The highly rated HP Pavilion Slimline PC thread

I can confirm that the Sapphire HD4350 works quite happily in my slimline with the 65watt cpu (5000+)and a 160watt PSU, plus I get full 7.1 audio through the hdmi to my LCD 32 inch samsung telly! It has a heatsink and is totally silent to boot. I have an awsome HTPC now, very happy. It came with low profile brackets and had a HDMI built in...awsome well worth £25 quid that I paid for it from Ebuyer. :cool:
 
Unfortunately, I got a bad PSU from CENSUSPC and I am now waiting for my RMA to return it to exchange for an operating unit.

It was just DEAD from the get go.....After it wouldn't even power up my SLIMLINE'S motherboard, I plugged it (without the 20 pin to 24 pin mini connector to isolate that as the potential problem) into a full size motherboard in my neighbor's gaming box and it wouldn't power it up either, so I know it is the Sparkle PSU and not the way it was installed or any of the other connectors etc!

Has anyone else got a bad PSU from Sparkle?

Anyway, the turn around time on that is at least a week 'till I get a replacement unit, so I now have MORE time to consider the RAM issue.

OK....I reconsidered it really fast after reading Archaea's last post on this, he is right...worst case scenario is that I plug in the new memory sticks and my PC still shows only 2GB of RAM is being recognized....Then I will put back in the old sticks and return the new ones to Newegg for a refund.

The two 2 GB Corsairs are $54.99 (PRICE JUST REVISED ON WEBSITE) + $4.54 Tax and $5.99 Shipping totaling $65.52. If I have to return the sticks I will pay $5.99 to ship them back for a total of $71.51. I will also incur a restocking charge of 15% of the $54.99 or $8.25.

So, I will be out only about $71.51 less the $46.74 Refund = $24.77 MAX.

The upside is IF they do work, then I can turn in the Mail In Rebate for $20.00 and my net cost will be only $45.52!

At this point...I just HAVE to know for myself if "Rohit" in India is WRONG and YOU (Archaea) are RIGHT!!! It is well worth putting less than $25.00 at risk to find that out!

I have just ordered these Corsair Sticks from Newegg again!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145241

PS: I am NOT going to cancel the order again no matter WHAT new info I come across regarding this issue.....I am DONE!
 
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Archaea said:
Absolutely on the Sparkle 270 being enough power for anything you can pack in the slimline.

Yes to the additional fan - IMO - even if it is just a single small 40mm fan on the back of the case. It'll make your PC run cooler and last longer + add reliability.
Click to expand...

Okay, I am definitely going with the Sapphire HD 4650 low profile and a PSU 270 Watts. What other options can I use besides a small external fan? There are any internal cooling option?
 
CHUCKP said:
Unfortunately, I got a bad PSU from CENSUSPC and I am now waiting for my RMA to return it to exchange for an operating unit.
Click to expand...

Before you actually send it back, plug it in and with a paperclip or a wire touch the green wire and any single one of the black wire leads together. That jump starts the PSU. If you don't get power there you have a dead PSU -- if you do you may have another problem of some sort (or you may still have a issue with the PSU.) Sorry your having trouble with the Sparkle, mine has been exceptional.

CHUCKP said:
At this point...I just HAVE to know for myself if "Rohit" in India is WRONG and YOU (Archaea) are RIGHT!!! It is well worth putting less than $25.00 at risk to find that out!
Click to expand...

KRAD you mean ;)

I've never tested it. I just stated that KRAD said he used it and several others in this forum have found 4GB work at various times when 2GB was the max HP claimed. Not sure for your individual instance because I've not tested, but I'd think odds are in your favor. If you can stomach the money that might be lost it's worth the venture.
 
eatfishy

The 40mm fan can go on the inside of the case, I have a mini kaze in mine works fine and very quiet. I think you can put up to 3 fans along the back grate. They do help I also have one blowing on the heatsink for the chipset as well.
 
Below is my shopping list to upgrade my SlimeLine S3400F. Does anyone know if I'm missing any component or possibly ordering extra parts that is not necessary?

