Introduction to the HP t730 Thin client - the little box that could

[WANg]

WANg submitted a new resource:

Introduction to the HP t730 Thin client - the little box that could - Your short and succint guide to the HP t730 thin client

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[Patrick]

Great guide!

 

[nthu9280]

Really nice write-up!

 

[MiniKnight]

This is a fantastic resource.

 

[SwanRonson]

WANg submitted a new resource:

Introduction to the HP t730 Thin client - the little box that could - Your short and succint guide to the HP t730 thin client



Read more about this resource...




• HP will release a replacement thin client soon, and it’ll likely be embedded Ryzen (with even better performance). Overindulgence can lead to a classic instance of chasing bad money with good.

thanks as always for the in-depth info.

it's kind of crazy HP hasn't updated these machines since 2014. I had no idea the SoC is that old. I think I will wait for an update -- but then, DDR4 prices make me sad...

 

[pcpaulh]

Hi, I wonder if you can help. I'm trying to install ESXi on a couple of these boxes. The T730 'sees' the 16GB of memory that I have installed but the installer only 'sees' 7GB. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. I've tried 6.5 and 6.7 with the same results. Thank you in advance.
Paul

 

[WANg]

My guess...memory types/timing issues, or a BIOS/firmware version not playing ball with your machine?
The RAM controller on the Piledriver APUs should be pretty lenient as long as you pop in something compatible.

 

[cromo]

I just bought a brand new unit that unfortunately does not have WiFi antennas. Does anyone have any idea how to retrofit it? Can't find any information about it anywhere.

 

[WANg]

See the end-of-life disassembly guide, page 19.

 

[Andrew (PRVT)]

The max RAM is 16GB, not 16 or 32 as shown down at the end.

Would it be possible to correct the original post?

Edit: It turns out that officially it is max 16GB, but it has been reported to work with 2x 16GB modules, so 32GB is possible for RAM.

 

[WANg]

Well, not merely reported to work, it's more like verified to work by the dude who wrote the guide (at least with the RAM I picked up) - I paid nearly 200 USD for a pair of 16GB DIMM (it's closer to 170 nowadays). The upgrade cost almost as much as the thin client on the secondary markets itself. The same 32GB RAM capability also applies to the t620/t620 plus.

The one major downside is that it's sunk cost.
You can't reuse the RAM on much else later - Only DDR3 based AMD machines, Broadwell based DDR3 NUCs, iMacs or laptops.
Haswell and below can't support beyond 8GB/slot, Skylakes and above uses DDR4. You might be able to reuse it on the Celestica 10/40 GBit switches.

It's chasing slightly bad money with good.