[Guide] Install High Sierra on the HP 8300 Elite / 6300 Pro Desktop PC

[trs96]

5.25 inch Dual Bay Hard Drive Rack option by Syba
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If you are going to multi boot and keep each OS on a separate drive take a look at this option

Syba mobile rack Supports both 2.5" and 3.5" Hard Drives and looks great.

Here's how it would look installed in your HP 8300 SFF case:

Click on image to enlarge

The Card reader just beneath it is not included with the Syba mobile rack.

You will also need a USB 3.0 PCIe adapter card if you want the front USB 3.0 ports to work.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JFR2H64/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

 

[karoli9]

Well, thank you again. I guess that the same speech could be suitable for HP, right? If there are 4 DIMM slots, we could go for 32GB (even if in the SFF version), right?

Here are all the answers: https://downloads.dell.com/manuals/...sktop/optiplex-7010_owner's manual2_en-us.pdf

 

[trs96]

If there are 4 DIMM slots, we could go for 32GB (even if in the SFF version), right?

Dell doesn't think so. In reality though, the 7010 handles just as much ram as the 9010. 32GB total. They both use the same Q77 chipset. Both have 4 ram slots. Read Dell forums around the internet and everyone that's tried 32GB in the 7010 SFF, DT or MT says it works. To get back on the HP topic, the 6300 SFF, Q75 chipset even supports a max of 32 GB. The crucial ram configuration page says you can use 8GB Dimms and a total of 32 GB of ram.



So I'm not sure why Dell states this artificial limit. Maybe if people try 32GB and it doesn't work they don't need to fix anything or be liable ? If someone were to use Windows 7 Home version, that only supports 16GB max ? You'd have to ask Dell. If you want to be 100% certain 32 Gigs will work go with the HP 8300. I've never seen a report here that said 4 x 8GB wouldn't work.

 

[trs96]

HP 8300 SFF with i7-3770 for $162 on sale at Ebay
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The seller has 8 of these in stock. They are on sale for this price today only. 7-30-18

You will need a ram upgrade kit and likely a 128 or 256 GB SSD boot drive. You should still be able to keep the total price below about $250 USD depending on how much ram you will need. See it for sale at Ebay.com

The seller does charge sales tax if you are in HI, FL or Maryland. The Seller, HTG inc. is a MS registered, professional refurbisher.
They also do ship to Canada for a reasonable rate if you are in the great white north.

 

[trs96]

How to control the Fan Speeds of the HP 8300 via the BIOS
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The fans in your HP Desktop PC are all PWM (4 pin). You can regulate the fan speed minimum via a simple BIOS adjustment. Boot to your BIOS by hitting F10 and then hit the right arrow key to Power. Under the Thermal section you can then set the fan speed.

If your fans spin too fast and make too much noise, turn down the minimum fan speed. (All the way to the left gives the slowest speed) If the speed setting is all the way to the right your fans will always run at about 3400 rpm and be too noisy. They'll never reach the slower speeds.

If you are gaming and need more cooling you can move the setting all the way to the right. The maximum RPMs are 3400 and they will stay there, if you are using the stock HP fans. It will be lower if using 3rd party fans like the F9 PWM fans from Arctic. See the image below for all the numbers.

Image Credit: Phil's Computer Lab

Click to enlarge​

 

[thesnoc]

This guide is fantastic! I got my 8300 with GTX 1050 set up with no problems. My only issue is that I am using it with a 4k Samsung TV (KU6300), and although it looks great at 1080, text is a bit jagged at 4k. Is there something else besides the web drivers I need to install/add? I'm thinking maybe I need to do something to enable hidpi mode. I have already set DisplayResolutionEnabled to true, but I did not see any hidpi resolution modes in Display Properties. I installed SwitchResX and found hidpi modes in there, but not for any 4k resolutions. Any direction for next steps would be appreciated!

 

[trs96]

This guide is fantastic! I got my 8300 with GTX 1050 set up with no problems. My only issue is that I am using it with a 4k Samsung TV (KU6300), and although it looks great at 1080, text is a bit jagged at 4k. Is there something else besides the web drivers I need to install/add? I'm thinking maybe I need to do something to enable hidpi mode. I have already set DisplayResolutionEnabled to true, but I did not see any hidpi resolution modes in Display Properties. I installed SwitchResX and found hidpi modes in there, but not for any 4k resolutions. Any direction for next steps would be appreciated!

Are you connected from the HDMI 2.0 port or the Displayport on the Graphics card ?

Best results on a CustoMac are always obtained when using DP instead of HDMI. DP is better supported. You can use the Club3d active adapter along with an HDMI 2.0 cable. Make sure that is connected to the HDMI 2.0 input on the TV.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0775Z57H9/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

 

[jfeliz]

NOTE: facetime work out of the box, no need any configuration

 

[thesnoc]

Are you connected from the HDMI 2.0 port or the Displayport on the Graphics card ?

Best results on a CustoMac are always obtained when using DP instead of HDMI. DP is better supported. You can use the Club3d active adapter along with an HDMI 2.0 cable. Make sure that is connected to the HDMI 2.0 input on the TV.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0775Z57H9/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

I have tried both HDMI outputs as well as the DP with a passive adapter I had on hand. I also tried all 3 HDMI inputs on the Samsung. Results were the same no matter which combination I used. I also went directly from DP out on the card to DP in on my Dell 27" 1440 gaming monitor. That looked great and even added Night Shift to the display options.

It appears to me that I am not getting Chroma 444 output to the Samsung which seems to be causing the text and icons to look a bit jagged/ghosted. I ordered the Club3d active adapter you listed as well as a new HDMI 2.0 cable, and will test when they arrive.

 

[trs96]

I also went directly from DP out on the card to DP in on my Dell 27" 1440 gaming monitor. That looked great and even added Night Shift to the display options.

It appears to me that I am not getting Chroma 444 output to the Samsung which seems to be causing the text and icons to look a bit jagged/ghosted.

One key point to remember, PC monitors like your Dell are designed to make text viewing crisper and clearer when you sit a foot or two from the screen. TV sets, whether 1080p or 4K are designed for viewing video content at a 4 foot or longer distance and not for reading text at close range. The PPI of a 40" 4K TV is only about 110. A 27" 4K PC monitor has a PPI of 163. The ideal PPI for a PC monitor is in the 210-220 range. When I connect any of my CustoMacs to a 40" 1080p TV it is not really even usable as a monitor other than for viewing video content.

Sometimes, with some TV sets, you can remedy this by setting it to PC mode which will correct the jagged text. I'm not sure if your 4K TV has that option but you could do some research into that. Other settings like sharpness and contrast can be adjusted as well. From what I've read, Sony or Samsung TVs are the better choices for using a TV as a PC monitor. If you read a lot of text daily, like these forums, using the Dell 27" at 1440p may be the best way to go.