The highly rated HP Pavilion Slimline PC thread

mshoogeveen said:
If you may change your mind and want to replace your moBo anyhow then you should check out this eBay reseller: http://shop.ebay.com/digital_anny/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p4340
For some reason your original MoBo is quite expensive, but you can replace it with another AMD-MoBo (as JeremyShaw already suggested), e.g. the Acacia MoBo for 87 dollars. Your original board is 150 Dollars. If it is possible you could also go to an Intel MoBo, e.g. the Irvine for 77 Dollars. But then you need to buy also a new Processor ...... Depending where you reside shippingcosts are from 0 (US) to 28 (NL) Dollars as an example.
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because it's harder to find working HematiteXL mobos, lol.

The Acacias are rock solid, as far as the HP Forums are concerned.

HP had to launch a special warranty extention *just* for the HematiteXL mobos.
 
Wow I missed this, Last time (04-14-2009) I posted @ #2747 in 138 pages. I am wondering if anyone who did modify HP slimline?
 
Archaea said:
so you've tried the sparkle and the same thing happens? Try turning on your power supplies after unhooking everything from the motherboard by jumping any of the black ground wires and the sole green wire in the 24 pin ATX motherboard connector. See if the power supplies themselves spin up to verify they are not the issue.
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Thanks for the advice everyone. I swapped in an ATX power supply and verified the system boots. I can't power the SATA drive so I can only boot to BIOS but it looks like the problem is the power supply died. Does anyone know if bad motherboards are capable of killing PSUs, or is it likely just dirty power in the house, or bad luck with PSUs?

I'm going to call Sparkle tomorrow and arrange an RMA, then try to look for some sort of power conditioner. I'm not sure what sort of device I want to look for though. Does anyone have any recommendations? I already use a Power Sentry "transient voltage surge supressor" power strip with something like 1800 Joules of power surge protection, but apparently that isn't enough.
 
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jeremyshaw said:
because it's harder to find working HematiteXL mobos, lol.

The Acacias are rock solid, as far as the HP Forums are concerned.

HP had to launch a special warranty extention *just* for the HematiteXL mobos.
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I ordered/received an Acacia motherboard from China Back in October to replace the HematiteXL on an HP s3020n. Works great. The HematiteXL backplate is not the same as the Acacia although it works. The backplate sent with the board was a piece of junk and was not as good as the existing HematiteXL backplate.
 
fantasyvn said:
Dear all, I would like to buy a HP Pavilion Slimline with HP Monitor.

May I ask if I can lay flat the desktop case so that the monitor can sit on it, similar to this Lenovo:

http://www.cclonline.com/product-in...category_id=432&manufacturer_id=0&tid=sms71uk

Someone told me that placing this computer in the desktop is not recommended although some people are willing to do it.

Is this correct?
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While it is possible to orient the s5xxx and the s3xxx series horizontally (after ensuring that the motherboard is laying flat at the bottom of the case, with vent holes on top), I would not recommend placing the monitor on top of the case for several reasons.

Depending on the size of the monitor, the base of the monitor may be too big for the case, not to mention the case might not support the weight of the monitor. On top of that you would more than likely be blocking vital ventilation holes, which, for these slimline computers, is extra important due to the already restricted airflow inside the case.

I'm not claiming to be an expert, but based on my (limited?) knowledge of these HP Slimlines, I personally would not place the monitor on the Slimline case, nor would I recommend anyone else do it.
 
another reason I would not put a slimline case on its side is that the front bezel will not allow the case to lay perfectly flat - it is bezeled - so your monitor is always going to be leaning.
 
guspasho said:
Thanks for the advice everyone. I swapped in an ATX power supply and verified the system boots. I can't power the SATA drive so I can only boot to BIOS but it looks like the problem is the power supply died. Does anyone know if bad motherboards are capable of killing PSUs, or is it likely just dirty power in the house, or bad luck with PSUs?

