HP T5570: Hardware 

• Hardware
• Firmware
• Linux
• Notes
• Mods

In early 2011 HP announced

...its new T5500 series Thin Clients, the HP t5550, t5565 and t5570 Thin Clients in advance of the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show. The series replaces the midrange of HP's previous 54xx Thin Client series.

In fact the t5550/t5565/t5570 share a common hardware base. The only differences are in the size of flash and RAM and the OS fitted. These are:

1. t5550 512MB/1GB Windows CE6 R3
2. t5565 1GB/1GB HP ThinPro
3. t5570 2GB/1GB WES 2009

The label also identifies this as the "Regulatory Model" HSTNC-012-TC. There is no data of manufacture but the 'quick specs' data sheet (version 8) was printed in February 2013.

Specifications

Processor
Type	VIA Nano u3500
Speed	1GHz
Memory
Flash	2GB
RAM	1GB (max 8GB)
Operating System
	WES 2009
Video
Chip    Max resolution    Connectors	VIA ChromotionHD 2.0 GPU 1920 x 1200 32-bit colour DVI-I & DVI-D
Ports
Network    USB    Serial    Parallel    PS/2	10/100/1000 6 x USB2.0 1 1 KYBD & Mouse
Power
Input    Plug    Off    Idle    Running	19V 3.42A (from label) Coax: 4.8mm/1.7mm?? 0 W 8W ~11W
Dimensions (without stand)
W x H x D	59mm x 210mmm x 216mm

The chipset is the VIA VX900 unified North/South Bridge.

The HP 'Quick Specs' data sheet includes the comment:

NOTE: The table represents a sample of possible modes that this controller is capable of displaying but various factors such as the capability and EDID info returned by the attached monitor, the interface used (DVI-I or DVI-D), and dual monitor mode may limit the availability of modes, color depth, and or refresh rate.

CPU

For those to whom it matters here is some detail from Linux's /proc/cpuinfo.

vendor_id	:	CentaurHauls
cpu family	:	6
model	:	15
model name	:	VIA Nano U3500@1000MHz
stepping	:	10
flags	:	fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat clflush acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss tm syscall nx lm constant_tsc rep_good pni monitor vmx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr sse4_1 popcnt rng rng_en ace ace_en ace2 phe phe_en pmm pmm_en lahf_lm ida

PCI

00:00.0 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VX900 Host Bridge: Host Control (rev 80)
00:00.1 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VX900 Error Reporting
00:00.2 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VX900 CPU Bus Controller
00:00.3 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VX900 DRAM Bus Control
00:00.4 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VX900 Power Management and Chip Testing Control
00:00.5 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VX900 APIC and Central Traffic Control
00:00.6 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VX900 Scratch Registers
00:00.7 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VX900 North-South Module Interface Control
00:01.0 VGA compatible controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VX900 Graphics [Chrome9 HD]
00:01.1 Audio device: VIA Technologies, Inc. Device 9170
00:03.0 PCI bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VX900 PCI Express Root Port 0
00:03.1 PCI bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VX900 PCI Express Root Port 1
00:03.2 PCI bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VX900 PCI Express Root Port 2
00:03.3 PCI bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VX900 PCI Express Root Port 3
00:03.4 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VX900 PCI Express Physical Layer Electrical Sub-block
00:0f.0 IDE interface: VIA Technologies, Inc. VX900 Serial ATA Controller
00:10.0 USB controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xx/62xx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev a0)
00:10.1 USB controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xx/62xx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev a0)
00:10.2 USB controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xx/62xx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev a0)
00:10.4 USB controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. USB 2.0 (rev 90)
00:11.0 ISA bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VX900 Bus Control and Power Management
00:11.7 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VX8xx South-North Module Interface Control
00:13.0 PCI bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VX855/VX875/VX900 PCI to PCI Bridge
00:14.0 Audio device: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8237A/VT8251 HDA Controller (rev 20)
05:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation NetLink BCM57780 Gigabit Ethernet PCIe (rev 01)

Power Supply

The unit uses a 19V supply. The one provided is rated at 3.42A. The power connector is a standard yellow-tip coax plug which I believe to be 4.8mm/1.8mm tho' elsewhere I have seen references to "Standard HP Compaq DC Power Plug 4.8mm x 1.5mm / 1.7mm Yellow Tip Connector".

This connector is also used on a variety of HP/Compaq laptops. A while ago I did pick up cheaply a batch of 18.5V HP/Compaq PSUs (Compaq part No: 239428-002) that work perfectly well with these units. (These days the necessary 3.3V/5V/(maybe 12V) onboard voltages are derived from efficient switching regulators. A small variation of input voltage is not significant).

Expansion

(Click on the photo for a larger version).

Flash: The Flash memory (top left in the photograph) is easily replaceable. It's a DOM plugged into a standard 44-pin IDE connector. There is also a SATA socket (top right in the photograph). The chipset data sheet says this is a SATA II interface (3Gbps). I've plugged in a SATA flash module from a Tadpole Pulsar thin client and had no trouble reading its contents.

RAM: The RAM is a standard DDR3 SODIMM. The one fitted in my t5570 is actually a 2GB SODIMM manufactured by hynix. It is marked: 2GB 1Rx8 PC3-12800S-11-11-B2. The part number is HMT325S6CFR8C-PB NO AA. An HP data sheet "HP t5565, t5570, t5570e Thin Clients, t510 Flexible Thin Client, and t5565z Smart Client - Statement of Volatility" shows a maximum of 4GB can be fitted.

However, in January 2019, I heard from Michal who had been able to borrow an 8GB SODIMM and try it out in his t5570e. It worked. The BIOS (being 32-bit?) only reported that there was 4GB fitted, but 64-bit Windows 10 recognised the full 8GB (less the usual bits for video etc).

Unfortunately the SO-DIMM was devoid of any labels and so its exact specification is unknown. The chips on there are manufactured by CnMemory.

USB: There are 6 USB ports; two on the front, two on the rear, and two 'secure' ports mounted under the top cover. The two on the front are recessed behind the front panel and I find the cheap 1GB pen drives that I use for testing won't fit thanks to the wide skirt.

PCI-E: There is a PCI-E mini socket close to the SATA socket. The datasheet implies this is for an Atheros wireless card (Form Factor: PCI-Express Half Mini Card).

Other: In a similar fashion to the t5540 et al there is a 14-pin header (CN5) adjacent to the VT1211 super IO chip. The LPC interface lines from the VT1211 appear to be tracked to this. I don't know what (if any) expansion modules are available for this.