SAPPHIRE 100253HDMI Radeon HD 4650 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Low Profile Video Card - Retail $54.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102829

Sparkle Power SPI270LE 270 Watts FLEX ATX (20/24-Pin) RoHS Power Supply Bulk-pack SKU: SPI270LE $49.99
http://www.censuspc.com/Sparkle-Powe...k-pr-5902.html

Scythe SY124010L Fans - Retail (Buying two of these) $6.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185039

Link Depot Power Adapter Cable Model POW-ADT-2024 - Retail (20 Pin Female to 24 Pin Male?)$4.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812189060

OKGEAR 8" molex 4pin male to 15pin SATA power cable Model GC8ATAL - OEM $1.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812123137

APEVIA 4 Pin PSU to PCI-E Power Supply Converter cable Model CVT46 - Retail $2.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812201004&Tpk=CVT46

My estimated total + shipping will be around $150.00 USD
 
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guys posting this up in the for sale forum if anyone interested


HP Slimline 3600t which is a great option for an HTPC available. I purchased this via ubid as a refurb and did some great upgrades to make it even more potent
HP keyboard and mouse are included.

Base system:

PROCESSOR
Intel Pentium Dual E5200 (2.5GHz/2MB L2 Cache)

MEMORY
4GB DDR2 SDRAM (2x2048MB)
Total memory slots: 2 DIMM

HARD DRIVE
500GB 5400 RPM SATA Hard Drive

this includes onboard graphics (Nvidia GS7100) which are not good at all so I have upgraded the card to a 9500 GS more is more than powerful for blu ray and some games.

In addition, I replaced the 8x lightscribe with an LG 4x blu ray reader

The system right now comes

OPERATING SYSTEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (32 bit)

SOFTWARE
HP Total Care Advisor
Recovery Manager
Hardware Diagnostic Tools
HP Photosmart Essentials
Adobe Reader

I can leave that intact with the usual crapware that HP installs or I can do a clean format and install Vista Ultimate either 32bit or 64bit your choice.

I will also install a copy of powerdvd 9 ultra

please pm me with any questions

shipping is now included in the conusa
 
Hey the finally updated 'em. Damn they're pretty, buta tad taller though (apparently 1.3 inches higher) - they still have that ridiculous pocketdrive bay as well, really who uses those things?

No idea about the GT220 performance, which is the top-end card they're offering with it, at least the Intel model (only GT210 on the AMD for some reason, despite the same 220wt PSU). It's one of the few Nvidia cards being produced on the 40nm process. I think it's meant to replace the 9500GT, but hopefully its closer in performance to the 9600GT.

Damn though are the AMD models a solid deal - $369 for a 2.7ghz 7750 (new AMD dual cores using the Phenom core so they're quite a bit faster than the same clocked Athlon X2's), 2gig, 500GB HD. The 5050e X2 model will only ring you up $350.
 
This comment above:

"... they still have that ridiculous pocketdrive bay as well, really who uses those things?"

reminded me to mention something that I discovered (this has prolly has been mentioned somewhere in this thread before?) while I had the case open in order to change out my GPU and PSU.

The standard HP SLIMLINE "Pocketbay Drive" was never used by me and is, IMHO, just a waste of space in an already too tight environment inside the SFF HP box.

However, if you remove the Pocket drive case with the USB connector and cable (which is EZ to do), and then bend the pins on the plastic flip-up door (along with the tiny springs to keep it closed) to remove it as well, you have created a nice approx 20mm X 80mm opening that goes all the way thru the bottom of the case.

When you use an exterior mounted fan to pull hot air out of the case, this sizable opening in the bottom of the front panel will allow cool air to enter and should help significantly in keeping the PC from overheating, even with the extra temp generated by the heavy duty PSU and GPU that we have installed.

Has anyone else made this simple mod on thier upgraded SLIMLINE's? Has it helped with the cooling? (It can't hurt, that's for sure!)
 
CHUCKP said:
However, if you remove the Pocket drive case with the USB connector and cable (which is EZ to do), and then bend the pins on the plastic flip-up door (along with the tiny springs to keep it closed) to remove it as well, you have created a nice approx 20mm X 80mm opening that goes all the way thru the bottom of the case.
Click to expand...
Oh believe me I know, we have about 20 of these at work and I've opened up plenty. I just can't help but think they could save some space in the design by not including it.
 
