The highly rated HP Pavilion Slimline PC thread

MoggSquad:

I've had the Sapphire 4550 installed for several months now and it's been working just fine. The adjacent PCI slot is empty. I also have dual 'cool blue' fans installed (see earlier posts). When the room temperature is high (mid-80s+), the top of the case gets hot* after about 45 minutes. In that case (no pun intended), I recommend limited use to avoid overheating. If your AC keeps the room temperature in the 70s or lower, you should be OK for extended use. If you also have a heat-generating monitor (24" LCD or bigger), that plus the PC may become a challenge for a free-standing AC. You should be OK with central AC or a window AC.

* hot means not hot enough to fry eggs (you can keep your hand on the top of the case without a problem - it gets hotter on the power plug end)

PS If you live in NZ or some other place 'Down Under', you'll enjoy the warmth added by the card and PC! ;)
 
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I popped the fanless 4550 in last night with no issues. Unfortunately, the card has no temperature sensor so I can't get the card's temp, but the rest of the systems' temps are normal. The case gets hot, but it was always hot with my 2400 / 3450 's in there.

The only weird issue I'm having is the audio on my standard def stations are coming out my 5.1, while the OTA HD stations are coming out my TV's speakers.
 
Weird. I have the same card, and I can get card temperature readings from Catalyst Control Center.
 
What do your temps show as? Are you running it next to an empty slot or with the tv tuner in as well?
 
Does anybody know if you can have a bad PCI-E slot in a s3027c?

I've been on a mission to replace my broken 8500GT card, which had been running for about 8 months then suddenly the card would not post. I did all the normal troubleshooting, but nothing. So I determined that the card stopped working. I asked for some advice on the board here, then decided to get an ATI HD 4550 which I bought from Newegg. The first card would boot, then Vista would just freeze, then reboot. Tried several sets of drivers, but eventually the same thing would happen. So I thought that card was bad and RMA'd for a replacement. Same results with the replacement, so I installed Windows 7 to see if that might work. Nope. Nice thing about Windows 7 is that it has a reliability center which tells you why the problem, it said video hardware error.

Finally sent it back and replaced with a 9500GT (I have the 45 watt AMD BE), I thought maybe going back to an Nvidia would work. This card will not even post, now I'm thinking maybe something is wrong with the motherboard. I've done this before, and it shouldn't be this hard, and the odds of me getting three bad video cards is pretty low.

Anyway to test the PCI-E? Has anybody heard of a slot stopping working?

I'm open for any ideas. I wish I had another card to test the slot, but I don't. Might need to order an older 8400GS or something cheap to test it.
 
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I went to CCC to check the Sapphire 4550's temps and it ran between 95-110 most of the day watching a couple SD playbacks. Once I put on HD content it peaked at 118. I stepped out of the room to check this thread and the HTPC just shut off after about 30 hours of installation.

I will send this back and probably buy the Asus 4550, but am sorely disappointed the ASUS doesn't have a 1 slot HDMI low profile bracket. I ran my 3450 w/o a bracket, but tired of mickey mouse methods. I may have to stew on this one a couple days.

chklin said:
MoggSquad: I am one of those people whose card gets very, very hot. That said, I have had the card for nearly two months, and despite the high temperature, it has never given me any problem.

http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1034197951&postcount=93
Click to expand...
 
MoggSquad said:
I went to CCC to check the Sapphire 4550's temps and it ran between 95-110 most of the day watching a couple SD playbacks. Once I put on HD content it peaked at 118. I stepped out of the room to check this thread and the HTPC just shut off after about 30 hours of installation.

I will send this back and probably buy the Asus 4550, but am sorely disappointed the ASUS doesn't have a 1 slot HDMI low profile bracket. I ran my 3450 w/o a bracket, but tired of mickey mouse methods. I may have to stew on this one a couple days.
Click to expand...

For the ASUS card, you don't have to use the 2nd slot. Just remove the DSUB and use a tool to cut the bracket in half lengthwise. Granted, it does take a little metal cutting.
 
I did order the ASUS 4550 , today was the last day to do so and get the $10 MIR, plus the ASUS has a 3 year warranty.

What do you use for Metal cutting?

beowulf7 said:
For the ASUS card, you don't have to use the 2nd slot. Just remove the DSUB and use a tool to cut the bracket in half lengthwise. Granted, it does take a little metal cutting.
Click to expand...
 
MoggSquad said:
I did order the ASUS 4550 , today was the last day to do so and get the $10 MIR, plus the ASUS has a 3 year warranty.

