In our HP EliteDesk 800 G4 Project TinyMiniMicro Guide we see what this system offers in the ~1L system category. This is one of the only units we have tested that allows one to install up to three SSDs internally making it flexible and more usable for many server applications. In this guide, we are going to discuss the system itself and its features. We are going to discuss key lessons learned but also something we found that can unexpectedly impact market pricing.
Project TinyMiniMicro HP EliteDesk 800 G4 Video
As part of this project, we are releasing videos with some additional looks at the systems and some more candid thoughts. Here is the video for this:
This article will have a bit more since there are some facts and concepts easier to convey using text rather than video. You can also see the full video series using this YouTube playlist.
Project TinyMiniMicro Background
In Project TinyMiniMicro we are purchasing a large number of these devices from different sources. While a standard STH review is of a new product, these TMM nodes occasionally have specs that differ from what one would expect. In all of these pieces, we are going to talk about what makes the nodes unique. We are now well over 20 different nodes to increase diversity. We are testing these on a more circular economy/ extended lifecycle basis to see how they can be deployed after their initial use as corporate desktops.
For our $400, we received a node with an Intel Core i5-8500T CPU, an 8GB SODIMM for RAM, 802.11ac WiFi, and a 256GB NVMe SSD. We also received got an embedded Windows 10 Pro license which would have cost us around $140 alone.
To round out the configuration, we would, at a minimum add a $25 extra 8GB SODIMM to hit 16GB. We would also likely change out the SSD configuration as you will see in this review.
One thing that we wanted to note here is that like our other Project TinyMiniMicro nodes, we are looking at the 35W TDP CPU version. The 65W and higher TDP versions utilize a perforated top. As a result, stacking the units can create thermal issues. The 35W TDP units have front to rear airflow more akin to servers and high-end workstations which avoid this airflow issue. A good way to find 35W TDP machines is to look for a “T” in the CPU model name.
We are going to go into the hardware overview, then into the key specs. We are then going to talk a bit about performance and power consumption before getting to our lessons learned from these units and our final words.
HP ProDesk 800 G4 Hardware Overview
The chassis itself is a fairly standard design for a range of ProDesk and EliteDesk series systems that shared the look. It measures 177 x 175 x 34mm (6.97 x 6.89 x 1.35in) which puts it just over 1L in displacement. This is the same size as the HP ProDesk 400 G4 Mini that we looked at. As you will see in the hardware overview, we get a lot more for the $20 premium we paid.
In the front of the chassis, we get headset and headphone jacks as well as two USB 3.1 ports. From left to right there are 10Gbps USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C and Type-A ports followed by a USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A port. This is a big connectivity upgrade over the ProDesk 400 G4 Mini. We also get headphone and headset jacks on the front of the system. We like this design better than the Lenovo ThinkCentre M920 Tiny since there is one more USB port on the front of the system.
On the rear of the unit, one gets two DisplayPort 1.2 headers as standard in the system. There is an optional slot that can be blank, VGA, DP, or HDMI. In our system, we have a VGA port. We also have four USB Type-A ports. The two left ports are USB 3.1 Gen2 10Gbps ports and the right ports are USB 3.1 Gen1 5Gbps ports. Next to the USB 3.1 Gen1 ports, we get a NIC powered by an Intel i219LM controller. This is a PCH 1GbE NIC that is used to provide vPro services along with AMT.
HP does an absolutely terrible job of labeling ports. As a result, this is how we are remembering which ports are 10Gbps versus 5Gbps ports. The center and left ports are 10Gbps while the right are 5Gbps. HP needs to make this more clear.
Opening the system is done via a single screw. HP’s design retains the screw on the chassis.
Inside the system, we see the CPU and memory on top and the expansion slots below. Like other HP units, the dual SODIMM slots are found under the system fan. Our unit came with 8GB but we would augment this with a second 8GB DIMM for 16GB total. Note these are mismatched and working fine.
The 2.5″ drive tray is present in our system but it does not have a drive installed. As a result, we did not get the screws to affix a drive in this slot. It also requires screws to remove the SATA drive assembly. Overall, this is a far cry from competitive tool-less designs as we saw on the Lenovo ThinkCentre M920q Tiny as an example. To access the NVMe SSDs and WiFi module, and install a 2.5″ SATA drive the Lenovo unit requires six fewer screws.