Hi folks,

Well since my last post I had my Slimline all up and running (repaired by HP) and today it's died again. I can't get anything now, no display through either the PCI Express video card or the onboard video.

I've been in touch with HP about getting it repaired but I'm expecting them to say no.

So... not sure what to do. I can't afford another Mini ITX board, especially not one which supports an AMD dual core CPU.

I'm wondering if I might be worth just selling the case and PSU on eBay, chucking the motherboard and making use of what I have left over in a new build (I have an Athlon X2 4400, 500GB hard drive, 2GB Ram and DVDRW so I have a fair few bits to build another HTPC. Just need a motherboard, CPU fan and case.

It's a shame really as the Slimline fitted perfectly in with the rest of my home cinema equipment but hey, it didn't cost me much, I guess it's just one of those things.

Rob
 
drpenicilin said:
New Slimlines, new cases, new chipset, lower PSU? http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s...y&v1=Slim+and+sleek&series_name=s5150t_series
Click to expand...

Yeah, what I'd like to know is what the form factor of the (new) motherboard is. With the (slight) increase in size, maybe they've been able to fit a micro ATX motherboard in there. IMO, that would make replacing the power supply easier (hopefully) as well as possibly even increase the availability of motherboards compatible with the slimline. I'm eager to see what they look like sans case. :cool:
 
eatfishy said:
Does anyone know if I'm missing any component or possibly ordering extra parts that is not necessary?
Link Depot Power Adapter Cable Model POW-ADT-2024 - Retail (20 Pin Female to 24 Pin Male?)$4.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812189060
Click to expand...

That won't do you any good. Read the first post. You need a sharply overpriced proprietary cable from ATXpowersupplies.com The only place I've ever seen these cables cheaper is ebay - but only one seller ever had them and they haven't listed them lately. They sold them for about $10 shipped IIRC.

http://www.atxpowersupplies.com/20-pin-to-24-pin-hp-slimline-atx-converter.htm

This all has been discussed sooooooooooooo many times in this thread........
 
CHUCKP said:
However, if you remove the Pocket drive case with the USB connector and cable (which is EZ to do), and then bend the pins on the plastic flip-up door (along with the tiny springs to keep it closed) to remove it as well, you have created a nice approx 20mm X 80mm opening that goes all the way thru the bottom of the case.

Has anyone else made this simple mod on thier upgraded SLIMLINE's? Has it helped with the cooling? (It can't hurt, that's for sure!)
Click to expand...

I've removed the Pocket Media Thing, its USB connector, and the flip-up door is held back with a paperclip (good idea about the pins, though) - and honestly, according to CoreTemp, I haven't seen a noticeable drop in my CPU temperature, however, I don't have any additional fans, so that's possibly why.

I'm currently trying to find a quiet two pin 5v fan that I can solder to the power leads on the USB connector to help cool my chipset heatsink. What I'm not sure about is the max amperage supplied by this USB header...I think it is 100 milliAmps, but can anyone confirm this? Thanks.
 
Finally, got the Galaxy 9600GT LP LP. Now, if I only get one of those new Slimlines... I really don't want to try it with my 160W PSU Slimline!!!
 
Halsey said:
I've removed the Pocket Media Thing, its USB connector, and the flip-up door is held back with a paperclip (good idea about the pins, though) - and honestly, according to CoreTemp, I haven't seen a noticeable drop in my CPU temperature, however, I don't have any additional fans, so that's possibly why.

I'm currently trying to find a quiet two pin 5v fan that I can solder to the power leads on the USB connector to help cool my chipset heatsink. What I'm not sure about is the max amperage supplied by this USB header...I think it is 100 milliAmps, but can anyone confirm this? Thanks.
Click to expand...

500ma is more standard....though i've not read specific info on the slimline headers.
 
