The highly rated HP Pavilion Slimline PC thread

i havnt really noticed a difference at all between the 8400gs and the 9500gt. it actually acts like the same thing or even worse if im correct. mind as well return it.
 
vicente213 said:
i havnt really noticed a difference at all between the 8400gs and the 9500gt. it actually acts like the same thing or even worse if im correct. mind as well return it.
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9500GT should be much better for 3D games. Do you mean that it behaves the same as 8400GS because you don't play games? Or that your 9500GT does not perform any better than 8400GS in the games you tried?
 
i play game(wow, cs, tf2, etc) In each of these games i have tried, it doesnt outperform the 8400gs, if it does it isnt by much. was using an msi 8400gs to xfx 9500gt. should i have uninstalled the drivers or something? ill look more into it.
 
No. The older Intel boxes have a PCIe x16 and PCI, whereas the AMD boxes and the newer Intel (Irvine mobo) boxes have PCIe x1 and PCIe x16.
 
It happened... My PSU doesn't run my video card anymore. I installed the latest nvidia drivers, restarted the computer. I run Folding@Home. Within a few minutes, the computer shut down on me. It wouldn't post until I removed the video card and used the unboard video. My computer wouldn't even run the 7600gs I had used before.

So... I can't recommend using the 8600GT. This kinda sucks. I might upgrade the PSU like was mentioned a few pages back since I'm not buying a new computer and the unboard video isn't very good. At least my computer is super silent now though.
 
^ Sorry to hear that. That just sucks. :( I guess those who are trying to over stress their stock PSUs should reconsider. I guess the 8500GT is as stable as it gets, at least with the beefier 180 PSU that Intel Slimlines come with. Good luck, omjeremy.
 
Thanks for the note beowulf7.
On second thought I may not upgrade the PSU, everything seems to run just fine without the 8600gt. I can even play HD videos just fine (mkv and wmv). Since I'm not gaming anymore, we'll see how it goes. I'm not about to spend a bunch of time and money to get a new psu just so I can run folding@home.
 
omjeremy said:
Thanks for the note beowulf7.
On second thought I may not upgrade the PSU, everything seems to run just fine without the 8600gt. I can even play HD videos just fine (mkv and wmv). Since I'm not gaming anymore, we'll see how it goes. I'm not about to spend a bunch of time and money to get a new psu just so I can run folding@home.
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I wonder why your old video card (7600GS) won't run anymore. :confused: Did you clean out the drivers, etc. from the 8600GT?

Yeah, the onboard video will at least let you do what you need to do. I'm surprised it plays HD videos w/o skips. :eek:
 
I think the PSU might be weakened from powering the 8600GT for so long. The 7600gs won't even post, meaning the computer turns on but doesn't show anything on the monitor. The two cards use the same drivers anyway.

I am equally surprised that it play HD videos skip-free. Must be that the CPU is powerful enough. Even a 1080p x264 video scaled to play on 1680x1050 works fine.

Edit: I just tried the 7600gs again at the computer boots up and runs, but there is no image on my monitor, just a black screen. Weird.
 
Nice thread, good spirit. Might contribute a little. Have a old, possible first generation Slimline( purhased 11/2006). Hematite mobo, originally equiped with 3500 AM2 single core/ 1MB/200GB/7500LE. Today installed a AMD Athlon 64 X2 4850E 2.5Ghz. Just up and running on first atempt! I was very worried, as its not confirmed to work on this thread. Anyway checked wit HP support and they confirmed, but that might be pure luck from their side......Have also done some other uppgrades, measuring the consumption, here we goes:
-3500 AM2 / 1MB/200GB/7500LE. idle 63 W
-3500 AM2 / 2MB/200GB/7500LE. idle 63 W ( no change at all)
-3500 AM2 / 2MB/1000GB/7500LE. idle 59 W ( WD green power hd)
-4850E / 2MB/1000GB/7500LE. idle 58 W
Full load consumption is harder to measure(just have a crappy cheap meter), but no major changes, think with this configuration max so far in 3dmark has been 120W. By the way, this unit has the 180 w power suply. So far only had one single problem, usb ports died in May this year, but HP changed the mobo without any cost, outsided waranty of 12 months. Had though to work litle on that one, but thanks anyway.

