[Guide] HP 6300 Pro / HP 8300 Elite - A 100 percent Working and Easily Affordable CustoMac

RescueDog said:

Do you have to disable anything or do you just plug these in?

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No - they work without any additional installation - I have 2 of them in one of the machines and they coexist with the onboard sound without any interference or additional drivers.

nicksoph said:

No - they work without any additional installation - I have 2 of them in one of the machines and they coexist with the onboard sound without any interference or additional drivers.

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SAME. I found one of these in a drawer from a Lion install I did a few years ago on an old Dell, this works just fine with HS and the stock sound drivers as well, so I didn't need to install Voodoo or anything else... If I had to guess, I think most of the cheapo USB sound 'doodads' seem to work fine...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001MSS6CS/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

Another option, which I chose because I already had an SPDIF optical cable running from my computer desk to my receiver, is:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006SF68P2/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

It was about $10, so not much more if you want optical audio.

Goodmorning everyone
I realized a problem, and 'a long time I use a web cam with a logitech microphone that has always worked perfectly on the mac without any drivers, on the HP I have problems, the camera runs perfectly, the microphone instead to make it work I have almost always unplug it from the USB and reinsert it, otherwise it will not work.
Do you have any advice for me?

I ordered a USB audio adapter - what a difference in sound volume these make! I went with the one shown below because it has a pigtail, which is nice because it doesn't block other USB ports.

After I plugged it in, I had to open the sound icon on the top of the screen and choose "USB Audio Device" and it works fantastic.

A USB audio device is included in the original instructions (page 1 on this post) and I underestimated its importance.

trs96 said:

Very good summary of the advantages of the HP 8300 USFF / mini HP. I've also found all of these things to be true. The only downside to these is the noisy stock 60 mm PWM fans. If it sits right next to your monitor on your desk they can get annoying. The solution is to replace them with the Noctua 60 mm PWM fans for about 15 USD each at Newegg. Then you've got a nearly silent mini pc that is much more powerful for any Mac Mini in that price range. If you do make the 8300 USFF into a mini server that's on 24/7 then these are a mandatory investment due to the energy savings and longevity of the fans.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAADY4B02552&cm_re=Noctua_A-Series_NF-A6x25-_-1DR-002N-00002-_-Product

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NOTE : There is a 3 pin version (A6x25 FLX) that looks exactly the same so make sure you get the 4 Pin PWM version for both the front and back fans. You cannot connect the 3 pin models to the motherboard headers. The PWM version only costs 50 cents more anyway. Go with the PWM version.

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Can you also replace the power supply fan with one of these on a 8300 Elite SFF?

taskrov said:

Can you also replace the power supply fan with one of these on a 8300 Elite SFF?

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I haven't attempted that as every one I've bought hasn't made excessive noise. If you do try be aware of the risks involved with taking a PSU apart. With used power supplies for these costing so little on Ebay it's almost as cheap to just replace the whole PSU instead of the fan in it. Sometimes just cleaning and oiling the fan will quiet it down significantly.

Here's a tutorial video on how to remove and replace the PSU. Starts at the 2:12 timestamp.


Here's a high efficiency (90%) 80+ version for $14 on Ebay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-611481-001-Pro-6000-6300-Elite-8000-8200-240W-6-Pin-SFF-Power-Supply/382305956128?_trkparms=aid=222007&algo=SIM.MBE&ao=2&asc=49566&meid=458a5d07fc374590bb88c68a473b2a02&pid=100005&rk=5&rkt=6&sd=272821709835&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

jzheng said:

I hope this won't lead to a debate on definitions of desktop and laptop. Well, check the spec and compare USDT with its bigger siblings, you will see the difference, just to name a few:

- USDT use laptop memory (SODIMM) instead of desktop memory (UDIMM)
- USDT has PCI express mini wireless card support, just like most laptops do
- USDT has MXM graphics cards support (SFF/MT/CMT does not)
- USDT has mSATA SSD cache support (SFF/MT/CMT does not)

Calling it a simple dumb-down of its bigger sibling is misleading. The USDT is built differently, uses many components that exist commonly in the laptop world. It still highly compatible with mac OS, just like most HP laptops. But when people run into installation issues, solutions are more likely to be found in the laptop world.

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Having mini PCI-e for Wi-Fi doesn't make it laptop like. My latest desktop build has an M.2 slot for Wi-Fi/Bluetooth just like how many laptops do...

Having MXM in place of PCI-e for graphics is just for space savings. iMacs used MXM in the past...

SO-DIMM were used in iMacs too and, again, just a space saving measure.

mSATA are, again, just space saving measures. If I got a bunch of SATA to mSATA adapters to use in my 8300, it wouldn't make it any more laptop like.

The USDT still uses desktop class CPUs and chipset. By comparison, Intel NUCs and Mac Minis used mobile class CPUs and chipsets and were truly built more like laptops without displays than desktops.

jzheng said:

I hope this won't lead to a debate on definitions of desktop and laptop.

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+1 The HP 8300 USFF is an incredibly versatile computer whether it's classed as a desktop, mini PC or a laptop isn't really important at all. I included it in this guide because it uses the same Q77 chipset, BIOS and CPUs as the larger form factor Elite 8300 offerings from HP. You get the smaller size and portability with these, yet they are so easy to open up and work on or upgrade that they really hit the sweet spot for adapting to most any kind of user needs.

The following is slightly off topic but still relevant to this HP discussion.

If Apple were to license macOS to any PC manufacturer, HP would be the best choice to sell the PCs and laptops they make with macOS preinstalled. Whether they will ever be allowed to do that remains to be seen. The blunt way Mike Dell disrespected the company back in 1997, it's pretty much a given that they will never partner with Dell in this respect.

With the iPhone being Apple's cash cow it won't happen any time soon. It could bring many more into the Apple ecosystem, using Apple services and buying the higher priced software sold only in the Mac App Store. HP customers could then run Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro on HP desktops and laptops, but because Apple is now the 800 pound gorilla in the room, instead of Microsoft, why bother ?

Here's a quote from a Verge article about how much money Apple now makes from services.

Apple’s services division has been the company’s second strongest source of revenue behind iPhones since April 2016, when it first surpassed Mac sales. Services include Apple Music and iCloud, iTunes and the App Store which the company said saw a 75 percent subscriber growth.

pastrychef said:

Having mini PCI-e for Wi-Fi doesn't make it laptop like. My latest desktop build has an M.2 slot for Wi-Fi/Bluetooth just like how many laptops do...

Having MXM in place of PCI-e for graphics is just for space savings. iMacs used MXM in the past...

SO-DIMM were used in iMacs too and, again, just a space saving measure.

mSATA are, again, just space saving measures. If I got a bunch of SATA to mSATA adapters to use in my 8300, it wouldn't make it any more laptop like.

The USDT still uses desktop class CPUs and chipset. By comparison, Intel NUCs and Mac Minis used mobile class CPUs and chipsets and were truly built more like laptops without displays than desktops.

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You are pointing out the convergence between the two worlds, and agreeing that the debate between these two definitions are meaningless.

What I would like to share is that the USDT uses components not found in its bigger siblings, and the laptop resource available on this website can be very helpful when working with this particular form factor.