Extensive research with techs at ATI, Sparkle, and GeForce, and by testing each board via varioius stores with 14 to 30 day trials, I ended up getting two Radeon HD4550, each from Newegg.com for $39.95 including shipping & a HDMI cable. My wife and I each have a HP Pavillion Slimline s3300f, and with the Radeon HD4550, it runs perfectly and without noise. We drive ASUS H233H and Samsung Multisyync 204B monitors in their respective native resolutions. We are professional writers, do video editing with Photoshop and Pinnacle, and watch HD video, but we are not gamers. We also use 4 (2x2GB) PC2 6400 DDR2 ram and it is competely recognized. Make sure your System Settings for Data Execution Prevention(DEP) is set to "turn on all DEP programs" to maximize memory usage. I was told that the only reason for purchasing a higher speed video/graphics card than the HD4550 was to play extensive gaming that require the latest technology like the HD4870 or GeForce 9800GT, but those cards will not fit the slimline computers due to size and power supply requirements. We are happy campers with the Radeon HD 4550. Sparkle makes a low profile 9800GT that will fit the s300f, but you will need a different power supply and the fan is noisy, and it will not help with anything that I do with my computer unless I want to run the latest games. For that I have another computer, and the noise is annoying even with quietpc.com fans and accessories.
 
I am supposed to get my replacement PSU on Monday and, if this one is good, I will then be able to complete the upgrade of my s3100y SLIMLINE with the Sparkle GeForce 9800GT low profile Graphics Card that appears to be the best card now available that will fit into the SFF Case of the HP SLIMLINE.

One thing I will be curious about is the fan noise from this card. There seems to be conflicting info (Duh...as if THAT is something new to this thread!) regarding the noise level of this card?

Archaea went thru ALOT of trouble to custom mod the fan in his 9800GT to reduce the level of excessive noise. Clearly, he wouldn't have done all that if it wasn't necessary!

The bad rep this card is getting for being noisy is repeated in the post above where klbro criticises it for this apparent flaw:

Sparkle makes a low profile 9800GT that will fit the s300f but.......the fan is noisy

Now I read an impressive technical review of this exact card at:

http://www.techaddicts.net/reviews/9800gt/9800gt.html

The reviewer found just the opposite and notes as one of the cards "Pros" that it is "quiet"!

ONLY when overclocked did it exhibit this noise problem:
===============================================================

The Sparkle 9800GT HDMI features a surprisingly small cooling fan. I thought it would be pretty whiny, but it turned out to be just as quiet as NVIDIA's reference design fan.

During testing, it never seemed to speed up, but the system never crashed nor did any artifacts or screen corruption show up. On the next page, where I overclocked this card, the fan had to be cranked all the way up to 100%. At full speed, this fan is quite noisy, but that is to be expected.

Overclocking the 9800GT HDMI was done via RivaTuner. It was hard to raise the clock speeds even a few MHz without it artifacting and locking up the system. The only way to do so was to raise the fan speed to 100%, which sounds like a high pitched hair dryer.

So, I do not recommend overclocking this card at all, unless you don't mind the noise. I was able to reach a maximum of 675 MHz Core / 972 Mhz Memory with the fan at max speed, which is a decent overclock, but nothing too impressive.

+Pros:
-Great performance
-Good price
-Quiet
-HDMI

-Cons:
-Card takes up two slots
-No SLI Support
-Not really overclockable without turning the fan to its highest speed.(WHICH APPARENTLY THEN MAKES IT UNACCEPTABLY NOISY)

===============================================================
I do NOT plan on overclocking the card so I certainly hope that this reviewer is correct and I won't have to listen to "a high pitched hair dryer" while using my PC!

PS: While gaming, I will be wearing headphones anyway, as my SO complained numerous times of the "horrible noises", like explosions and machine gun fire, coming from my den where I have my PC set up with a pretty powerfull little PC speaker set up (incl a woofer)....so even IF the Graphics Card's fan goes 100% only while gaming..that would be OK...but it would NOT be if that was a constant noise. I assume that the fan speed is controlled by the temp of the card and only increases if the temp reaches a certain point...with my exterior (quiet) 80mm fan, that shouldn't happen!

