HP Pavilion Revamp: Plan B

[tyson.b]

I like what you did with this old Dell, but please upgrade everything to a more current Z97/GTX 960 platform lol.

 

I am still running my 6+yr old Dell motherboard and 8+yr old dell psu just perfectly with an overclocked gpu and a core 2 duo e6850. Hopefully this thing dies the day I complete my new build LOL. I had to buy a new case for it (don't ask, it just looks better than this. Oh, and does anyone want a free vista license? LOL

 

[QueenDemetria]

I like what you did with this old Dell, but please upgrade everything to a more current Z97/GTX 960 platform lol.

 

I am still running my 6+yr old Dell motherboard and 8+yr old dell psu just perfectly with an overclocked gpu and a core 2 duo e6850. Hopefully this thing dies the day I complete my new build LOL. I had to buy a new case for it (don't ask, it just looks better than this. Oh, and does anyone want a free vista license? LOL

*HP, lol. I'm using an older platform because there is nothing wrong with it. For the games I play I can max out the settings and still get 80+ fps(assuming vsync isn't being forced on), and for web browsing there would be no benefit upgrading.

[The Crazed Child]

I managed to get 4GB of Corsair XMS DDR2 for $15 Australian dollars for my 775 build.

 

Apparently RAM was surprisingly cheap back then.

[QueenDemetria]

I managed to get 4GB of Corsair XMS DDR2 for $15 Australian dollars for my 775 build.

 

Apparently RAM was surprisingly cheap back then.

Yeah, some DDR2 is surprisingly cheap and other stuff not so much lol. I think the 16Gb kits are holding value since they cost so much to begin with, but nobody is willing to buy them at this point so there is not much point in selling them. I got all of my kits from a computer store going out of business, but I got 64Gb+ for about $50 lol.

[The Crazed Child]

Yeah, some DDR2 is surprisingly cheap and other stuff not so much lol. I think the 16Gb kits are holding value since they cost so much to begin with, but nobody is willing to buy them at this point so there is not much point in selling them. I got all of my kits from a computer store going out of business, but I got 64Gb+ for about $50 lol.

nowadays RAM is too expensive, especially here in Australia where component prices are so jacked up it's not funny

 

A decent 16GB kit goes for $200

That's as much as an R9 270 ffs

[QueenDemetria]

nowadays RAM is too expensive, especially here in Australia where component prices are so jacked up it's not funny

 

A decent 16GB kit goes for $200

That's as much as an R9 270 ffs

Lol, the price of RAM never really decreased, which sucks . But here is the kit I am using and I can't imagine spending that much on DDR2 lol.

[DildorTheDecent]

Lol, the price of RAM never really decreased, which sucks . But here is the kit I am using and I can't imagine spending that much on DDR2 lol.

Orange <3 

 

That's all you need. 

[MeepLikesToBuildPc's]

just to make you guys jelly lol

 

I dumpster-dived an old server this afternoon and found 16GBs of DDR2 in it

 

but anyway, this is pretty cool QueenDemetria

[Guest]

just to make you guys jelly lol

 

I dumpster-dived an old server this afternoon and found 16GBs of DDR2 in it

D: I would love that, not that I would have a use for it right now. Stop making me jealous...

[QueenDemetria]

So I got to thinking and I've almost decided that there is no point in me rebuilding the Phantom at this point(in its current state), so for that machine I'll get a new GPU, CPU, and motherboard later(possibly Zen + 360x). I was planning on just throwing the 550 ti(from this build earlier) in it and using an air cooler on my OC'd 8320(Which will NOT overheat) into the Phantom, but I don't feel like limping that machine until new parts launch. Instead, I have the idea to get a Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 from Microcenter and pair that up with with my high binned FX 8320 and use it for this build. The cooling system is more than capable, so it would give me much more CPU performance while only costing a little more(and don't reply with an Intel alternative, please). I can use the 16Gb Crucial kit that I have as well, since I might need to get DDR4 anyways(Zen pls).

