knocked what appears to be the audio cable at an angle so that it wasnt on the pins all the way. Once i clipped it into place it booted, and again once my GPU was placed in again (first time, thought it was going to break or did break several times :p)

First off, when I played wow on the stock setup (AMD 5200+ 2.7G, 3/4GB ram, Nvidia 6150SE) I got around 7-15 FPS, if I was lucky, anywhere in the expansion areas, and about 20 FPS in the original continents, and that was with all setting on low, no filtering, no AA, no screen glow effect/shadows/specular lighting, NOTHING :p

Now immediately within joining I was getting a solid 15-20+ FPS, with all settings on HIGH, EVERYthing. I could probably get around 25-30 if I had all the settings on low, but now that I have the card I might as well crank it!

My 3DMark05 Score went from 600ish to over 5,000 marks.
My windows scores:
CPU: 5.2 -> 5.2
Ram: 5.9 ->5.9
Aero: 3.6 ->4.8(New Index Base Score)
Gaming: 3.0 ->5.0
HDD 5.7 ->5.7

I did remove the modem, and pocket drive bay, I have cut the cord form it and plan to use it to wire the 120mm fan for the side panel. The other one I got is a tad big so I may just put it above the 120mm.

Best $40 I've spent in a long time, and it was so easy to take apart and put back together, etc. Overall I'd say the ATi Radeon 4550 is the perfect card if you need a serioeusly low watt GPU, that still holds it's own, and can even handle some decent previous-gen games, and a few newer ones. But this also would make a great HTPC card because it's so quiet, though I have fans going in my house all the time, so it may be being drowned out >_>

SUPER-THANKS, I couldn't have been directed to such a good choice without all of your help! :D
 
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Update: the In-Win 300W runs the Sparkle 9800GT while gaming at full settings (1080p resolution through HDMI) with NO noticable increase in noise. I am still going to look into installing cooling fan(s), but so-far-so-good with the new setup. I am anxious to hear about everyone's endeavors with cooling options. I may yet need to rearrange the cables sitting in the case so that I can place the cover back on to the computer.

One additional question: when plugging in the SPDIF cable from the 9800GT to the motherboard, I noticed there are three prongs on the SPDIF_OUT2, as inidicated by the image below. However, the cable on the video card (red/black) will obviously only attach to two of the prongs. Does anyone know how to correctly attach the SPDIF cable to the motherboard? I will search the forum archives to see what I can find out about this.

Thanks!

c01357112.gif

c01357113.jpg
 
Good afternon. I recently was given a slimline s3220n that wouldn`t powerup. They were just about to throw it in the trash. Back in dec of last year we had a terrible ice storm that caused a power outage for more than 2 weeks. When the power was restored it created a large surge and fried some consumer electronics in their home. I took it home and tore right into it suspecting a completely burnt out unit but it appeared that the only problem was a fried psu. Searched the web and found a company in california which had one for $32.00 plus ten bucks to ship. Waited a week for fedex to drop it off. Got the box and was immediately curious as to why they would use such a large box to send a psu. Opened the packing slip first and it showed a 160 watt psu just like i ordered. Upon opening the box i soon discovered a dell optiplex motherboard. Dialed the company that sent it and owned up to their mistake and they sent another. It wont be here til the 20th. I have a full size case in my closet and decided that i would swap the power connector from the hp burnt power supply to the psu that was already in the case. I didn`t secure anything together just brought the two cases close enough to make the connection. Took a lil bit of patience to strip all those wires and make the connections. Plugged it in and crossed my fingers. Pressed the power button and it began to start up. I immediately did a factory restore and began with all the updates. I must say that i was pleasantly surprised with the way this little machine was running. I`m a rather impatient individual and decided to swap all the components in to the much larger case. I eliminated the tv tuner card and installed a creative sound blaster audigy z2 sound card. It sounded much fuller than the on board sound. Ran the windows experience index and came up with processor: 5.2
memory: 5.9
graphics: 3.2
gaming graphics: 3.0
primary hard disk 5.8
base score being 3.0. I had an old ati 1300 pci-e card and decided to toss that in. The only scores that changed on the experience index was both graphics scores with them going to 4.6 on the graphics and 4.2 for gaming graphics and i also was able to connect dual monitors due to the dvi output from the nvidia. The desktop looks much better on my toshiba 40 inch lcd tv with dvi to hdmi. I really wanted to use the original case but grew a lil impatient and began to experiment. The original power supply will be her monday but due to the fact that i`m really happy with it being in this new case i may just keep things as they are. Whisper quiet 425 watt psu. stock cpu fan and even the ati 1300 has a fan but the computer barely makes any sound. I just wish i had a few more open pci slots so i could insert the tv tuner and some other upgraded cards as time goes on.
 
