Some information about HP T620 Plus Flexible Thin Client machines for network appliance builds...

[WANg]

Alternatives? Its getting out of stock and the T730 is a bit pricey

Not where I am looking - you can still get your hands on a t620 Plus as long as you can source a 3rd party HP notebook barrel adapter that can push out 90w on the cheap. As for the t730? Eh, there are some deals if you look carefully, but honestly, as a t730 owner, that machine really is getting a bit long in the tooth. I would not spend more than 220 USD on one.

Replacements? Depends on what you need to do with it. If you need the PCIe slot, you can probably find some bargains on an HP EliteDesk 705 G2 to G4 SFF business desktops. The G2s are about as powerful as the t730 but with more expandability, and the G4s can take the current generation Ryzen 2000s with a CPU swap (The G3s can do the first generation Ryzen 1000s). If you want simply a small cheap powerful NUC alternative, the 705G4 Minis are small Ryzen based machines. The G4 Minis are also strange birds in that HP made a discrete Radeon RX560 graphics card for it that can use the built-in MXM slot. They are fairly viable medium gamer NUCs as long as you hustle well and get a decent deal out of them. I am not sure if you can "break out" the MXM slot into an external PCIe x16 slot via a riser...would be fun if you can, but I doubt it.

 

[thebiss]

Alternatives? Its getting out of stock and the T730 is a bit pricey

They're still available on ebay: HP T620 PLUS Thin Client Quad Core GX-420CA 2GHz 16GB-F 4GB-R + Intel Pro1000 PT | eBay

 

[Molasar]

In case someone is interested in the screws for mSATA SSD please DM me. I got a bunch (10 left) and i can mail them to you (2 for $1) including shipping (1st Class Mail)

You take Paypal?

 

[temny]

For anyone that has upgraded the BIOS to the 2018 release, is there a way to enable virtualization? It was there in the previous versions, but I don't see it in the newest version.

I found workaround how to enable virtualization in the recent BIOS:
1. Download any of two attachments from this post: Solved: Re: BIOS settings configuration via HPDM - HP Support Community - 6673731
2. Extract zip file
3. Run as Administrator in Windows:
BiosConfigUtility64.exe /get:c:\bios.txt
This command will create bios.txt file with all the BIOS settings
4. Enable Virtualization Technology in this file
5. Run as Administrator to apply new BIOS settings:
BiosConfigUtility64.exe /set:c:\bios.txt

This procedure did the trick for me. While I'm still unable to see or modify any virtualization options directly in BIOS I see following change in CPU feature flags reported by the FreeBSD during boot.

Before the change:

SVM: (disabled in BIOS) NP,NRIP,AFlush,DAssist,NAsids=8​

after the change:

SVM: NP,NRIP,AFlush,DAssist,NAsids=8​

 

[csp-guy]

Hi Guys,

Somebody has an experience about amount of useable memory of Hp T620 W7 Embedded?

I just bought a brand new unused new in box one from ebay (normal, not the plus version), with 4 core cpu, and information based @ HP website ( http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press_kits/2013/HPDiscoverBarcelona/HP_t620_quick_specs.pdf ) says, the WES 7E supports maximum 4GB ram, this makes me sad.

Is it true, or is it false information?

My plans:

I want to buy 512GB M2 sata ssd instead of 16GB, then I want to use as unifi controller, and kodi media player, maybe I try esxi.

I plan to expand memory to 16GB, too.

I bought mini pci to sata 3 port converter (2 pcs of sata port will be available), then I will make power from 2 internal USB port to sata ssd , then I plan to install 2 ssd inside the case, if the space is enough.

And bought FLIRC v2, too to remote control the device.

Thanks for the answers!

 

[WANg]

Hi Guys,

Somebody has an experience about amount of useable memory of Hp T620 W7 Embedded?

I just bought a brand new unused new in box one from ebay (normal, not the plus version), with 4 core cpu, and information based @ HP website ( http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press_kits/2013/HPDiscoverBarcelona/HP_t620_quick_specs.pdf ) says, the WES 7E supports maximum 4GB ram, this makes me sad.

Is it true, or is it false information?

My plans:

I want to buy 512GB M2 sata ssd instead of 16GB, then I want to use as unifi controller, and kodi media player, maybe I try esxi.

I plan to expand memory to 16GB, too.

I bought mini pci to sata 3 port converter (2 pcs of sata port will be available), then I will make power from 2 internal USB port to sata ssd , then I plan to install 2 ssd inside the case, if the space is enough.

