Upgrade to SSD on HP Compaq from a guy who had it upgraded

[SLEhrgott]

So i got this desktop PC from a guy I worked for and have been upgrading it little by little. I'm now to a point of wanting to swap the Seagate hdd to a decent budget friendly SSD. All the info I'm seeing online says it's sata2 but Wend caught me offgusrdow was the 6gb\s data cable inside the case. I know the guy had it sent out once it twice for work but not sure what for exactly, or where he took it so I cannot call and find out. Then I see a sticker on the Seagate 250gb hdd that said, exactly, "DRV 250G SATA3"... As if the info I'm retaining isn't confusing enough! Was initially trying to use the PCIe x16 Port but I am not seeing support anywhere for the upgrade so I'm laying off for now.. but the data cable and then that sticker on the hdd itself, sidea from the fact he's had it sent out for work before... It also had an upgraded cpu and great sink in it other than what came from the factory so that tells me it's very very likely.. I've used software to view the specs but again, what I'm seeing inside the case has me convinced it's sata 3 capable.. can I please get some input? I have no **bleep** clue what to think and I would have to just get a sata 2 SSD if it is in fact sata 3 capable! Not having any luck trying to look up the Mobo on HP support either.. Keep getting "out if warranty" page.. thank you guys! I really do appreciate any help here! 

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

The drive controller in that model series supports up to SATA II speeds only.  See page 14 at the link below.

http://static.highspeedbackbone.net/pdf/HP%20Compaq%204000%20Pro%20Business%20PC%20Quick%20Specs.pdf

I would suggest you buy a SATA III SSD.

I have a couple of HP business desktop PC's (dc7800 and 8000 Elite), that have SATA II controllers and I installed SATA III SSD's in both of them and they work fine.

That way, I when I give them away, I will remove the SSD's and put in mechanical hard drives and use the SATA III SSD's on newer model PC's.

If you buy a SATA II SSD (which you probably can only find in used condition nowadays), you are stuck with it as, it will underperform on a newer PC that supports SATA III drives.

[SLEhrgott]

Well I just looked up the specs of the hdd (Seagate 7200.12 250gb) and its a SATA3 hdd. Like I  said, the guy I got it from had it sent out to get work done on it. I just can't get ahold of him to find out any more info. It's that sata cable that had me interested though.. I know it's not all stock, there's just too many indicators in my limited opinion on this stuff. I didn't even look up the hdd cause in all honesty, I didn't think they made SATA3 mechanical drives. Anyways, I'm going to take your advice and just go with a SATA3. Cannot go wrong! Wanted to go the PCIe SSD but I'm finding zero support for that! So it might be safe to say it's not a compatible upgrade. Hopefully I'm not wrong cause I would be so pissed if it was and my lack of caused a missed opportunity! Thank you very much for your response! I really do appreciate it! Take care man!

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

You're very welcome.

Unfortunately, I don't know if the BIOS would recognize a PCIe x SSD and boot from it.

You will find that installing  good old 2.5" SSD will run circles around the mechanical hard drive--even though it is only running at the SATA II speed.

Yes, they have made SATA III hard drives as least as far back as 2011.

So if the drive was replaced, no doubt it was replaced by a SATA III drive.

My 8000 Elite is the upscale model of the HP 4000 Pro.  It basically has the same chipset and supported processors.

You can get this 500 GB model which I have in a Dell OptiPlex 7020.  A very nice performing drive for the money...

https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Ultra-NAND-500GB-Internal/dp/B072R78B6Q

[SLEhrgott]

Thanks again for your input! I went and got a Samsung 860 Evo and so far it's not too bad! Although it was running pretty good that first evening and now it's been a little laggy ever since the last windows update..go figure. I'm gonna take a chance and get a SATA controller card, and if it works, great! If it boots from it, even better! I am really hoping it works out! We will see! Thanks again!

  One last question, where in the hell can I find the motherboard specs for this thing? Been looking around everywhere, **bleep** near, and haven't gotten lucky yet. I have some questions that could be answered with ease with that info! I just don't know enough about this stuff to find it, I am presuming.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Anytime.

Glad to have been of assistance.

That link I posted would have the motherboard specs...chipset, supported processors, etc.

That is the most comprehensive listing available.

[SLEhrgott]

You're awesome!!!. Thank you for taking the time to find that!! I picked up a cheap adapter card with a couple m.2 slots on it and am planning on using the PCIe x16 slot. We will see what happens!!. I'm not expecting it to even work, but am pretty hopeful and it was a cheap experiment. I'm a total newb to most of all this stuff.. Have done basic repairs and upgrades and have flashed a couple BIOS's but learning, AND remembering all the info, wow...

 My memory sucks, first of all lol anyways, we will see what happens!!!!! Thanks again for your time and response!!!

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

Please let us know how your experiment turned out.

I just did a semi-flop of an experiment.

I bought one of these PCIe x1 wifi adapters on eBay for very cheap.   $20 each.

