Upgrading HP Compaq Pro 6300 SFF

[NonSequitur777]

The HP 400W "80+ Platinum" PSU (p/n 796346-001) came in, and set up to power the HP Pro 6300 SFF without any problems.  The extra "P4" 6-pin power connection cable from the 400W PSU was long enough to be plugged in directly into the RX 580 4GB GPU. The 400W PSU's dimensions: 13.8 x 8.5 x 14.8cm (L x W x H) are slightly smaller than the 320W PSU: 15.3 x 9.6 x 14.9cm.

At this point I am waiting for the 6-pin to 8-pin power cable adapter expected to arrive on Sunday, so that I can swap the RX 580 eGPU with my RX 6600 XT 8GB eGPU and will see how much the UserBenchMark's score for this desktop is going to drastically improve. Stand by, in other words.

[NonSequitur777]

Esteemed Forum, another branched-off gaming improvement project I had in mind, is to increase/modify the number of copper heat pipes in the stock HP OEM CPU heatsink (p/n: 628553-002) from two to four, just like I had done quite successfully on the HP Elite 8300 USDT heatsink -see link: https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Desktop-Hardware-and-Upgrade-Questions/Upgrading-HP-Compaq-Elite-8300-...

The HP OEM heatsink I had ordered came in today.

The rationale behind this modification is to increase CPU heat transfer to the heatsink.  And that it measurably did at least for the HP Elite 8300 USDT: thanks to the modified heatsink CPU temps were on average 5 degrees C cooler and CPU temperatures decreased qualitatively faster in response whenever the cooling fans revved up.

DISCLAIMER: These sort of workshop heatsink modifications would make an employed HP tech cringe and are NOT recommended let alone encouraged by HP or any other PC manufacturer for that matter. If you do it wrong, it will ruin your CPU in a hurry.  You really need to know what you're doing, and you need -but not limited to: have access to commercial-grade equipment (e.g. fixed benchtop-drill press), heat-conductive/heat-curing glue, quality copper pipes, high quality polishing paper, and a steady hand/eye.

Look, one can purchase used but in excellent condition available heat sinks online for just pennies to the dollar. So if something goes awry during modding, no great loss -literally.

[NonSequitur777 · Accepted solution]

Dear Forum, all right then: Mission Accomplished!

This HP Compaq Pro 6300 SFF Gaming Rig is now # 1 globally according to UserBenchMark [dot] com -and comfortably so.

Incidentally, with room to spare because I can further optimize -read: overclock, the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT 8GB GPU.

Amazon delivered the 6-pin to 8-pin GPU power connector early, the final component I needed to connect the HP OEM 400W PSU 6-pin "P4" power connector to the 8-pin powered RX 6600 XT.

Also, utilized the "unused" 4-pin motherboard power connection (SATAPWR1) as a dedicated power source to power the PCIe X16 to PCIe X16 ADT-Data Link cable/dock.

[EDIT: I stacked the primary SSD and secondary mSATA-SSD beneath the Drive Cage using a dual SSD mounting bracket.]

Here's the visual -verifiable- documentation:

[NonSequitur777]

Stable GPU overclocking works. For example, please compare the previous RX 6600 XT's score to the new OC settings score: from "Performing below potential (44th Percentile)" to: "Performing way above expectations (97th percentile)".

Gaming performance score increased from 78% ("Battleship") to 81% ("Aircraft carrier").

[NonSequitur777]

The Intel Xeon E3-1290 v2 processor arrived today on time and in excellent condition.  Decided to install this CPU in the HP Pro 6300 SFF gaming rig first for trial/testing purposes.  The E3-1290 v2 is the fastest and most powerful at-stock clocked CPU ever made for the LGA 1155 socket. With 4 cores and 8 threads, it zips along at a base 3.70 GHz and whisks up to 4.10 GHz at max turbo speed.

According to UserBenchMark [dot] com, quote: "the Intel Xeon E3-1290 V2 averaged 23.9% lower than the peak scores attained by the group leaders. This is an excellent result which ranks the Intel Xeon E3-1290 V2 near the top of the comparison list."

After fitting the E3-1290 v2 in this PC, it booted right up and seamlessly utilized the AMD RX 580 GPU for picture.  To be honest, this was one of the smoothest CPU switches in my experience.  Even though the E3-1290 v2 has a higher TDP than the i7-3770K (87 vs. 77 watts), I did not observe any heat &/or power issues even when stressed. I did not expect there to be any issues, since I upgraded the PSU from its HP OEM 240 watts to an upgraded HP OEM 400 watts unit and installed more powerful and additional cooling fans.

Here are some images taken from various program perspectives.

[NonSequitur777]

And what do you know, also got a late evening surprise mail delivery (21:45): a brand-new OEM HP AMD Radeon RX 5500 4GB GPU I had purchased through eBay.  Very affordably priced too in this case -outstanding deals like this one do happen from time to time -I just happened to see the Seller's new eBay listing early enough apparently and didn't hesitate to buy it.  The GPU was described as pulled from a new HP Gaming PC XT, and indeed upon receipt, the GPU's manufacturing date (July 2021) and serial number confirmed the Seller's claim.

So, in addition to the newly installed Xeon E3-1290 v2 CPU, also replaced the Dell AMD Radeon RX 580 4GB with this GPU.