I'm going to call Sparkle tomorrow and arrange an RMA, then try to look for some sort of power conditioner. I'm not sure what sort of device I want to look for though. Does anyone have any recommendations? I already use a Power Sentry "transient voltage surge supressor" power strip with something like 1800 Joules of power surge protection, but apparently that isn't enough.
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Is this the same problem you had with the other PSU?

I've never heard of a PSU made faulty by a bad motherboard. only the reverse -- motherboards getting damaged by overloaded or faulty PSUs. Is it possible that your motherboard is bad and your PSU is good? I'd think it doubtful that your new sparkle is faulty --- especially if it turns on and delivers power to the motherboard to boot. I'll bet that your motherboard is fried and any good PSU you get from now on will exhibit the same issues on that motherboard. A PC is best served by a UPS rather than a surge protector. Look into an APC UPS or if you want to go cheaper check out some of the deals on a cyberpower (good for the money). But I doubt this is your problem currently.

If you do get a UPS - get no less than a 500VA IMO. A 300VA is too close to the minimujm -- it won't last long in battery mode with a modern computer.
 
Well my dads' s3020n motherboard bit the dust. If the warranty expired for the heatsink issue in December 2009 --- he JUST missed it.

Guess I'll look at picking up a Acacia-GL6E for him off ebay. They are used for $60 with a $25 shipping charge.... :(

But seems to be the cheapest OEM type option so I'm not switching extra stuff and making extra expenses. That's the same motherboard - the Acacia-GL6E that is used in my s3200n and its not given me any problems. Hate to buy a used motherboard for $60 even if it is tested. But eh --- what you got to do I guess.
 
Hi everyone I cant believe how long this thread is. So I decided to sign up because i just bought a HP S3420F from bestbuy for 399cdn. I just hope this model wont have any issues/recalls . I only going to use it for internet and watching TV/PVR. I am reading a lot of people with power supply problem or lacking power. Do i have to worry about this? what about the infinite loop during booting? is that something that affect my model too?? I can return this up to 15 days i believe so if you can tell me what to look out for, that would be greatly appreciated!!
 
While I have a Dell Vostro Slim as my HTPC, I recently bought my parents an HP Pavilion. It's not a Slimline; it's a p6370t w/ an Intel i3 chip. I wonder how much it has in common w/ a Slimline.
 
I must confess that I recently bought an 'Oldie-but-Goodie' HP 'Fatline' (DC7700 CMT), which I'm upgrading for my better half. When I opened the case, I could hardly believe the vast emptiness inside and the diminutiveness of the 365Watt PSU! There is enough empty space in there for at least 2 Slimlines! It has dual-core 2.13GHz processors of the Intel variety and 2GB memory. I'm adding a 500GB HD and getting SATA cables (right-angle) turned out to be a nuisance. Fry's and Newegg were of little help (eBay came to the rescue).

But I digress...........;)
 
A while back, I put an HD4650 graphics card into my 3500t. It has a TV tuner card , E7200 Processor, 7200 rpm hard drive and blue ray drive.

If I was gaming on it for a while or watching DVDs for a very long time, it would die. And sometimes this would be in a bad way and it wouldn't reboot correctly. I figured out that if I unplugged the power and replugged it back in after one of these failures it would reboot correctly.

So here's one recommendation against the HD4650 with the stock power supply and a fully loaded case. (It may have been fine without the TV tuner card)

This led to my purchasing a Sparkle 270W power supply and doing some wire cutting and splicing/soldering. It's been running great since, and I'll give it something hard to think about soon -I haven't really gamed on it since the upgrade.


My other concern -which I tested while I had the guts open- is heat. The darned TV tuner does a great job of blocking the HD 4650's fan and heatsink (I have an ASUS). It gets pretty warm in that area and I'm not certain who the problem child is. The TV tuner card had two chips that would get pretty hot before the graphics upgrade, so I'm going to try to put some old VRam heatsinks I pulled off an old old card on there as well as on the exposed ram chips on the 'top' of the 4650 (though I don't think this will help much) and see what else I can do.

