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

[SpideR93]

Is it worth to change 8300SFF to 7010?

 

[trs96]

Is it worth to change 8300SFF to 7010?

Do you mean to switch from your 750 Ti ?

 

[SpideR93]

I'm lookin for RX560 or 1050Ti for my 8300 and I found that dell 7010 works with OSX as well so I wonder if it's worth to change?

 

[trs96]

I'm lookin for RX560 or 1050Ti for my 8300 and I found that dell 7010 works with OSX as well so I wonder if it's worth to change?

No, I wouldn't switch to the 7010 from the 8300. The HP 8300 USB ports seem to be more stable. Sometimes the 7010 USB ports only work intermittently and I haven't found a cause or solution yet. It only happens once in a great while but I've never had that happen with an 8300. The HP 6300 or 8300 is the all around best choice for using a pre-built PC as a hackintosh.

 

[SpideR93]

No, I wouldn't switch to the 7010 from the 8300. The HP 8300 USB ports seem to be more stable. Sometimes the 7010 USB ports only work intermittently and I haven't found a cause or solution yet. It only happens once in a great while but I've never had that happen with an 8300. The HP 6300 or 8300 is the all around best choice for using a pre-built PC as a hackintosh.

OK thakn you for your advice. And I want to ask one more question. I've edit some little videos in premiere pro and sometimes in after effect, generally adobe programs, what do you recomend 1050ti or RX560 or maybe diffrent GPU? I know it's little offtopic I'm sorry for that.

 

[trs96]

OK thakn you for your advice. And I want to ask one more question. I've edit some little videos in premiere pro and sometimes in after effect, generally adobe programs, what do you recomend 1050ti or RX560 or maybe diffrent GPU? I know it's little offtopic I'm sorry for that.

If you can find the Low Profile MSI RX560 I would go with that. If not the 1050 TI LP is also a good choice. It does need the web drivers to be updated with every macOS update.

 

[Paulaner]

Thanks for the great tutorial. I successfully installed High Sierra on my HP 8300 SFF a few days ago.

However, I wonder if there is something wrong with power management:
When I perform a stress test (Prime95), the CPU temperature in HWMonitor rises significantly above 70° C without an increase in fan speed being heard. I assume that the fan speed remains in the "idle" setting of the BIOS (currently: 2 bars). HWMonitor unfortunately shows no fan speed for the case fan or the power supply fan.

I have already tried to replace the HP fans with Arctic PWM. That didn't change anything.

In addition, HWMonitor permanently displays 100% for the GPU fan. Is that correct?

Anybody have any idea what I need to change?

 

[trs96]

Thanks for the great tutorial. I successfully installed High Sierra on my HP 8300 SFF a few days ago.

However, I wonder if there is something wrong with power management:
When I perform a stress test (Prime95), the CPU temperature in HWMonitor rises significantly above 70° C without an increase in fan speed being heard. I assume that the fan speed remains in the "idle" setting of the BIOS (currently: 2 bars). HWMonitor unfortunately shows no fan speed for the case fan or the power supply fan.

I have already tried to replace the HP fans with Arctic PWM. That didn't change anything.

In addition, HWMonitor permanently displays 100% for the GPU fan. Is that correct?

Anybody have any idea what I need to change?

• Try setting the fan idle speed all the way to the right. That should keep the Arctic fan at 1800 RPM.

• A CPU temp of 70C + in a stress test is not at all unusual. Especially for an I7 CPU.

• Instead of Prime 95 try monitoring temps when gaming or during things you normally do.

I tend to think that the HW monitor reports for fan speed are not accurate. The CPU readings may be close though. You could
also try a BIOS upgrade and see if that makes any difference for the PWM regulation. The cooling in the SFF models will not be as good as in the MT versions. There is only one fan in the front and no rear exhaust in the SFF. These were designed to be business desktop PCs and not gaming PCs although many now use them for that. You should also be using the 3770 SSDT if you aren't all ready.

 

[Paulaner]

• Try setting the fan idle speed all the way to the right. That should keep the Arctic fan at 1800 RPM.

• A CPU temp of 70C + in a stress test is not at all unusual. Especially for an I7 CPU.

• Instead of Prime 95 try monitoring temps when gaming or during things you normally do.

I tend to think that the HW monitor reports for fan speed are not accurate. The CPU readings may be close though. You could
also try a BIOS upgrade and see if that makes any difference for the PWM regulation. The cooling in the SFF models will not be as good as in the MT versions. There is only one fan in the front and no rear exhaust in the SFF. These were designed to be business desktop PCs and not gaming PCs although many now use them for that. You should also be using the 3770 SSDT if you aren't all ready.

Thank you for the quick response.

Since I couldn't hear any difference, I removed the Arctic fans and reinstalled the HP fans. Based on my previous experience with a Macbook, I assumed that the fans would turn audibly faster under load. And the HP fans can theoretically become very loud if you turn up the BIOS setting completely for testing...
But I don't notice the PWM regulation during operation. The CPU gets hotter, but the fans don't sound any faster.

I updated the BIOS version to 03.07 before installing High Sierra and also installed the 3770 SSDT, as described in your Post #3.

 

[trs96]

But I don't notice the PWM regulation during operation. The CPU gets hotter, but the fans don't sound any faster.

It may just be hard to hear the differences when the fans spin faster. The fans in a Macbook are tiny compared to the 92mm fans in your HP. The smaller the fan, the more noise it generates when it speeds up. Getting some kind hardware monitoring software that gives accurate readings on fan speeds may show that the CPU fan does spin faster as temps increase.

Maybe check some HP forums that discuss whether there are PWM issues on this model ? You could also try asking Phil of Phil's Computer Lab Youtube channel. He knows these HP machines inside and out. He has tested the PWM function in the 8200 and 8300 models. Very knowledgeable when it comes to older hardware.

The Arctic fans are about the same quality as the stock HP fans, they just don't go up to the max 3400 RPM. The cost for the Arctic PWM fans is actually lower than for new HP fans. So it' best to go with the Arctic fans to save some cash on replacements, if the fans that came with your system are old and worn out and making more noise than they should be. I'm not sure that everyone reading this thread understands that. The HP OEM fans are of good quality and shouldn't be replaced the way you throw out the new fans that come with a cheap PC case that you buy for a custom build. Remember that many of these HP Elite desktops cost $1500 or more new. HP didn't cheap out on the cooling fans.