What do you use for Metal cutting?
Click to expand...

I didn't cut mine. But if you read some of the reviews of that card or similar cards, you'll see others who have cut the bracket in half. If you have really good scissors, maybe you can try that.

ASUS really should've included 2 low profile brackets: 1 that's the double width that it already has and another 1 that's just single width for those who don't care about the VGA output.
 
Does anyone with a ATI 3450 have a correct temp. reading? My card shows 91C at the DESKTOP. I am kind of worried... This is in CCC and GPUz

EDIT:
It doesn't go above 98 in Source games, and I just read the post above that had a temp. of 118 :p I guess I shouldn't worry about my "low" temperatures.
 
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The ASUS 4550 came in yesterday, popped it in. CCC keeps crashing upon launch (even after uninstall/reinstall) so I can't get temp readings, but things seem positive so far.
 
It's been awhile since I have been on here just thought I would pop in it looks like some are having issues with the HD 4550? I have a Sapphire HD 4650 that runs pretty well I like it but there are a few issues that some of you may want to try if you are having crash problems or issues with the card.
I just don't use the Catalyst Program it never seems to be up to par, I think this has been the case as far back as I can remember. I had crashed twice but forgot on the last update (they have new drivers as of 7/28) that the Catalyst loaded too not I usually just the drivers only file from their site. As soon as I unloaded Catalyst I have not crashed.
The card I have runs pretty cool I did add a small fan 40mm fan to the back grill which helps with ventilation too but for the most part unless I am playing a game that requires more rendering the fan does not even kick up.
 
I had a display problem with the ATI 9.6 CCC Suite and had to revert to 9.5, however, 9.7 is now out and it works fine. Never a hint of any problem with the Sapphire 4550 card - but it gets hot when the room temp gets to the mid 80s+.
 
travisc77 said:
Does anybody know if you can have a bad PCI-E slot in a s3027c?

I've been on a mission to replace my broken 8500GT card, which had been running for about 8 months then suddenly the card would not post. I did all the normal troubleshooting, but nothing. So I determined that the card stopped working. I asked for some advice on the board here, then decided to get an ATI HD 4550 which I bought from Newegg. The first card would boot, then Vista would just freeze, then reboot. Tried several sets of drivers, but eventually the same thing would happen. So I thought that card was bad and RMA'd for a replacement. Same results with the replacement, so I installed Windows 7 to see if that might work. Nope. Nice thing about Windows 7 is that it has a reliability center which tells you why the problem, it said video hardware error.

Finally sent it back and replaced with a 9500GT (I have the 45 watt AMD BE), I thought maybe going back to an Nvidia would work. This card will not even post, now I'm thinking maybe something is wrong with the motherboard. I've done this before, and it shouldn't be this hard, and the odds of me getting three bad video cards is pretty low.

Anyway to test the PCI-E? Has anybody heard of a slot stopping working?

I'm open for any ideas. I wish I had another card to test the slot, but I don't. Might need to order an older 8400GS or something cheap to test it.
Click to expand...

I'm not very experienced with computers, but I'd like to try to help you out. Just for kicks and giggles: The computer will function normally without a dedicated video card in the PCI-E slot (using just the integrated graphics), right?
 
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360Spider said:
Hey guys it's been awhile since I have been here due to my s3220n crapping out on me. I have since upgraded to a full profile HP Pavilion Elite series machine so unfortunately I'm going to be dropping out of this thread here. What I am doing though is I am going to be parting out my old Slimline. Basically I have the entire computer up for sale. Any parts that anyone would like from me please send me an e-mail at f360speeder(at)aol(dot)com along with an offer for a price. DO NOT PM ME.

Pieces that I have are the entire metal case except the front plastic piece because I had to make a modification to it for my supplemental PSU, the media card unit, the B/G Wireless Wifi Internal Adapter, a stock 160W psu w/ a SATA to Molex conversion I did on it by splicing wires, a 65W AMD Athlon 2.6Ghz X2 CPU, the CPU cooler for it w/fan, the broken motherboard if anyone wants it, and any other pieces that you can think of that you might want. Basically it's being parted so you name the part and a price, and I'll get back to you. I'm not looking for much as far as price is concerned, but I would like if you could pay shipping too. (BTW the HDD is not for sale. If you want the RAM it's yours, just pay shipping. I'm not charging anything for that. It's just 2, 1GB sticks. Nothing special and thy are not really worth anything.)

