The highly rated HP Pavilion Slimline PC thread

Hi all, long time reader first time poster. I have a Dell Vostro 220s which is the same form factor as the HP Slimlines so I have been keeping up with this thread as alot of stuff is relevant to me.

Just Wednesday, Newegg started carrying low profile 4650's.

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4650 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Low Profile HDMI Out $55
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102829

Not only is the 4650 a bit more powerful than the 9500GT (assuming both are GDDR2, which you cant find a low profile GDDR3 of either), but it draws the same power, 50w. I have been waiting for it for my Vostro 220s since it showed up on a german retailer last month. And at $55, its cheaper than any low profile 9500gt I've ever seen. Also it has native HDMI out which would be nice for HTPC.

This seems to be the best way to go without upgrading to a power supply that can handle the 9600 or 9800. Our PC has a 280w PS which is enough for it. The new 230w Slimline power supply would probably handle it too, but im not sure about the 180w.
 
Fabolouso, I am sorry for the unsuccessful install of your AMD 5050E cpu. In response to your question to me whether I had success installing the AMD 5600+ "Brisbane" 65 watt cpu, I decided a few minutes ago to install it. It fired right up without a hiccup. As a result, the full 4gb of ram is now being displayed which I believe is false since I am only runnig Vista 32bit, and the full 4gb should only be realized via 64bit. But, the point of your question as it relates to the 5600+. No Problems, and thats a good thing.
 
Fabolouso, I have been running it since the install without any rise in heat or difference that I can perceive to the previous cpu. I think next I am going to tackle the power supply for the fun of it. The Sparkle psu seems to be the one to use at this point and it is only $50 dollars. It has not been necessary to replace my cpu to date, but I may wish to expand on the video card which would up the need for wattage delivery.
 
Fabolouso, sorry when I said it has not been necessary to replace my cpu to date, I meant psu /power supply. In one of the few posts earlier the SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4650 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Low Profile HDMI was described, and so I would need to increse my power supply to utilize it. By the way, the 5600+ cpu continues to perform.
 
I have 80/90 % RAM occupied without "special" programs running... its only Steam, MSN, and Kaspersky... why i only stay with 100/200 MB free ? I Have 1 GB RAM, windows vista home premium 32bit
 
@ Novak
Pretty tempted to get the 5600+ now :) ... Absolutely will at some point, probably when i purchase the external blu-ray drive. Thanks for all the info & best of luck upgrading the PSU
 
indigoataxia said:
Hi all, long time reader first time poster. I have a Dell Vostro 220s which is the same form factor as the HP Slimlines so I have been keeping up with this thread as alot of stuff is relevant to me.

Just Wednesday, Newegg started carrying low profile 4650's.
Click to expand...

Is it possible to run this HD4650 on a stock slimline with a 45 watt CPU or is a power supply upgrade necessary?
 
willy93 said:
I have 80/90 % RAM occupied without "special" programs running... its only Steam, MSN, and Kaspersky... why i only stay with 100/200 MB free ? I Have 1 GB RAM, windows vista home premium 32bit
Click to expand...

You need to upgrade your RAM, 1GB is not enough to run Vista IMO. You'll be happier with 2GB, 4GB is ideal and the most that the Slimlines can support. The OS will only see about 3.25 GB of it though.
 
brons2 said:
You need to upgrade your RAM, 1GB is not enough to run Vista IMO. You'll be happier with 2GB, 4GB is ideal and the most that the Slimlines can support. The OS will only see about 3.25 GB of it though.
Click to expand...

ok, i wanted to upgrade from 1GB to 4GB but my slimline only supports 2gb... i have to buy it. I don't know if anybody tested already 4GB in the Hematite-XL ...
 
ok, i wanted to upgrade from 1GB to 4GB but my slimline only supports 2gb... i have to buy it. I don't know if anybody tested already 4GB in the Hematite-XL
Click to expand...
Look on page 132 at Nova's post he has a Hematite-XL as do i and he has upgraded to 4 gb sucessfully uyou however only see 3.5 gb or so. Check the post for information on what kind off ram & how the proceess is done ... u can also go back and read earlier post because i'm sure others have tried it successfully as well. I will soon be upgrading from 2 to 4gb myself. Hope it helps.
 