I will report here what the deal is with the Graphics Card cooling fan noise once I get it all set up and running!
 
my GeForce 8150 in my HP 3120n bit the dust.

Any idea if there is a better card than that for it or should I just buy another 6150?
 
Does anyone know if the Intel Q8200 CPU option from HP Slimline build site is the 95W or the 65W TDP version?
 
Archaea said:
500ma is more standard....though i've not read specific info on the slimline headers.
Click to expand...

That makes sense, as that way the 100ma I was thinking of would be one unit load. Thanks for clearing that up, Arch!

CHUCKP said:
One thing I will be curious about is the fan noise from this card. There seems to be conflicting info (Duh...as if THAT is something new to this thread!) regarding the noise level of this card?
Click to expand...

ChuckP, watch this video (at about 4:10 and again at about 5:20) and you can decide for yourself if the 9800GT is too loud for your liking:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8Y2PPMiiB0

Hope that helps.
 
Halsey:

Thanx for pointing me to your UTube Vid which documents the noise levels of both the Sparkle 270W PSU and the Sparkle 9800 GT GPU.

It seems that the PSU is the main culprit in making this dual upgrade of both the PSU and the GPU louder than "stock" rather than the GPU!

The PSU's internal cooling fan should not be running at 100% (or even close to that) while under heavy gaming loads IF you have sufficient cooling, which I am hoping my 80mm external USB powered fan will provide. It can pump over 44 CFM of hot air out of the box at a relatively quiet noise level at its adjustable 3000RPM full speed.

I will be posting a full report of ALL aspects of my upgrade here, to incl noise levels of the new units, as soon as I get it all put together again, hopefully by mid week.

PS: This time, when I get the RMA swapped out Sparkle PSU from CENSUSPC, I am going to test it by just plugging a power cord into its 115V socket and seeing if the fan starts or if an LED lights up....Hopefully that will tell me if I have a working unit without having to actually install it into the case and connect all the wires like I did last time only to find out it was DEAD!
 
CHUCKP said:
I am supposed to get my replacement PSU on Monday and, if this one is good, I will then be able to complete the upgrade of my s3100y SLIMLINE with the Sparkle GeForce 9800GT low profile Graphics Card that appears to be the best card now available that will fit into the SFF Case of the HP SLIMLINE.

One thing I will be curious about is the fan noise from this card. There seems to be conflicting info (Duh...as if THAT is something new to this thread!) regarding the noise level of this card?

Archaea went thru ALOT of trouble to custom mod the fan in his 9800GT to reduce the level of excessive noise. Clearly, he wouldn't have done all that if it wasn't necessary!
Click to expand...

You got it backward - reread my posts...the 9800GT is exceptionally quiet. I've never heard it make any noise at all except for the spin up at post (PC startup) The sparkle 270 watt PSU is loud under load -- That's what I needed to mod. The 40mm fan on the back of it gets to screaming as temps increase. At idle it wasn't bad, but in gaming the power supply gets loud --- thats why I removed the 40mm fan and put a quiet 60mm fan on the bottom of it. The other fan modding (120mm fan on the side of the case) was to keep the case cool because the 9800GT gets hot. My entire s3600t with quad core CPU, 9800GT, 1.5TB drive, 4gb ram, and sparkle 270 watt PSU is exceptionally quiet after my mods, you can barely hear it is on even with the most intense of gaming.

By the way --- I made that PSU video - it is linked in the first post.

ALSO - you won't see anything turn on when you plug in your new PSU if there is nothing attached. It isn't switched on and there are no LEDs. The only way you'll be able to tell if your PSU works without plugging it into a case is to jump start it (power switch it) by shorting the the green and black wires on the main 24 pin connector as I told you here...
http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1034271450&postcount=3004

Watch that same PSU video I made at 2:10...it'll show you what I'm talking about if it doesn't make sense.
 
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ALSO - you won't see anything turn on when you plug in your new PSU if there is nothing attached. It isn't switched on and there are no LEDs. The only way you'll be able to tell if your PSU works without plugging it into a case is to jump start it (power switch it) by shorting the the green and black wires on the main 24 pin connector as I told you to do...