Loved it so much, I bought another one for my other PC.

https://www8.hp.com/us/en/ink-toner-and-accessories/product-details/8872137

I decided to buy a 3rd one just to take it apart and see if I could replace the Intel 7265 with the Intel 9260.

I managed to break both of the terminals off the Intel 7265 and they got stuck inside the antenna cable connectors.

So, I had to dig those out with a straight pin and tweezers.

Then I swapped out the card and reattached the cables.

Installed the card in my test PC and it worked great but...there is zero improvement in the throughput.

The Intel 7265 has a maximum throughput of 866 MBPS on the 5.0 GHz band with an AC router.

The Intel 9260 has double that...1.73 GB/S, but the best I could get out of it was 780 MBPS, which was no better than the 7260. The 7260 doesn't get 866 MBPS in the basement either.  I get good to excellent signal strength on both cards in my basement, and the router is on the second floor.

Anyway, it is a newer card with Bluetooth 5.0, and still has updated driver support from Intel,  but I was hoping to see a better throughput.

Both cards easily get around 215 MBPS on a speed test, and I am paying for 200 MBPS, so that hasn't changed.

I basically am only ahead by a newer Bluetooth version and current driver support.  I guess it could have been worse.

I'm wondering if the card needs a direct connection to an M.2 slot in the motherboard instead of being passed through a PCIe x1 slot to achieve the faster throughput, since no doubt M.2 is faster than PCIe x1 v2.0, which is what the chipset has.

[SLEhrgott]

Oh man, sounds like you had some problem solving to do!!! lol  Good lord!! Nothing worse than little things like that that end up taking up too much time when you're eager for the upgrade to work!

   I installed the card and M.2 attached to that card (M key), and nothing came up other than it being VERY laggy suddenly! Booted fine, but wouldn't function very well, at all! So I restarted it, went into the BIOS, changed a few power management settings, and it helped but this was still kinda laggy... So I shut it down, took the card out, turned it back on, and of course it was fine again for the most part.. with it being PCIe 2.0, I don't see the support for storage there. but in my mind, there is ALWAYS a way! ALWAYS a resolution!! I am learning that I have to accept the fact that some thing's just aren't possible..like upgrading the chipset, for example..lol If I cannot find a way to get this to work, the next option is upgrading the motherboard. The preferences I have might make it **bleep** near impossible though! Would like one that's SATA 6gb\s, a couple PCIe slots (4.0 but will settle for 3.0 if need be), maybe an M.2 slot but if I can use one of the PCIe slots with an adapter to run an M.2 then I am not concerned about an M.2 slot. And one that's got USB 3.0 atleast, AND (shot in the dark here since I haven't googled it yet) an interchangeable chipset. The B43 Express in this thing isn't really that great. And lastly, it's gotta support more Intel CPU's and be overclockable! That's my next little project.. Anyways, what details do I need in order to get a compatible motherboard to swap out in this thing (other than the size). I know I will have to upgrade the PSU as well more than likely. But, are my preferences too much to ask? The most important things are having SATA 6gb\s connections, PCIe slots that can support storage devices, and something I can overclock. I like trying new thing's so the capability to try other CPU's and experiment some is definitely a big one too! So, what would anyone have to say about that? Am I out of range or..? I want used and cheap, nothing that can give happy endings but I would like to be able to do a lot with it as far as upgrading as time passes. Even a better chipset would be a huge improvement! Well, since I came in here to check in right after restarting it after taking the card out, I am gonna see what I can get done before my girl gets too lonely without me in the ole bed lol  Thank You!

[SLEhrgott]

I just wanted to add that I had picked up a Samsung 860 Evo for a great price and installed it. It did well after the first boot. But then a few hours went by and windows update notified me of an update.. I went through with it, and after it was done, it booted quick but actually slowed down just a little bit..?!?! Conflict with a driver possibly? I ran Samsung Magician really briefly just yesterday and apparently AHCI wan't even enabled! So ti did it's little check and fixed it, among other unknown things. and it didn't make much of an improvement at all other than booting up faster now. I don't feel like it's at SATA 2 speeds, in all honesty.. I have yet to run a benchmark (I know I know...first thing I should do..lol) but * this thing...I had higher expectations! I think it's the chipset to be honest... B43 Express.. UGH!!!! I think that's the bottleneck.. I want to do some searching around and see if I can overclock this board..I know the chipset is overclockable but I don't think these HP boards are.. But, again, there's ALWAYS a way!! lol... Hopefully anyways...   But, I have searched around for little tips and tricks, just need to find them again and implement them bad boys! I was hesitant to ask if anyone knew of any little special things on these low class HP boards that would make an improvement in the speeds? Everyone has said that an SSD running at SATA 2 speeds would dance circles around an HDD but I have yet to see that! It does alright but the biggest improvement I've noticed is boot times, but that's it.. I plan on looking into a bunch of the BIOS settings to see what exactly each one I have noted does, and some experimenting (without making this thing a door stop!).  Thank You Very Much! Chat atcha later!

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