The original cooler of the -4850E do not fit into this system(7610) so had to use the original , very tiny, cooler. The original cpu is however a 35 w, and this one is 45 w. To be on the safe side polished/grinded the cooler with no 1200 "water paper", and used zalman therma grease. Originally idle was range 40-45 c, max about 70c. Now its seams that temperatures are lower(much), however I am not sure that CPUID HW monitor works correctly with this CPU so better not report any figures untill sure. Anyway, main point is that You can add a new CPU on supported list, but You need to have the newest Bios for ( 3.04 xp) the get it working. I guess also the vista bios 5.04 works but that i can not confirm.
 
I don't think that card is low profile. It says nothing of it in the information. I think Newegg would know whether or not it's low profile even without a picture. The manufacturer would supply that information anyways. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that's probably not a low profile card. It is an interesting price though...
 
Yeah I see what you mean... Newegg most not have all their information or something. I couldn't help but noticing also in that link you posted there, that card only has a 64-bit interface? Wow... And 25W under full load...I would love to see the 3DMark06 scores on that....
 
I think I'm gonna try the 4550. I might give it a week or so to see what else comes in. Unfortunately, needing low profle and low power consumption doesn't leave a lot of options. If this doesn't work, I think I'm going to give up on the whole slimline thing and just go for a more "regular" form factor PC. It's frustrating being so constrained sometimes.
 
I am leaving the family. :( I can't take this computer anymore. HP doesn't have replacement mobo's anymore and one I bid on at Ebay went for $186 I am building an htpc and will cannibalize some of the parts. So be on the look out for some of my left overs being posted in the for sale/trade forum. I will list the original psu as well as my sparkle 220w already wired up for use. Good luck and I hope all of your slimlines treat you better than mine did.
 
could the low 180 psu affect the performance on a video card? even though it works and it recommends like 300w. if this is true then that might be a problem.
 
vferrari said:
1. Yes.

2. a. No - does not receive clear QAM only OTA ATSC tuner.
b. Yes - Through Vista Media Center or a third party software package (e.g., Sage TV, Beyond TV) allows PVR/HD-DVR-like functionality
c. No - It is a hybrid NTSC/ATSC tuner, but not a dual tuner so you can only record one channel at a time. If you want to mix an match dual ATSC and Clear QAM tuners you will need a third party media center package other than Windows Vista Media Center (e.g., Beyond TV or similar as mentioned above).

If you need Clear QAM/dual tuner funcitionality, I would look for a uBid unit that has the HD DVD and decent HD capable graphics card w/ HDMI output (e.g., GeForce 8500GT) w/o the onboard tuner and get a third-party outboard USB tuner with those capabilities. I don't recommend installation of a third-party internal tuner in the open PCI Epress (1X) slot because of people's documented experiences here with thermal management issues and space constraints. See discussions above regarding reommended outboard tuners and people's issues with failed internal tuners (other than the OEM tuners provided by HP in the stock configurations).
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Sorry to quote such an old post, but can anyone confirm that this is a problem? Because I got my 3500t from HP a few days ago to find that the tuner on this thing just doesn't cut it. The picture is grainy and snowy on some channels, and I need qam. So I was looking to pick up one of these from newegg but I want to make sure first there are no heating problems, and it's an LP card, so it should fit, right?

And if the above problems with 3rd party tuners are true, then what are my options for usb tuners?

Lastly, just a few small questions: 1) Is there any way to set up a playlist in media center? Or to add files to the now playing list? 2) Is there any "shut off or sleep in x minutes" feature like you have with TV's in media center? I set vista to go to sleep in 20 minutes if untouched, but left it on overnight and it stayed on the whole time.

Thanks for the help guys.
 
omjeremy said:
I think the PSU might be weakened from powering the 8600GT for so long. The 7600gs won't even post, meaning the computer turns on but doesn't show anything on the monitor. The two cards use the same drivers anyway.

I am equally surprised that it play HD videos skip-free. Must be that the CPU is powerful enough. Even a 1080p x264 video scaled to play on 1680x1050 works fine.

