HP Pavilion Revamp: Plan B

[The Official Czex]

 

My story:

I hate to say this, but I actually enjoyed my HP Pavilion(p6210f). That is, until the true HP feeling kicked in. I'm not sure why, but owning a HP is like a high school relationship. Its fun, cute, and starts off great, but then your partner does something to set you off and it all goes down hill from there. I did some bad things, the computer did some bad things, it just wasn't working out for us(lol). The great thing about computers though is that unlike a high school relationship, a screwdriver and patience can solve all of the problems....at least most of them. 

 

I think high school relationships CAN be solved with a screwdriver and patience... 

[QueenDemetria]

Hey everyone, I'm finally back! Sorry for the long wait and abandonment of the build, I had some unexpected life things that I had to take care of(TL;DR, moving and family), but I should be back to modding soon, and I have some major design tweaks that I need to make(and design first). So, the good news is that the HP is still running strong(24/7 actually), but with  me sitting down and using it everyday I realize that I need to make some changes both for convenience and performance. So like everything I do, I'll create a list:

 

New motherboard: The 78lmt-USB3 is a great motherboard, just not a great performer. I was surprised to get 4.2GHz out of it, but that's not quite the 4.6GHz+ that I had on the previous motherboard(990FXA-UD5). So how will I  remedy this? Well, since my Phantom PC donated almost all of its parts for this build, I  figure why not take the motherboard as well lol. Now, you might be wondering: “But Demetria, that  motherboard is a full ATX and your case is only mATX, that won't work” and to that I just have to say “I can make it work”. So, the motherboard is roughly 12” tall and the case is roughly 14” tall, so it will fit . I plan to either add to or swap out the motherboard tray and relocate the power supply so that I have enough room for the larger motherboard. I'll have to move the pump/res, but I'll explain that later.

 

New PSU: So, I have no problem with the current PSU, but I realize that its 5+ years old and probably should be replaced with something a little newer and more efficient(since its a heavy use workstation). Since I have no money to spend on one, I'm either going to use a higher wattage modular PSU from OCZ(I think its 700w) or the 750w Antec “Gamer” PSU from the Phantom(yes, taking another part lol). I have them both and neither of them are being used, so I just need to decide if modular is the way to go or not(Either way I'll need to redo the cables). 

 

Cooling: Now that I think about it, there isn't much that needs to be improved. Even though I plan on OCing the CPU even more, I'm going to be replacing the GPU with one that has a lower TDP(750 ti), so even with the 120mm radiator it should still be enough. I originally planned on getting a EVGA Hadron Hydro kit since it has a sleek looking 120x2 radiator, but I decided that it costs too much for what it is, so if I upgrade the radiator I'll just get a standalone 120x2 radiator(I would do 140x2, but I don't like 140mm fans). One thing that definitely needs to changed is that pump/res panel that I made, since the tube that runs from the pump output to the CPU block is kinked and won't fix itself. Luckily the beast of a D5 can still force water through the kink, but its one of those things that still should be fixed. Since I have to relocate all of that stuff anyways, I'll just solve the problem that way lol. I do want to make “straighter” runs by using 90* elbows and what not, but its just one “improvement” I want to make to the cooling system.

 

Overall design: So I know I mentioned that I want to redo the cooling system and add a full ATX motherboard, but those aren't the only things I want to do in terms of design. So one thing that I really want to do is omit the 5.25” bays, since really they are just wasted space and in the way of a potential 120x2 radiator. I want to add HDD/SSD slots somewhere else in the case(not sure where exactly TBH), but I want to mount them in a way that is basically “out of the way”. I can remove the case from the RAM drive to save some space, but I want to mount that on the bottom of the case(probably towards the front so that the PSU doesn't get in the way).

 

Exterior design: This is where things get exciting(for me at least), since I have been thinking long and hard for this. Basically the computer looks like shit now that I cant fit the front panel on it, and quite frankly I think it looks like shit with the original front panel, so I'm going to give it a complete makeover. For starters, I'm going to remove everything from the front area so that it can be all “vent”, and I'm going to cover that area with  the mesh that @QuadCore traded me(I'll paint it black). From there I'm going to cover the rest of the case with 1/2” wood and round off the edges so that it has a nice “sleek” look. For the front, the mesh will be recessed a little bit. I'm going for a design that is similar to the Corsair 760T, so if that gives you any picture you now what I'm talking about lol(although the 760t looks nothing like I want to do, its just the general idea). I'm also going to still cut a huge hole in the top of the case, and I want to add Alienware style “flaps” to the top since I've always thought those have looked cool(I even found a guide to make the flaps open with a servo). I'm going to make all of this in some form of CAD so that you guys can see what I'm picturing, but I have a pretty good idea in my head for what I want to do(lol).