 

Now, as much as I would love to drop these parts in right away and “lol away” with my shenanigans, there are some slight issues I will have to work around. One of them is the PCI-e slots on the new motherboard. Currently I have a Sound Blaster Z installed in the first PCI-e slot, but the new motherboard doesn't have that slot. This wouldn't be an issue if I could use the PCI-e x1 slot on the new motherboard, but I cant, since the DVI port on my 7770 gets in the way, so here are some things I've thought of:

• Unsolder the DVI ports and get a new single connector to replace it. This would mean that my hardware wouldn't have to change and I could make a tutorial on unsoldering connectors with a bunch of pins(I'm making this tutorial regardless, so if I don't do it now I'll do it later.).
• Use one of my Asrock Bitcoin miner risers and relocate the SBZ somewhere else. I haven't taken any measurements, so I don't even know if this would work, but its just a possibility. Back of the case for reference(I don't see too much room, especially since I used a lot of room with the watercooling).
• Get a new GPU that only occupies one slot with its connectors(since the water block will fully make it a single slot card). So far I have found a Sapphire 250x which will be a 1:1 replacement(in terms of performance), a Sapphire 260x that will give me more performance(will potentially overheat), and many 750 ti's that only use a single slot, but the only thing that I don't know for sure is the heatsink mounting hole spacing on each card, so that will also be a deciding factor(since I plan on using the same water block lol). I might be able to use my 550 ti(even though it has less performance than the 7770), but since this machine will now be my workstation I could take advantage of Cuda(even though the 550 ti sucks with Cuda). As always, my budget is $0, but if I can justify a $120ish card I'll get it(and screw flagship cards, so don't suggest them lol). But I'll try the 550 ti first since I already have it(thus making it $0 lol). I'm just not sure about the mounting holes on the 550 ti, its been a while since I have looked at it.

I'll have at least a day if not two to think all of this over, but like the water cooling I'm pretty set on changing this build entirely(again). I have some other upgrades planned if I go through with this, but I won't mention those now(Spoiler: one part is unique, stupidly expensive, and I'm the only person on this forum with one). Also I'll apologize now since I won't be able to paint this weekend like I thought I would. Life stuff is getting in the way, but hopefully the stuff mentioned in this post makes up for the delay . I already have the motherboard mentioned above, so I might just use that one to speed things up(and get another one for the Love Box).

[Guest]

I would use the Riser option and make a ghetto mount.

[QueenDemetria]

Even though my 550 ti has two sets of mounting holes, neither of them fit my blocks mounting plates(since I have two of them). For now since I need to have this built for tomorrow, I'll just compromise and leave the Sound Blaster Z out, but I'll need to add it soon.

And yes, I am changing the Cpu and mother board tonight, so updates will hopefully come soon:)

[QueenDemetria]

Spoiler:

[QueenDemetria]

So to get this running for tomorrow I decided to use the Love Box's motherboard since I really needed to have this built and I didn't have time to run to Microcenter. Removing the old motherboard was surprisingly painless since I have worked out all of the kinks from assembling this a couple of times and I have mastered the process of tight fitting PC's. Here is the old motherboard compared to the new motherboard:

The all black does please the OCD in me, but its not like it mattered anyway since a majority of the motherboard gets covered up.

 

Here is the CPU in all of its glory, will be a beast for this machine(since all of my tasks are multithreaded):

gotta have that glamour shot too:

 

And of course. Adding my sexy water block to it(lol):

 

Remember that unique and stupidly expensive part that I mentioned? Well, its the Acard ANS-9010, which is the RAM drive that I had in the initial build. I decided that even though its not very practical, it will assist this machine greatly since I can use it as swap space and as a scratch drive, which will be fast and won't wear out like SSD's. The one I had in the initial build had lines/slots for vents, but thats too boring for me, so I got another RAM drive just for the casing. The hexagon pattern vents will fit in better:

And of course, it wasn't as easy as swapping the RAM between the two drives, but at least I was able to get a pic of the internals of the drive:

You don't get to see this every day Pretty neat stuff, I wish more manufactures would try stuff like this.

 

After assembling the RAM drive and installing the motherboard, I tried my best(again) to route the cables in a way that wouldn't interfere with anything. They mostly stayed the same, but I was able to tuck the molex bundle above the HDD and that freed up some space for the SATA connectors and RAM drive. 

I'm running out of options for my cables lol

 

I had enough electricity at this point, I was thirsty for some liquid cooling:). The pump/res panel was actually a great idea, since I can remove the entire panel easily to work on things like swapping the motherboard or processor.

and here is the fixed res top:

Not the prettiest thing, but its better than having a bath of water at the bottom of my case.

