Duration: 5:14

2,563 views

52

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:

https://youtu.be/nBJyblMkiz4;

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 : https://amzn.to/4aWWaAx https://ebay.us/WydD0i

16GB DDR4 2400MHZ Unbuffered SODIMM RAM: https://amzn.to/4aZvor3 https://ebay.us/zuNQh4 https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DBWs0Ev https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DnoBhw9

Seagate EXOS x18 16TB HDD (Note - SAS connector): https://amzn.to/3HxjYNP https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DBGkNJP

SATA to USB Adapters: https://amzn.to/47TDlvc https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_Dlvtzut

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): https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DexYUNP

M.2 M Key to Internal USB 3.1 20 Pin Slot: https://amzn.to/3tYOVrc https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DDEXP57

M.2 M Key to 2x Sata Data Headers: https://amzn.to/4bdT5fB https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DDp1Okz

M.2 A and E Key to 2.5GbE: https://amzn.to/47TDvCO https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DDQ15c1

M.2 A and E Key to M.2 NVMe: https://amzn.to/4bbm0AL https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DDOo3Vb

M.2 A and E Key to PCIe X4 Slot (note - X1 lane connectivity limited on A and E Slot): https://amzn.to/4b7ONX0 https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DkRU81B

X540-T2 10GbE NIC: https://amzn.to/3vYrcaU https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DCs0lff

Mini SFF 8087 SAS to 4x SATA splitter cable: https://amzn.to/3vMZQEX https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DCO5c21

INSPUR 9211-8i6Gbps HBA LSI IT Mode: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DdtyKP7

U.2 to PCIe Adapter (Single Slot): https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DnkwPJX

U.2 to PCIe Adapter (Double Slot): https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_Ddu5xup

💥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):
https://www.reddit.com/r/HSpecWorkstations/

🎯 Support: https://buymeacoffee.com/RACERRRZ

#Elitedesk, #HP, #NAS, #HPWorkstation, #Computereducation, #Computer, #Gaming, #Gamingcomputer, #Homeserver, #Z440, #zworkstation, #RACERRRZ, #CPU, #NUC, #RAM, #GPU