And bought FLIRC v2, too to remote control the device.

Thanks for the answers!

Okay, several things:

a) From what I remember, WES7E is a 32 bit Windows 7 based embedded OS, so regardless of hardware capabilities, it's 4GB RAM max (this applies as well for Dell/Wyse's Optiplex 7040 Mini/Haswell based thin clients). If you ended up with that OS? Wipe it or upgrade to Win10 IoT 64E. Or you could use HP ThinPro as your OS, which if I recall is based on Ubuntu.

b) The hardware itself can do up to 32GB RAM (DDR3L, as long as 2 ranks in total) - and that's been corroborated by more than one user here, so 8, 12, 16, 24 and 32GB are all working, hardware-wise.

c) Are you dealing with a T620 (GX415 or GX217) or a T620 Plus? The Plus have the GX420CA, the extra hardware real estate and the PCIe x4 slot. If it's the bog standard T620, you will be challenged to fit the SSDs in.

d) Just remember that the GX420CAs uses UVD 3 (the unified video decoder engine) - H265 + VC1 decoding in hardware, so if the use case is media PC, it doesn't have the hardware decode for H265/HEVC, nor the hardware firepower either.

 

[zer0sum]

I have a spare T620+ with the GX420CA and I thought I'd see if anyone in this thread is looking for one
It is factory hardware and has a quad port P NC365T ethernet card installed.

It worked perfectly for me as a Pfsense/OPNSense firewall, and I'm only shutting it down because I'm moving to a more powerful box in it's place.

I'm located in the Bay area, but we can probably work out shipping as they aren't that big.

 

[csp-guy]

Okay, several things:

a) From what I remember, WES7E is a 32 bit Windows 7 based embedded OS, so regardless of hardware capabilities, it's 4GB RAM max (this applies as well for Dell/Wyse's Optiplex 7040 Mini/Haswell based thin clients). If you ended up with that OS? Wipe it or upgrade to Win10 IoT 64E. Or you could use HP ThinPro as your OS, which if I recall is based on Ubuntu.

b) The hardware itself can do up to 32GB RAM (DDR3L, as long as 2 ranks in total) - and that's been corroborated by more than one user here, so 8, 12, 16, 24 and 32GB are all working, hardware-wise.

c) Are you dealing with a T620 (GX415 or GX217) or a T620 Plus? The Plus have the GX420CA, the extra hardware real estate and the PCIe x4 slot. If it's the bog standard T620, you will be challenged to fit the SSDs in.

d) Just remember that the GX420CAs uses UVD 3 (the unified video decoder engine) - H265 + VC1 decoding in hardware, so if the use case is media PC, it doesn't have the hardware decode for H265/HEVC, nor the hardware firepower either.

a./ I know, 32 bit OS limits useable ram to 4GB. I was thinking about amount of maximum useable physical ram. The TC is shipped with 32bitOS, after changing the msata SSD I do not care about it.

b./ Sounds good. But referring to HP-s c**p specification, maximum ram is limited to 16GB.

c./ It is GX415 in thinner case(not the plus)

d./ I will see, is it enough to watch 1080p videos. I used Odroid C1 with Kodi and ubuntu 18.04, I think, its better hardware with more options.

GPU data:
Architecture Codename: Sea Islands
Codename: Kabini
CLRX Version: GCN 1.1
Graphics/Compute: GFX7 (gfx703)
Display Core Engine: 8.3
Unified Video Decoder: 4.2
Video Compression Engine: 2.0

Thanks.

 

[WANg]

a./ I know, 32 bit OS limits useable ram to 4GB. I was thinking about amount of maximum useable physical ram. The TC is shipped with 32bitOS, after changing the msata SSD I do not care about it.

b./ Sounds good. But referring to HP-s c**p specification, maximum ram is limited to 16GB.

c./ It is GX415 in thinner case(not the plus)

d./ I will see, is it enough to watch 1080p videos. I used Odroid C1 with Kodi and ubuntu 18.04, I think, its better hardware with more options.

GPU data:
Architecture Codename: Sea Islands
Codename: Kabini
CLRX Version: GCN 1.1
Graphics/Compute: GFX7 (gfx703)
Display Core Engine: 8.3
Unified Video Decoder: 4.2
Video Compression Engine: 2.0

Thanks.

