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HP USDT CustoMac Mini vs. 2014 Mac Mini - Which is the better value ?

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macbookpro361 said:
I also have had the HP 8300 USDT itch. Had Ebay lucky with offer options, low ball negotiations for 50 bucks all said and done. Heres my rundown on stuff,
HP 8300 USDT - WIFI and Msata option boards
I3 3220 - 4 GB memory - Power supply = 50 shipped

Picked up I5 3475s for HD4000 support =50 shipped
Old Mechanical Sata drive Laying around
BCM94360HMB/AzureWave AW-CB160H Half Mini PCI
AC1300 / BT 4.0 = in progress

Are front and back Noctua Fans worth it?

Any Advice?
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If it will be placed right next to you on your desk then yes, I would replace the two small fans with Noctuas. They will be so much quieter that it's a good investment. Some USDT 8300s I've bought have been very noisy and some quiet with the stock fans. It's kind of a lottery which version you'll get.
 
trs96 said:
Here's an Elite 8300 USFF that would need the CPU upgraded, as described in post #1. Selling for $159.95 at Amazon.com right now. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N5WXNAF/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

If you want to keep the Win 7 Pro install on the 160 GB HDD you can easily swap it out for an SSD that you would install macOS Sierra onto. You can only have one hard drive connected at a time unless you would remove the optical drive to free up a sata port.
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Does a elite 8300 USFF Support the i7-3770 (non-s)? I can't find that it does anywhere =[.
 
soulz said:
Does a elite 8300 USFF Support the i7-3770 (non-s)? I can't find that it does anywhere =[.
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Yes, it does. It doesn't support the 3770K. Gets too hot for the cooling system in these.
 
trs96 said:
Yes, it does. It doesn't support the 3770K. Gets too hot for the cooling system in these.
Click to expand...

Hmm, my main concern is the power prick is only good for 135 watts.

Spec wise they're pretty similar at 77w TDP 3.4GHz vs 3.5GHz
https://ark.intel.com/products/65523/Intel-Core-i7-3770K-Processor-8M-Cache-up-to-3_90-GHz
https://ark.intel.com/products/65719/Intel-Core-i7-3770-Processor-8M-Cache-up-to-3_90-GHz

from Anandtech (https://www.anandtech.com/show/5771/the-intel-ivy-bridge-core-i7-3770k-review/20) the 3770k with HD4000 is already pulling 146.4W from k (not overclock and with IGPU). I don't think it would be a drastic power consumption difference from the K & non-k, I just couldn't find a data point for the non k version.

Just looking at these information I believe there should be a disclaimer saying to use the i7-3770, the USFF requires a new power brick cause that original one is definitely not enough power. IMO.
 
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Thanks. Will keep a look out. I think I recall reading that the CD version was reliable (inc Sierra and High Sierra) and the CS didn't always work; will do some more research.

I have also found these adaptors which have USB header on (for the bluetooth) so that could be good.
 
trs96 said:
5. Quiet CPU fan If you want a silent system you can swap out the 60mm CPU cooler fan in the front of the case.

A Noctua 4 Pin fan is the best choice and only costs $14.95. A good investment if this is placed right on your desk.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAADY4B02552&cm_re=Noctua_NF-A6x25_PWM-_-1DR-002N-00002-_-Product
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@trs96 have you done this swop out? I have bought that fan but it is not plug and play; the Noctura fan has a 4 pin cable but the plastic has a ridge in. Unsure if I can carefully kit that off, or there is another way? The black on the right is the Noctura fan, the header on the left is the stock HP fan.
 

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phrozenpenguin said:
@trs96 have you done this swop out? I have bought that fan but it is not plug and play; the Noctura fan has a 4 pin cable but the plastic has a ridge in. Unsure if I can carefully kit that off, or there is another way? The black on the right is the Noctura fan, the header on the left is the stock HP fan.
Click to expand...

It is quite easy to swap the two connectors, you don't need skills, but a pointed edge tweezer (or anything slick and pointed). You should watch tutorial videos on YouTube.
 
phrozenpenguin said:
@trs96 have you done this swop out? I have bought that fan but it is not plug and play; the Noctura fan has a 4 pin cable but the plastic has a ridge in. Unsure if I can carefully kit that off, or there is another way? The black on the right is the Noctura fan, the header on the left is the stock HP fan.
Click to expand...
You can buy one of these Silverstone splitter cables if you don't want to have to alter your Noctua fan to make it fit the connector. It's kind of long for these USDT cases but there should be a way to make it work.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...&SID=1_6_921be965-07ff-4df1-7e34-a9056978123b
 
Just an update - I used a knife to trim the excess bit of plastic off the Noctura fan plug and then it worked great :)

I've just done a speed test on my msata drive, and found it is 230-260MB/s (was expecting nearer 500). Negotiated link is only 3 Gigabit, although the chipset should do 6. It may be that the msata port on these 8300 can't do 6 gigabit link (i.e. ~500MB/s transfer). In the bios it comes up as a "white" port - which in the manual is a SATA 2.0 port. That's a bit frustrating as I would have bought a "normal" ssd if I had known.

I guess I could put it in an adaptor on the main SATA interface in order to get full speeds..
 
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