So any interest in anything, drop me an email. Thanks and good luck to everyone with their Slimlines!
Click to expand...

I got the RAM and the wireless. Wireless works like a champ, haven't used the RAM and may never, but I'm using the wireless to write this message. Thanks for the solid transaction.
 
Archaea said:
Model of slimline doesn't matter, only motherboard matters and the CMOS/BIOS update that is associated. Any IRVINE GL6E motherboard should work with a Q9300. I believe I've seen the slimlines with a Q8200 as well. Since the Q9300 works with mine and works after my last generic BIOS update ----you'll be guarenteed at least q9300 support with that motherboard. Outside of that your most likely rolling the dice.
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This is not the case according to this thread:

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1032920825#post1032920825

Q9300 was not listed as an option for s3200t and s3300t even though they use the same GL6E motherboard as s3400t.
 
Hi, now that I've read just about every page of this, I figured I'd ask my question. Sorry to be such a noob but with the plethora of what I know about software, I find I'm sucking in hardware. I read all the info on the 8xxxGS/GT and 9xxxGS for the slimline. I see that the ATI 4550 seems to be a great choice that wont require me to upgrade the psu, however, I don't play games now, but I might play more games later. Priority however is htpc use.

Is this the best card for an otherwise stock (with upgraded processor) AMD Slimline?

And if so, are there any other things I should order along with it before I drop it in?

Thanks.
 
AirCool said:
This is not the case according to this thread:

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1032920825#post1032920825

Q9300 was not listed as an option for s3200t and s3300t even though they use the same GL6E motherboard as s3400t.
Click to expand...

IMO - that was a hack job that does not qualify as any kind of test. There have been multiple official BIOS revisions since then. If the BIOS revisions/updates are the same for all GL6E's (and my s3600t has no revision notation on it that I've ever seen in silkscreen) then the q9300 is going to be compatible with any GL6E motherboard, regardless of the slimline model it shipped in --- is my bet.
 
D Rob said:
Hi, now that I've read just about every page of this, I figured I'd ask my question. Sorry to be such a noob but with the plethora of what I know about software, I find I'm sucking in hardware. I read all the info on the 8xxxGS/GT and 9xxxGS for the slimline. I see that the ATI 4550 seems to be a great choice that wont require me to upgrade the psu, however, I don't play games now, but I might play more games later. Priority however is htpc use.

Is this the best card for an otherwise stock (with upgraded processor) AMD Slimline?

And if so, are there any other things I should order along with it before I drop it in?

Thanks.
Click to expand...


Don't dismiss at least an additional 40mm silent fan for additional cooling capacities.
 
Is there any merit/possibility in upgrading to the newer psu? I read they were 220watt?
 
you won't be able to buy one from HP for less than insane money. And you'll likely not find one on ebay. But if you can use a 180 watt HP or a 220 watt HP power supply you'll certaintly be better off than your stock 160 watt HP on a 65 watt CPU. If you went with a 45 watt CPU you'd have nothing to worry about. I have a 180 watt stock HP slimline PSU I'd sell for $40 shipped, and a 160 watt stock HP slimline PSU I'd sell for $25 shipped. I do not have a 220 watt. I think the HD4550 should function on a AMD slimline however with the stock 160 watt powersupply, because it barely exceeds the 25 watt spec at 20-30 watts. Some people (not me) have gotten away with using a 40 watt graphics card with a 65 watt AMD in their 160 watt powered AMD slimline. I would not recommend that personally, but a 30 watt graphics card like the 4550 should be be doable if not borderline with the 160 watt PSU.
 
I'm one of those lucky Kiwis with a stock 160W PSU and a Sapphire 4550 and a stock 65W CPU who has had no problemos with this setup. I do, however, have 2 cool blue fans on the back of the case to keep things relatively cool. When the room temp get to the mid 80s and up, I don't push my luck and shut everything down after about an hour of use - and I don't want to add this little heater to raise the room temp further or come to a stand-off with my AC and run up my electricity bill just for the heck of it. I don't play games, however, so there's no telling (by me) how hot things would get or what other problems might occur with a hot game. I was a gamer once, but I found better things to do at 3AM - like sleep! ;) I'm not much into killing either - except for ants, mossies, sand flies and such.
 
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So, now that I at least know where I can come by a 180 watt psu, (again forgive more for my nOObishness,) how does the internal USB port work. I'm thinking maybe there are slim fans that I can internally power off of that port. My PCI slot has a modem port that I don't need since I have wireless and a LAN port.

