HP Pavilion Revamp: Plan B

[Guest]

This is going to be beast

[QueenDemetria]

I didn't think this PC was going to be much work, I was so wrong lol.

So the first thing I did today was mounting the fan bracket, since I knew it was going to make metal dust/shrapnel and I didn't want that to wreck any of my components. I cleaned up my hole and removed a couple of rivets to make room for the mount.

Easy enough, 0 measurements and 4 rivets later and I ended up with this:

It was quite the riveting experience I have to say(lol). Seriously though, humans need more hands, it was hard to hold the bracket and use the rivet gun.

My next step was to install all of the case accessories since I learned the hard way that the front panel and USB connectors are hard to get to with everything installed.

So one of the problems of adding a fan to the front of this case is that you have to remove the HDD caddy, but then there isn't room for it afterwords. The solution? Use the optical bays, since 2005 has passed and we have moved on to better storage mediums.

These adapters are pretty cool, but they are loud too, so I am leaving the fans unplugged. I also wanted to use 2 SSD's as well, but I only have 1 3.5” bay left. My solution:

Mount 2 SSD's to a single bracket

I might make a tutorial on how to build a dual bracket.

 

I'm not sure if anybody researched the parts that I was going to be using, but I made the poor choice of using a non modular power supply in a compact case:

That doesn't stop the Queen of Cable Management though:

Cluster F*** or rats nest, call it whatever you want. I'm calling this victory

Here is another angle:

 

It was a long day today, but I finally have a PC that runs. Its still not finished, since I have to modify the side panel and paint the front, but for now I have a date to go to .

[Frankie]

I like how detailed this build log is, good job! Looking forward to the painting

 

So the first thing I did today was mounting the fan bracket, since I knew it was going to make metal dust/shrapnel and I didn't want that to wreck any of my components. I cleaned up my hole and removed a couple of rivets to make room for the mount.

 

Rated R build log.

I had to, sorry.

[watts300]

It's interesting that you hate the HP's motherboard.  My son also has an HP P7-1549 and I think think the motherboard is one of it's high-points.   Out-of-the-box I replaced the OEM power supply with a spare Earthwatts unit, so I have no further comment on the original. After a year, I put the GTX650 in it after pulling it from his other computer that got a 290.  In its current configuration, I'd say the case it's the low-point.  

 

Okay.  I'll go back to reading the thread now.  

[Mr PotHead]

i really liked how you used it as a linux machine,looking forward to updates,what distro version ???

[QueenDemetria]

The good news is that I am typing this on my machine, so the smoke test passed I just have to replace the exhaust fan since it has some trouble spinning up while booting. This is probably because its not getting enough power and because its not running off of PWM. I'm not sure if I should use a different fan or if plugging in the PWM wire will fix it, but I have time to test various things.

(You can also see my mod in the "completed" photo)

I like how detailed this build log is, good job! Looking forward to the painting

Rated R build log.

I had to, sorry.

 Thanks And I'll start painting soon. I have already taken the front panel apart so now all I have to do is paint. I'm not sure if anybody has noticed, but I removed the HP logo from the front of the case and stuck it to the inside of the case(you can see it in the images above), so I get to fill in that hole with putty(how many more hole jokes will I make? lol). 

 

And yes, this project is very NSFW, I haven't warn any eye or ear protection at all. At least I have a clean hole though .

 

It's interesting that you hate the HP's motherboard.  My son also has an HP P7-1549 and I think think the motherboard is one of it's high-points.   Out-of-the-box I replaced the OEM power supply with a spare Earthwatts unit, so I have no further comment on the original. After a year, I put the GTX650 in it after pulling it from his other computer that got a 290.  In its current configuration, I'd say the case it's the low-point.  

 

Okay.  I'll go back to reading the thread now.

Yeah, some of HP's motherboards are pretty decent and others not so much. I think the problem with my computer was that its was more of a budget but "value" oriented computer. It had great features like a quad core athlon, multi card reader, Lightscribe DVD drive, and 6Gb of RAM, but the motherboard was very cut down. It used DDR2 even though DDR3 was pretty popular, and the chipset lacked support from nVidia and outputted more heat than a FX chip. I have plans for the old board though, I might build a submersion PC or something with it .

 

i really liked how you used it as a linux machine,looking forward to updates,what distro version ???