First post here. Before I get into this project, I have a few questions. I've read almost this entire thread and it still hasn't answered my question. What is the clearance level for the HSF? I won't be having the original one and was looking for alternatives. Also, will the noise level on the Sparkle PSU be increased with a dual-core and a 9800GT? I've read so far that it would under a quad-core, would it be any different? I've seen some shaky experiences with the PC50 and the reviews on Newegg for the In-Win PSU don't sound too good either. Just wanted to find alternatives before I drop a lot of money for the PC50.

-athenas
 
athena's.

I'd recommend the sparkle 270 watt. It can be had for $50 shipped from censuspc. Make sure and use the $5 coupon.

You don't have any extra clearance for any other heatsink in the slimline case. The stock/OEM heat practically touches the case side maybe missing it by a mm or two.
 
Archaea said:
athena's.

I'd recommend the sparkle 270 watt. It can be had for $50 shipped from censuspc. Make sure and use the $5 coupon.

You don't have any extra clearance for any other heatsink in the slimline case. The stock/OEM heat practically touches the case side maybe missing it by a mm or two.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion. Also, I really don't have a choice but to look for one. I don't have the stock HSF, unless someone is willing to sell one that they have. From the looks of the pictures in this thread, the stock HSF has a 60mm fan? Hopefully the Intel stock HSF that comes with my E8400 will fit and be sufficient enough.
 
athenas said:
Thanks for the suggestion. Also, I really don't have a choice but to look for one. I don't have the stock HSF, unless someone is willing to sell one that they have. From the looks of the pictures in this thread, the stock HSF has a 60mm fan? Hopefully the Intel stock HSF that comes with my E8400 will fit and be sufficient enough.
Click to expand...

I believe it's actually a 70mm fan.
 
I received my 4550 yesterday and took it for a spin. While I'm satisfied overall, the gaming performance just isn't quite where I wanted it to be. Given that the 4650 chews up about 20W more power on load, I will try and see if the power supply can handle it.

I managed to save a couple more watts by switching from the 3.5" drive to a suspension mounted 2.5" notebook drive, which has also solved my noise resonance and vibration problems. Incidentally, this has addressed the heat generation problems caused by my HD near the power supply intake as well.

Wish me luck!
 
Yeah, the 4550 is great for last-gen games, but it's not going to get max settings on all of them either. Like I said before the only game I play on a regular basis is world of warcraft, which will run on everything maxed. It CAN play Crysis :eek: But you have to have everything on low for it to be playable, which is cool cuz it's an OK game, but half the feeling is gone without the next-gen visuals. For JUST HTPC use it would be more than enough I would think also.

Wish you luck on the replacement!
 
Yeah, I was just a little disappointed with the 4550 in Fallout 3, my game at the moment.
 
Zoogle said:
I received my 4550 yesterday and took it for a spin. While I'm satisfied overall, the gaming performance just isn't quite where I wanted it to be. Given that the 4650 chews up about 20W more power on load, I will try and see if the power supply can handle it.