Not if everything else in your sys is stock ... Meaning if you don't have a high powered video card or blu-ray player or anything other upgrades putting strain on the psu, you should be fine
 
indigoataxia said:
Hi all, long time reader first time poster. I have a Dell Vostro 220s which is the same form factor as the HP Slimlines so I have been keeping up with this thread as alot of stuff is relevant to me.

Just Wednesday, Newegg started carrying low profile 4650's.

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4650 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Low Profile HDMI Out $55
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102829

Not only is the 4650 a bit more powerful than the 9500GT (assuming both are GDDR2, which you cant find a low profile GDDR3 of either), but it draws the same power, 50w. I have been waiting for it for my Vostro 220s since it showed up on a german retailer last month. And at $55, its cheaper than any low profile 9500gt I've ever seen. Also it has native HDMI out which would be nice for HTPC.

This seems to be the best way to go without upgrading to a power supply that can handle the 9600 or 9800. Our PC has a 280w PS which is enough for it. The new 230w Slimline power supply would probably handle it too, but im not sure about the 180w.
Click to expand...
Cool, thanks for the update. That's a nice option for those who want to go with ATI.

I just want to make a couple more comments.

Check out this thread for small form factor Dell computers (Studio Slim and Vostro 220s). :cool:

My Asus ATI 4550 uses GDDR3. I'm surprised ATI went back to GDDR2 with that 4650; unless it was Sapphire who decided to step back. :confused:
 
All slimline users,

What do you think, My friend decided to replace the faulty motherboard in the Slimline with an Intel Atom mini-ITX, is that bad idea? I just wondering..

;)
 
indigoataxia said:
Hi all, long time reader first time poster. I have a Dell Vostro 220s which is the same form factor as the HP Slimlines so I have been keeping up with this thread as alot of stuff is relevant to me.

Just Wednesday, Newegg started carrying low profile 4650's.

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4650 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Low Profile HDMI Out $55
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102829

Not only is the 4650 a bit more powerful than the 9500GT (assuming both are GDDR2, which you cant find a low profile GDDR3 of either), but it draws the same power, 50w. I have been waiting for it for my Vostro 220s since it showed up on a german retailer last month. And at $55, its cheaper than any low profile 9500gt I've ever seen. Also it has native HDMI out which would be nice for HTPC.

This seems to be the best way to go without upgrading to a power supply that can handle the 9600 or 9800. Our PC has a 280w PS which is enough for it. The new 230w Slimline power supply would probably handle it too, but im not sure about the 180w.
Click to expand...


Man a 280 watt power supply could possibly handle the 9800GT and that'll destroy that ATI 4650.

how many amps are on your 280watt PSU?
 
tyoung88 said:
Is it possible to run this HD4650 on a stock slimline with a 45 watt CPU or is a power supply upgrade necessary?
Click to expand...


I wouldn't. 50 watts is pretty high for a stock PSU - regardless of CPU. The 4550 at 20-30 watts should be fine though.
 
Novak said:
As a result, the full 4gb of ram is now being displayed which I believe is false since I am only runnig Vista 32bit, and the full 4gb should only be realized via 64bit.
Click to expand...

Vista 32 - post service pack 1 shows 4GB, just to avoid questions from unsavy customers I think. If you look in the task manager you'll see that only 3.25 or so is available to the OS -- as should be. So the 4GB showing in the system configuration screen is a cosmetic band-aid to avoid peole getting angry at system providers like Dell, and HP -- when they don't understand the reasons why their machine they bought with 4GB of RAM only shows 3.25GB --- (they'd likely NEVER notice the difference now)
 
Fabolouso said:
X2 5600+ (65w) 2.9ghz be more of a detriment heat wise and therefore fan noise wise? Would it run much hotter then the 4400+ i'm currently using or would it be more or less the same? Since its primarily an HTPC i would love to keep the noise to a minimal as possible, silence truly is golden lol
Click to expand...

