HP Omen 880 Motherboard Replacement

[HumbertoPerez]

I bought an Omen 880 gaming desktop a month ago. The specific model would be 880-021. I don't consider myself tech-savvy so bear with me. I had plans to upgrade it in the future, replacing the CPU, graphics card, installing more ram, etc. I recently opened it up and saw the CPU fan screws on the motherboard don't line up with any of the AMD Ryzen CPU's cooling units I've been browsing around for such as the Ryzen 7 1700. The current CPU is a Ryzen 5 1400, which means the motherboard is only compatible with CPU's that fit and AM4 socket. Then I thought about replacing the motherboard, but I can't find any that fit the PC case, neither do I know if the input/output ports would be able to stick out of the back. The details for the motherboard installed can be found here: https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c05521044. In summation, I have two major questions: 1. What AMD CPU is really compatible with the motherboard? 2. Is there any actual way I could change the motherboard for something like an MSI MPG Z390 Gaming Plus motherboard, and would the input/output ports of that or any other motherboard come out the back of the PC's case? I have two pictures below, the first one is just the PC opened up, and the second one is the CPU with the cooling fan removed. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Grzwacz]

Greetings,

Welcome to the forum.

I am not a HP employee.

Your PC's motherboard supports the following CPUs:

Processor	TDP
AMD Ryzen7-1800X (Summit Ridge) 3.6 GHz, 8 cores/16 threads	95 W
AMD Ryzen7-1700 (Summit Ridge) 3.0 GHz, 8 cores/16 threads	65 W
AMD Ryzen5-1600 (Summit Ridge) 3.2 GHz, 6 cores/12 threads	65 W
AMD Ryzen5-1400 (Summit Ridge) 3.2 GHz, 4 cores/8 threads	65 W

HP has modified the motherboard CPU heat sink/fan mounting points. Stock AMD CPU coolers don't work on this motherboard.

Replacing the motherboard (MB) with a retail MB may create more problems.

Just build a new PC if you are serious about replacing the MB.

Regards

[HumbertoPerez]

Thank you for your reply. Would it be a bad idea to use a Ryzen7-1700 or the Ryzen7-1800X with the fan I currently have installed on my CPU?

[Grzwacz]

Hi,

You're very welcome.

The 1700 should work with the current fan. I don't know if the 1800X  will work correctly with the current heat sink/fan. 

The 1800X is a 95 watt TDP part. The 1700 and the 1400 are 65 watt TDP parts.

I only see a 65 watt system fan at HP Part Surfer (Link). I would think you need a 95 watt or better fan to run a 95 watt CPU.

How are CPU temps using the 1400?

Regards

[HumbertoPerez]

The temperatures are good. The highest I've seen it go is about 75º C while playing games on High settings, but that's very rare.

[Grzwacz]

Hi,

The 1700 CPU upgrade should be good. I would not go to a 1800X on this PC.

I would not replace the HP motherboard with a retail motherboard. Too many unknown problems plus you may have to buy a new Windows 10 product key.

The question is: is the CPU upgrade worth the additional cost?

The final decision is up to you.

Regards

[HumbertoPerez]

Hi. I know it's been a while, but would It be a good idea to upgrade to a Ryzen 7 2700 instead of 1700? I think they're both 65-watt CPUs.