Belkin sells a PCI USB 2.0 card, since all of my current USB slots are NOT 2.0, and my external HD is USB, I'm thinking it could speed up my Acronis back ups. It also has 1 internal USB port. Maybe I could use it to power a fan and pull out that rediculous Media Pocket Bay in favor of a fan and better cooling.

In short, I just upgraded to 4gb of ram, and the next two things I desire are to use the AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600, and a good graphics card. I'm probably asking for too much but the only game I've ever tried to play is Crysis, lol. You shouldve seen how bad my Slimline chocked trying to do it with everything on low.
 
On another note, I have a 2007 model s3100n AMD Slimline. 5.07 BIOS update and for anyone still wondering about the M2NC51-AR (HematiteXL-GL8E) mobo's ability to take 4gb of Ram, it's a go.
Never even hiccuped. BIOS sees the full 4gb and Windows (I'm using 7 RC but by default it's Vista Home Premium 32) recognizes 3.37 as usable.
 
Hello again fellow Slimline lovers (or haters atm ;))

Almost a year ago I came to the forums asking questions about video cards and PSUs with the Slimlines since I had just received one as a gift. After many people reported successes with the 9500 GT (512MB) card I decided to use it. Now, after using this card for nearly 8 months completed unmolested by any problems whatsoever (no sudden disconnects or shut offs) I think my computer's stock PSU finally took a dirt nap, haha.

Basically, the situation is thus. The computer will not boot, but when I plug it into an outlet the LED light comes on, but when I turn the computer itself on, there is no blue light and I hear the fans whirring but the computer doesn't start up. I am thinking this is an issue with the power supply, but I am not sure. The video card looks like it's still in good condition and even it's little fan blade is moving somewhat. So I was thinking about purchasing one of the linked products, the Sparkle SPI20LE (270W) to replace the PSU....any thoughts?

I was going to buy it here, at this link: http://www.censuspc.com/product-pr-5902.html

Oh, I had also written a letter to HP's tech support and they seem to think it's a power supply issue too, but I just wanted to check with the comp pros here. I just want to make sure it isn't a motherboard or other such technical issue.
 
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Blaire said:
Hello again fellow Slimline lovers (or haters atm ;))

Almost a year ago I came to the forums asking questions about video cards and PSUs with the Slimlines since I had just received one as a gift. After many people reported successes with the 9500 GT (512MB) card I decided to use it. Now, after using this card for nearly 8 months completed unmolested by any problems whatsoever (no sudden disconnects or shut offs) I think my computer's stock PSU finally took a dirt nap, haha.

Basically, the situation is thus. The computer will not boot, but when I plug it into an outlet the LED light comes on, but when I turn the computer itself on, there is no blue light and I hear the fans whirring but the computer doesn't start up. I am thinking this is an issue with the power supply, but I am not sure. The video card looks like it's still in good condition and even it's little fan blade is moving somewhat. So I was thinking about purchasing one of the linked products, the Sparkle SPI20LE (270W) to replace the PSU....any thoughts?

I was going to buy it here, at this link: http://www.censuspc.com/product-pr-5902.html

Oh, I had also written a letter to HP's tech support and they seem to think it's a power supply issue too, but I just wanted to check with the comp pros here. I just want to make sure it isn't a motherboard or other such technical issue.
Click to expand...

Just curious. You were running the 9500GT with your stock PSU?
 
Correct. Because at the time, there were a lot of people saying they had no problem. Then I come to check the OP thread LATER and realize....oh crap. I probably just shot my PSU because of my video card.
 
Well...i guess I'll just pony up and pay for the Sparkle 270 and rush ship it today. It seems that a lot of people have bought it cheap from census pc and I guess I'll try my luck with it and hope it fixes my problem :/

I just hope my XFX 9500 GT (512MB) card is also compatible with this PSU.

Looking back, it looks like tsmorty was able to do it, but it seemed like in the post he was saying he had to choose whether to hook up the CD/DVD to the power supply or the hard drive and those seems kind of essential... so what if I wanted to connect both? lol
 
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watch the youtube video linked in the first post blaire it will tell you the parts you need. You can get a sata power splitter to power both. A 9500GT is way too much power to run on a stock PSU - you did likely fly your PSU and unknown what else, sometimes when a PSU fries it takes other components with it - - - which is why I am such an advocate to upgrade the PSU all through this thread. Blaire you will also need the atx adapter that ATXpowersupplies sells - linked in the first post. Drob you need to upgrade your drivers if you are only getting USB 1.1. All slimlines to my knowledge support USB 2.0.