Edit: I just tried the 7600gs again at the computer boots up and runs, but there is no image on my monitor, just a black screen. Weird.
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If you think the PSU was weakened from powering the 8600GT, that means it somehow suffered permanent damage by overexerting itself. That is weird. :eek: I wonder if it's your 7600GS that somehow got damaged, unrelated to the PSU. Maybe you shocked the card (i.e. not using an anti-static wrist strap) or something? :confused: But at least the on-board video card is giving you decent performance.
 
I also left because of reboot issues, so I got a XPC shuttle, which is great no reboots 100% stable :D

just my two cents

mrcosmos said:
I am leaving the family. :( I can't take this computer anymore. HP doesn't have replacement mobo's anymore and one I bid on at Ebay went for $186 I am building an htpc and will cannibalize some of the parts. So be on the look out for some of my left overs being posted in the for sale/trade forum. I will list the original psu as well as my sparkle 220w already wired up for use. Good luck and I hope all of your slimlines treat you better than mine did.
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I don't think the 7600GS is busted, I hope not, I really do think the PSU is damaged somehow. Since it's out of warranty I might open it up and see what's going on in there; make sure nothing is blown out.

Edit: The 7600GS is working now. Weird! I opened up the PSU and didn't see anything visibly burnt out. I cleaned out the heatsink on the CPU and made sure everything was plugged in correctly. The 8600GT still doesn't work. Now I'm beginning to think it's the card, not the PSU.
 
hi guys

i am currently using a 9600gt on my hp slimline 7720.uk with 2gb of ram. i am waiting on delivery of my 2x2gb ram upgrade. however, my question is will i be able to run a quad core processor ie 9350e or the 9150e on my pc as im running the energy efficent 5200 65w dual core processor as i dont want to fry anything.

and yes you can fit the 9600gt low profile card into this slimline pc dont know about others though!

if anyone is interested in how i modded my case i can tell you how this is done. im going cut out a square at bottom of pc as it is overheating due to bad circulation. i am hoping this will cure this as i am waiting to play crysis warhead :)

kind regards me
 
That's an interesting computer you've got there kakawak. It looks a lot different from the North American models. Maybe it's the predecessor to the s3xxx series. Anyway, here's the info for the motherboard you have.

Are you sure you can have 4GB of RAM? On the HP site, it looks like the motherboard only supports 2GB.

Also, what kind of PSU do you have? Does your 9600GT require a 6-pin power input?
 
Yeah I have also have an 9600GT installed too and I'm a little confused as well. What modification to your case did you make exactly? Also, if you mount some fans on the back of the case it will help at least 3x with your circulation problem and works amazing. (That picture is right as I'm typing this during idle but under full load it'll never go above 110F.

But yeah don't go cutting a darn hole on the bottom of your case.:p
 
chapin_Fourlife said:
I also left because of reboot issues, so I got a XPC shuttle, which is great no reboots 100% stable :D

just my two cents
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This is exactly the reason for my warnings all through this thread. That makes several guys who left the community with bitter tastes in their mouth. I wish the PSU and cooling allowed for these slimlines to be power houses, but it just doesn't. People trying to push the limits --- please take note. BTW - the slimline does not overheat, nor lockup typically under a standard safe config. My BE-2400 AMD slimline with a 8500GT and tuner card hums away perfectly fine 24/7 as my hometheatre PC and media server.
 
hi jeremy

just for the record the reason why my PC could fry an egg on top is because of the 9600gt and the cooling system, there is no vent holes at all next to PCIe. all the heat thats generated from this card has no where to go so this is the main reason why i need to cut out some holes to extract the hot air! im not sure if the insides of my PC are different from the US models or newer slimline models but im sure you guys will keep me right ;)

you are correct about the ram but someone has installed 4gb of OCZ ram and worked with 64bit OS, he did say that if your using 32bit it will only show as 3gb, which im using at the moment so until i get 64bit OS system then this will do fine. as for my case im going to cut out a small section and replace the hole with a square wire mesh, similar to the mesh at the back of my PC. i will submit photos when all done!

is there a reason to why i cant cut out a small section from my case???

also will the 9150e or 9350e quad core work on my motherboard and will it be faster than my 5200+ 2.7ghz (this has to be 2600ghz due to core voltages etc... as this baby will give blue screens) will i also get the full benefits from this chip as some people say that due to bios and my bios sucks i wont get all the features with this chip.

