Question about HP pavilion Elite e9180t motherboard.

I've been doing search for the motherboard I have which I been told as "TRUCKEE-UL8E" from the HP tech support. For some reason, I can't find too much informations on this and I am completely lost. The HP tech support I was talking to wasn't able to tell me what cases it was compatible with (ATX, micro ATX, etc.). I was looking into buying a tower case called thermaltake armor+ full tower case and I am not sure if this motherboard called TRUCKEE-UL8E will fit on the tower case.

This is the computer that I have. Processor is intel core i7 920 LGA 1366.

Also, I'm wondering if this is a decent motherboard? I am working on building my first high-end gaming PC and since I'm still new to this field, I have been getting lost often. If it isn't decent, is there any type of motherboard I should look for? Thank you for reading.

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I suggest you consult the May System Builder's Marathon feature on the main site, and check out the mid-range build, since it's built on the i7 platform.

Apparently "Pegatron" ( http://www.pegatroncorp.com/company/whoWeAre.php ) is the manufacturer of your mobo. They appear to be a Taiwan-based company that designs and manufactures parts for other companies.

Whether your motherboard is *physically* an ATX or mATX, it would fit in any standard ATX case. But there's no way to tell - and HP sure won't - except to compare the size, shape, slots, holes with another ATX mobo and case.

Worse, the mobo could have non-standard power connections and/or case connectors. So even if it fit physically in an ATX case, it may not mate happily with an ATX psu or case.

You may find some info on HP forums in between all the bitching about this mobo and other stuff.

I'm confused - tell me more about what you are wanting to build. You have a relatively new i920 PC . . . what are you trying to do?

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to Twoboxer

Its a standard Micro ATX motherboard. The PSU is standard ATX.

Reply to tcsenter

Thank you for the reply everyone. I understand that it's micro ATX now.

Twoboxer wrote :

Apparently "Pegatron" ( http://www.pegatroncorp.com/company/whoWeAre.php ) is the manufacturer of your mobo. They appear to be a Taiwan-based company that designs and manufactures parts for other companies.

Whether your motherboard is *physically* an ATX or mATX, it would fit in any standard ATX case. But there's no way to tell - and HP sure won't - except to compare the size, shape, slots, holes with another ATX mobo and case.

Worse, the mobo could have non-standard power connections and/or case connectors. So even if it fit physically in an ATX case, it may not mate happily with an ATX psu or case.

You may find some info on HP forums in between all the bitching about this mobo and other stuff.

I'm confused - tell me more about what you are wanting to build. You have a relatively new i920 PC . . . what are you trying to do?

I really should've done more research before I purchased the PC. I have never touched inside the PC before but I'm reading online tutorials now and found out that the process was actually very simple.

Like you mentioned about people complaining, I'm having major problem with it as well. I already sent back the PC to HP for repair multiple times with no luck. I got it back few days ago but I have to send it back again since it doesn't start up. My computer case got damaged in the process of sending it back and forth.

Quote :

tell me more about what you are wanting to build

I'm trying to build a high end gaming system (being able to play new games as well with high setting), building it from scratch now and starting off with the motherboard. I was looking into:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] revolution

Also, I'm planning on removing the intel i7 920 processor,

From HP's site:

Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-920 processor (2.66GHz, 1MB L2 + 8MB shared L3 cache with QPI Technology)
The Intel Core i7 processor is Intelýs newest & high-end performance processor )

from the motherboard that came from the HP PC and mounting it on the new motherboard as seen above. There should be no problem with this correct?

Reply to kill-switch

Assuming tcsenter (mobo and psu are ATX standard) is correct, you would have no problem installing that board. However, if all you have is a "recovery disk", you may have trouble installing your current OS on it. Using a HD or a recovery disk with Windows that was installed for a different mobo is NOT recommended. At the end of the day, you will likely need a new copy of Windows.

That board is a lot of board for someone new to this arena - the odds are you won't use/get all one could out of it. My only point being you likely would achieve as much with less money invested in the mobo alone. But the board you chose certainly won't hurt you lol.

You may "need" the money for other stuff . . . I say that partly because of my distrust of large vendor power supplies. They are often sized solely for what was originally delivered, with no headroom for expansion. And the vendor's investment/concern for quality may not extend beyond the warranty period. You may find yourself needing a new one shortly for any of several reasons.

Message quoted 2 times

Reply to Twoboxer

Twoboxer wrote :

Assuming tcsenter (mobo and psu are ATX standard) is correct, you would have no problem installing that board. However, if all you have is a "recovery disk", you may have trouble installing your current OS on it. Using a HD or a recovery disk with Windows that was installed for a different mobo is NOT recommended. At the end of the day, you will likely need a new copy of Windows.