Go to HPs site, type in your slimeline model number and download all the newest drivers. Crysis won't work with any quality on a slimline unless you get a 9800GT in my opinion. Even then keep in mind won't run smoothly at max resolutions at typical 24" LCD resolutions.

The easiest way in my opinion to power a 40mm fan on the back of the case is to cut off the cord coming from the USB port to the stupid pocket media bay. Splice into the power and ground wires on that cord and power your fan that way. No extra wires and all internal.
 
Archaea said:
watch the youtube video linked in the first post blaire it will tell you the parts you need. You can get a sata power splitter to power both. A 9500GT is way too much power to run on a stock PSU - you did likely fly your PSU and unknown what else, sometimes when a PSU fries it takes other components with it - - - which is why I am such an advocate to upgrade the PSU all through this thread. Blaire you will also need the atx adapter that ATXpowersupplies sells - linked in the first post.
Click to expand...

I pray that my PSU didn't fry anything else. I especially hope the motherboard was unharmed. I do not see any ruptured capsules or anything that would hint at it being ruined. I do not know how to check the separate components for damage that might've been caused when the PSU died. It's not like it just blew up or anything. It sort of just...puttered out, lol.
When I turn the computer on, the fans are moving and I don't smell burnt rubber or anything. I was told that since the onboard fan is still receiving power enough to run, that the motherboard is probably ok, since I guess nothing would work if the motherboard was shot.

Yet, I'm kind of unsure since it would seem to an average lay person (like myself) that if you blew your power supply, why would the fans or LED light work at all? Does it seem more possible that it just blew some capacitors within the PSU or something?
 
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Regional Coffee said:
Then the low-power, low-profile Galaxy 9600GT is your best bet right now for the best performance you can get without upgrading the PSU.

My only concern would be noise at the desktop or watching videos - I can't say how loud or not the 9600GLPLP is.
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Has anyone installed the Galaxy 9600GT LP LP yet?

http://en.expreview.com/2009/03/07/galaxy-launches-9600gt-low-profile-low-power-vga-card.html

Saw a few mentions of it in the thread – but did not see any install reports. I am curious if it will fit without removing the media tray.

I have the sparkle PSU, extra fans and all the bits lined up for the upgrade - then purchased a Zotac 9600GT - http://www.zotacusa.com/geforce-9600-gt-lp-512mb-256-bit-675mhz-1800mhz-zt-96tes3l-fsl.html

Made an oversight though – the zotac fits fine – however it has a heatsink on the back that prevents seating the TV tuner – which I do use. Don’t want to go to USB on that. The new Galaxy looks much better – clean on the back of the board – but the it appears to be a tad long for an unmodified fit into a slimline….
 
Something else thats odd. I don't know if this began after the ram upgrade or after the bios update, but when I put my pc to sleep, when it wakes, I dont get the screen? like its waking at the wrong resolution almost.

I can see color in the very top corner of the screen, and Windows is reacting, but I don't get the display. Any thoughts? If I turn it off and back on, it works everytime.
 
D Rob said:
Something else thats odd. I don't know if this began after the ram upgrade or after the bios update, but when I put my pc to sleep, when it wakes, I dont get the screen? like its waking at the wrong resolution almost.

I can see color in the very top corner of the screen, and Windows is reacting, but I don't get the display. Any thoughts? If I turn it off and back on, it works everytime.
Click to expand...

Nevermind, went to device manager and updated my gpu, Win 7 found the drivers and installed the update. All is well.
 
Archaea said:
Blaire you will also need the atx adapter that ATXpowersupplies sells
Click to expand...

I think I'm going to go with the IN WIN after all and just reverse the fan and attach some 40mm fans on the case itself like some of the others here have done.

I just have one question really. What adapters would be necessary to install this baby? I'm pretty sure I'll need the uber expensive ATX adapter for the funky motherboard, but what about any others? Some were mentioned, but those were largely in regards to if you were getting the Sparkle or the PC50.

Oh and after going to a shop that sells parts in town and asking about this issue, they agreed that it probably did in fact fry my motherboard, or parts on it, and that apparently HP Slimlines are having this problem in general due to some fault in their making. Due to this and just too many mixed opinions, I just gave up and called HP tech support which took forever to get them to admit that there was something wrong. So I'm just going to ship it in and if anything, just find out what is wrong. I didn't say that I had put the card in and they didn't ask. In fact they told me that IF I had put other parts in, to take them out before shipping, which seemed odd to me then that they didn't ask. I made the computer look as it did when I got it. I put back in the regular plates and took out the video card bracket, so hopefully that will help. I will keep you guys updated on the results of this.
 