Under the 2.5″ drive assembly, we get perhaps the most exciting feature. This system has dual NVMe SSD slots. One can install two M.2 2280 (80mm) SSDs. We did not get to try this, but assuming one used the Sabrent Rocket Q 8TB we reviewed, one could get 16TB plus a SATA SSD installed internally (using Velcro mounting for the SATA SSD.) For those looking to turn these into servers, the SATA drive bay can be used for a boot drive while the two NVMe SSDs can be used for mirrored data drives. Our system came with a 256GB NVMe SSD from SK Hynix. This is a DRAM-less SSD so the performance is not great. It will be removed and replaced to make room for higher-performance drives for a mirrored SSD setup.
There is also a M.2 2230 slot that is usually reserved for WiFi. Our unit came with an Intel 3165NGW which is an 802.11ac 1×1 unit that has Bluetooth 4.2. We will be upgrading this to an Intel AX200 WiFi 6 card. Something to also note is that since this is not the higher-end solution, it does not support vPro over wireless. Intel vPro is a wired-only solution because of the 3165NGW.
Many of the HP systems look similar so we have a quick comparison we did for the ProDesk 400 G4 Mini review. Here we can see the ProDesk 400 G4 and 405 G4 Mini units that have similar features except that the ProDesk 405 G4 is based on the AMD Ryzen platform. Both the higher-end ProDesk 600 G4 and EliteDesk 800 G4 have three front USB ports with the addition of a Type-C port to both. That is another way HP differentiates the products.
We can see the common G4 design language by HP on the rear of these units as well.
There is one other item we wanted to point out. We saw a “DGPU” connector in this system. There are configurations with PCIe GPUs. Those configurations typically run at much higher power envelopes with perforated top lids. One also loses the use of the second M.2 slot in the dGPU configuration from what we understand.
Next, we are going to look at the key specs we have been able to pull from a number of different sources to get you some idea of what to expect in terms of configuration diversity. We are then going to get to performance and power consumption.
On the 705, I bought a USB-C I/O Card from eBay. The unit came with DP card in that spot. The 800 likely allows the same.
One other thing, the G4 series in general has that dgpu connector, but I can’t find second-hand cards. Any DIY sleuths know how that can be accessed, even if it is a funky fix?
It would be interesting to know what kind of TPMs all the units in the tinyminimicro series comes with, manufacturer/model and TPM specification revision for example.
@Erik are you questioning this for VSphere (TPM) support, i know my HP G3 Prodesk 400 Mini possibly done support FIFO.
https://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2018/04/vsphere-6-7-esxi-tpm-2-0.html
I have two G5 (i7-9700K and i9-9900K) with a G6 (i9-10900K) on the way, about $1200 each with vestigial 4GB RAM and 128G SSD to be upgraded without HP’s outrageous markups. These are full-bore 95W CPUs with 64GB of RAM and dual M.2 NVMe drives (no SATA or dGPU in the high-performance CPU variants). Really tiny and incredibly fast machines.
If you want a GPU or 10G Ethernet, you are better off with the Z2 G5 Mini which is actually cheaper even with a Xeon W-1290P, ut then it’s a SFF chassis, not UCFF.
@WelshWizard I use it with Linux and have a requirement for a discreet TPM 2.0 (so no Intel ME/PTT for example), but sadly most PC (client) manufacturers are bad at specifying what kind of TPM are included
@Erik
That can be found in the HP Quickspecs library. (just google “prodesk 400 g4 quickspecs”) Unless the specific machines are from russia, the models will all have the same TPM chip. And it’s impossible to not have the TPM chip in europe and americas.
Possible dumb question but in the pictures provided I cannot see/identify the second M.2 slot for another NVME ssd. (it it the connector under the internal speaker cable/next to the screw hole for the2.5 inch HDD/ssd cage?) Could somebody draw a circle around it on one of the motherboard pictures? I take it that it there is space to accommodate a 2280 length ssd? Also can the second m.2 connector/slot be used in conjunction with the HP HDD cage installed and occupied with a 2.5 inch drive?
Also is it possible to order another p60 sata motherboard connector (slides on to the motherboard pins) from HP or elsewhere? Mine seems to have a crack on one side, I’l like to have a replacement handy just in case.
Thanks to anyone in advance who can answer these questions.