Along these lines I've put the case upright (see below) and removed the cage that that would normally hold the portable drive thing that I don't have, don't use, and could care less about to improve airflow in from the bottom front. I'll have to see how things go from here.

Archaea said:
another reason I would not put a slimline case on its side is that the front bezel will not allow the case to lay perfectly flat - it is bezeled - so your monitor is always going to be leaning.
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I've had my slimline on it's side for quite some time - as a media center PC. And just attached the provided rubber feet to attach to the bottom (side) to make this work. If you don't like or don't have the supplied ones, a quick and cheap trip to the nearest hardware store will fix that right up. The ones that came with it were thick enough so that it wasn't resting on the bezel. The bezel isn't very thick on the sides.

In the very least you'd want some feet on the 'bottom' (side) to allow for airflow into the vents 'down' (over) there.

That said, I recently changed the shelves in my TV stand and turned the slimline upright. I *think* this will provide better airflow; but I'm not sure yet as I've yet to stress it in this configuration.

Keep in mind I have an s3500t that I'm pushing beyond what it was designed for, I think the new slimline cases have better airflow. But I'd still recommend against putting a monitor on top of the case directly as it's not structurally designed for it. I'd suggest the user make/buy/forage a frame/enclosure to go over the slimline case to support the monitor. Something that covers the narrow sides (top and bottom if the case is upright) should be fine for airflow as there aren't any air vents located there; you just want enough clearance on the sides with air vents (thick feet on the 'bottom' + clearance on the 'top'). Heck, some books and a board will do in a pinch -though that won't be very earthquake safe...
 
First of all, thanks for all of the helpful posts on slimlines and graphics cards. My s3100y was originally equipped with a tv tuner card and a GeForce 8400GS. Both have now stopped working and and I am now using the integrated graphics. After reading through several pages of posts, I am planning to replace with the xfx hd4350 graphics card. I'm not certain if it makes sense to get the 1GB vs. the 512MB. Any advice?
 
Alright - So what do you guys think of this HP chat?

Will a Q9550 be supported - should I take the gamble over my Q9300? Microcenter has them for $170 -- that's a real good price. I'm thinking when I upgrade my computer the Q9550 will be a better chip to overclock. Most people say 3.8Ghz on air cooling is easily obtained as compared to the 3.2Ghz most commonly obtained using the Q9300 overclocked (this overclocking variance stems from the lower multiplier on the Q9550)



Jonathan VonEngeln : My S3600T currently has the Q9300 Quad Core processor installed and working correctly. Will a Q9550 work correctly? I have upgraded the power supply to a 270 watt 80% efficient Sparkle.
[An agent will be with you shortly.]
[You are now chatting with Sidney .]
Sidney : Welcome to HP Total Care for Desktops. My name is Sidney. Please give me a few moments while I review your problem description details.

Sidney : Hi Jonathan, how are you doing today?
Jonathan VonEngeln : Hello Sidney. I'm hoping to glean some information from you that is not availabe on your website. I have an S3600T it was purchased with a Intel Quad Core Q9300 processor. That processor works fine. I can purchase a Q9550 processor for an exception price and wanted to verify compatibility
Jonathan VonEngeln : I cannot verify compatibility on your supported processors list under S3600T because it does not reference that quad cores are even functional -- however I know they are because I currently use the Q9300.
Jonathan VonEngeln : I have upgraded the power supply from the stock 180 watt to a Sparkle 270 watt server PSU. That works great --- so power won't be an issue.
Jonathan VonEngeln : I just want to ensure the motherboard is compatible with the Q9550.
Sidney : Okay, Jonathan.
Sidney : I will provide you the details. Could you please confirm that your PC model number is s3600t, am I right?
Jonathan VonEngeln : that's correct
Sidney : Please give me 3 minutes to provide you the details.
Sidney : Maximum approved processor:
Intel Core 2 Duo (Wolfsdale core) E8xxx (max speed TBD)
Core 2 Duo E6xxx (Conroe core) up to E6850
Core 2 Duo E4xxx (Conroe core) up to E4400
Pentium E2xxx series (Conroe core) with Dual Core technology up to E2160
Celeron 4xx series (Conroe core) up to Celeron 440