It should not run noticably hotter. The heat disappation is noted by the 65 watt spec on both chips. The heat output and power usage, thus fan noise, should be pretty much identical.
 
Fabolouso said:
Not if everything else in your sys is stock ... Meaning if you don't have a high powered video card or blu-ray player or anything other upgrades putting strain on the psu, you should be fine
Click to expand...


all i have in my computer is stock... only the graphics card is not. My graphics card is the ati radeon hd 2400.
 
all i have in my computer is stock... only the graphics card is not. My graphics card is the ati radeon hd 2400.
Click to expand...

It doesn't sound like it should be a problem, just to be sure do you know how much power the HD2400 uses at max load? And what cpu do you use?
 
willy93 said:
i dont know, my cpu is the athlon 64 x2 dual core 3800+ 2.0GHz
Click to expand...

upgrading your RAM won't increase load in any noticable matter to your slimline.

You will still be using 2 sticks because there is only 2 slots total...So the increase in power draw should be negligable.

Just make sure you buy the 1.8 volt RAM for the best compatibility. up to 2.0 volt RAM will work in most cases...but I wouldn't advise going higher than 2.0. My cousin bought some that isn't working in his slimline that is higher than 2.0 volt -- The reason is the slimline can only supply 1.8 volt to the RAM...so if you buy anything rated higher than 1.8volt RAM --- it's up to the individual RAM sticks whether or not they will work "undervolted" at 1.8 volts.

Note: That x2 3800+ CPU is likely a 65 watt CPU - and you could benefit from a 45 watt CPU upgrade --- BE-2400, or if your motherboard supports it -- the 4850e or 5050e --- but it won't be required to simply upgrade your RAM.
 
Today I have everything: in win 300w psu, cables and converter, and sparkle 9800.
I'll start putting it together tonight, so if you don't see any post from me within 2 days, somethings up.
Before I start, one question.
I got the psu, it has a little red switch on the back that clicks to "115" or "230", what should I have it set on?
Got 240 on the 12 volt channel, I'll plug in both 12v into the six pin converter, Right?
Thanks, wish me luck. I'll let you know how it goes as soon as I do.
 
petrip74 said:
Today I have everything: in win 300w psu, cables and converter, and sparkle 9800.
I'll start putting it together tonight, so if you don't see any post from me within 2 days, somethings up.
Before I start, one question.
I got the psu, it has a little red switch on the back that clicks to "115" or "230", what should I have it set on?
Got 240 on the 12 volt channel, I'll plug in both 12v into the six pin converter, Right?
Thanks, wish me luck. I'll let you know how it goes as soon as I do.
Click to expand...

That 115/230 switch is to set it to the kind of power put out by the wall. In th US it should be 115, in most of Europe it would be 230.
yes two of the molex connectors plug into the six pin PCI-E adapter for the graphics card.
 
Archaea said:
Man a 280 watt power supply could possibly handle the 9800GT and that'll destroy that ATI 4650.

how many amps are on your 280watt PSU?
Click to expand...

17A. Not nearly enough I think. And not a single molex connector from the power supply. There's a total of 3 sata connectors, 2 being used by HDD and DVDRW. Dell isnt much on allowing too many upgrades apparently. I could get a single sata to 2 sata adapter to pci-e 6-pin or a single sata to pci-e 6-pin adapter but I dont want to push the PSU. Currently im using a 8600GT which I actually got last month from a poster on this thread.

Ive read about the low profile 9600GT running on 280w PSU's from Dell (C521s) but since its my wife's pc and all she plays is Sims 2, which runs great, ill only need to upgrade if Sims 3 is too taxing. Ive seen the Green 9600GT which uses even less power and when that comes out I might be tempted to jump on that.
 
I've installed the Shuttle PC50 and Sparkle 9800GT in my s3200t. I've attached the SPDIF mobo cable to the 9800GT that was attached to the stock 8500GT but I get no sound through HDMI. (It doesn't even seem I get sound through the SPDIF coaxial.) I reinstalled the stock 8500GT and connected the SPDIF mobo cable to the card and the sound works through HDMI. I've updated the realtek HD audio driver (R2.20) and 9800GT driver (182.08).

