Mini PCs have been a slow moving craze – but they are quite popular now. Building a DIY low-cost home server or NAS is also a hot topic – I mean we need something cheap that can handle everything, right?
There are likely 100’s of good videos on the HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Mini – all of which get this system to handle the basics really well. From a retro gaming emulator, to smart TV NUC, to a Proxmox server with VMs, everything has been covered, to a degree.
But, I like to take hardware to the EXTREME, and I don’t think anyone has really pushed these systems to their LIMIT. The closest I saw was ETA Prime that did an external GPU on an HP EliteDesk 800 G2, which was really cool.
So, what am I hoping to create?
An ultra-low power-draw (8-40W) mini-PC server that can run any OS that may be needed (Proxmox, Ubunto Server, TrueNAS, Windows 10 etc. – maybe all at the same time with VMs), Intel i5-7500T CPU 4C/4T, 32GB 2400MHz memory, 10GbE NIC (theoretically calculated speed limit of 2000MB/s; if that fails- 2.5GbE NIC backup plan), M.2 NVMe Boot drive, budget pending – RAID 5 M.2 NVMe or SSD Pool, or RAID 5 3.5” HDD pool, External GPU – optional add-on.
This may not sound like much, but keep in mind this Mini PC system has no PCIe slots for these expansions, and it is limited to a 65W power brick. That should give you some idea of what I am planning!
To reach an EXTREME build, you need to understand the full potential of the hardware – and that’s why I did a quick NUC Mini PC Buyer’s Guide video:
Extreme Builds require a quick study.
I wanted newer hardware – and I may still get something newer if I can find one that suits the budget (which is ultra-low budget lol). The HP ProDesk 800 G6 caught my eye, but they still cost a fair amount. So that has left the EliteDesk 800 G3 as the ideal budget server machine.
I haven’t written off a case swap (because picture the clickbait – the EliteDesk Mini case-swapped into a Fractal Define 7XL with like 16x HDD bays and 100TB – I will rig this photo no matter what it takes haha).
Possible?
You’ll have to wait and see (no…, well maybe!).
This video project is a while off from being “in-the-making”, but several items are on order.
More details in the future – including some decent photos of the Mini PC!
What did I pay for mine?
~$45 USD with CPU and 8GB RAM- which was too good to pass up!
What parts did I order? That will remain a mystery, for now.
🛠 Amazon / Ebay / AliExpress Affiliate Links – a custom selection of parts that may be of interest to get your Mini PC setup as a DIY NAS / SERVER:
(Please note- links will direct you to Amazon.com or Ebay.com or AliExpress.com. I will receive a commission if a purchase is made through these links. Thank you.)
HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Mini :
16GB DDR4 2400MHZ Unbuffered SODIMM RAM:
Seagate EXOS x18 16TB HDD (Note – SAS connector):
SATA to USB Adapters:
M.2 M Key to GPU X16 Riser (Take Care – “M.2 NGFF” adapters do not support M.2 NVMe drives – they only support M.2 SATA NVMe SSDs):
M.2 M Key to Internal USB 3.1 20 Pin Slot:
M.2 M Key to 2x Sata Data Headers:
M.2 A and E Key to 2.5GbE:
M.2 A and E Key to M.2 NVMe:
M.2 A and E Key to PCIe X4 Slot (note – X1 lane connectivity limited on A and E Slot):
X540-T2 10GbE NIC:
Mini SFF 8087 SAS to 4x SATA splitter cable:
INSPUR 9211-8i6Gbps HBA LSI IT Mode:
U.2 to PCIe Adapter (Single Slot):
U.2 to PCIe Adapter (Double Slot):
💥Share your EliteDesk / ProDesk setups in the comments – let’s make this a resource for others for future upgrades.
Upcoming videos:
HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Mini Overview
HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Mini EXTREME TUNING
💻 HSPEC DataBase (for parts, upgrades, video summaries and more):
🎯 Support:
#Elitedesk, #HP, #NAS, #HPWorkstation, #Computereducation, #Computer, #Gaming, #Gamingcomputer, #Homeserver, #Z440, #zworkstation, #RACERRRZ, #CPU, #NUC, #RAM, #GPU
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