Well, you asked about the OS and not the hardware. The hardware can definitely handle way more than 4GB of RAM.
As for HP's documentation? Well, if you look at its Dell or Lenovo equivalent, they are probably even worse, and I won't even subject you to the crap-show on Acer or Samsung's website regarding their products.

That 32GB Max RAM limit is not really documented or understood as 8GB DDR3L DIMMs were the economical maximum RAM setup when the APUs were new (about 2013/2014), and the 16GB DIMMs were not officially tested by AMD or the OEMs. The 16GB DIMM support were conjectured looking at the spec sheets, and tested/verified by people like me and @fossexplorer. Most online sources will quote 16GB (2x8GB) as the max RAM value on the old Jaguar/Puma APUs.

The t620 Plus (which is the topic of discussion) is a very different animal in terms of capabilities compared to the regular t620. Most of the guys who bought the "plus" here uses them as low powered firewalls since you can slap a quad-port 1GBit network card on the PCIe slot and get good output with pfsense. Considering that the same APU is used in an entire range of networking products from Arista Networks, that makes sense. Phil from Phil's Computer Lab also turned the t620 Plus into a versatile HTPC/casual gaming machine by slapping a Low form factor nVidia GT1030 into the unit.

As for the t620, it depends on your existing hardware pool. If you have HP equipment laying around (like HP notebook power bricks), you can totally save money on t620s and t620 plusess. On the other hand, if you work for a Dell shop, the nearest t620 equivalent is the Dell/Wyse DX0q, which performs similarly.

Regarding whether its powerful enough to watch 1080p video? It depends on the encoding format. The APU should have support for H263 and most H264 codecs up to 2k. However, if you have anything encoded in VP9 or HEVC (even at 1080p), that's a nope. In those usage cases you are better off with an off-lease HP EliteDesk 605 G3 or G4 Mini, as the video cores on the Ryzens are more future proof.

 

[SwanRonson]

Phil from Phil's Computer Lab also turned the t620 Plus into a versatile HTPC/casual gaming machine by slapping a Low form factor nVidia GT1030 into the unit.

It would pain me to see someone go down this route today.

The prices of the HP units were extremely low back then, DDR4 prices were very high, and I believe the ryzen 2200G hadn't yet come out.

All of that has now changed. Much better to get a microATX or miniITX AM4 board and have a solid upgrade path.

 

[WANg]

It would pain me to see someone go down this route today.

The prices of the HP units were extremely low back then, DDR4 prices were very high, and I believe the ryzen 2200G hadn't yet come out.

All of that has now changed. Much better to get a microATX or miniITX AM4 board and have a solid upgrade path.

Well, the t620 Plus does have the advantage of being a good little box that's battle tested, quiet and relatively cheap (100 USD for an all-in-one working device) with a PCIe x4 slot, so slotting quadport NICs into it for networking (with pfsense) is totally feasible. Once you are done with it, it's still somewhat usable as a low power retro gaming box. If you are gonna drop for an A320 based Ryzen box (Ryzen 2200G or even the Athlon 200GE) the components will probably run up to about 400 or more, but if you do something like a used corporate Ryzen NUC (Lenovo m715q or HP EliteDesk 605 G4) you at least get something with a large production run, is battle tested and well documented. I have also seen both machines with Ryzen 5 Pro 2400GEs. 8GB RAM and 256GB SSDs quoted for about 350 USD or so. What I would like to see is a Ryzen embedded thin client with PCIe x8 or x16, but *eh* I don't see that from Dell Wyse or HP so far - I can only hope that it'll be rolled out eventually. Maybe something like a desktop version of the HP mt45 thin client would do.

 

[TheFeaR]

Hi. I just soldered msata port to t620 plus rev B and can confirm it is working.

you will need msata/mini pci-e port
4x0402 capacitors 7-13nF(typical 10nF) to place on sata data lines.

the spacers w threads which must hold ssd i print on my 3d printer but i was able to fix them on motherboard only using glue.

 

[JoJa15]

I have a spare T620+ with the GX420CA and I thought I'd see if anyone in this thread is looking for one
It is factory hardware and has a quad port P NC365T ethernet card installed.

It worked perfectly for me as a Pfsense/OPNSense firewall, and I'm only shutting it down because I'm moving to a more powerful box in it's place.

I'm located in the Bay area, but we can probably work out shipping as they aren't that big.

I would be interested and live in the Bay Area, I DM'd you.

