Use Case:- Media server
- Gaming on the big flat screen
- Controlling the 30 TB NAS
I have been using HP EliteDesk 800 G5 Mini’s for a (crippled) TVPC, for my personal desktop computer, and for my wife’s personal desktop for many years. Acquired as off-lease business computers from EBay, they have proven compact, reliable, nearly silent, expandable (to a limited extent but including dual NVME slots), frequently come with HP factory warranty, are serviceable at the local Microcenter (an HP authorized service center), and quite capable for MS Office applications and even for CAD (although fairly slow).
On the other hand, they are also relatively slow (I5-6500t processors), have no direct provision for video other than on processor graphics, are restricted to 1151 socket processors, and are cooling challenged.
Now that I am truly retired and all my consulting gigs complete, it was time to satisfy all the use cases above. Since I am a 100% disabled Vietnam vet, living to large extent on disability, cost was extremely important to me.
I am thoroughly gratified at how well I satisfied or exceeded my use cases!
By using the parts listed below and sourcing them with a lot of patience and luck from EBay and Amazon, it cost less than $550 for the whole thing!
The Parts List:
CPU: HP EliteDesk 800 G5 Mini (Refurbished with 1 year warranty) – EBay, $324.79
Processor: I7-9700t
Ram: 32 GB
Storage: 1TB NVME
OS: Windows 11 Pro (activated)
GPU: ASUS Phoenix RTX 3050 (8GB vram, single fan) – Ebay $149.97
M.2 to PCIE adapter: ADTLINK – Amazon – $34.98
GPU Power Supply: Dell ZVC220HD12S1 12V 18A 220W Power Supply D3860 8 Pin ADP-220AB – EBay -$22.81
The only assembly ‘trick’ is fold the GPU on top of the CPU and maintain the 7” x 7” profile.
This works! (Pics to follow once I figure out how to post them).
Please let me know if you try this or if you see a better way.
Next project: Upgrading the old TVPC, but with an I9-9900KS and an RTX 3070!
Larry