Very informative video. Does the new SSD Drive need to be formatted and how would one reload the Windows Operating system software (to the new SSD drive). A tech guy at Best Buy said there is a chip on the computer's motherboard that can do this . What little computer tech knowledge I have is obsolete, thanks if you can reply.
Thanks for watching! It may be more than I can detail here, but I will try to get you on the right track. If you want to just do a fresh install of Windows then you will need a bootable drive or disk. If you type "windows ISO" in google the first result that comes up should be from microsoft.com. Select that and there's a little section there that says "Create Windows installation media". You can select that and it takes you through the steps of creating the drive. There is also a little section beneath that which says "using tool to create installation media" which has some more detailed instructions. Basically you go through the steps to create the bootable disk or USB drive, insert that into your machine and boot from it. It will then boot to windows installer and you just go through the steps to install Windows to the new hard drive you have installed. It is also possible to clone the existing hard drive you have now before you insert the new drive. That usually requires 3rd party software and you need some kind of external device to connect the drive to your computer. Typically the way that goes, is you boot from existing drive, connect the new drive externally, clone the drive using whatever software and swap them out. Usually just doing a fresh install of Windows is the simplest way to go about it, but depends on what you need / want. Anyway, hope this can get you started, if you have more questions I will answer the best that I can here.
@@LowcastleTech I was able to open the HP Slimline case and there was a noticeable amount of dust around the cooling fans. I'll clean the fans (before I start replacing parts) and see if this improves performance. While removing/reinstalling the case , the torx/star screws are very small. Using a magnetized tip screwdriver helps to properly seat the screw in place. One can magnetize a standard screwdriver tip with a magnet (see the You Tube videos).
@@rnklv8281 Good call, always good to get the dust out of there, especially before it works its way in where it can damage something. And that is a useful trick with the magnets.
Can the CPU be upgraded? Also, the metal HDD ) SSD caddy, can that hold a second SSD? I got a hold of an HP Slimline Pavilion but featuring Win Vista! So it's a bit old!! Thank you. I am going to check out your Emulator build. Thank you 🤓
🙂 I appreciate that. The CPU upgrade will depend on which model you have. On this one, the HP specs page lists the i5-7400 and the i7-7700 as compatible upgrades.
@@LowcastleTech the HP I got a hold of is a bit old, so not sure what or if the CPU can be upgraded to. Thank you 🤓 I am not sure if it's an AMD or Intel!
@@j.lietka9406 No problem! And if you are able to find the model type, like somewhere on the case or something, HP is pretty good about listing out specs/potential upgrades for their stuff (most of the time 😂). If you google "HP whatever model number it is" and look for the result from HP's website that says "specifications" you may be able to find some info.
You should be fine with any 2.5" SSD but this one was PNY brand, 500GB. I usually go with those because they aren't too expensive and work well from my experience. If you go to amazon or wherever you shop and type "PNY SSD" you should see some options that look like the one in the vid, but other brands would be fine too.
I think that slimline products are a bit of a pain to work with. Give me mid-tower any day of the week. Now that I've got that off my chest. I'll tell you that my latest computer is a Dell Slimline. My God the insanity of it all. Please smash me with a pool noodle damn it. Great vid Lowcastle as always. I can't wait to see your next video. Peace out.
I was mainly just getting this set up to run some emulation, and I already had my OS flashed to the 2.5" SSD. If I was going to run my primary OS or do anything more demanding, I would go with the M.2.
@@LowcastleTech Just the info I was looking for. Thank you! Is it possible to install the new unformatted NVM ssd in M2 slot, then "clone" Windows 10 to it via 3rd party software? Would the bios then need to be changed so the M2 is the bootable drive?
@@ridemfast7625 Not a problem, thanks for watching! I haven't personally tried to clone the system specifically, but I believe it should work. I have gone through the Windows install process with only a generic drive in the m.2 slot, and it did see and recognize the drive without having to update BIOS. So I imagine, if it allows direct installation to the m.2 slot like that, then it should also be fine for cloning. Hope that helps!