Sidney : It will not support Q9550 processor .
Jonathan VonEngeln : your list states it won't support the q9300 but it was offered new with that option - so your list is out of date. I believe it was also offered new with the Q8200
Jonathan VonEngeln : http://www.hpwebpromotions.com/desktops/s3600t.html
Jonathan VonEngeln : There is a link that lists the s3600t as supporting the Q9300
Sidney : Q9550 processor is having LGA 775 socket and it supports
Sidney : But HP will not recommend.
Sidney : Your mother board is having LGA 775 socket and so it supports both q9300 and q9550.
Jonathan VonEngeln : I understand it would not be ideal in a stock configuration - but I've heavily modified the slimline. I have a 120mm fan on the side, a 9800GT, and a sparkle 270 watt server PSU. So I've taken care of the heat and power issue.
Sidney : HP recommends only the above listed items as they were tested on this motherboard.
Jonathan VonEngeln : I also started a 200 page slimline thread at [H]ardforum.com I'm familiar with the hardware quite well, but I know sometimes you get CPU is unworkable errors for no other reason than HP has locked down the BIOS purposely on these types of things. IE some of the guys online have verified that they can't run a Q9300 in their S3600T's if it was originally purchased with a dual core, but only the guys who purchased a s3600t with a quadcore can run the quadcores.
Jonathan VonEngeln : I haven't been able to verify that claim, but does it have any merit?
Sidney : Because all the PC is shipped with OEM [originally Equipment manufacturers ]hardware parts which are specially designed for HP.
Sidney : Q9300 is having (2.5GHz /1333 MHz) 6 MB L2 cache; Duo Core (65W) but q9550 is having 2.8Ghz 12 mb 1333Mhz. You will not find any difference which you are browsing.
Jonathan VonEngeln : I understand the differences in the chip speeds are minor, but I'm a bit of an enthusiast and with the nice price I can pick up the Q9550 for I'll probably give it a shot.
Jonathan VonEngeln : Thank you for your time.
Sidney : You are most welcome.
 
zeno110 said:
Hi everyone I cant believe how long this thread is. So I decided to sign up because i just bought a HP S3420F from bestbuy for 399cdn. I just hope this model wont have any issues/recalls . I only going to use it for internet and watching TV/PVR. I am reading a lot of people with power supply problem or lacking power. Do i have to worry about this? what about the infinite loop during booting? is that something that affect my model too?? I can return this up to 15 days i believe so if you can tell me what to look out for, that would be greatly appreciated!!
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Yes, the AMD based s3000 slimline only has a 160W power supply. But if your PC comes with TV tuner and graphics card, you should not worry about power issue. If your PC uses onboard graphics, you are limited to VGA and possibly at a lower resolution than 1080p. I am able to watch 1080i with the on board GeForce 7100.
 
drpenicilin said:
jeremyshaw, I asked for MB options for the 5000 series Slimlines and you gave me EVGA, now I'm wondering if this babe http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=3307 fits well... same form factor @ 9.6"x9.6" and same place for the principal PCI Express slot, right? Do I need something else? Thanks!
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yeah, that will work, too. I am not too sure about the top two RAM slots, since some of the stock HP configs do not even have these present.
 
Archaea said:
Alright - So what do you guys think of this HP chat?

