HP Elitedesk 800 SFF Drive Options

[Chet Manley]

While waiting for a NOOB (new out of box, heh) 800 SFF to show up I started digging into storage options to extend the factory configuration; i5 4570, 16GB RAM, 3.5" 500GB SATA HDD, Windows 7 Pro. After digging through every shred of information I could find the following unsolved questions remained.

What is the optional mSATA SSD flash cache module mentioned in the official specs as an add-on option under drives and can this be retrofitted to my machine? This appears to be required to enable the RAID setup needed for Intel Rapid Storage Technology software to run.

Does this refer to a 2.5" drive or a PCI/M.2 connection on the board of the SFF that can be utilized?

Can I use a SSD larger than 160GB on this earlier model with a 4th gen i5 processor? Not a concern with latest BIOS installed?

Forgoing a RAID array, can I boot from an OS installed on a 2.5" SSD with a larger 3.5" HDD plugged in a secondary SATA slot on the board?


Any clarity on these issues would help me plot out the best course to take with this machine to attain SSD speeds for daily tasks.

 

[Chet Manley]

I believe the most likely answer to my first two questions was the "mSATA flash cache module" is a PCIe x4 to mSATA adapter card. Which might mean I could alternately use a M.2 adapter with the Intel RST software as well. After poring over photos of the motherboard looking for screw holes or keyed slot that don't exist this must be it.

Third question appears to be yes. I found a notices section on the hp support site that suggests progressive BIOS updates eliminated past restrictions in older versions of firmware. At least 3TB HDD's and significantly larger than 160GB SSD's shouldn't be a problem.

Unless someone chimes in to say some workaround is required I'm guessing the fourth one is affirmative as well. I should have more conversations with myself about problems!