 

Adding the GPU was easy, since nothing changed with it:

The space between it and the cables is getting smaller and smaller, but luckily there isn't any problems with the spacing.

 

Pretty much after the GPU the only thing left was to add the pump/res back in, and with my tube rerouting I'm able to fill the reservoir without having to tilt the entire system:

The bleeding process only took about 5 minutes, but after that I put the panel back in place and now I am “ready to rock”.

 

The leak test was a success and so was the smoke test, so it looks like I don't have to cry tonight . I still have a few things to fix though. So I never got the foam to put on the pump/res panel, so it still resonates and makes a bunch of noise. I also didn't drill the holes in the panel while it was out either, so I'll do it next time. I really need to go to Microcenter now since I discovered that my new motherboard can't control my 3pin fan, so I have to get a PWM fan now since my system sounds like a jet preparing for take off(seriously, its a 95 CFM fan). I'm not sure what I'll get, but if you have suggestions that aren't Corsair or Noctua they will be welcomed.(its at this point when I realize there is a 3 pin mode in the bios, ugh). I still might need a new fan though(not done typing yet).

 

For things that I didn't show above:

• I removed the WD White drive for good. It was just too slow and too loud for me, but I replaced both the WD and 64Gb Adtron SSD with a 256Gb OCZ Octane. Why did I choose the Octane? Because it was the only high capacity SSD that I could remove the data and not care. It was pulled from my Laptop that booted from the HDD, so the Octane was just there for looks essentially.

• Set the RAM drive up as a RAID 0 array, so I'll do some benchmarks soon.

• Removed the fans from the HDD cooler. The wires were getting in the way and the fans prevented the front panel from fitting on properly.

• I lowered the CPU voltage to 1.2v to keep the VRM temps down, but they are Ice cold after running the system for a while, so it looks like I can get a good OC with this board(step aside h8rs).

For now I'll reboot and see if I can fix the CPU fan, but I'll run some benchmarks to see what this system can do. If I can fix the fan, I'll even OC it and and put the cooling system to the test(since right now it wouldn't be a fair test). If you guys want me to run specific benchmarks just let me know and I'll run them(I know a HD 7770 and 8320 aren't the most exciting parts in the world, but curiosity and science).

 

Also pardon any grammar/spelling mistakes, its late. Also I'm learning how to use my camera, so that's why some of the photos suck.

[QueenDemetria]

I ran AS SSD on the RAM drive in RAID 0 and got some pretty respectable results from it:

Not sure how this compares against current gen SSD's, but the RAM drive operates on Sata 2 so I'm sure that's a huge bottleneck.

 

Also I checked the bios for a 3pin fan mode and its not there, so Gigabyte removed one of my favorite features. Looks like I need to get a PWM fan now. I do prefer the bios over the new EFI's though.

[QueenDemetria]

I couldn't stand the CPU fan anymore, so as a temporary solution I unplugged it. This was fine for web browsing and stuff, but I want to play games soon and I know that wouldn't work as well. Surprisingly enough, as much as people bash FX as being a volcano, the highest temp I saw today was 55c(measured from the coolant), which for a passive chip that isn't bad(and the GPU was contributing to the heat). At this point I think the single 120mm radiator will be fine even after OCing. I did replace the fan as a temporary solution, but I would like to get a PWM fan soon(whether I pick one up or get one online, it will be at least a week). The new fan spins at 1700 RPM whereas the old one spun at 2800 RPM, so its noticeably quieter.

 

When replacing the fan I discovered two problems though. One is my radiator mount, which is a bit flimsy since I originally meant for it to just hold a fan, so the extra weight is bending it. The other problem is the radiator itself, since two of the holes are stripped (combination of wear and stress). I plan on leaving it for now, but I might get a new radiator and use this one for another project.

[QueenDemetria]

I'm an idiot. At the beginning of this build I had to turn the RAM drive upside down and have a fan suck air out of it to keep it from over heating. When I added the RAM drive back I totally spaced it, so now the drive is getting really hot and heating up my HDD, so I'll need to fix this problem fast(the procrastinator in me says tomorrow). My solution for now is to add fans to the "ultimate hard drive cooler" but use different fans(since the original Evercool ones are loud). I came across a couple of Silenx fans that should work, but contrary to their name they aren't exactly silent since they have vibration problems.

(They don't match, ugh...)