I hadn't used Linux in a while, but using briefly really showed me what I was missing out on. I was using Ubuntu 14.04 without many modifications(I kept it pretty vanilla) and briefly had Linux Mint 17 on it(Cinnamon I believe). I also used Knoppix since I was curious to see how that Distro is doing and I wanted to test my DVD drive since it had been dropped(other than the weird loud noises it worked fine lol).

[QueenDemetria]

Just a quick update: So I have actually used this motherboard/CPU combo in a machine before so that's why its already OC'd, but I've been running Prime95 since the last update and its been fine. I'm thinking about kicking it up a notch tomorrow, since I'm only at 1.36v(I can probably squeeze out more Mhz without touching the voltage). Thermals are not an issue either, CPU temps have been staying under 45c which is pretty cool considering I am using a CM Hyper TX3. Anyways, here is a CPU-Z screenshot:

 

Edit: Was about to go to bed and got a alert on my phone. Cortana knows whats up, it can sense the OC brewing:

 

Hopefully there isn't any fires though lol

[MeepLikesToBuildPc's]

Nice!!! Subbed

[Mr PotHead]

 

I hadn't used Linux in a while, but using briefly really showed me what I was missing out on. I was using Ubuntu 14.04 without many modifications(I kept it pretty vanilla) and briefly had Linux Mint 17 on it(Cinnamon I believe). I also used Knoppix since I was curious to see how that Distro is doing and I wanted to test my DVD drive since it had been dropped(other than the weird loud noises it worked fine lol).

14.04 is jsut a pain in the ass ,unless one knows shell scripting properly its gonna be horrific to get things running ... i am suffering from it myself just plain bad

[QueenDemetria]

Just a quick little update: I've been busy with life stuff so I haven't had much time to mess around with my computer, but progress should continue tomorrow. I'll at least switch out my my RAM with a higher capacity kit tomorrow(8Gb isn't enough), but I might even start painting too(masking, filling holes, base coat if I find time). Sometime this week I am meeting up with @QuadCore to trade some stuff for a good OCing Athlon and a heatsink for another project(I'm excited for this one), so I might play around with OC's, heatsinks and whatnot. To be honest I just want to hurry up and finish this project so I can start my next build, which involves the old motherboard from this build and a fish tank(and no, not another submerged PC), so stay tuned lol.

[QueenDemetria]

So I upgraded my RAM today, I had some slight problems though. When I installed the new RAM my system wouldn't post, but the problem was that my OC was affecting the memory(which it wasn't before), so I was running at 1004Mhz instead of 800Mhz. The New RAM doesn't match my system, but oh well(maybe I should paint it?):

And here is my current OC and new RAM specs:

(I love that red Tesla <3) I only squeezed out an extra 100Mhz from the CPU since the VRM heat is concerning me. I'll see what I can do with QuadCore's CPU, but I'm guessing it will perform similarly to my chip.

[QueenDemetria]

I cant say that I didn't get anything done today, because I at least traded a bunch of crap for more crap lol. @QuadCore gave me not one, but two Athlon's and a Phenom, so I have some testing that I need to do(the Phenom will be better if I can unlock it). One of the Athlons even came with a sticker (pic at bottom). I did get a SFF Dell heatsink and Biostar motherboard, so my next project is off to a good start, but I really need to finish this project first. I'm hopefully going to add a vent to the side panel tomorrow, but if my neighbors complain(again) I'll have to paint instead(which I am not ready for lol). So far the only game I have run on it is CS: GO and it ran exceptionally terrible at 20 FPS, but I am blaming Steam IHS for the performance issues. From absolute low settings to highest settings it ran at the same FPS, so I have to figure that out(I'm hoping that its just IHS and if I don't use it the game will become playable). Anyways, I have to get some sleep so I can make sure the CenturyLink technician does their job tomorrow.

[QueenDemetria]

Welp, I just filled my hole with putty(the hole jokes continue!). My determination amazes me at times lol. Its 2AM and somehow I thought it would be a good idea to fill up the logo hole on the front of the case(yes, I have issues). Back when I got the paint for this project I got a mini bucket of Painters Putty 53, which at the time seemed like my best option for "hiding" the HP logo on the front of the case. Anyways, I started messing around with the putty to get a feel for it and curiosity got the best of me. I started "smashing" it on the case and it was going well until it started ripping as I was applying it, so I changed my technique and I actually got it to fill the logo without much trouble. Hopefully it will dry overnight, but if it doesn't I'll still paint it anyways(I am very impatient).

