ENVY Series -- Can the GPU be upgraded and replaced? What considerations should be made before upgra

[DirectDAS]

My unit is reconditioned and the GPU seems to be dying.  I get streaking lines coming from the left side of the displacy that generally cease after the card warms up.  The display is sometimes overlain with red lines overlaying display image. While the red lines are visible, a rear speaker crackles with static.  So I figure I must prepare to purchase a replacement.  Fine -- but as this is an HP prebuilt, I figure I am limited in range.  So --

        Can I only upgrade with HP proprietary GPUs, or can I use market GPUs?

         Can the power supply be upgraded, if necessary?

I appreciate any advice I can gather.

[NonSequitur777]

@DirectDAS,

I would be happy to assist and work this out with you.

First, I would like you to provide/confirm/verify some additional information about your desktop.

Is your HP ENVY Desktop PC TE02-0000i RCTO Base Model fitted with the BlizzardU motherboard (SSID: 894B), a Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 12GB GDDR6 graphics card, a 500-watt (HP p/n: M98828-001 "POWER SUPPLY UNIT PERSAN3 500WATX EPA85 4O/P, UNICO"), what processor do you have installed (such as an i5-12400 or i9-12900), how much RAM do you have: what brand(s), model(s), capacity, and drive(s) information.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[DirectDAS]

Thank you, Nonsequitor777!

BlizzardU Motherboard SSID: 894B

Intel i7 12900 

96 GB DDR 4 (currently seated)

2TB NVMe boot drive (Samsung 980)

500GB NVMe via USB 3.2 (Unknown brand)

1TB SSD (Samsung) 

Thanks

[NonSequitur777]

@DirectDAS,

All right, just need to know what power supply (part number/wattage) you have, and what (ailing) graphics card you got.

My understanding is that the BlizzardU motherboard is 24-pin ATX-power enabled ("Form factor Micro ATX"), meaning, you can upgrade it with any industry standard ATX power supply, as long as you watch its dimensions (LxWxH) for fit inside your case.  This is most helpful, as it means that you can pretty much upgrade your graphics card to whatever you like -or rather what your budget allows, provided the GPU fits inside your case.  When/if you go this route, you really want to consider improving the airflow through your case, such as by adding an additional cooling fan (or two).  If you are at all familiar with my HP desktop upgrade projects, there are ways to be, well, creative to make that happen.

So, what GPU upgrade are you interested in?

According to: HP - Compaq | Memory RAM & SSD Upgrades | Crucial.com, the maximum RAM that can be installed in an HP ENVY Desktop PC TE02-0000i is 64GB (2 x 32GB), but then: HP Desktop PCs - Motherboard Specifications, BlizzardU | HP® Customer Support says, quote: "Supports up to 128 GB (unbuffered) with 32 GB DIMMs on 64-bit computers" -even though there are only two RAM slots? -Please verify/clarify!

Btw, as far as your processor is concerned, do you mean an i7-12700, or an i9-12900?

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[Prométhée]

hi

@DirectDAS 

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Desktop-Hardware-and-Upgrade-Questions/M-2-Ports-on-ENVY-TE-02-0042-tw...

if you just want to install a more powerful graphics card, then follow the good recommendations of @NonSequitur777 
But in case, check, because I remembered during research here, that the computer could be guaranteed!
the model I found was indicated:

“It is It is A grade (excellent condition) HP certified refurb unit and comes with 1 year Allstate Warranty (valid in USA only). Keyboard and mouse may NOT wireless.”

The item is in like-new condition, backed by a one year warranty. It has been professionally refurbished, inspected and cleaned to excellent condition by qualified sellers. The item includes original or new accessories and will come in new generic packaging. See the seller's listing for full details. See all condition definitions

possible therefore that it is possible for yours,  therefore in the event of a problem, you should not have to pay for the replacement

[DirectDAS]

I appreciate your help, Promethee. In fact, I've attempted that route, only to be told by the adjuster that because I had mentioned that I installed an NVMe card that my warranty is therefore voided.  So it seems that if I want a functional display, I'll have to handle this myself. Lesson learned. 

[DirectDAS]

The motherboard specs suggest two slots, but there are four. It came factory installed with 32G of DDR4 RAM to which I added two 16G sticks in the other two slots.

The processor is an i7 12900

I see slots on top for what seem to be 45mm fans, but I need to find pins to plug it (or them) in.

600 W 80 Plus Gold certified ATX power supply 

I hope this helps! 

[Prométhée]

hi

" had mentioned that I installed an NVMe card that my warranty is therefore voided.  "

Doesn't seem legal to me!
Just remove what is added, as long as the issues are unrelated, then no reason for the warranty to be voided
Besides, you are not required to mention that!
They would have to be able to prove that you damaged the computer by adding this SSD drive!

read your warranty conditions carefully.
see at hp for example:

HP PCs - Damage Not Covered by the HP Standard Limited Warranty | HP® Customer Support

[DirectDAS]

It really wasn't even the card. The Allstate adjuster told me on the phone that as soon as the end user takes the access cover off, the warranty is voided.  I believed him, but as you mentioned, it doesn't seem legal, although perhaps it is. If so, may others be warned about them.  This was never mentioned in the ad or at the point of sale.  Who do they think are buying ENVYs?  You don't need them for Chartered Accountancy.

[NonSequitur777 · Accepted solution]

@DirectDAS,

Thank you for your response.

The power supply you got is an excellent unit, and unless you plan to play demanding 3D or 4K games, it should be able to power a sufficiently powerful/capable enough graphics card.

I would recommend any of the following three HP or Dell-branded Nvidia graphics cards.

Why?

A number of reasons.  These cards are very well designed, usually consume less power even though they perform similarly as their larger-sized cousins, are powered by an 8-pin PCIe power cable rather than a 12-pin PCIe power cable, are more compact in size, and Nvidia graphics cards (imo) are generally the best gaming performers exhibiting the fewest issues.

Here we go, from least to most expensive:

1.) HP/Dell Nvidia RTX 3060 12GB GDDR6: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_dcat=27386&_fsrp=1&_from=R40&LH_TitleDesc=0&LH_PrefLoc=1&LH_ItemCon....

2.) HP/Dell Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti 8GB GDDR6: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=rtx+3060+ti+&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&LH_ItemCondition....

3.) HP/Dell Nvidia RTX 3070 8GB GDDR6: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_dcat=27386&_fsrp=1&_from=R40&_nkw=rtx+3070&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&....

When it comes to cooling fans, if this HP YouTube clip accurately depicts your PC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVSveCM-Sds, then it shows that your gaming desktop -in addition to the CPU heatsink/cooling fan combo, has got a 90mm (or 120mm) rear system fan and a 120mm front system fan (Foxconn PVA120G12S). From what I could ascertain, there may be room to install a cooling fan on the inside of your vented top panel, but given the existing air-cooling config, this is a lesser priority, imo.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777