Well, I haven't used that model specifically to say for sure, but looked up some information and it does seem like there are some ways you might be able to do it. First of all, if the hard drive caddy is the same as the one in my model in this video, then it's not possible to add both a 2.5" SSD and 3.5" HDD. It is not designed to hold both at once. But, it does look like there is an m.2 SSD slot on your model. You will have to check to make sure, but if so, you could run an m.2 SSD and then put a HDD in the caddy. If you have an m.2 slot that is probably the preferable method, as they are faster anyway. However, if there is no m.2 slot there is another kind of trick you can do. If you don't use the optical drive for anything, there are 2.5" SSD caddies that replace the optical drive. They are only a few dollars on Amazon, and basically, you remove the optical drive, insert the 2.5" SSD into the new caddy that resembles an optical drive and just slide it right into place, and connect the wires. If you need more information, I think I covered that device in a video I did earlier called "Use these Storage Tricks"... or something along those lines. It was awhile ago so I'm not 100%, but think I did cover it there. If you go this route, make sure you are getting a caddy that fits (is the same size as existing optical drive). But like I mentioned above, using an m.2 SSD, and then throwing a 3.5" HDD in existing caddy would be the ideal method. Hope that helps!
Well that can really vary depending on how many games you want to install, etc. Sounds like you're going to need a good bit of storage. What I do is run an SSD and HDD. Most gaming PCs support this but make sure you have spots for both in yours. In my main machine I have a 500GB SSD, which holds the operating system, core applications and several games. Basically the stuff you need the most speed for goes on the SSD. Then I have a 2TB HDD (HDDs are a lot cheaper) as a secondary drive. And I use that to store audio/video files for editing. That is one method you may want to consider. If you don't have spots for both, you could always just do around a 500GB SSD to run your games/video editor on. And then have an external USB hard drive for additional storage. Anyway, hope that makes sense, can be hard to explain things with the character limit on comments. If you have any questions feel free to let me know.
@@zobmie9785 Oh ok, got ya. On this model I just did a 128GB. They are only like 20 bucks, but that really isn't a ton of space if you plan on downloading more than a handful of games and doing video editing. You could go higher if you need to. Might be wise to do a 256GB or 500GB. And those are 2.5" SSDs just to clarify.
That really depends on what kind of motherboard it is. Often, the connectors are the same. So if that is the case you would just need to either hook it up the same way and reinstall your Operating System, or clone the Operating System to the new drive and then install it using the SATA connectors the board has. Again, depends on the model of motheboard and what connetors and stuff it has.
I have a slimline 450-116il pc, it's from 2016. I want to upgrade it so that I can edit videos. Can I do it? I want to buy a cpu and a gpu with some cooling. Is it possible? If yes, which parts can I buy. Please help if you have the time to :)
Hello. I haven't worked with that model specifically, but I just looked it up online and it seems like upgrades would be rough with that one. It looks like CPU might not even be possible, and that there is no PCIe for a GPU. With how limited it is (assuming the info I found is correct) I don't think it would be worth putting money into it. If I was in that situation, I would probably hold on to whatever I was going to spend on upgrades, save up for a while, and eventually grab something that is more upgradeable. Some of the slimline models aren't bad specs-wise, but most of them are made more for basic web browsing and stuff like that, as opposed to more demanding tasks like video editing.
@@LowcastleTech Thanks for the info. I also did some research and i found that its not worth the effort. Its my first pc and I wanted to give it a new life but its not really pausible. even tho I cant upgrade the hardware I upgraded the software, I installed a light weight Linux distro and it works great now. Im thinking of giving it to my brother he installed minecraft in that and is getting solid 40-60fps in low settings. Anyway thanks for putting in the effort for my question, thanks, thanks alot!
@@ThatOneAmpharos Yeah I totally get that. I really do like to save them when it's possible, but I'm glad to hear you found a way to keep it in use. That is awesome. And no problem at all, thank you for watching!
Hello. I haven't worked with that model, so I can't say with 100% certainty, but judging by the specs I was able to look up, I don't think it is possible. Unfortunately it looks like that model will only hold an earlier gen of RAM.
If I'm remembering correctly it came with a 1tb HDD, but I wanted to swap for an SSD for increased speed. And also because I had a different OS preloaded on it.
Sure thing. Remove the fan, wipe excess thermal paste from the fan, pull the little lever to release the cage around the existing CPU. Pop it out of there. Then drop in the new one, making sure that the little triangle on the new CPU lines up with the triangle on the board. (Also check HP specs page to make sure new processor is compatible with your model). Then put lever back down, add some thermal paste to top of new CPU and replace fan. If it is your first time doing it you may also want to check out some videos to get a visual of those steps. I've done some CPU replacements on camera in previous videos. Or you could just search "how to replace a CPU" to get an idea of what it looks like. Once you've seen it done it isn't terribly difficult.
Yes, on this model there is a PCIe slot to add a GPU, you just have to be careful to get one that actually fits in the case. It is single slot, and not a lot of space in there.
Honestly, confusing to watch, at least for me. Better try to focus camera to a desk where you place the computer and dont lift it around on your hip. Watch Adamant IT, he does a good job. Just a friendly proposal😀