is there another way to update bios because HP seem to be slower than a snails pace to release bios updates for modern upgrades!!!!!!!

as for power supply im using the original supply that came with my PC and yes it powers everything! i bought a molex splitter and my 9600gt came with the 6 pin so everything is working ok :D.........so far ;)

if someone could answer everything above would be very appreciative :)

kind regards me :)
 
Archaea said:
This is exactly the reason for my warnings all through this thread. That makes several guys who left the community with bitter tastes in their mouth. I wish the PSU and cooling allowed for these slimlines to be power houses, but it just doesn't. People trying to push the limits --- please take note. BTW - the slimline does not overheat, nor lockup typically under a standard safe config. My BE-2400 AMD slimline with a 8500GT and tuner card hums away perfectly fine 24/7 as my hometheatre PC and media server.
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I don't have a bitter taste in my mouth. I am convinced my mobo has problems. I can't get a replacement from HP and I bid on one on ebay but it went for $156. For that price, I can buy a new mobo and a better cpu. I am also ready for silence. I use mine as an htpc and even with a fanless video card in there you can hear the steady hum of fans. For a little more than the price slimlines are going for on Ubid now, I can build a whole new computer dedicated to home theatre and if I cannibalize some of the good parts from the slimline I can go way cheaper. It just makes more sense to me. Now I can stick whatever video card I want in, quad core cpus, I can have up to three internal hard drives, up to 8gb of ram (not that windows can use it), up to 4 pci cards and it takes up only a little more room in my entertainment center and there are no over heating issues. It was an interesting ride, but I would have saved my self a whole lot of headache, money and complaining from the missus if I had just gone this route in the beginning. Good luck gentlemen and enjoy your slimlines!
 
kakawak said:
hi jeremy

you are correct about the ram but someone has installed 4gb of OCZ ram and worked with 64bit OS, he did say that if your using 32bit it will only show as 3gb, which im using at the moment so until i get 64bit OS system then this will do fine. as for my case im going to cut out a small section and replace the hole with a square wire mesh, similar to the mesh at the back of my PC. i will submit photos when all done!

is there a reason to why i cant cut out a small section from my case???

also will the 9150e or 9350e quad core work on my motherboard and will it be faster than my 5200+ 2.7ghz (this has to be 2600ghz due to core voltages etc... as this baby will give blue screens) will i also get the full benefits from this chip as some people say that due to bios and my bios sucks i wont get all the features with this chip.

is there another way to update bios because HP seem to be slower than a snails pace to release bios updates for modern upgrades!!!!!!!

as for power supply im using the original supply that came with my PC and yes it powers everything! i bought a molex splitter and my 9600gt came with the 6 pin so everything is working ok :D.........so far ;)

if someone could answer everything above would be very appreciative :)

kind regards me :)
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1. There is no reason you can't modify your case as you see fit. Cut the case up like a pumpkin carving if it suits your mood.
2. You can't modify your voltages on an HP slimline motherboard, or underclock your chip - It's not even an option - so I don't know what you are talking about when you say you running your 5200+ X2 at 2.6Ghz rather than 2.7Ghz in order to save voltage.
3. You are getting blue screens because you are pushing your powersupply too hard.
4. No you cannot get a Quad Core CPU on your AMD slimline. HP releases BIOS updates on these chips very slowly, as you mentioned. It may come out, they may not come out. Asus makes the motherboards, you may send and e-mail to them to inquire but please continue reading my post before you do.
5. You cannot get a faster processor either because you are fixing to lose the powersupply due to your overload and it just may take other components with it when it goes. Let me repeat - You are pushing your powersupply too hard. Your Blue Screens are most certaintly an indicator. If you buy anything it should be a $40 dollar AMD BE-2400 processor from Newegg. It is a 45 watt processor and should help or eliminate any blue screen problems you have due to too much power draw. I guarentee you that you are due for some frustrations and failed hardware if you continue in current form.
6. Vista 32 bit only supports up to 3.25GB of RAM - that's no hidden fact. Vista 64 supports more than you could ever dream about putting in a slimline motherboard, but the perfromance gain of .75GB of RAM in the realm of 3.25GB to 4GB is negligable.
 