If you are wondering why I chose Painters Putty 53 for this job, I honestly don't know why I chose it. When it comes to these kinds of things, I have no idea what should be used and what would be the most ideal for my job. The guy at the store suggested I use some liquid stuff in a tube, but the putty seemed like it would be easier to apply since it can hold its shape better. I'm pretty sure Putty 53 is for drywall and wood, so hopefully it works lol(I haven't read the instructions yet, and probably wont). Also, to further prove my lack of knowledge on this stuff, when I bought the putty I didn't buy anything to spread it with, so I ended up using my iPhone 4 lol. I guess I am prepared to paint if I need to, but I would like to cut the side panel so I can do all of the painting at once.

 

Now I am off to bed :3

[MeepLikesToBuildPc's]

 when I bought the putty I didn't buy anything to spread it with, so I ended up using my iPhone 4 

 

 

You used your IPHONE to spread PUTTY!?

 

Im imagining it and it doesnt look good

[QueenDemetria]

You used your IPHONE to spread PUTTY!?

 

Im imagining it and it doesnt look good

Yeah...lol. It actually doesn't look too bad, since all I need is a smooth surface. I was able to match the curve of the case pretty good, and so far(3-4 hours later) it still has held its shape. I'm just hoping it doesn't fall off drys lol.

[Frankie]

(the hole jokes continue!)

 

Thanks for mentioning that, I almost choke myself lol. I am curious if the putty holds, I don't know much about this stuff either because there is like thousands of options.

[QueenDemetria]

Thanks for mentioning that, I almost choke myself lol. I am curious if the putty holds, I don't know much about this stuff either because there is like thousands of options.

Lol, but yeah so far it has not dried yet. I did it around 2-3AM last night and its 11AM now, so I am just impatiently waiting . I've been occupied with fixing my internet today, but I think I will work on OC's and switching out CPU's so I can let the putty dry properly.

[ObeseWalrus]

This build is badass. lovin' the ghettoness of it all.

[TheSLSAMG]

Edit: Was about to go to bed and got a alert on my phone. Cortana knows whats up, it can sense the OC brewing:

Hopefully there isn't any fires though lol

I saw this and immediately imagined raining, but the rain was actually fire. What is my mind doing to me?

[Frankie]

I saw this and immediately imagined raining, but the rain was actually fire. What is my mind doing to me?

 

My mind was picturing erupting volcano. You are not alone. 

[QueenDemetria]

This build is badass. lovin' the ghettoness of it all.

Thanks lol. Ghetto mods are the best mods

 

I saw this and immediately imagined raining, but the rain was actually fire. What is my mind doing to me?

[Frankie]

 

Holy fuck I spewed out mixture of hysterical laughing and gasping for air.

[QueenDemetria]

So I got to thinking about this build today and I have some changes that I want to make. One thing that I imagine won't look right is the amber HDD LED with the blue front panel. I'm thinking about butchering a fan with blue LED's so I don't have to spend any money(lol), and I think I have the perfect fan for this. Switching the LED won't be the easiest task since I have to remove both of the HDD's and power supply(#justhpthings), but I think this will be a perfect time to also paint the power supply and switch out its fan(stock fan is kinda loud). I also want to make this PC "mine" by using a ZEROtherm BTF90 in place of the boring Cooler Master TX3, but the only problem is that it has red LED's and the fan doesn't come apart easily(deal with it?). I'm going to give all this thought since painting the PSU isn't too high on my priority list and I can deal with the amber LED, but it would be nice to get it all done.

[Subduck]

So I got to thinking about this build today and I have some changes that I want to make. One thing that I imagine won't look right is the amber HDD LED with the blue front panel. I'm thinking about butchering a fan with blue LED's so I don't have to spend any money(lol), and I think I have the perfect fan for this. Switching the LED won't be the easiest task since I have to remove both of the HDD's and power supply(#justhpthings), but I think this will be a perfect time to also paint the power supply and switch out its fan(stock fan is kinda loud). I also want to make this PC "mine" by using a ZEROtherm BTF90 in place of the boring Cooler Master TX3, but the only problem is that it has red LED's and the fan doesn't come apart easily(deal with it?). I'm going to give all this thought since painting the PSU isn't too high on my priority list and I can deal with the amber LED, but it would be nice to get it all done.

Sounds like a plan Just change the LED's if you don't like the colour. It's not too difficult. Or just change the colour of what the LED is shining though.

[AlexStriz]

A butteryfly CPU cooler? That'll be a first on LTT

 

Do you already have the cooler? It seems to be out of stock everywhere I look