35W AMD X2 3800+ in HP s7600e series PC

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continuum
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Post by continuum » Tue Oct 31, 2006 9:37 am

If only the board had onboard DVI-out...

toto
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Post by toto » Sun Nov 19, 2006 7:28 am

These are currently available from HP for as little as USD $429.99 (bare bones), including a rebate. There's actually a choice of 4 different AMD 35W CPUs, plus memory upgrades to 2G, among other upgrades, all at extra cost.

HP s7600e Series

The mini-ITX MB form factor is identical to the VIA EPIA series and should fit in any mini-ITX case. Even though the boards may vary slightly in overall size, there's an industry convension that defines hole placement for all MB forms.

It's a pity that you can't just buy the MB with CPU only, but that could change. For example, early shipments of Windows XP Media Edition were also limited to HP products, but after a year or so the OS was released to the general public.

For comparison, the latest VIA EPIA MB with the latest C7 CPU retails for about USD $230. For another $200, HP is giving you a case, RAM, optical drive, etc., along with a much more powerful AMD CPU. If you can recycle the extra parts or dump them on eBay for, say, $130, you've got a much more potent combo for $300. Considering that the Albatron 754 mITX MB sells for $300 without a CPU, it's not such a bad deal. In fact, if you wait a few months, you'll start seeing preowned entry level HP units on eBay at a substantial discount. On the other hand, you could also keep the case and periferals and replace the PSU with a picoPSU and outboard transformer. It will add to the cost, but if you can live with one expansion slot, it would still be a very powerful, cool, quiet, and energy efficient rig for a reasonable price.

Interestingly, there's also a Celeron M version of this series called the s7600y:

HP s7600y Series

Disclaimer: I have no affliation with HP, AMD, Intel, etc.
Last edited by toto on Tue Nov 21, 2006 5:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.

acaurora
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Post by acaurora » Sun Nov 19, 2006 9:47 am

One thing I just want to mention -
surprisingly, both the box and most of the signs you'll see for this computer (at least the one that we carry @ Best Buy) show it's a 3500+... whereas CPU-Z and everything else show a 3800+ X2

Oh, and it has wireless! ;)

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Post by laserred » Fri Feb 02, 2007 12:12 pm

Um, the 3500 and 3800 are two possible choices. I picked up an empty HP Slimline case, and earlier this week magically found one of the a8n-br boards on ebay! Anyways, the power connector is NOT standard ATX, but I'm planning on doing some splicing anyways- to combat the SFF PSU and no DVI, I found my Shuttle 250W SilentX PSU will actually fit where the HP AC Bel PSU is! Anyways, I have to splice the HP ATX connector onto the Shuttle PSU, but this will more than double the power, and allow me to put some kind of PCI video card into the box (one of the old ones, ATI 7000 series has half-height cards) that has DVI out. So even though it's not exactly "kosher", it's going to work, by God! The board should be here today, and I am also getting ready to order an Opteron 1210 or higher based on options (if any) in the A8N-BR BIOS. I will keep you guys updated, with pics too!

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