mrcosmos said:
I don't have a bitter taste in my mouth. I am convinced my mobo has problems. I can't get a replacement from HP and I bid on one on ebay but it went for $156. For that price, I can buy a new mobo and a better cpu. I am also ready for silence. I use mine as an htpc and even with a fanless video card in there you can hear the steady hum of fans. For a little more than the price slimlines are going for on Ubid now, I can build a whole new computer dedicated to home theatre and if I cannibalize some of the good parts from the slimline I can go way cheaper. It just makes more sense to me. Now I can stick whatever video card I want in, quad core cpus, I can have up to three internal hard drives, up to 8gb of ram (not that windows can use it), up to 4 pci cards and it takes up only a little more room in my entertainment center and there are no over heating issues. It was an interesting ride, but I would have saved my self a whole lot of headache, money and complaining from the missus if I had just gone this route in the beginning. Good luck gentlemen and enjoy your slimlines!
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Sorry to hear about your exp. man.

My slimline is deathly silent. I use it for a HTPC and it is inaudible. If your fans were too loud, then something was not right.

My only current slimline setup -
s3200n
AMD BE-2400
8500GT
500GB HD
HDTV Tuner card
 
Archaea said:
1. There is no reason you can't modify your case as you see fit. Cut the case up like a pumpkin carving if it suits your mood.
2. You can't modify your voltages on an HP slimline motherboard, or underclock your chip - It's not even an option - so I don't know what you are talking about when you say you running your 5200+ X2 at 2.6Ghz rather than 2.7Ghz in order to save voltage.
3. You are getting blue screens because you are pushing your powersupply too hard.
4. No you cannot get a Quad Core CPU on your AMD slimline. HP releases BIOS updates on these chips very slowly, as you mentioned. It may come out, they may not come out. Asus makes the motherboards, you may send and e-mail to them to inquire but please continue reading my post before you do.
5. You cannot get a faster processor either because you are fixing to lose the powersupply due to your overload and it just may take other components with it when it goes. Let me repeat - You are pushing your powersupply too hard. Your Blue Screens are most certaintly an indicator. If you buy anything it should be a $40 dollar AMD BE-2400 processor from Newegg. It is a 45 watt processor and should help or eliminate any blue screen problems you have due to too much power draw. I guarentee you that you are due for some frustrations and failed hardware if you continue in current form.
6. Vista 32 bit only supports up to 3.25GB of RAM - that's no hidden fact. Vista 64 supports more than you could ever dream about putting in a slimline motherboard, but the perfromance gain of .75GB of RAM in the realm of 3.25GB to 4GB is negligable.
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hi

in answer to your reply from answer 2,
you can change voltage settings using certain programs i have done so with sucess although im not sure if im doing damage by underclocking! since the chipset i have runs at around 1.30 to 1.375 i had to change this setting due to overheating and blue screens. im not saying im right in anyway im just trying to cure a problem by what i have.

answer 3. will the power pack just blow if i continue? ive had several graphics cards in my hp since ive had it ranging from the 7500, 8500, 8600 & now the 9600 without any problems except the latter.

answer 4. as for the quad processors people say you can and others say you cant but i need a definate answer! im using an energy effiecent 65w and the new quad processors have the same wattage and the quad processors have lower voltage than the one im using just now thinks its around 1.0. - 1.125 ive got mine running at 1.0 - 1.275( which is too high for my concern), maybe im wrong but i thought that these processors were backwards compatible with am2 sockets or has this got something to do with the bios?

answer 5. the blue screens im getting say irq not less than, is this a conflict with other hardware not sure! there is a new 4850 45w processor that runs at 2.5ghz dual core but thats my last resort as i wanted a good upgrade without replacing my full PC.

answer 6. i thought that running a 64bit system would be good since its amd 64 live, however, i could be talking through my ass lol!!!! is anyone running 64bit on there slimlines?????

i just need definate answers before i finally go where no man has gone before! :)

kind regards me
 
omjeremy said:
I don't think the 7600GS is busted, I hope not, I really do think the PSU is damaged somehow. Since it's out of warranty I might open it up and see what's going on in there; make sure nothing is blown out.