Any advise as to why I'm not getting sound through HDMI (or coaxial for that matter) when I install the 9800GT? This is driving me nuts. :confused:

Mainboard : Asus LOCKTITE
Chipset : Intel i945G/GZ
Processor : Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 @ 2200 MHz
Physical Memory : 4096 MB (2 x 2048 DDR2-SDRAM )
Video Card : NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT
Hard Disk : ST3500630AS (500 GB)
DVD-Rom Drive : HL-DT-ST BDDVDRW GGC-H20L
DVD-Rom Drive : IBKX OTUFG16F4 SCSI CdRom Device
Monitor Type : Hewlett Packard HP w2408 - 24 inches
Network Card : Intel Corporation 82801GB I/O Controller Hub LAN
Operating System : Windows Vista (TM) Home Premium Home Edition 6.00.6001 Service Pack 1
DirectX : Version 10.00
 
Krad said:
I've installed the Shuttle PC50 and Sparkle 9800GT in my s3200t. I've attached the SPDIF mobo cable to the 9800GT that was attached to the stock 8500GT but I get no sound through HDMI. (
Click to expand...

Check out page 132 with fabulousa's posts. He had the same problem with the ATI 4550 and resolved the issue by changing a CMOS/BIOS setting.
 
I had a nightmare after not being able to make heads or tails of the adapters etc necessary to make the upgrade on my s3670f. I used every shred of intuition to figure out how to configure the cable since they resemble in no way the layout on the stock power supply. Somehow, I got it to work on initial test. The cpu fan made a loud noise after a couple minutes, I rebooted and it has been silent ever since. The display is now giant, but I think proper drivers will fix that.
Now, drivers.
WHat version, they ask on the websight? I know only its 64 bit Vista and the class. Is it:
182.06_x64 [I downloaded and applied this one on further investigation, don't know shit]
or
181.22_x64,

What a mess of wires, I have cables touching the bottom of the card right below where the elevated heatsink is(bad?), also I had to remove the fan cover on the card for the hd cord to plug into the motherboard. I could cut it out but want to make sure it all works

The in win is virtually silent, and held in by one screw?!

I'm ready to play, what driver should I download?
Thanks!

also, the little cable that I think is for temp reading, can I use it and where in the mb do I plug it in?
 
indigoataxia, thanks for the news about low profile video, but how do you know HD4650 is a bit faster than 9500GT? Do you have a link? I have a 9500GT DDR2 but I love ATI cards...
 
drpenicilin said:
indigoataxia, thanks for the news about low profile video, but how do you know HD4650 is a bit faster than 9500GT? Do you have a link? I have a 9500GT DDR2 but I love ATI cards...
Click to expand...

Here's a head-to-head comparison of these 2 video cards in terms of specs.
 
So I disconnected the SPDIF mobo cable from the graphics card and now have sound through the SPDIF coaxial. I'm not sure what the problem is with running the SPDIF mobo cable to the graphics card (maybe the SPDIF connector doesn't work on the card or maybe the positive/negative is reversed on a 9800GT as compared to 8500GT?) but at least I have sound now working through the SPDIF coaxial. Once I have a little more time maybe I'll mess around with the SPDIF wiring to the motherboard and try to narrow down the issue.

The unit seems stable and is much quieter and cooler than with the stock PSU and 8500GT. Thanks for all the advise on this forum.
 
drpenicilin said:
indigoataxia, thanks for the news about low profile video, but how do you know HD4650 is a bit faster than 9500GT? Do you have a link? I have a 9500GT DDR2 but I love ATI cards...
Click to expand...
Well I used to have a DDR2 8600GT, which the 9500GT is just about a rebranded 8600GT, and I upgraded last week to the 4650 and had noticable increases with Fallout 3 and Left for Dead. I upgraded based on reviews and alot of information from tomshardware.com

I tried checking the net for direct charts and found a few but the first is in german, and while you can read the numbers and everything just fine, im not sure if they are both ddr2 or ddr3.
SITE

And here is comparisons of a GDDR2 4650 vs a GDDR3 9500GT in which their pretty close but it doesnt show both being GDDR2.
SITE

Depending on your resolution you may not notice a big increase. I game at 1650x1080 and the 8600GT just had trouble keeping up at high settings.
 
