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.

 

[HomeLabber1983]

Hey Labbers,
I bought a T730 on its way. I am wondering if the EMULEX dual 10G SFP+ would be a fit?
P008827-21F Rev A
Thanx

 

[vcbb10]

Sorry to revive an old thread, I just wanted to post the results of upgrading to a 10gb nic on the T730.

I took some time today and upgraded the NIC in my T730 to a 10gb X550. This gives me two copper 10gb ports and does connect at 5gbps to my modem (5gbps is the max speed of the modem). I also added a little fan to the heatsink on the X550 to keep temps down. It's working great in pfsense.

Upgrade Parts List:

• Silicom, PE310G2I50-T (2 port, Intel X550 based)
  • eBay
• Noctua NF-A4x10 5V PWM 40x10mm Fan
  • https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DXS86G7
• PWM Fan Splitter
  • https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EF9OI0O

The CPU fan in the system is 5v, not 12v. I didn't see an easy way to get 12v from the motherboard anywhere (although there is probably 12v somewhere). Because of that I used a PWM fan splitter and a 5v Noctua fan. I used some old screws I had laying around and screwed the fan into some of the heatsink fins and it's fairly secure. I also went into the BIOS and set the CPU fan to about 60% so both the Noctua and that CPU blower fan would move a bit more air. Another option is to use the Noctua's USB adapter and use the internal USB header to power the fan.

The X550 seems to be mostly supported in pfsense/FreeBSD. I went X550 because it uses less power and supports 2.5gb and 5gb while the older X540 does not. The Intel driver isn't the best and doesn't report 2.5gbs or 5gbs, but, does connect at these speeds. I verified this by looking at connection status of my modem, and by running an internet speed test (as best I could). I only have 1gbps service right now, but, it does about 1250Mbps. With the previous 1gb nic the speedtest would max out at about 950mbps.