 

And that's basically it for Plan B(at least for now), although I still have one huge issue with this build: Its my only running computer. So I still cant work on it like I want to, so I'm planning a build now to temporarily replace it(funny enough, I'm going to re use the original HP motherboard). I want it to be good enough to get my work done, but annoying to use so that I'll finish the main build faster(lol). My next update will be soon(hopefully ttomorrrow, but no promises), since I really need to get “the shitbox” running and the “Plan B” torn apart for upgrades, and I apologize again for abandoning this thread(I feel bad ). 

[QueenDemetria]

I had plans tonight, but that changed, so I was left with a little extra free time which means PC building . I got to thinking about the temporary PC(which we can call the shitbox), and if I'm going to repurpose that terrible motherboard I'm at least going to make it a little more bearable to use, so first up: Cooling. That chipset won't overheat when I'm done with it, cause I added a larger heatsink(that will get  some airflow from the GPU), so I expect the chipset to be less of an issue now.

The clearance with the GPU became a concern after I realized that the heatsink is really close to the PCI slot, but I solved that by removing the shroud off of my 550 ti.

And thats about it for now, I have to eat dinner. Here are the specs of the shitbox, but they are subject  to change:

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 640

Motherboard: Pegatron M2N78-LA

RAM: 4x 2GB Kingston value RAM(low profile)

HDD(s): 80GB Seagate Barracuda / 500GB WD Blue

Case: Some POS that I got from Microcenter for $20

GPU: nVidia reference 550 ti

PSU: Cooler Master 460w(silver box)

Cooler: I forgot the model, its like a hyper TX3 but smaller(80mm and only 2 heatpipes). I'm using the original fan for now, but I might have to use the AVC fan from the HP's heatsink, since HP boards are picky with fans.

[QueenDemetria]

A little update: I just downloaded the drivers... I think. Not really sure if the drivers are good or not, HP's website is a mess and they have been messing up driver downloads recently, so I guess I'll have to wait and see. If they are good, then great, if not then I have another motherboard that I'll use. I'm about to install all of the components in this crappy case, I have bandaids on standby.

[QueenDemetria]

For anyone wondering why I hate this HP motherboard so much:

[QueenDemetria]

This night wouldn't be complete without another error:

 

But you know what, I aint even mad, I'm calling this victory:

[-rascal-]

Unsupported CPU error + CPU fan error, yet installing Windows.

Much impressed. Much win.

VICTORY!! 

 

This HP build just gets better, and better.

[QueenDemetria]

Unsupported CPU error + CPU fan error, yet installing Windows.

Much impressed. Much win.

VICTORY!! 

 

This HP build just gets better, and better.

Actually, I had  to switch back to the Athlon 620 since there was no getting past that error,  but screw the fans lol.

[Darkman]

Actually, I had  to switch back to the Athlon 620 since there was no getting past that error,  but screw the fans lol.

I actually got a new motherboard for my x4 630 a few days ago... Now waiting on a EVO 212.

 

edit: Why have spoilers been broken for the past day?

[QueenDemetria]

And I'm done for tonight, but at least I now have another running machine . I installed Windows 7 Home Premium instead of Professional for dumb reasons, so I'll have to resinstall Windows tomorrow. There are a few tweaks I want to make to this machine too, but for now its fine as is. So, here is the picture I took of it when I built it the first time:

And after a little testing, I ran into cooling problems, so I replaced the CPU fan and front intake fan:

The clear fan is for the cpu, and the Sunon fan is for the front intake. If you are wondering why the Sunon is botched, its because it is. At the stock 12v it was super loud, so I moved the pins to the 5v side, and its much quieter now.

I ran Unigine Heaven and the CPU temps were below 60c, the GPU temps hit a max of 76c(so running it without the shroud makes it run cooler lol), and the PSU sounds like a jet engine taking off, so I'll either just deal with it or swap it with the "old" PSU from the HP. I'm not going to bother with this machine much this weekend since my internet is unmetered during the weekends, so I have to take advantage of it so I can get all of my games

@Darkman Updates be breaking stuff, lol.

[Frankie]

Pegatron board be like.

 

Shame it doesn't have wings, it would fit better

[Decon]

lol press F2 to continue system fan failed... I've seen that screen SO many times...

[QueenDemetria]

lol press F2 to continue system fan failed... I've seen that screen SO many times...

#justhpthings

Hopefully I have fixed the system fan error, I switched out the TT TR2 exhaust fan with a cheap LED fan, so hopefully it works I'm out shopping for shoes at the moment, so I can't test it.

