[SOLVED] Video problems with m8400f HP Pavilion Media Center

[TomAnimations]

Okay. So I ran into a pretty old computer recently, the m8400f HP Pavilion Media Center.

SPECS:
CPU: 9500 AMD Phenom Quad-Core
GPU: Nvidia Geforce GT 8500
MOBO: MCP61PM-HM
RAM: 3 GB DDR2

I was talking with one of my buddies about possibly salvaging this computer, and upgrading the parts to fit my needs. Although, there is one problem. When plugging into the HDMI slot, the computer turns on, but no signal is sent to the PC, but the monitor can detect something is showing up due to the disappearance of the idle screen. I tried cleaning and reseating the GPU, but to no avail. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[SamirD]

The resolution that was set before it was turned off might be outside of what the display can handle. The computer doesn't have a native hdmi port so the adapter you are using could also be at fault.

Systems of this age and era usually have big issues being brought into the future relative to their manufacturing era--especially if there are any proprietary parts involved.

That being said, this system has some good potential to run win7 well and will scream under xp. There are enough ram slots to upgrade all the way to 8gb of pc2-6400 memory (800mhz) as well as a full x16 pcie slot for upgrading to any video card that will work (keep in mind that this system will probably not support uefi cards). As a bonus, the motherboard supports ide as well 4 sata and even a floppy drive. It also has firewire native as well as a coaxial spdif connector. And to top it all off, it is uses standard power connectors so upgrading the system power supply shouldn't be an issue.

But there is a big downer in terms of what the cpu can do as it isn't even as powerful as a q6600. And even the biggest cpu upgrade possible (that is <10% boost) it still falls short of the q6600:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compar...Core-vs-Intel-Core2-Quad-Q6600/301vs305vs1038

Still, it is systems like this that get lovingly restored that I see going for $200+ on ebay to buyers who remember this type of system (or even this particular one) and want to re-live it all over again. And with that, I think there's a serious case to restore this system to working order.

 

[hang-the-9]

Okay. So I ran into a pretty old computer recently, the m8400f HP Pavilion Media Center.

SPECS:
CPU: 9500 AMD Phenom Quad-Core
GPU: Nvidia Geforce GT 8500
MOBO: MCP61PM-HM
RAM: 3 GB DDR2

I was talking with one of my buddies about possibly salvaging this computer, and upgrading the parts to fit my needs. Although, there is one problem. When plugging into the HDMI slot, the computer turns on, but no signal is sent to the PC, but the monitor can detect something is showing up due to the disappearance of the idle screen. I tried cleaning and reseating the GPU, but to no avail. Any help would be appreciated.

That system is not really worth upgrading, for the cost of any parts you can just buy a much faster used computer. What exactly are your "needs" for this? A $100 used computer will be faster than this, especially with the extra RAM it should have, newer and faster hard drive, and the video card is not very good for modern use.