Lenovo H430 Desktop: Core i5 3330 3GHz, 8GB DDR3, 1TB HDD, DVD Burner, Windows 8 $375 + Free Shipping

Played a DVD on the computer (using the Power DVD 10 included on this desktop) and the video froze for half a second every 2 or 3 seconds...constantly. Wonder what that is all about? Faulty DVD drive? Still debating on whether to keep this sucker or not. I would replace the DVD with a BD drive anyway, so that might clear up this problem. Other than the DVD play problem it seems like a decent desktop. Got a week and a half to play around with it and decide.

Quick update. Watched a realmedia file yesterday with no problem on the stock movie player in Ubuntu 12.10. No codec downloads were needed and also I just had to do ONE system update in Ubuntu and apparently all drivers/hardware works. My Lenovo Wireless Multimedia Keypad was also plug and play and worked fine. Need to get use to it. Might pick up the K400 Keyboard if it ever goes on sale.

All in all, for those who plan to use this PC as a HTPC, I highly suggest installing Ubuntu for it. Fast, Secure and haven't caused any problems for me yet. I partitioned the drive into 3 parts, one for the file OS, one for the Swap area and one for my Data.

Quote from jfh3 : I don't think there are stickers any more with Win 8. The install is somehow validated with information on the motherboard during install.

So just boot from USB stick and install process will pick up the serial? The tower itself didn't come with a Win 8 disc did it?

Quote from booyaaa : So just boot from USB stick and install process will pick up the serial?

Yes.

Quote : The tower itself didn't come with a Win 8 disc did it?

No.

Quote from jfh3 : Yes. No.

Thanks. Now is doing the re-install windows options from the Setting menu suppose to get rid of all the bloatware like a clean install? Or is the only way to do a clean install through a DVD or USB stick? Thanks!

Anyone know of any reasons this card wouldn't work in this version of the H430, after a new PSU is installed?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Pro...6814130841

EVGA GTX 650, PCIe 3.0x16

(I'm new to the world of desktop upgrades.)

I've tried to do my due diligence of research, but it seems there are so many different versions of the H430 that I'm seeing conflicting answers. Thanks in advance!

Quote from TheBlueGoose : Anyone know of any reasons this card wouldn't work in this version of the H430, after a new PSU is installed? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Pro...6814130841 EVGA GTX 650, PCIe 3.0x16 (I'm new to the world of desktop upgrades.) I've tried to do my due diligence of research, but it seems there are so many different versions of the H430 that I'm seeing conflicting answers. Thanks in advance!

I believe as long as you replace the PSU that fits in that case you can upgrade it to a high end VC.

The stock PSU is only 280W hence your choices for a discrete VC are limited. There are alot of choices still with the stock PSU, mostly Radeon Chipset. Radeon 5450, 6450, 6570, 6670, 7750. I would go with the 6 series and up since the 5450 isn't a "big" upgrade from the Intel HD 2500 onboard graphics.

Quote from gnueliafnak : I believe as long as you replace the PSU that fits in that case you can upgrade it to a high end VC. The stock PSU is only 280W hence your choices for a discrete VC are limited. There are alot of choices still with the stock PSU, mostly Radeon Chipset. Radeon 5450, 6450, 6570, 6670, 7750. I would go with the 6 series and up since the 5450 isn't a "big" upgrade from the Intel HD 2500 onboard graphics.

Thanks for the input! A couple of concerns I had were also about size--looks like this VC takes up two slots, but I don't think that would matter, based on the pics of the insides of this PC (a good one is here [microcenter.com]).

Also, I was a little worried about compatibility with the motherboard, since I've read that can be an issue. I've only been studying this stuff for a few weeks now, so I'm not much of an expert on motherboards, but the H430 uses the Intel H61. Anyone foresee issues the H61 and its i5-3330 might have with the GTX 650?

Quote from TheBlueGoose : Thanks for the input! A couple of concerns I had were also about size--looks like this VC takes up two slots, but I don't think that would matter, based on the pics of the insides of this PC (a good one is here [microcenter.com]). Also, I was a little worried about compatibility with the motherboard, since I've read that can be an issue. I've only been studying this stuff for a few weeks now, so I'm not much of an expert on motherboards, but the H430 uses the Intel H61. Anyone foresee issues the H61 and its i5-3330 might have with the GTX 650?

One thing alot of people did mention is you have to turn off the Integrated Graphics in the BIOS if you are installing a discrete VC as you can't use both at the same time.

Quote from gnueliafnak : One thing alot of people did mention is you have to turn off the Integrated Graphics in the BIOS if you are installing a discrete VC as you can't use both at the same time.

I asked around on this issue on Toms a bit and was told:
We should be able to fit a double slot card

No BIOS change should be necessary, but no the ports will not work on both simultaneously

No matter what card, discrete or integrated, we go with the PSU should look to be swapped out in the short term as it is poor quality and may cause system issues especially if a new card is put in

Quote from booyaaa : Thanks. Now is doing the re-install windows options from the Setting menu suppose to get rid of all the bloatware like a clean install? Or is the only way to do a clean install through a DVD or USB stick? Thanks!

Using the Lenovo Recovery program will simply restore the preload. If you want to use a clean install, you will have to use the appropriate media from Microsoft.

There isn't a whole lot of bloatware on this box. I'm setting one up for a friend and just decided to remove the stuff I didn't want. I wasn't going to gain a whole lot more by doing a reinstall and most users of this machine won't know or care.

Quote from jfh3 : Using the Lenovo Recovery program will simply restore the preload. If you want to use a clean install, you will have to use the appropriate media from Microsoft. There isn't a whole lot of bloatware on this box. I'm setting one up for a friend and just decided to remove the stuff I didn't want. I wasn't going to gain a whole lot more by doing a reinstall and most users of this machine won't know or care.

I booted up Windows 8 like twice I believe once I got this and then switched to Ubuntu. I was going to opt for Win 7 but decided to try Ubuntu because of the great reviews on it for a HTPC. Only issue I currently have for it is a driver problem with a Wireless USB Adapter, other than that its great!

Quote from jfh3 : Using the Lenovo Recovery program will simply restore the preload. If you want to use a clean install, you will have to use the appropriate media from Microsoft. There isn't a whole lot of bloatware on this box. I'm setting one up for a friend and just decided to remove the stuff I didn't want. I wasn't going to gain a whole lot more by doing a reinstall and most users of this machine won't know or care.

I accidentally uninstalled the Lenovo Recovery program with the other bloatware (whoops), but I was still then able to copy the recovery partition to a flash drive. Noob question--if I install a new SSD, can I simply then transfer that copy of the recovery partition to the SSD, then restore from that?

Edit: Found my answer here: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/t...windows-8/

Quote from jfh3 : Using the Lenovo Recovery program will simply restore the preload. If you want to use a clean install, you will have to use the appropriate media from Microsoft. There isn't a whole lot of bloatware on this box. I'm setting one up for a friend and just decided to remove the stuff I didn't want. I wasn't going to gain a whole lot more by doing a reinstall and most users of this machine won't know or care.

I didn't use the Lenovo recovery program. I used Windows' Reset method.