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Ok here we go:

I have read a lot of this thread....no not all of it though. I am still trying to figure out what graphics card to get. I am only a moderate gamer. Mech Warriors and stuff like that. The problem that I'm running into is this. I want to hook the computer up to 2 HPw2207 monitors. I would love to hook them up via Dual DVI, but I see that most of the cards that have dual DVI are too big for the rig. I do have a DVI to HDMI cable also. On top of that I'm unsure about DDR2 & DDR3. Also the whole PCIe 16 1.0 vs. 2.0 has me a bit confused. I know most of you are like DUH!!!! I don't see that it makes a lot of difference beside speed and cost. It's not like the difference between PCI and PCIe right (which is physical). I guess I just don't want to buy the wrong card that is too tall or too long for the slim or not powerful enough. I understand I am only going to get so much out of this rig, but I still want to max it out. I don't want all the answers, but if someone could point me in the right direction I would appreciate it. Maybe one of these?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814187061

http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Rade...aphics/dp/B001SJLLTQ/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

http://www.amazon.com/Sparkle-GeFor...2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1250557397&sr=8-2
 
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nbkawe4 said:
Ok here we go:

I have read a lot of this thread....no not all of it though. I am still trying to figure out what graphics card to get. I am only a moderate gamer. Mech Warriors and stuff like that. The problem that I'm running into is this. I want to hook the computer up to 2 HPw2207 monitors. I would love to hook them up via Dual DVI, but I see that most of the cards that have dual DVI are too big for the rig. I do have a DVI to HDMI cable also. On top of that I'm unsure about DDR2 & DDR3. Also the whole PCIe 16 1.0 vs. 2.0 has me a bit confused. I know most of you are like DUH!!!! I don't see that it makes a lot of difference beside speed and cost. It's not like the difference between PCI and PCIe right (which is physical). I guess I just don't want to buy the wrong card that is too tall or too long for the slim or not powerful enough. I understand I am only going to get so much out of this rig, but I still want to max it out. I don't want all the answers, but if someone could point me in the right direction I would appreciate it. Maybe one of these?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814187061

http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Rade...aphics/dp/B001SJLLTQ/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

http://www.amazon.com/Sparkle-GeFor...2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1250557397&sr=8-2
Click to expand...

These questions have been answered in this thread but


here goes:

your first and third graphics card links are to the same card. DVI and HDMI are the exact same connection quality except that HDMI also carries audio. Both are digital and your DVI to HDMI convertor will work perfectly with a card that has one DVI and one HDMI to connect to two computer monitors.

The 9800GT is WAY faster than the 4550 and is the fastest card you can buy - PERIOD - for the slimline --- there is no competition. You need a new Power supply for the 9800GT regardless of what your HP slimline came with stock, but your stock PSU should be able to run the 4550. Look up performance benchmarks on google or tomshardware.com in order to get a good idea of frame-rate comparisons between the two cards.

For the 9800GT I'd recommend the sparkle 270 watt most highly off the first post, the in-win second, and not sure I can recommend the shuttle because of problems encountered by a couple of us. You'll need a stupidly expensive atx to micro atx adapter also linked on the first post from atxpowersupplies.com (it's for sale no where else that I know of). You'll need a sata to 2 sata splitter cable with both inwin and sparkle PSUs regardless of graphics card port. you'll need a pci-e supplimental six pin adapater for the 9800gt. You would not for the 4550. (For the 4550 upgrade only --- the only thing you need is the actual graphics card.) Watch the youtube video linked in the first post about power supply upgrades I made it will give you part numbers on newegg. PCI-1.0 vs. 2.0 makes no difference for your upgrade purposes in the slimline - 1.0 is backwards compatible with 2.0. It has to do most notably with how much power the slot can provide to the graphics card without supplemental power. GDDR3 is better than GDDR2 in every way - it is faster and uses less power too (but the performance difference is not that extreme so go with what you find for a price range you can afford) You should consider some type of additional cooling - with the 9800GT you MUST have some sort of additional cooling. I'd recommend it on a 4550 equipped slimline too. This is most easily accomplished by attaching a 40mm fan to the back of your slimline - again see the first post for ideas.
 
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