[QueenDemetria]

Pegatron board be like.

fyounicorn.jpg

Shame it doesn't have wings, it would fit better

I really want to print that off and use it as a side panel sticker, but my printer is currently not working. I have a HP printer BTW, anyone see a common theme? lol.

[QueenDemetria]

And the new fan works, even makes it look a little better too .

[QueenDemetria]

Welp, all good things have to come to an end.... Actually, there was nothing good about the shitbox lol. All I can say is I freaking called it, the HP drivers are completely broken and the OS got corrupted from them. Its no problem though, there wasn't much data loss since it was only a 2-3 day old machine and I have plenty of hardware to replace it, but like everything else with this project I'm going to “rebuild it better”. For now I'm still debating what parts I should use, but I will say that the shitbox will receive a massive upgrade, so my next update will be fun .

[QueenDemetria]

I'm not sure how, I'm not sure why, and I'm not even sure if I want to know why, but the Shibox literally just booted up no problem the first time. I just don't even understand, it went from booting but having problems(GUI glitches, broken functionality, etc.), booting to bluescreen, then flat out saying it cant boot, but after scanning the HDD(and coming out 100% fine) I thought for sure it was just ded(yes, ded), but nope. So, I'm still sticking to my plans, but I'm going to back up some of my data just so I don't have to redo some things. Just to spoil some of my upcoming plans though, I am bringing back the 750 ti and my favorite CPU cooler of all time!:

[QueenDemetria]

Well, at least the heatsink halfway matches the RAM. Also, "spoiler" lol:

[QueenDemetria]

It's alive! More pics after I install windows Expect some unusual stuff.

[Frankie]

Damn girl, you are on update fire today.

[QueenDemetria]

Aaaand Its alive, the shitbox is now the LoveBox. The build went somewhat smoothly, just that building in this case isn't exactly easy. If I was using low end hardware it would be fine, but I can tell that they really didn't want to accommodate large tower coolers and PSU's when designing this case. My first upgrade(other than the CPU, mobo, RAM, and butterfly cooler) was the power supply, since the CoolerMaster unit I had before really didn't like the lack of airflow with this “wonderful” case. I chose a 600w modular power supply from OCZ since I had it laying around and I wanted to cut down on cables(so glad I made this decision).

It should provide extra cooling for the CPU  too, since it will be an exhaust right in the area where the CPU outputs its heat.

And after my testing, exhausting hot air is no longer a problem. Cable management was fun though, my goal was to group all of the cables for better airflow and neatness, which I pretty much achieved(it looks better in person).

Is that an IDE cable? Yes, yes it is. Its 2015 and I'm still using IDE, I just had the drive laying around and figured I should probably use it, since IDE drives won't have much use in the future(I also wanted to validate it for my  legacy systems).

 

And everything put together:

Not a bad little machine. Sure its using dated and “crappy” hardware, but it looks and runs nice. After a few minor adjustments I think I'll be ready to say that this machine is reliable enough to replace the HP while I work on it so that I can build the HP the right way. For now, I'm going to do more testing and tinkering, but with all of this hardware swapping I think I found myself a little side project. 

 

As much as I  hate this motherboard, it at least runs and has a decent configuration currently, so I think I'm going to make a Linux box out of it. I also came up with this contraption, which I won't say what I'm going to do with it, but I will say that science is fun:

 

Edit: Fuck Dell, I'm not typing any more build log stuff on this Inspiron...

[Pause122]

Why no more logs

[QueenDemetria]

Why no more logs

Oh I will still do build logs, in ffact I have too many projects queued, I just said that  I won't type them oon my Inspiron. As you can see, it has an annoying keyboard that sometimes double types things, and I had to retype my last post  because if you hit the backspace too many times, it deletes everything(and cant be undone SMH -__-). So, I'll just type on a less glitchy machine lol.

[Pause122]

Oh I will still do build logs, in ffact I have too many projects queued, I just said that I won't type them oon my Inspiron. As you can see, it has an annoying keyboard that sometimes double types things, and I had to retype my last post because if you hit the backspace too many times, it deletes everything(and cant be undone SMH -__-). So, I'll just type on a less glitchy machine lol.

ok stupid hp

[Guest]

Oh I will still do build logs, in ffact I have too many projects queued, I just said that  I won't type them oon my Inspiron. As you can see, it has an annoying keyboard that sometimes double types things, and I had to retype my last post  because if you hit the backspace too many times, it deletes everything(and cant be undone SMH -__-). So, I'll just type on a less glitchy machine lol.

So my single core XP laptop from 2005 would be better?