pastrychef's testing machine - HP Elite 8300 SFF - i7-3770 - GT 630

[karoli9]

Just a note from my experience with an 8300 USFF. The BIOS it came with was 2.05 from 2012. The Unibeast installer would not boot. Flashed to ver. 2.99 and everything went smoothly. So if you are having any problems with the install Flash to 2.99. You can go one version higher but that does not add any benefits that I can see. If you want to go to 3.02 you'll need to flash to 2.99 anyway. I just decided to stop there as everything works. If it ain't broke, don't fix it is how the saying goes.

View attachment 221537

Hi,

with the USFF what MXM GPU do you use, if you use any? Does it accept any other MXMs, than the HD7650A (over the recommended 35W TDP and A format)? I think it has a 135W SPU - under load, the 8200 USFF consumes roughly 66W (http://www.anandtech.com/show/4867/hp-compaq-8200-elite-ultraslim-the-littlest-desktop/3) -, so I assume the 8300 with a i5 is close to it. What I want to say is, with a 90% SPU (~120W), we would have ~50W of TDP for the GPU, and with the optional 180W SPU it is much more. There are a lot of MXM-B nVidia cards on eBay, but I don't know if the vBIOS supports it, or can be used under macOS.

Cheers, karoli

 

[trs96]

Hi,

with the USFF what MXM GPU do you use, if you use any? Does it accept any other MXMs, than the HD7650A (over the recommended 35W TDP and A format)? I think it has a 135W SPU - under load, the 8200 USFF consumes roughly 66W (http://www.anandtech.com/show/4867/hp-compaq-8200-elite-ultraslim-the-littlest-desktop/3) -, so I assume the 8300 with a i5 is close to it. What I want to say is, with a 90% SPU (~120W), we would have ~50W of TDP for the GPU, and with the optional 180W SPU it is much more. There are a lot of MXM-B nVidia cards on eBay, but I don't know if the vBIOS supports it, or can be used under macOS.

Cheers, karoli

The HP 8300 USFF I bought on Ebay came with an I3-2120 which has HD2000 so I replaced that with an I3-3225 with HD4000 which is fully supported and works OOB. I don't plan on testing an MXM discrete card but I know that if you get a higher wattage external PSU that supports the MXM graphics, the problem is keeping the card cool enough. The iMacs that used discrete graphics had a heatsink on top of their MXM card to cool them. About 3 years ago Apple sold a 13,1 iMac with the I3-3225 that used only the HD4000 igfx. It was an education only model. So that SMBIOS seems to be a perfect fit.

Let us know how it works out if you try this discrete graphics approach in an 8200 or 8300 USFF.

 

[karoli9]

The HP 8300 USFF I bought on Ebay came with an I3-2120 which has HD2000 so I replaced that with an I3-3225 with HD4000 which is fully supported and works OOB. I don't plan on testing an MXM discrete card but I know that if you get a higher wattage external PSU that supports the MXM graphics, the problem is keeping the card cool enough. The iMacs that used discrete graphics had a heatsink on top of their MXM card to cool them.

Let us know how it works out if you try this in an 8200 or 8300 USFF.

Of course I will!

I have the mood to experiment, but don't know, if the BIOS recognizes GPU brands other than HP. I already asked one seller at an eBay like (but more professional) hungarian site, but no answer yet. Elite USFF-CT is one possibility and an EliteBook-ProBook-Folio is the other, if my Mac mini will not be successful

 

[trs96]

Of course I will!

I have the mood to experiment, but don't know, if the BIOS recognizes GPU brands other than HP. I already asked one seller at an eBay like (but more professional) hungarian site, but no answer yet. Elite USFF-CT is one possibility and an EliteBook-ProBook-Folio is the other, if my Mac mini will not be successful

Another option is to use the I5-3475S CPU. It also has HD4000 graphics. I would not put an I5-3570K in one of these as the stock cooler/fans could not handle the heat production. Why do you need to have a discrete graphics card ?

 

[karoli9]

Another option is to use the I5-3475S CPU. It also has HD4000 graphics. I would not put an I5-3570K in one of these as the stock cooler/fans could not handle the heat production. Why do you need to have a discrete graphics card ?

I already searched for adequate CPUs on the Intel site. dGPU is for some light gaming (BF3, Mass Effect 2-3, etc.), nothing special, I have a Dell L501X with GT420m, which is still enough for my needs, maybe a little more would be better. MXM GeForce cards are available for cheap (even 880m).

 

[greg544]

If you have the Mt. Lion UniBeast installer that you made in 2012, install that first onto your SSD/HDD Then you should be able to get your networking going to get to the MAS for Sierra. Make sure to change They system def from the default MacPro 3,1 to something newer like iMac 14,2. You simply boot from the ML USB drive to get to the ML installer, no need for iBoot.

I only had the Mountain Lion install file, it was not a UniBeast installer. But it's all good because I finally got access to a Mac and was able to create a UniBeast installer for Sierra. Worked like a charm! My only problem is no audio, but I see lots of messages to go through on the forums to help get that solved.

If you are wanting to get one of these HP Elite machines running and you have to go through Snow Leopard, its just too difficult. You have to find someone with a Mac or Hack and follow the recommended process. I wasted two weeks working on this but that is the earliest chance I had to get my hands on my daughter's MacBook.

Thanks to whoever is making UniBeast. Great job.

 

[Stork]

Unfortunately, Nvidia GTX 10 series are not support by Apple's nor Nvidia drivers at this time. We're all in a "hurry up and wait" state for support.

 

[Lonelytanker]

Hi,

with the USFF what MXM GPU do you use, if you use any? Does it accept any other MXMs, than the HD7650A (over the recommended 35W TDP and A format)? I think it has a 135W SPU - under load, the 8200 USFF consumes roughly 66W (http://www.anandtech.com/show/4867/hp-compaq-8200-elite-ultraslim-the-littlest-desktop/3) -, so I assume the 8300 with a i5 is close to it. What I want to say is, with a 90% SPU (~120W), we would have ~50W of TDP for the GPU, and with the optional 180W SPU it is much more. There are a lot of MXM-B nVidia cards on eBay, but I don't know if the vBIOS supports it, or can be used under macOS.

Cheers, karoli

Just an FYI, power supply efficiency refers to how efficient the PSU is at converting power drawn to power supplied. So a 135W power supply should supply 135W regardless of efficiency, but the more efficient it is the less power it needs to draw in order to supply that 135W.

 

[karoli9]

Just an FYI, power supply efficiency refers to how efficient the PSU is at converting power drawn to power supplied. So a 135W power supply should supply 135W regardless of efficiency, but the more efficient it is the less power it needs to draw in order to supply that 135W.

Thank you for clearing that.

 

[karoli9]

Hi all,

The seller informed me, that only HP MXM cards are compatible, other cards will not work with the USFF version.