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Re: HP Proprietary Hardware and Compatibility in Upgrading HDD and Power Supply Questions

 
VICO
New Member

HP Proprietary Hardware and Compatibility in Upgrading HDD and Power Supply Questions

First off, I`ll give the specs on the sys.
HP standard, meaning it came from HP bundled
in the sys, when bought.
Hp-6470z P2-400mhz. 256mb sdram 100fsb.
Op sys-HP standard Win.98
HDD:HP standard Quantum 12.7gig.
Removable Media Drives:
A. HP cd writer 9300 series (replaced original CD reader)
B. HP standard Iomega 100mb zip dr.(may replace with 250mb)
C. HP standard floppy
D. HP CD-Writer Music (usb interface)
Vid Card: Voodoo 3500 (active cooling, using TennMax Stealth V3 Fan)


I had a chance to buy a Seagate ST330630A- Barracuda 30gig drive recently, to replace the now rather small HDD, that came with this pc.
HP`s proprietary config of hardware, is what these questions (for the most part) involve:
1. The most basic question, anyone know if this particular drive is compatible with this sys ?
2. Power- to my horror, I found that this sys comes with only a 110w power supply, and a proprietary one at that.
Would that be enough to power this sys, with the new Seagate drive?
3. If not, what choices do I have in upgrading to more power?
HP`s homesite while big, gives no info on upgrade choices, of factory installed hardware like this.
Are there any third party power solutions, (like Sparkle, or Antec) I could choose as substitutes, that would be compatible, without a mod to the Pavilion case?
4. Heat- should I be concerned, swapping out the rather outdated Quantum HDD, for the new Seagate, as far as more internal heat, generated from the new HDD?
Specs show, the only thing drawing heat out of the case, is the fan on the rather weak, power supply.
I know these sound like newbee questions, but I value the knowledge I`ve gained reading this, and the now defunct, old community forum.
Many thanks to anyone that responds.

3 REPLIES 3
harry d brown jr
Honored Contributor

Re: HP Proprietary Hardware and Compatibility in Upgrading HDD and Power Supply Questions

Your new seagate will put out this many watts:

ACTIVE _______________12.5
IDLE _________________8.0
STANDBY (typ/max) ____1.5/1.7

http://www.seagate.com/support/disc/specs/ata/st330630a.html

Your power supply should be adequate.

live free or die
harry


Live Free or Die
VICO
New Member

Re: HP Proprietary Hardware and Compatibility in Upgrading HDD and Power Supply Questions

Thanks for the reply, and Seagate link Harry.
In checking drive ID further, I was wrong identifying it as a Barracuda drive, it`s a U-series 5 ST330621A.
Through the link you posted, I find power management is even less.
Do you, or anyone else, know of any third party power supply units, that would be compliant with this system, in case of original power supply failure, or just to upgrade.
Also, what would be the negative impact to sys,
If I were to mod Power supply area, and put in a Sparkle, or Antec power supply, in the 300w power range?
I`m not well versed in this area, and would like any input on the subject. Thanks
Robert West_4
New Member

Re: HP Proprietary Hardware and Compatibility in Upgrading HDD and Power Supply Questions

I installed 'MaxBlast3' (a 40 gig Hard drive by Maxtor) last year on my 6470z. I didn't think to check for compatability-aside from windows 98. Must have been lucky! I also have added a rewritable cd drive, although I did remove the Zip drive to do this. I've had a few minor problems with this PC but none I can directly link to power. I also just currently upgraded to Xp Home Edt. I maxed out ram at 256mghz. I'm not having, or seeing any problems. I'm only running the on board video. This has been a great PC, but I'm running into not being able to upgrade faster than 500mghz with the current motherboard. Doesn't seem to be worth the trouble. But if you're set on upgrading to more power, I'd suggest getting enough to run a newer mobo. I can't answer all your quesions regaurding power, but if you haven't looked at the processor yet-you might want to check into this before putting any more $$ into this one. I plan on getting a 32meg video card for apx. $30 and that's it. My PC is gonna have to play second fiddle here real soon. Good Luck!