I managed to save a couple more watts by switching from the 3.5" drive to a suspension mounted 2.5" notebook drive, which has also solved my noise resonance and vibration problems. Incidentally, this has addressed the heat generation problems caused by my HD near the power supply intake as well.

Wish me luck!
Click to expand...


It'll might take more than luck to keep your computer running with the 160 watt PSU when you upgrade to the power hungry 4650.

Perhpas re-read post 2756 in this thread. I still advise buying a new PSU before you risk damaging more than just your stock 160 watt PSU. (i.e. motherboard, video card, etc)

When you spend the money for the PSU upgrade then you'll have other options over just go to the 4650 -- instead I'd recommend the 9800GT - performance is way better and the 9800GT is still silent in my exp. I've never heard it ramp up the fan in my current s3600t setup.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814187061
 
If the power readings that techreport took down while testing the 4650 in the review you linked me to in your original post were correct Archaea, then my configuration shouldn't have a problem handling the power load since I'm not using a Raptor for my hard drive nor am I using a 65W TDP E8400. That 700W power supply in that review should be less efficient at the loads the 4650 configuration was generating as well.

I just don't see how my system could possibly use more than their max load reading of 150W. If anything, the difference in configuration would put me around 120-130W. It may be dangerous but "nothing ventured, nothing gained" right?
 
Zoogle said:
Yeah, I was just a little disappointed with the 4550 in Fallout 3, my game at the moment.
Click to expand...

Fallout 3 is one of my favorite games of all time. Great replay value. The 9800 GT gives a fantastic frame rate on high/very high settings. As far as I know the 9800 GT is the most powerful low profile card around. I highly recommend adding it to your slimline. You have several power supply options, all well documented here. You won't be disappointed. I first played Fallout 3 with the 9600 GT and thought wow this card does a good job, but 9800 is much better.
 
pigskin80 said:
One additional question: when plugging in the SPDIF cable from the 9800GT to the motherboard, I noticed there are three prongs on the SPDIF_OUT2, as inidicated by the image below. However, the cable on the video card (red/black) will obviously only attach to two of the prongs. Does anyone know how to correctly attach the SPDIF cable to the motherboard?
Click to expand...

Yes there are 3 prongs and as far as I know nobody has addressed this issue with SPDIF. I am also interested in what is the proper or best way to interface SPDIF with the 9800 GT. Any ideas Archaea? others?
 
Zoogle said:
Yeah, I was just a little disappointed with the 4550 in Fallout 3, my game at the moment.
Click to expand...

Remember that the 4550 is not advertised as a gaming card. It's meant to be a low power consuming video card that can have native HDMI, which makes it suitable for HTPC applications, including playing 1080p hi-def.
 
athenas said:
First post here. Before I get into this project, I have a few questions. I've read almost this entire thread and it still hasn't answered my question. What is the clearance level for the HSF? I won't be having the original one and was looking for alternatives. Also, will the noise level on the Sparkle PSU be increased with a dual-core and a 9800GT? I've read so far that it would under a quad-core, would it be any different? I've seen some shaky experiences with the PC50 and the reviews on Newegg for the In-Win PSU don't sound too good either. Just wanted to find alternatives before I drop a lot of money for the PC50.

-athenas
Click to expand...

Athenas, regardless of what you've read, I can put my stamp of approval behind the In-Win PSU. It runs at a low-to-medium volume, even during high-end gaming, and I am running Vista 64-bit with a quad-core, so I am assuming a dual-core might run even quieter. Either way, both the Sparkle 270W and In-Win 300W are physically smaller than the stock PSU; the cables are the only things that take up all the space, and I did not have to remove the HSF in order to install either the PC50 (which didn't work) or the In-Win. As long as you can be creative with how you feed the cables through the case, and if you are willing to remove a few non-essential components (i.e. the pocket media drive) and cut into the metal cage that holds the HD and DVD, you don't need to worry about clearance with the HSF.
 
miosis said:
Yes there are 3 prongs and as far as I know nobody has addressed this issue with SPDIF. I am also interested in what is the proper or best way to interface SPDIF with the 9800 GT. Any ideas Archaea? others?
Click to expand...