Will a Q9550 be supported - should I take the gamble over my Q9300? Microcenter has them for $170 -- that's a real good price. I'm thinking when I upgrade my computer the Q9550 will be a better chip to overclock. Most people say 3.8Ghz on air cooling is easily obtained as compared to the 3.2Ghz most commonly obtained using the Q9300 overclocked (this overclocking variance stems from the lower multiplier on the Q9550)



Jonathan VonEngeln : My S3600T currently has the Q9300 Quad Core processor installed and working correctly. Will a Q9550 work correctly? I have upgraded the power supply to a 270 watt 80% efficient Sparkle.
[An agent will be with you shortly.]
[You are now chatting with Sidney .]
{Woohoo}
!Jonathan VonEngeln : Thank you for your time.
Sidney : You are most welcome.
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The Q9300 is a 65W TDP chip, iirc. While TDP does not exectly equal max power draw, it still is a good indicator. The motherboard's power circuitry feeding the CPU socket may not have enough capacity for a 95W TDP chip (the Q9550 is a 95W chip).
 
Has anyone had problems with 2.1V DDR2 in the 3000 line of slimlines?

I've got an s3600t with the Irvine-GL6E motherboard and modded with a Sparkle 270W power supply. I'm not concerned about hitting a power limit now, but was eying some 2x2GB DDR2 to put my memory up to 4 Gig but the only cheap ones I can find are 2.1V sticks.
 
yes you may very well have a problem with 2.1v ddr. The slimline motherboard's ram slot only is 100% compatible with 1.8 volt RAM per specs. If the 2.1v RAM actually works with 1.8 volt you'll be okay. I've also had luck with a bit higher voltage hungry ram, but 2.1 ram did NOT work for me and others in this board. The motherboard's DDR voltage setting is NOT changable - so since it only puts out 1.8 volt - you'll have to ensure your RAM runs stably at 1.8volt --- this is an issue regardless of how beefy a power supply you use.
 
Archaea said:
yes you may very well have a problem with 2.1v ddr. The slimline motherboard's ram slot only is 100% compatible with 1.8 volt RAM per specs. If the 2.1v RAM actually works with 1.8 volt you'll be okay. I've also had luck with a bit higher voltage hungry ram, but 2.1 ram did NOT work for me and others in this board. The motherboard's DDR voltage setting is NOT changable - so since it only puts out 1.8 volt - you'll have to ensure your RAM runs stably at 1.8volt --- this is an issue regardless of how beefy a power supply you use.
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Thanks for the info.

I remember reading something to that effect somewhere earlier in the thread, but I wasn't sure if it was a power supply or motherboard voltage regulation issue.

I'll hold off for now and play it safe.
 
I had an Intel board a while ago that only supplied 1.8V as well. It ran the RAM at DDR2-800 (what it was rated) although at some very loose timings.
 
jeremyshaw, I've noted that some of the new H55/H57 MBs come with an ATX 8-pin power connector, but the stock Slimline PSU has 4-pin. Can I still use it? Do I need to buy an adaptor? Or, do I have to look for 4-pin version MBs only?
 
most 8 pin motherboards work just fine when using a four pin that I've seen.

The manual will typically tell you which four you should put it in if you only have a four.
 
Question: Does the AMD BE-2400 have a temperature sensor? Mine registers <10C core (less than room temperature) with SpeedFan.
 
Hello all,

Ive been browsing this forum for awhile now. I recently purchased a HP Slimline s5220f and the graphics just aren't working for me. I saw that in earlier posts most of you have s3XXX series slimlines with the PCI slots on the bottom of the case. With the 5220 the PCI is the middle and the PSU is on the bottom. I will be getting the Sparkle 270W PSU and the other necessary components.

I play some of the more high quality games (CoD, L4D2, Borderlands, etc) and it seems the 9800 GT will be a solid card. However, with the PCI slot move, will the card still fit? Just curious if any others have tried upgrading the new 5XXX line.

P.S. Are there any other low profile cards that should fit that match or outperform the 9800 GT?
 
The sparkle 9800 GT is the best low profile card that any of us in this thread have tried.
It is silent and fast and works quite well on a sparkle 270 watt PSU with even a Quad Core 9300 processor as I can attest.

