Upgrading a HP Compaq 81000 Elite SFF

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Cole S

New Member
Hello, this is my first time posting to this forum! I am planning on buying and upgrading an HP Compaq 8100 Elite SFF for school uses. I want this to be a budget build. The computer has an I-3 550. I want to upgrade the processor so I look up the computer on HP and I see that the computer had the option for an Intel Core i7-870 but next to it, it says "Requires a discrete graphics solution." I am guessing that it does not have integrated graphics so I scroll down and I see that some models of the HP Elite did come with graphics cards. I was looking at this graphics card ATI Radeon HD 4550 and I was wondering if it is pretty much plug and play same with the Intel i7? And is there a reliable and easy website that I can download the drivers. Here is the computer on the HP website- https://support.hp.com/us-en/produc...all-form-factor-pc/4098436/document/c02030592.
 
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Cole S

New Member
Also if there is a better graphics card option for under 70 USD, that is supported by this desktop please leave a link or leave the name of the graphics card.
 
johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
You will need a low profile video card to fit in that case. Make sure it says low profile or low profile ready. You'll need to replace the thermal paste when reattaching heatsink to new Cpu. Clean existing off heatsink with paper towel and rubbing alcohol.
 
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Cole S

New Member
johnb35 said:
You will need a low profile video card to fit in that case. Make sure it says low profile or low profile ready. You'll need to replace the thermal paste when reattaching heatsink to new Cpu. Clean existing off heatsink with a paper towel and rubbing alcohol.
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Thanks, I got this idea from many DIY upgrades for budget gaming, while I am mainly going to use it for school stuff like Google docs, powerpoint etc. I want it to be able to play basic games like Rocket league and maybe CSGO. The reason I am not leaving the i-3 in there is that I want this thing to be a beast at school-related stuff and it can play games on low settings on my free time. I was looking online and a lot of people with this computer use the Gt 1030 Low profile card, I was wondering will this work with the I-7? And will this work with the power supply?
 
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Cole S

New Member
The power supply is 240w. I have seen people run it off of the stock power supply. Also, I am doing more and more research and I find out the Xeon x3470 is pretty much the i-7 but half the price on eBay. Will this be a problem? Here is a video of a GT 1030 in the HP 8200
. The power supply is the same for the 8100, 8200 and the 8300
 
johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Considering HP doesn't list that as a compatible processor yeah, that would be a problem. And between the video card and cpu you want, you are already at 125 watts. Most of the OEM psu's don't even give you the rated watts.
 
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Cole S

New Member
I was looking online at the HP website for this machine and it says the power supply is at 240 watts. I am looking into the ports and the port is rated for 25w maximum and the graphics card is rated at 30w
 
johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
To be honest, you shouldn't even be buying this machine as its old and outdated. Find something newer.
 
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Cole S

New Member
I will try I am a High school student with a low paying job and my school requires a computer for homework, do you have any recommendations that I can find on eBay for cheap. I have a desktop computer but it is ancient, I tried to figure out upgrades for it but it is pretty much a dead end. It is a Gateway Dx4200-09 with an AMD phenom x4 9100e quad core with 4gb ddr2 memory and ati radion integrated graphics
 
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Cole S

New Member
Also, the HP 8100 is going for 9.99 plus 35 dollar shipping so 44.99 which is cheaper than trying to upgrade my computer that I have, also it has better performance and tons of guides for fixing it. I have a laptop Gateway laptop with an Intel i3 380m 6gb of ram 128 MB of integrated vram but it overheats and shuts down randomly also it has the blue screen of death with multiple error messages
 
johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
You do whatever you need to do but this is an old machine and you are limited to what you can do with it. How much ram does it have installed?
 
johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Not sure how that computer is only $10.00 I would be very weary about it. Like I said, in my honest opinion, find something newer with a midtower case so you aren't limited with certain options.
 
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