That is what I feared. I honestly could care less if I get audio through the HDMI, as I use an the computer's on-board audio with my surround sound speakers. The problem is, even with the small SPDIF cable completely detached from the video card and the motherboard, I still get these annoying, loud, sharp "popping" noises when the TV's volume is turned up, since I am using the HDMI from my TV. I have tried everything I can think of to disable the SPDIF from the HDMI, but there is no option to disable the video card's audio from the system BIOS; I can only disable on-board audio, which is what I am using. The only solution is to completely mute the TV, which can be a pain when I want to switch between watching cable and using my computer between commercials. It's a slight annoyance, but an annoyance nonetheless. I am going to keep looking into this for a solution. Thanks.
 
Arch (or others), out of curiosity, do you plan on buying Slimlines, mod them w/ a 9800GT and beefed up PSU, and resell them, like on eBay?
 
Got the psu today from fedex. Disassembled the original s3220n components from the non original case and reassembled it to its original state. I donwloaded a program called speedfan to check on cpu temp and in the non original case temp was 28 celcius and sometimes hitting 30 under heavy gaming. Now that its assembled in its hp slimline case temps have risen to 38 celcius. Went back to onboard video. yuck!!! have to search these forum threads on a good video card to install. I will admit that the original setup is sleek and i love the looks. It doesn`t sit on the floor like its full size counter part. Extremely quiet.
 
beowulf7 said:
Arch (or others), out of curiosity, do you plan on buying Slimlines, mod them w/ a 9800GT and beefed up PSU, and resell them, like on eBay?
Click to expand...


I've thought about it but

$400 for a s3600t quad core slimline with 3 or 4GB ram
$75 for Sparkle 270watt and ATX adapter
$125 for 9800GT
$20 for 120mm fan, molex and PCIE adapters

Ebay and paypal fees $50


You'd pretty much have to sell for $700 to break even!
I'm not sure of the market for too much more.
 
Archaea said:
I've thought about it but

$400 for a s3600t quad core slimline with 3 or 4GB ram
$75 for Sparkle 270watt and ATX adapter
$125 for 9800GT
$20 for 120mm fan, molex and PCIE adapters

Ebay and paypal fees $50


You'd pretty much have to sell for $700 to break even!
I'm not sure of the market for too much more.
Click to expand...

I know what you mean. But you could market it as a small form factor gaming machine. It would be a somewhat limited market, but one that could exist (like those who like Alien Ware computers, but w/o the crazy case and high price tag). Or you could try on CL and see if any local takers would be interested, which would eliminate fees and shipping.
 
beowulf7 said:
I know what you mean. But you could market it as a small form factor gaming machine. It would be a somewhat limited market, but one that could exist (like those who like Alien Ware computers, but w/o the crazy case and high price tag). Or you could try on CL and see if any local takers would be interested, which would eliminate fees and shipping.
Click to expand...

It would probably only be cost-effective if you were able to buy the upgrade components at wholesale prices in bulk, as major computer manufacturers do.
 
Hey guys, just a quick question: what type (brand, model?) of 40mm fan should I get with the $5 dollars off coupon at censuspc? I know its kinda trivial, but I don't know any of the brands or what to look for. Thanks for any recommendations. :)
 
beowulf7 said:
you could market it as a small form factor gaming machine. It would be a somewhat limited market,
Click to expand...
The problem is that SFF gaming is a very small niche. SFF usually is for casual gaming / HTPC whereas true gaming doesn't want the huge compromises that SFF requires, starting with the chassis-limited HH video card.

The closest match for SFF gaming is a Shuttle-based unit which repackages a tower into a smaller box, and doesn't force huge cuts at the GPU or PSU..

That said, Arch could market this as a Build-To-Order service.

But IMO, SFF is best for desktop replacement / casual gaming, rather than hard gaming.
 
