HP Slimlines with heat problems?

Subject title pretty much says it all. Does the HP Slimline model have heat problems? I did a google search and found quite a few links describing individual units that were overheating, but I have no idea if this is simply "when you sell enough units, there will be problems," or if this model does overheat because of its compact size.

Ive seen one at staples that looks pretty good, but I'm wondering if I'm setting myself up for problems later on....

 

Thanks. I typically don't upgrade video cards, etc.--the only thing I do in the innards is troubleshoot things like heatsink, re-paste CPU, replace CMOS. Hopefully those adventures will be kept to a minimum.

 

Paul, why don't you look at getting a pre-built computer? If you get a HP you will need to play by their rules. You will get a restore disk, not a full version of Windows. (You can check, but do you only get a hidden partition on the hard drive for reinstalling Windows?) If they use "special" hardware, you will need to get them to replace it if it fails and the bill won't be small. You might have limited options for upgrading (Steve pointed out one). If people have problems with a HP that we cannot help with here, I direct them to the HP forums unless the information at their support website can help. As I said, you play by their rules. Look up websites that supply hardware, they should offer pre-built computers if you are interested. I think Newegg, Amazon, etc, offer them if you want a "big" supplier.

Most of the people on the Hardware forum will be building their own computer (...and yes, we knew a lot less than you at one stage).

That said, heat...
Check your potential programs are (well) within the system requirements of the programs you are (potentially) going to use. You can't run 3D games on a computer designed for basic programs.

Clean the dust out of the case more often than with a regular sized case.

Check there is plenty of space for heated air to be expelled from the back of the case. The fans will do nothing if the heat can't be extracted or expelled. Because it is small, you cannot put it into a restricted space.

Will driver updates be available? I would find out how the previous systems had their drivers updated.

Matt

 

This particular model has a lot of vents along one of the sides of the case--not a bad idea given the heat issues, but I was actually surprised when I saw it--there is likely a lot more ventilation (in terms of square inches of vents, on the case) than in the current full tower that I have. It would be tucked in a shelf with some 6 to 6 1/2 inches of space between the vent side of the case and the wood wall, so I would think that this would be plenty of room for ventillation. The current tower we have has less ventillation, as I said, and the back (where the vents are) is basically a few inches away from the back of the desk (another wooden wall).

If you mean by "pre-built," build my own, every time I've checked, the cost of a Windows license kills that deal. If you meant a local shop, there is a local shop that I go to for quick spare parts, but after asking a friend (who's been in the business for 20+ years) he told me he doesn't trust anyone in the small computer-store field, so I'm a little leary of a store that can go out of business at any moment (as opposed to HP, which will be there 8 years from now). I know the first computer we got was a unit from another local store, but after gettting a bit savvy, I saw that the big companies could get us a lot bigger bang for the buck.

My dad had an hp for years and "hp-specific" hardware was never an issue. I'm not interested in upgrading the video card, etc.--I would just be doing repairs if something went wrong.

 

Most important is regular inspections (I recommend monthly) and cleaning out the heat trapping dust when necessary. Rerouting cables to ensure unrestricted front to back air flow is helpful too.

 

Is this your recommendation for slimlines? Or for any computer?

 

Every computer.

 

I cancelled my order for a slimline. I looked up images of that unit--found them in Google images--and the insides are incredibly packed tight with hardware--not like the 90% open space in a normal tower--and even at the Staples site where I bought it, the reviewer comments were pretty negative about this unit and overheating, so I cancelled the order. I got a normal sized tower from hp.com instead--paid an extra 20 bucks (over the slimline price at Staples) for 1 more gig of RAM, a DVI port on teh video card (a slightly higher model number for ATI Radeon), and a better memory card reader--and less problem with overheating.

Thanks for helping eliminate future hours of troubleshooting and unpacking that tight hardware configuration.

 

Slimlines are nice for simple office productivity work where it is not likely the machine will go through any upgrades. But home computers often have extra drives and cards added and so need the extra space. And larger fans tend to support larger, and hopefully more fans too.