HP Wave CPU upgrade

[HangryHonda]

I have an HP Wave 600-a014. I was looking to upgrade the cpu and was considering an i7 7700k. It has a higher tdp, but I have a solution for that, but I wanted to try and find if it was compatible with the bios, but I can’t find any info.

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Your PC's motherboard only supports the Intel 6th gen core processors.

HP Desktop PCs - motherboard specifications, Lyon | HP® Support

You can try the i7-6700K at your own risk with the understanding that most likely it won't work.

For one thing, the 150W power supply your PC comes with is probably not enough to power the PC, and naturally you would need a heatsink that is rated for 95W.

The i7-6700K has a 91W power draw.

[NonSequitur777]

@HangryHonda,

Welcome to our HP Community forum!

No, I'm afraid that the HP Pavilion Wave 600-a014 is not compatible with an Intel Core i7-7700K.

Reason being is that the 600-a014 uses a proprietary "Lyon" motherboard built with an Intel H170 chipset. Meaning, out of the box, this motherboard only has structural BIOS microcode to support 6th-Generation Intel Core "Skylake" processors (like your current i3-6100T). The i7-7700K is a 7th-Generation "Kaby Lake" processor. Whilst it technically physically fits into the same LGA 1151 socket, the H170 motherboard's stock HP BIOS will not recognize the 7th-gen chip, resulting in a black screen and a failure to POST.

In addition, your PC was only engineered to be compatible with low-power (35-watt) "T-series" CPUs. The i7-7700K is an enthusiast desktop chip meant for overclocking, demanding a massive 91-watt TDP.  The power delivery components (VRMs) soldered onto your compact speaker-style motherboard were never built to handle that level of electrical current. Putting a 91-watt chip into a board rated for 35-watt risks frying the motherboard's power lanes -assuming it would even POST. Furthermore, the desktop's external power bricks are highly limited (usually 150-watt max).

The very best compatible processor for your PC would be an Intel Core i7-6700T.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[HangryHonda]

Thank you, I’ve decided to go with a 6700t which has the same tdp of 35W, but a 21% increase in efficiency 

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome. 

A very good decision. 

Guaranteed to work.