Because of all the grueling and expensive trial and error of you folks, a complete rookie like me pulled it off with a leatherman and debit card and this forum. I'm so damn grateful after feeling so damn stupid for buying that computer w/o researching. Thanks again all of you.
Recap: HP SLine s3650f pentium dualcore s5200, it did have the 160w psu stock
I bought in-win's 300w, adapters, and sparkle 9800 gt
My windows vista experience score jumped from 3 to 5.1, the graphics went 3 to 5.9
The in-win and the card are not noticeably louder than pre-upgrade.
It gets hot, but not hotter than some of the stock components already installed. I played CoD world at war for 5 hours straight with seamless performance at high settings which were arrived at automatically.
I don't think I am going to even try to get all the wires into the case however, which is ok since it will be cooler and the cpu is in a cabinet that is opened when I use the computer.
The fan cover on the 9800gt will remain off until I know I'm not making any returns- then I'll cut it to fit the harddrive plug connection to the motherboard.
I'm not sure if I'm even getting everything I can out of the card b/c I did not feel comfortable doing advanced settings on the Nvidia control panel....antialiasing-transperancy is left off as is texture filtering anisotropic b/c I havent the slightest clue what those are. No matter, it works better than I hoped already.
I'm ready to relapse into my battlefield addiction!
 
petrip74 said:
Because of all the grueling and expensive trial and error of you folks, a complete rookie like me pulled it off with a leatherman and debit card and this forum. I'm so damn grateful after feeling so damn stupid for buying that computer w/o researching. Thanks again all of you.
Recap: HP SLine s3650f pentium dualcore s5200, it did have the 160w psu stock
I bought in-win's 300w, adapters, and sparkle 9800 gt

The fan cover on the 9800gt will remain off until I know I'm not making any returns- then I'll cut it to fit the harddrive plug connection to the motherboard.
I'm not sure if I'm even getting everything I can out of the card b/c I did not feel comfortable doing advanced settings on the Nvidia control panel....antialiasing-transperancy is left off as is texture filtering anisotropic b/c I havent the slightest clue what those are. No matter, it works better than I hoped already.
I'm ready to relapse into my battlefield addiction!
Click to expand...


Congrats...Now...one last note.....
you don't have to cut anything - just reverse the SATA cable teh slimline comes with...it should be a 90* angle on one side and a 180* flat on the other side. Use the 90* angle bent end to point down or up from the motherboard SATA point connection to go underneath the video card and plug into your CD-ROM using the 180* angle. It worked like a champ for me and my 9800GT in a s3600t.
 
Archaea said:
Congrats...Now...one last note.....
you don't have to cut anything - just reverse the SATA cable teh slimline comes with...it should be a 90* angle on one side and a 180* flat on the other side. Use the 90* angle bent end to point down or up from the motherboard SATA point connection to go underneath the video card and plug into your CD-ROM using the 180* angle. It worked like a champ for me and my 9800GT in a s3600t.
Click to expand...

Wow, brilliant simplicity. I bow before you.
 
I have a quick and probably silly question, but I am looking at getting a new video card for my s3200n to replace my 8500GT that MSI will not replace. My question is if my system takes a pci express 2.0 x16? My 8500GT was a just a PCI-E x16 but I do not know about 2.0.

Something else is if anyone has any input on the 9500GS or the ATI 4550. Newegg has the 4550 for $50. I can't find the 9500GS. Any suggestions.
 
indigoataxia, thanks for the info. I have a 9500GT right now, so throw it for the HD4650 doesn't make sense to me (benchmarks looks the same) Maybe I'll wait for the low profile HD4670 or 9600GT GREEN version!
 
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