Archaea:

Sorry....I got so cranked up about the failure of the Sparkle PSU that I got my "Sparkles" mixed up regarding where the fan noise was coming from!

Anyway, I went ahead with your test with the replacement PSU from Newegg.

I made a "jumper connector" from a large paperclip and plugged in the power to the PSU and pushed one end of the paperclip into the socket where the green wire led and the other into one of the several sockets where the black wires led.

At first, I thought OH SHIT...another bad PSU! NOTHING happens...the fan doesn't start, there is no LED no sound was (apparently to me at that point) coming from the PSU!

Then I held the PSU up to my ear and I could finally hear a faint uneven humming sound..when I pulled out the paperclip from the two sockets in the 20 (not "24") pin connector coming from the PSU (of which only 19 are used), the humming sounds STOPPED! I did it again and the same sequence occured. I guess that means that my PSU is OK.

I will be installing it on Wednesday AM and will report the FINAL results here....

Wish me luck and sorry again for the mix up between the GPU and the PSU!

PS: Several of the businesses selling this PSU use these words in the technical description:

"Noise Killer (thermal fan speed control function)" and

Low noise and ripple

Yeah right!
 
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CHUCKP said:
PS: Several of the businesses selling this PSU use these words in the technical description:

Low noise and ripple

Yeah right!
Click to expand...

Low noise and ripple, when used together like that, generally refer to small spikes and variances in the voltage of the DC output. When you have high noise and ripple, your PSU fails to entirely convert the AC power coming from your outlet into DC power which is used by your computer. Those variances can potenially harm the components in your computer (mainly the motherboard), which is why you want a PSU with low noise and ripple. Its also why companies tend to use "low noise and ripple" as a selling point for their PSU's.
 
Oh well....it is the wrong kind of "noise" that is low along with the "ripple"!

Anyway, is the fan speed on the Sparkle 270W PSU controlled by the temp of the unit itself automatically? So the hotter it gets (such as during heavy duty gaming) the faster the fan spins and visa versa.

AND/OR....is there any way to intervene (at the risk of overheating the PSU, I realize that) by using software that would allow you to "overide" the automatically variable fan speed to slow it down and therefore reduce the noise level?

I hope so, as I don't have anywhere near the level of technical competence needed to be able to "mod" the PSU's fan, like Archaea did, by changing out the stock fan with a quieter replacement!
 
So I installed my Radeon HD 4650 on my stock HP Slimline with the 160 Watts. It was easier than I thought and I got it running for a few hours already. I am waiting for my Sparkle 270 watts PSU to arrive.
 
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I definitely would suggest going with the 9800GT. I upgraded mine shortly after Archaea installed his. I believe our ways of working out power issues were a little different, but both are functional and stable. Mine uses a 450w Supplemental PSU and the "Factory" 160w PSU. Quiet as can be. It does rev up on post but that is for maybe 1 sec after power on if that. I leave mine on 24 hours a day and it stays quiet and cool. I keep checking on here to see if Archaea has found us Low Profile 2XX series yet....yeah I'll keep on wishing.
 
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OK...I have now completed the installation of the Sparkle 270 w PSU and the Sparkle 9800GT GPU.

Here is just a quick update with more details to follow after I do some more gaming testing etc:

1. Archaea was CORRECTIMUNDO once again!! The 4GB worth of RAM sticks WERE recognized by my Slimmy regardless of what HP Specs say!!!! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

2. My overall WEI score went from 3.5 to 4.7

3. My Graphics score went from 3.5 to 5.9

4. My Gaming Graphics score went from 4.4 to 5.9 (A VERY significant increase in both!)

5. The PSU fan, so far, hasn't been a noise issue at all...maybe it will crank up later?

I am one happy camper and it is mostly thanx to you guys who answered my questions and gave me the confidence to do this mod!!

Chuck
 
tyoung88 said:
Specs say 220 watts which would be more than the 160/180 watts that are in the prior gen Slimline. I wonder if this is enough to support a HD 4650.
Click to expand...