 

[csp-guy]

Well, you asked about the OS and not the hardware. The hardware can definitely handle way more than 4GB of RAM.
As for HP's documentation? Well, if you look at its Dell or Lenovo equivalent, they are probably even worse, and I won't even subject you to the crap-show on Acer or Samsung's website regarding their products.

That 32GB Max RAM limit is not really documented or understood as 8GB DDR3L DIMMs were the economical maximum RAM setup when the APUs were new (about 2013/2014), and the 16GB DIMMs were not officially tested by AMD or the OEMs. The 16GB DIMM support were conjectured looking at the spec sheets, and tested/verified by people like me and @fossexplorer. Most online sources will quote 16GB (2x8GB) as the max RAM value on the old Jaguar/Puma APUs.

The t620 Plus (which is the topic of discussion) is a very different animal in terms of capabilities compared to the regular t620. Most of the guys who bought the "plus" here uses them as low powered firewalls since you can slap a quad-port 1GBit network card on the PCIe slot and get good output with pfsense. Considering that the same APU is used in an entire range of networking products from Arista Networks, that makes sense. Phil from Phil's Computer Lab also turned the t620 Plus into a versatile HTPC/casual gaming machine by slapping a Low form factor nVidia GT1030 into the unit.

As for the t620, it depends on your existing hardware pool. If you have HP equipment laying around (like HP notebook power bricks), you can totally save money on t620s and t620 plusess. On the other hand, if you work for a Dell shop, the nearest t620 equivalent is the Dell/Wyse DX0q, which performs similarly.

Regarding whether its powerful enough to watch 1080p video? It depends on the encoding format. The APU should have support for H263 and most H264 codecs up to 2k. However, if you have anything encoded in VP9 or HEVC (even at 1080p), that's a nope. In those usage cases you are better off with an off-lease HP EliteDesk 605 G3 or G4 Mini, as the video cores on the Ryzens are more future proof.

Hi!

A successfully upgraded ram to 16GB using 2x8Gb M471B1G73DB0-YK0 Samsung modules.

But, I have a problem with M2 sata ssd.
The slot can handle 2280 ssd stick.
I bought 1TB Cruical Mx5002280 (Crucial MX500 M.2 ngff-sata3 2280 CT1000MX500SSD) ssd.
It is not visible in BIOS.

I reseted the bios, ssd is invisible, too.

Anybody has an idea?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Burntoc]

Hey all, looking at setting up another t620 plus for my homelab. Mine didn't come with an SSD. If I leave the 2242 slot empty can I put a 2260 or 2280 m.2 SATA drive in and boot from that or do I meed a 2242? Thanks!

 

[csp-guy]

Hey all, looking at setting up another t620 plus for my homelab. Mine didn't come with an SSD. If I leave the 2242 slot empty can I put a 2260 or 2280 m.2 SATA drive in and boot from that or do I meed a 2242? Thanks!

Hi,

you can try 2280. In my t620 I already set up a 1Tb Team M2 ngff-sata3 TM8PS7001T005 ssd, work fineusing Ubuntu LTS 18.04

I reply to my previuos post too, the Cruical MX500 was bad, so I returned to the seller and I got Team SSD instead of Crucial.

 

[csp-guy]

And I decided to buy a 4 core cpu based T630 instead of t620, it is on way from UK.

 

[Burntoc]

Hi,

you can try 2280. In my t620 I already set up a 1Tb Team M2 ngff-sata3 TM8PS7001T005 ssd, work fineusing Ubuntu LTS 18.04

I reply to my previuos post too, the Cruical MX500 was bad, so I returned to the seller and I got Team SSD instead of Crucial.

Thanks. I've got an ADATA 2280 enroute so we'll see how that goes!

 

[csp-guy]

Thanks. I've got an ADATA 2280 enroute so we'll see how that goes!

Your welcome.

 

[gandsnut]

On my just-purchased T620 (not Pro), I took out the 1x 4Gb RAM, and installed 2x 16Gb sticks, used, off eBay, for $63/ea:

Micron 16GB DDR3 SODIMM PC3L-12800 1600MHz Laptop Memory Ram MT16KTF2G64HZ-1G6A1

The BIOS shows them OK, and the RAM test passed fine.

I'm having a dickens of a time installing either 16.04 or 18.04 Ubuntu MATE, however. I've tried
installing 2x USB thumb drives in the INTERNAL USB connectors, but have yet to get a successful
partitioning of those plus the 16Gb m.2 SSD.

Has anybody upgraded the m.2 SSD to 64Gb or 128Gb?

Thx