Edit: The 7600GS is working now. Weird! I opened up the PSU and didn't see anything visibly burnt out. I cleaned out the heatsink on the CPU and made sure everything was plugged in correctly. The 8600GT still doesn't work. Now I'm beginning to think it's the card, not the PSU.
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Yes, I also think it's the card and not the PSU. I never heard of a PSU becoming weaker b/c it overexerted itself. :confused: If anything, a bad PSU would just die if it was pushed to its limits. In any case, good to hear your 7600GS is working (for now!). :)
 
Kakawak,

Where do you live? What kind of temperatures are ambient in your PC room? If you are blue screening it's likely either due to a hot room and lack of circulation, or too much power draw - less likely is failed/failing hardware.

I've not ever touched any software voltage regulating software. I'm unfamiliar - I know it exists, but can't offer you advice, all my voltage regulation has always been done in the BIOS/CMOS options.

The powersupply 'may' fail in an overload situation, and in doing so MAY take out other components.

The slimline quad situation is a bit odd. Basically some slimlines ship with quads, however the BIOS that supports the quad seems to be unavailable via HP's download site. Basically, even if you have the same motherboard as a new slimline that ships with a quad core, in every instance I've heard about your BIOS (if it didn't ship with a quad) will not support a quad. Just having the same wattage rating does not mean you will be able to run that chip. The BIOS must support the chip otherwise you will get a CPU unworkable or CPU not recognized error. If you could get a BIOS update for the quad support you would be golden. To my knowledge no one in this thread, (and there are those who have tried) has been successful.

IRQ conflict error you are getting maybe a false diagnostic. I suspect power/heat is your root problem.

I don't think the 4850 is supported in the slimlines, at least not last I heard. Again - simple BIOS update would fix that if it was available. You could try to contact HP live support on their site through a chat window and ask them, but often your answer depends on the tech you talk to and not necessarily the true reality of the situation.

I thought about driving a Ford Festiva one time, but then figured I might like to drive someplace other than festivals, I thought about driving a Ford Pinto, but realized I liked other kinds of beans. I thought about driving a Chevy Calvalier, but didn't always want to wear my shining armor and take my horse along. Get the point? regarding the AMD 64 LIVE... It's a name --- It supports both 64 bit OS and 32 bit OS. You'll have to do some reading and see if 64 bit is worth anything to you. Chances are it isn't.
 
beowulf7 said:
Yes, I also think it's the card and not the PSU. I never heard of a PSU becoming weaker b/c it overexerted itself. :confused: If anything, a bad PSU would just die if it was pushed to its limits. In any case, good to hear your 7600GS is working (for now!). :)
Click to expand...

I don't know that I've ever researched this - but I did have two PSU's of different vendors when pushed to their limit become weaker over time.

A sparkle 400watt PSU, that was pretty much maxed out started to become unstable at less and less an overclock on my old p4 3.2Ghz system with an 6800GT and mutliple hard-drives. Soon it couldn't run anything but stock. I bought a new PSU and my overclock was stably obtainable again - In fact higher levels of overclock. Then the same thing happened with an Xclio 450bl PSU on another system.

It's weird, but it can and does happen. All electronics will 'deginerate' a bit over time. Capacitors leak, voltage fluctuations at the wall take their toll, etc.


Think about it in a car terminology. Does a 100,000 mile corvette have as much power as a brand new corvette? Even if we are talking about a very minimal amount of loss --- when the power supply levels are so close to being maxxed - it matters.
 
hi

thanks for reply will contact asus and hp and see if they can come up with a solution.

as regards to the memory i have purchased is the extra 1.25 gb worth it or should i just get better 2x1gb sticks???

also since there are several models of the slimline is it possible to install a bios from a similar model or would this just create and cause more problems????

the 4850e chips are energy efficent and are 45watt so its alot less than 65, i do know what you mean regarding the bios and its a shame you cant amend the HP garbage they ship out. there support is as worthy as a deaf, dumb and blind guy trying to ask for help!

kind regards me
 
kakawak,

Do you even have your extra PCI-e power supply hooked up to your 9600gt? You do need that for the card to function properly. And unless your PSU is 250W or higher I would highly recommend getting an supplemental PSU for that card or you WILL blow out your HP PSU. And in order to get the extra supply to that card you would have to have done a SATA to Molex conversion, right?
 
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