Moving the mobo to a different case doesn't create a new BIOS. Recovery media (and OEM activation) will be tied to the BIOS.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to tcsenter

tcsenter wrote :

Moving the mobo to a different case doesn't create a new BIOS. Recovery media (and OEM activation) will be tied to the BIOS.

Dunno where I gave you the impression I was talking about a new case. The new mobo he wants to install in whatever case will bring with it a new BIOS.

While I felt certain the recovery disk wouldn't even run with that, I decided to rely solely on saying "It doesn't matter if it does. Don't do that."

Reply to Twoboxer

Twoboxer wrote :

Assuming tcsenter (mobo and psu are ATX standard) is correct, you would have no problem installing that board. However, if all you have is a "recovery disk", you may have trouble installing your current OS on it. Using a HD or a recovery disk with Windows that was installed for a different mobo is NOT recommended. At the end of the day, you will likely need a new copy of Windows.

That board is a lot of board for someone new to this arena - the odds are you won't use/get all one could out of it. My only point being you likely would achieve as much with less money invested in the mobo alone. But the board you chose certainly won't hurt you lol.

You may "need" the money for other stuff . . . I say that partly because of my distrust of large vendor power supplies. They are often sized solely for what was originally delivered, with no headroom for expansion. And the vendor's investment/concern for quality may not extend beyond the warranty period. You may find yourself needing a new one shortly for any of several reasons.

I was planning on purchasing corsair PSU and I do have a full version of windows os so there's no problem with that if it happens. As for taking off the i7 CPU from the HP's mobo and transferring to the new mobo, I've been doing search on this and found that I need Arctic Silver thermal compound and alcohol(isopropyl alcohol) to clean it off first.

I found the removal tutorial at http://support.dell.com/support/ed [...] #wp1352318

And for cleaning and applying the thermal compound,

Quote :

The simplest way to clean thermal compound is with isopropyl alcohol and pieces of clean paper coffee filter or an old lint free T-shirt.

I have used AS5 and Ceramique (not together) and I have seen little difference in temperatures.

And if the heatsink is loose, it wasn't installed properly.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] ic-alumina

After I clean the thermal compound with isopropyl alcohol, I just place it into the new mobo and reapply the thermal compound correct? Also, where could I purchase this particular alcohol?

Once again, thank you very much for the replies and bearing with me even though I'm still new and asking questions that are common sense here.

Reply to kill-switch

Will walk you through as much as you need, but you sound like you will do just fine.

The tutorials are geared to avoiding getting particles of anything into the pins/sockets of the cpu. Alcohol is non-corrosive, evaporates quickly, and is used to clean things like the heads on those old VCRs, etc. You can get it at a pharmacy or (as my wife would say) a "Dollar" store. Just exercise reasonable care, don't use Kleenex, and you will be fine.

Your goal is to have two clean, particle free surfaces. Then reinstall the cpu. Then apply three strips of thermal material, each a half-inch long by the-width-of-a-grain-of-rice, centered and spaced nicely on the cpu. (Everyone does it differently.) This material will spread under pressure and heat. It is meant to compensate for the fact that those two surfaces are NOT perfectly flat. It fills microscopic gaps.

You *might* test-install the cpu and heat sink without thermal material to experience how it goes together and comes apart. Then you might not feel rushed when you do it for "real".

Install the heat sink with the mobo OUT of the case. That is the only way a newcomer can be sure the retaining pins are set properly behind the mobo.

Reply to Twoboxer

I have this board it is a standar mini-ATX... It should fit in most standard cases. I purchased it retail from geeks.com and built my system with it. I have another out of a HP e9180t and it is the same exact board down to the version and bios. Many people have been complaining from the HP owners camp about this board but I don't believe it has so much ot do with the board as it does wit the configuration HP came up with. I had an issue at foirst but after reading the posts I replaced my nVIDIA card with a ATI HD card and haven't had a problem since. THes machines have become my favorite builds to date. Good luck with your build.

Reply to sandar2020

Oh I should point out there is a threaded plate to mount the Heatsink. I removed it on one and used the fan that came with the i7 920 CPU. To do this you need M3 screws and washers and insulation washers... I doubled up some clear packing tape... This way it protected to whole area under the socket. Threaded heatsinks are availible from tigerdirect and the like. If you have an HP heat sink then you are good.

Reply to sandar2020

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