[QueenDemetria]

So I installed the two Silenx fans and its amazing how well they are keeping both the HDD and RAM drive cool. Before the fans I imagine the HDD was at 60c(it felt very hot, but S.M.A.R.T. is not working so I don't know for sure), but now they are both really cool(like room temperature cool). The new fans are extremely silent, so I think I will keep them for now(the bearing in one fan is concerning me, so it might not be a long term solution).

 

This is all I have done though, I haven't had much time for computer stuff recently. I am gathering a list of things to do to finish this project though.

 

Things to do:

Backup power for the RAM drive: So the irritating thing about the RAM drive is that once you power the system down you only have 2-3 hours before the battery runs out in the drive. I was looking around and saw that I can use an external power supply to keep this thing from dying, so I will make an adapter since I didn't get the original one.

This should be easy enough to make, although I want to use the Pico PSU shown earlier in this build so that I can have a wide input(6-24v I think). 

 

Still deciding on a CPU fan and Radiator: The new CPU fan is surprisingly quiet and effective, so I might not replace it with a PWM fan. Its been running at a static speed(around 2000 RPM) and keeps the system under 55c. The fan uses a potentiometer to reduce its speed and I'm thinking about making a button that switches between a few resistances, so that I can have a “idle mode”, “work mode”, and “shits on fire” mode(just in case). For this button I was thinking about repurposing the DVD eject button on the front of the case. The radiator might have a use in my next build, so I might get a new 120mm rad or 140mm rad to replace it. If I do, I'm making a new fan mount so that its sturdier and is higher so that it doesn't interfere with the reservoir(then it will be really easy to work on).

 

Modular power supply: Its cool that I was able to fit a non modular power supply in probably the worst case to cable manage, but I might need to change this. I think my PSU now is 450w(not sure, don't care) which my system might struggle with after I OC. I was thinking about using my current PSU in my next rig and using a 650w OCZ modular PSU that I have laying around. I don't have the cables for it, but I was thinking about making new cables(and trying an alternative to sleeving). This would just give me more power, cleaner cables, and would save me from having to buy a new PSU for my next rig.

 

Oh yeah, and I still have to paint this thing. I can do the sanding soon since its easy and not time/weather dependent.

 

Edit: According to the OP I'm currently using a 600w PSU, so If I leave the current PSU I should be fine.

[QueenDemetria]

Okay, this thing is a beast. So, I really wanted to test my RAM drive as swap space(pagefile, whatever), so I decided the best way to test this would be to install both ubuntu and Windows VM's while using an unnecessary amount of RAM(for the VM's), while playing Portal 2. There were some slow downs, but overall I am impressed with both the RAM drive and the 8320. I don't have any screenshots while I was running this test, but I took one now while running both of the VM's and running way more than 16GB of stuff:

I feel like I am only one that takes advantage of 8 cores lol

[flibberdipper]

Okay, this thing is a beast. So, I really wanted to test my RAM drive as swap space(pagefile, whatever), so I decided the best way to test this would be to install both ubuntu and Windows VM's while using an unnecessary amount of RAM(for the VM's), while playing Portal 2. There were some slow downs, but overall I am impressed with both the RAM drive and the 8320. I don't have any screenshots while I was running this test, but I took one now while running both of the VM's and running way more than 16GB of stuff:

 

I feel like I am only one that takes advantage of 8 cores lol

I would take advantage of them.

 

What's with the feminine species in the pic?

[QueenDemetria]

I would take advantage of them.

 

What's with the feminine species in the pic?

Feminine species, lol. Its ihascupquake from YouTube. I'm a huge fan, but I needed to see that picture today since I needed a smile

[flibberdipper]

Feminine species, lol. Its ihascupquake from YouTube. I'm a huge fan, but I needed to see that picture today since I needed a smile

Will this give smile?

 

My cat by tmcclelland455, on Flickr

 

EDIT: FFS. really? Sideways?

[QueenDemetria]

Will this give smile?

 

My cat by tmcclelland455, on Flickr

 

EDIT: FFS. really? Sideways?

:3 I like your cat.

[iHardware Shelden]

God I wish there was more case manufactures that flipped the motherboard like HP and Compaq, I know Lian Li has a case that does but more manufactures need to do it :blink:  

[imthewalrus]

You should zip tie those barbs! Other than that, this is a pretty cool project great job  B)