The Sparkle 250GTS is a newer variant that may be a hair faster, but is louder and requires more power than the sparkle 9800GT from what I can guess. The 250GTS does not come with a low profile bracket so you'll need purchase that for a couple bucks more. Make sure you give your slimline an additional cooling fan if you put either of those two cards in place.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16814187098
 
cephusjed said:
Question: Does the AMD BE-2400 have a temperature sensor? Mine registers <10C core (less than room temperature) with SpeedFan.
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Consider that they run really cool though and you likely don't have to worry at all about heat. I can touch the heatsink on the BE-2400 under load and it doesn't even burn my hand. Try that test on most any other modern CPU chip and you'll pull your finger away VERY quickly indeed.

BE-2400 processors are known to falsely report temp. Mine in my s3220n does the same thing. Reports cooler than ambient.
 
Some Skeez said:
Hello all,

Ive been browsing this forum for awhile now. I recently purchased a HP Slimline s5220f and the graphics just aren't working for me. I saw that in earlier posts most of you have s3XXX series slimlines with the PCI slots on the bottom of the case. With the 5220 the PCI is the middle and the PSU is on the bottom. I will be getting the Sparkle 270W PSU and the other necessary components.

I play some of the more high quality games (CoD, L4D2, Borderlands, etc) and it seems the 9800 GT will be a solid card. However, with the PCI slot move, will the card still fit? Just curious if any others have tried upgrading the new 5XXX line.

P.S. Are there any other low profile cards that should fit that match or outperform the 9800 GT?
Click to expand...

The Sparkle 270W that we are mostly discussing about does NOT fit in the s5000 case. Well, it does not fit well....

the s5000 case has a cavity for a larger PSU.

Also, the PCIe slot is the topmost of the two accessible slots, right? In that case, it will fit, but you will have to remove any (if any) cards in the lower slot.
 
jeremyshaw said:
The Sparkle 270W that we are mostly discussing about does NOT fit in the s5000 case. Well, it does not fit well....

the s5000 case has a cavity for a larger PSU.

Also, the PCIe slot is the topmost of the two accessible slots, right? In that case, it will fit, but you will have to remove any (if any) cards in the lower slot.
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Which PSUs do fit in the s5000 case then? I looked at the dimensions and it seemed like it would, are there any other solutions?

EDIT: Never mind I found the right one in a previous post, thanks for the help guys.
 
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I do plan to selling my slimline PC with low profile GPU (9300 GeForce)...
 
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From the front USB drop-down panel it looks basically identical to the Acer AspireX series which are nice PC's themselves. I'm sure Acer will be updating them soon for the i3, considering Acer is usually the cheapest wouldn't surprise me to see them beat that price.

If they're using the same case design/motherboard though, the issue with the Acer's is that the PCI-E 16x slot it as the top end of the case with the PCIE 1X slot underneath it - which means no double-wide coolers like the 9800GT. So even if you replaced the PSU you'd be limited. Plus with the card almost right up against the top of the case cooling isn't great.
 
midnkight said:
Some reviews for the 5450. :( looks like the power consumption will not work for us stock PSU user.
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19.1 Watts at load is within the 25 Watt power limit recommended by HP. It will work with the stock 160 Watt and 180 Watt PSU's found in the s3xxx slimlines.

The 187 load draw on the graph was total system power, taken at the wall outlet, and it's high because their test system consists of a Core i7 965, something like 6GBs RAM, and other high-power components, and does not reflect the power required for the graphics card only.

As an aside, it looks like the cooler is all funky styled, probably in an attempt to provide more surface area for heat dissipation, but as a result it's dual slot...I hope AMD's board partners will make a single slot version.
 
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The 5450 should work great with the stock PSU. I'm not sure how it will compare to the 8600/9500GS that also works with the old stocks though.

What I want is a low profile 5670 (maybe 5650?). I'm not holding my breath, and am happy with my 4650 (non stock PSU). But I see more and more small form factor desktop style cases coming out and there certainly is a market and future for low profile mid to low end gaming cards (I think/hope).

What makes me think there's hope is the plan for notebook versions of the 56XX and 57XX which may translate into low profile desktop versions.... maybe?
 
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