Upgrade Support for HP slim 290 p0048d

[Anas_Qazi]

Hello, I hope that you are doing fine.

I was thinking to upgrade my PC (HP Slim 290 p0048d) by upgrading both, the graphics card and RAM. I recently opened up the case of the system to find out that it had 2 slots for RAM, however, I couldn't identify the graphics card. The current specifications of my computer system are:

• 4 GB RAM
• Core i3-8100
• Current Graphics Card: Intel UHD 630

I do not remember the rest but I will inform you shortly. I wanted to ask for a suitable graphics card that would make it able to do some medium or mediocre level gaming.

After some research, I found out that my PSU (Power Supply Unit) would fall short of the necessary voltage need to be supplied to a graphics card, I would therefore also want some suggestion on upgrading the PSU as well.

Waiting for response,

Thank you!

[NonSequitur777 · Accepted solution]

@Anas_Qazi,

Welcome to our HP Community forum!

Your HP Slimline Desktop - 290-p0048d (4EA94AA) as fitted with the Menlo motherboard (SSID: 843F), can be upgraded with up to 2x16GB of DDR4 PC4-25600, 3200 MHz, Non-ECC, UDIMM, 288-pin RAM sticks which will down-throttle ("bridge") to 2666 MHz.

However, you likely won't need or would benefit from 2x16GB of RAM, so I would recommend a quality matching 2x8GB RAM kit such as this Amazon-US purchase option to show you an example: https://www.amazon.com/Timetec-3200MHz-PC4-25600-Gaming-Regular/dp/B07P6F97B1/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2QB9EU....

You'll have to figure out where you can buy this or similar RAM in your country.

Thanks to its H370 chipset, you can upgrade your i5-8400 to any 8th or 9th-gen Intel Core processor not exceeding a 65-watt TDP, such as an i7-8700, i7-9700 and the i9-9900, or the 8th and 9th "T" processors, such as the i7-8700T, the i7-9700T and the i9-9900T (all 35-watt processors).

I would strongly recommend an i7-8700T for its considerably lower TDP, because there are no power supply upgrades available for your PC. Best place for you to purchase one of these processors is probably via AliExpress: i7-8700T - Buy i7-8700T with free shipping on AliExpress.

But whatever you do, make sure you don't buy the so-called "Intel Confidential" version!! Yes, you can buy an i7-8700 much cheaper, but the problem is power consumption on a 180-watt power supply, as there are no power supply upgrades available for your desktop.

The best graphics card upgrade I could recommend paired with an i7-8700T is a low-profile RX 6400, such as this model: GIGABYTE RX 6400 Low Profile Specs | TechPowerUp GPU Database.

Hope this was helpful.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[Anas_Qazi]

I hope you are doing fine,

Sir NonSequitur, I am quite thankful for your response and I found it gravely helpful as well. I have also thought to purchase 8GB RAM chips as well and you cleared my doubts and queries on doing so. I will be able to buy this RAM quite easily since I found it at an indie shop nearby and that was the only option left.

When talking about the processor, thanks a lot for pointing out the subject matter, and I find i7-8700T quite reasonable as well.

For the power supply, I have the same indie workshops that have been known around my city to find a work around for these kinds of problems, however if I find any difficulty, I'll let you all know since I found HP support forum very useful.

RX 6400 would do just the job for me and paired with a better RAM and a processor (if God permits) would allow me to live the dream with this computer system.

Regards and an insane amount of Thanks

Anas Qazi

[NonSequitur777]

@Anas_Qazi,

You are most welcome -glad I could assist!

Wishing you and your loved ones well in this ever more perilous world...

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777