@Achronos – look at the picture https://www.servethehome.com/hp-elitedesk-800-g4-mini-tinyminimicro-guide-review/hp-elitedesk-800-g4-mini-internal-without-sata-assembly/
you have the bottom m.2 occupied by one and in the right side just above the wifi card you have the second m.2. Technically You should be able to use all 3. however those m.2’s do run serious hot, and with an ssd on top, i would guess there could be heat issues.
You should be able to by the sata connector as a sparepart. you could try to look at partsurfer.hp.com to find the sku :-)
Thank you for your response. It was helpful.
@Tozmo – I have would also like to look into utilising the dGPU connector but am not sure which cards are compatible
I have a elite desk 800 g4 DM 65W HP845A i5 8500 16gb 2666
Any help would be appreciated
Hi did someone test 2x 32GB of ram in this models? in the specs says that the max is 32 GB of RAM but sometimes is just commercial sh..t (Some nuc models says max 32 but they support 64 gb).
Thanks
Tombs up for TMM Project.
Hi did someone test 2x 32GB of ram in this models? in the specs says that the max is 32 GB of RAM but sometimes is just commercial sh..t (Some nuc models says max 32 but they support 64 gb).
Thanks
regarding the 2nd m.2 nvme slot. it stand a bit taller than the first slot, so much so that it interferes with the 2.5″ SATA tray. i see no way to secure a 2.5″ drive if the 2nd m.2 nvme slot is used.
Yes Cody i have the same problem i removed the stand and placed the ssd on top of the 2 nvme disk.
I also have another problem that is with 2xM2 NVMe connect i cannot use both NVMe in RAID config on ESXi, since it have a Fake Raid controller (software Raid) the Raid is not support in ESXi. For now I am not sure if there an workaround with Proxmox.
Just an heads up for the ones like me that bought this computer because of the 2 nvme to run raid on hypervisor.
Hi,
Breat job and idea for project mini’s -thanks for reviews and many tips :)
If I may ask 1 question: I had bought same unit Elitedesk 800 G4 mini but without Wifi onboard – can You please confirm that ax200ngw will work in this unit or I should by supported Intel 9560NGW?
Thanks and best wishes to all :D
UPDATE: AX200 WiFi is working fine – no issues reported. Maybe some will search for confirmation :D
Anyone have tested 64GB of Memory in this machine?
For those of you who have done the velcro mount for the 2.5″ drives, what does the setup look like? I just got the unit and trying to figure out how that will work.
changing rpm of cooler in BIOS is possible?
Anyone tried change noisy cooler with low-noise external 80 / 92mm cooler, with modifying case ?
I tested 64 GB (2 x 32 GB Crucial DDR4 3200 MHz) in a G4 with a Core i7-8700 CPU. The BIOS recognized all 64 GB and the sticks passed MemTest86 without any problems. The specs for the Core i7-8700 indicate that 128 GB RAM is the max supported by that processor:
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/126686/intel-core-i78700-processor-12m-cache-up-to-4-60-ghz/specifications.html
Has anyone had issues getting Proxmox installed on their 800 G4 or is it just me possibly? Sometimes it makes it to the GUI installation environment but hasn’t passed 50% before stalling out, other times it never makes it out of the preboot and fails due to a kernel panic.
Any tips or tricks? Specific BIOS settings to flip? Any suggestions appreciated!
Has anyone (successfully) tried to fit an M.2 to RJ45 LAN adapter card into the E-key M.2 port and pass the RJ45 socket out the expansion hole at the back?
Cody and GA…. frustrating for me as well!! I want to use all three slots!
Now I’m thinking of having a modified tray 3D printed so I can still have a way to secure a third drive above. Leaving it to slide around on top of the NVME drives makes me nervous, as well as potential heat issues from one or the other.
Since most drives in this small form factor are solid state in one form or another, having a bulky mounting tray like that makes no sense anymore. Seems like an design artifact left over from spinning drives.
Hi all,
Is the HP Elitedesk 800 G4 is compatible with a WiFi 6E Wlan card, like the Intel AX210NGW ?
Thanks you
Reply to myself, after buying and testing an Intel AX210NGW.
Yes it works perfectly in my HP Elitedesk 800 G4.
Wifi and Bluetooth.
Just to confirm that 2 x32GB works fine in this machine despite the max quoted as 32GB on every official spec listing..!