JHwangHF said:
The problem is that SFF gaming is a very small niche. SFF usually is for casual gaming / HTPC whereas true gaming doesn't want the huge compromises that SFF requires, starting with the chassis-limited HH video card.

The closest match for SFF gaming is a Shuttle-based unit which repackages a tower into a smaller box, and doesn't force huge cuts at the GPU or PSU..

That said, Arch could market this as a Build-To-Order service.

But IMO, SFF is best for desktop replacement / casual gaming, rather than hard gaming.
Click to expand...

I agree. I didn't mean to sound like Arch (or anyone else who would do this) could live off the profit from this. But just as a hobby to supplement his income, like he was (and still is) doing by buying Slimlines on UBid and parting them out or selling them for a profit on EBay or Craigslist. :cool:
 
Beowulf - I like the idea. Unfortunately I've just found on my ebay sales that the cheaper you can keep the buy it now the better/faster the sale goes. I've made $50 to $100 pretty easily on most of the slimlines I've sold. I'd prolly go through the upgrade hassle for $100 in profit, but not for $50. Too many headaches. I've got great feedback on ebay, but the customers on there make me feel real sympathy for the retail stores if they have to deal with deadheads like I've gotten from time to time.

As the price on the slimline goes up -- the audience dwindles.

I think adding a 1.5TB drive to the combo discussed above (like my current setup) would really make the value go up for the consumer. But by the time you do all these things the restore disks and backup measures that HP gives with the computer no longer work. Video drivers aren't loaded if they re-install etc. It's a headache for the folk that know nothing.
 
Just an update but the 4650 I installed last night has been working so far. Checked this morning and it was still handling the FurMark burn-in just fine. Power supply fan was kicking in quite a bit so I'm sure load was around or above 80% but that should be fine.

Currently, this is with the case cover off. I will be splicing the 5V lines and adding two 80mm inside the case, one where the pocket media drive used to be and one just further down from the CPU. I'll probably have to drill out larger vent holes in those areas since the airflow is pretty restrictive otherwise.
 
Here's an update on my status. I'm purchasing all parts separately and not modifying a purchased model. So far I've got a list of everything I need. The only things I'm uncertain of is if the HSF is going to fit and where to find an I/O plate for the Irvine-GL6E. I might have to make my own I/O plate, heh.
 
I need some help! I installed the in-win and 9800 GT in my f3720s a couple weeks ago.
I started getting random shutdowns, where the programs close up, a message flashes for a sec.(cant read it) and my comp turns off. It is happening now to the point I cant use my computer. My guess is it is a temp issue from reading the troubleshoot guide, but it's not hot. Worked fine the first couple weeks now its shutting down all the time. Anything I can do or try would be appreciated. Shutting down even when idle
Once it shuts down, it can take anywhere for 1 minute to 5 hours before the computer will boot up again.
SHould I try taking the in-win out of the case, hook it up and see if that is cooler and it does not shut down?
Can I do something in bios to bypass this shutdown.
It's barely getting hot!?!?!
Pressing "submit" before it shuts down....
HELP!
Really bumming,
Phil
 
Hi,

I have just installed a Sapphire ATI 4550 low profile card in my s3015. Mobo HematiteXL-GL8E with BIOS 5.07. When connneted via HDMI or the VGA when the PC is booted a mode not supported displays from the monitor and I have noticed that the heatsink on the fanless card is very hot even though the PC has only been on for a few minutes.

The display works fine in safe mode from the HDMI and VGA on the 4550. I am using the upto date drivers from the Sapphire website and have selected PCIe graphics in the BIOS. This is also the second card I have had presuming that the first was faulty. I have just removed a 2400pro from Sapphire and on refitting this card works fine.

Can anyone please HELP....

Regards

MrBen
 
petrip74: try turning off automatic restart so you can see what the error message is. Control Panel > System > Advanced System Settings > Advanced tab > Startup and Recovery Settings > Uncheck Automatically Restart.
 
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