KU_wins
03-13-2012 03:27 PM (1 days ago)
I'm considering buying a new HPE h8xt, specifically this one. I also want to add a 120GB SSD and I'm worried that the standard 300W power supply isn't going to be sufficient. I know an SSD doesn't use much power, but the computer already seems woefully under powered with 16GB RAM, Blu-Ray, 1GB DDR3 AMD Radeon HD 7570 and 1TB HDD.

Can anyone make a recommendation? I talked to HP support and they said it was sufficient, but I find that hard to believe. I don't want the power supply dying on me after 6 months because it's been over worked. Also, would it void the warranty on the power supply if I add a SSD? I can see HP being a pain on that one.
Big_Dave
03-13-2012 04:12 PM (1 days ago)
Hi,

The 300 watt PSU should be sufficient if you should add a SSD. If you go to the HP Store and look at the same model and use the configurator, a bigger PSU is not required until you select the NVIDIA GTX 550 or faster graphics card. Your warranty should be OK if you add a SSD (the configurator shows the option to add a SSD).

Play around with the configurator. You might be able to configure the PC to your liking.
KU_wins
03-13-2012 04:28 PM (1 days ago)
Thanks for the quick response!

Yeah I saw that, but the AMD website suggests 400W minimum with the HD 7570, not to mention the Blu-ray extra Ram, etc. So that makes me not want to trust the HP configurer.

Also, with the HP SSDs they won't say who makes them or give me any other info about them besides the size so I figure I'm better off buying my own, so I know what I'm getting.

But, you still think I would be fine with all that on a 300W PSU?
KU_wins
03-13-2012 04:53 PM (1 days ago)
Also, was curious if the mobo on this computer had SATA 6Gb/s ports? And if any are unused? Thanks again.
Big_Dave
03-13-2012 05:40 PM (1 days ago)
Hi,

HP has its own specifications for OEM graphics cards and they may not be the same as a retail counterpart.

The HP h8-1260t is using an Intel 1155 socketed motherboard. A typical 1155 socketed motherboard has two SATA III 6 Gb/s ports. The below motherboard image for the HP Chicago motherboard does show two 6 Gb/s SATA III ports.



I have asked HP to publish better information on the newer PCs and some PCs do have better information posted.

I max'd out the configurator with two hard drives, two Blu-Ray drives, max memory, and a network card and the 300 watt PSU is still valid.
KU_wins
03-13-2012 06:28 PM (1 days ago)
Hi Big_Dave,

What do you mean by: "HP has its own specifications for OEM graphics cards and they may not be the same as a retail counterpart." Do they underclock the graphics cards to make them use less power?

"I max'd out the configurator with two hard drives, two Blu-Ray drives, max memory, and a network card and the 300 watt PSU is still valid." I did this as well and saw that they claim the PSU would still be valid, but do you really believe that PSU would last more than a few months?

Thanks for the mobo image, that helps a lot.

Also, the reason I was looking at the Costco HP was 1: Costco is great with returns and 2: it is $50 cheaper than the base model on hp.com and has blu-ray, 16GB ram.