I got the stock 160W and the Radeon HD 4650 installed. I was running City of Heroes to the max setting on 1400 X 900 resolution for 1 hour and left my PC on for 6 hours and nothing strange happened yet. I don't have any usb devices plugged into my slimline though. From reading previous posts, it may seem fine for the short run, but may have problems in the long run. Just to be on the safe, I will install the Sparkle 270 Watts on Slimline. I kinda don't want to because of the Sparkle 270 Watts fan noises that some people have mentioned??
 
eatfishy said:
I got the stock 160W and the Radeon HD 4650 installed. I was running City of Heroes to the max setting on 1400 X 900 resolution for 1 hour and left my PC on for 6 hours and nothing strange happened yet. I don't have any usb devices plugged into my slimline though. From reading previous posts, it may seem fine for the short run, but may have problems in the long run. Just to be on the safe, I will install the Sparkle 270 Watts on Slimline. I kinda don't want to because of the Sparkle 270 Watts fan noises that some people have mentioned??
Click to expand...

for reliability considerations I think you should continue with your plans to install the Sparkle 270. The 160 watt PSU has to be stretched to it's limits. You could consider buying a 45 watt AMD CPU rather than your 65 watt CPU...That would give you an additional 20 watts of comfort --- BUT recall that anytime you push a PSU to its limits --- you'll start to introduce voltage fluctuations and current ripple and current "noise" into your voltage rails --- NOT good for longevity of the motherboard. If I were you I'd just swap out the PSU.
 
CHUCKP said:
OK...I have now completed the installation of the Sparkle 270 w PSU and the Sparkle 9800GT GPU.
Chuck
Click to expand...

you bought some fans right? Put those puppies on there so they eject that hot air from the 9800gt.
 
Archaea:

Cooling...yup, I posted this info in my revised products list of what I bought and where and the cost for the complete mod:

NEWEGG

Thermaltake Mobilefan II 80mm External USB Case Fan

$16.49 + $1.36 SALES TAX (SHIPPING INCL) = TOTAL $17.85

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999130&Tpk=thermaltake usb case fan

I turn this up to its full 3000RPM ( extracting over 47 CFM from the case) when things seem to be getting hot...it normally runs at "idle" speed of around 1200RPM whenever the PC is on.

So far so good! It is mounted on the left side just below the PSU in the vented area.

I will advise if this proves to be insufficient, but with the Pocket Bay open, I think I am going to be OK with plenty of air flow thru the case.

Chuck
 
In Thread #3002 CHUCKP asked:

Has anyone else got a bad PSU from Sparkle?

Yes - mine just arrived DOA. Strange? Had to laugh I did the same thing. Put the whole thing together before testing...lol.

Also waiting for my RMA number.

Also trying to find a new MB (Irvine-GL6E) mine is totally dead. At power up I get a constant beep for 17 seconds then 10 seconds of quiet then another 17 second beep. Tested all the components in another PC no issues found so I know its the MB. I ran a 9500GT on a stock supply so I may have killed it. Anyone know a good place to get a replacement MB?
 
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I have finally installed Sparkle 270 watt PSU for my Radeon HD 4650. I am not sure if I'm missing something, but it seems like that I do not need the

APEVIA 4 Pin PSU to PCI-E Power Supply Converter cable Model CVT46 - Retail $2.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812201004&Tpk=CVT46

It was a little confusing for me at first since I never did any upgrade to a PC before and there was so many connectors on the Sparkle PSU than the Stock PSU. I definitely do hear a little more noise from the Sparkle PSU fan than the Stock PSU fan, but it's not loud enough to annoy me yet. Question for the experts, I got two 40 mm mini kaze fans and I only see 1 open connector on my MB for it. Where would I connect the other one?
 
eatfishy

You shouldn't even have a single spare open connector on your motherboard...The only motherboard fan "header" is for the CPU fan on all the slimline boards I've seen. You'll typically have to make a connection off one of the spare molex adapters by splicing into the black (ground) and yellow (12 volt) or red (5 volt) lines. The 4650 may not require the supplimental power adapter you refer to. I know the 8600GT and 9800GT do for sure. Do you have a picture or link to the exact card you bought and I can verify.
 
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