Condensing, the OEM HP RX 5500 overall outperformed the OEM Dell RX 580, but not by much: 59.6% vs. 55.4% as per UserBenchMark scoring. The RX 5500 has a considerably smaller footprint than the RX 580, but has an 8-pin power connection, so had to use an 8-pin to dual SATA power cable to power it.  The upgraded 400 watts PSU had no problem with this.

[EDIT:] Disclaimer: It is generally discouraged to use (dual/single) SATA to 6 or 8-pin GPU power connection cables.  That said, I never experienced any issues with this method.  Insufficient power supply problems are much more likely. Just be reminded that if you choose to go this route, inspect any after-market power cable usage before and after installation regularly for any issues, such as wire discoloration and hot parts. (see picture at end of message of a GPU 8-pin to dual SATA power connection cable I would recommend if asked.)

[NonSequitur777]

Dear Forum, utilizing just the AMD Radeon Adrenalin v. 21.12.1 software, I reached what I think is approaching the upper stable and sustainable overclocking performance limit for the HP AMD Radeon RX 5500: 61.2% as per UserBenchMark [dot] com -see: HP Compaq Pro 6300 SFF Performance Results - UserBenchmark

Here is an easy to follow overclock RX 5500 reference link: How to OVERCLOCK and UNDERVOLT RX 5500XT | ADRENALIN 2020 Easy Guide, Tutorial - YouTube

Disclaimer: Quite predictably, HP does not encourage overclocking of any computer component. And I quote as per HP:

"Please note that HP does not support any kind of overclocking of GPUs or CPUs using either the bios or any other software as it is not recommended by HP. HP has designed and built the computer to ensure optimal functionality of the computer for regular users and consumers. Overclocking processors could damage the computer’s internals causing heat and other related system board damages and therefore HP does not support it.

It is done at the customer’s own discretion and certainly not recommended by HP. That is one of the reasons why the Bios options for overclocking is also restricted."

Btw, for a rather blunt Forum discussion on overclocking, this link won't disappoint: HP says use Intel Extreme Tuning Utility for overclocking - HP Support Community - 5903597

[ShaunoMegane]

That's some impressive work right there sir. I've followed this thread diligently and I've upgraded my SFF 6300. 

Whilst it is nowhere near your rig - I have installed a GTX 1050  (all I could think to get), with a i7 4770, and 32gb of Vengence RAM. 2 SSD's and it runs pretty smooth. 

However, I am having a weird problem. 

I'm not sure when or how, but now my memory is only showing half it's capacity. No matter which way around I try them. If I have one 8 gig in slot A it shows as 4 gig. I'm fairly certain when installed first off, it was fine and all showed fine. This is in both the BIOS and Windows. 

I've tried reseating everything and no luck - the only thing I can think to try next is putting the old i5 in to see if it the processor. 

Updated BIOS to latest and also reflashed too. 

Any ideas folks?

[NonSequitur777]

ShaunoMegane -thank you for your encouraging words -besides having a good time myself tinkering around with legacy HP PC's, it is wonderful to hear that my input is useful to some.

Now about your problem. Assuming you are running Windows 10 64-bit, please try this first:

Shut down your PC and install 2 x 8 GB of working RAM sticks in the black RAM slots.

Please restart your PC and access BIOS.  How much RAM does your BIOS see?

Next, exit out of BIOS and access your "System Information". It will report the physical amount of RAM seen by Windows, like this:

If you don't mind, please provide this section/information of your Sys Info.

Now, let's check if the Windows configuration has somehow been capped or is instructed to use only a fixed amount of physical memory in its config settings.

To check if the memory windows use is capped:

Click on Start.

In the search bar type: MSCONFIG

Press Enter.

A new window will open.

Click on the "Boot" tab at the top of the new window.

Then click on the "Advanced options..." tab.

A new window will open.

To the top right you will see a check box for "Maximum memory".

If there is a value other than 0 typed into the box below it, delete it.

Then uncheck the maximum memory box if it is checked off.

Click "OK".

Then click "Apply".

Restart your PC.

Allow Windows to load.

Open up windows "System Information" again.

If it shows installed physical memory as 16GB, your problem is solved.

Please try this first.

[NonSequitur777]

Dear Forum, even though the HP OEM AMD Radeon RX 5500 currently installed in this HP Pro 6300 SFF gaming rig is a very decent GPU, I continued to look for a higher-end GPU, provided if it is affordably priced, like the AsRock AMD RX 6600 XT Challenger 8GB I got at MSRP for my HP Elite 8300 USDT upgrade project.  Finding such deals are proving to be exceedingly challenging and time consuming as anyone knows.  But not impossible or hopeless.  Seek, and ye shall eventually find.  It so happened that I was able to purchase a Gigabyte Radeon RX 6600 Eagle 8GB (not the XT version) at MSRP today.  I am strenuously inclined NOT to surrender to obscene pricing by scalpers and crooks.

So, my friends, the message I want to bring across is this: don't despair.  Stick at it. Take your time browsing the internet, and specifically keep searching on established computer hardware/consumer electronics retailers and ecommerce shopping sites for the items you want.  Look out for special discount shopping events like Black Friday, preorder, "combo" deals and retail "Shuffle" (raffle) opportunities.

Anyway, have a wonderful weekend!

[EDIT:] -Pricing remains the issue.  I don't have a preference for AMD Radeon graphics cards per se.  Had I been able to buy a NVIDIA RTX equivalent for approximately the same price as the AMD RX 6600, I would have flipped a coin: heads: AMD, tails: NVIDIA -or vice versa, whatever.