Renewed i5 Mini PC: HP EliteDesk 800 G2
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 พ.ค. 2024
- HP EliteDesk 800 G2 renewed SSF computer review. Video includes tests in Windows and Linux comparing performance to the Bmax B1 Plus Mini PC, and the Odyssey X86J4125 V2, that I’ve recently reviewed on the channel.
As the EliteDesk 800 G2 is refurbished hardware, there is no one supplier. But I’ve pulled together some listings in the ExplainingComputers Amazon Storefront: www.amazon.com/shop/explainin...
Please note that as an Amazon Associate I earn a commission from any qualifying purchases you may make via the above link, and that you should check carefully the exact specifications of any renewed hardware before purchase. Not all EliteDesk 800 G2 models are the same!
On Amazon UK, the listing I purchased from was this one: amzn.to/3ZoJGL3
The above is also an affiliate link, from which I earn a commission on any qualifying purchases.
I have now posted a video where I upgrade this PC to Windows 11:
• Installing Windows 11 ...
My review of the Bmax B1 Plus 100$ Mini PC is here:
• Testing a $100 Mini PC...
And of the Odyssey X86J4125 V2 here:
• Odyssey X86J4125 v2: x...
The first of my recent Blender tutorials is here:
• Blender Modeling Intro...
And my video “Explaining Display Connectors” is here:
• Explaining Display Con...
For additional ExplainingComputers videos and other content, you can become a channel member here:
/ @explainingcomputers
More videos on computing and related topics can be found at:
/ @explainingcomputers
You may also like my ExplainingTheFuture channel at: / @explainingthefuture
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
01:05 Unboxing
04:15 Specifications
11:39 Windows
16:45 Passmark & Power
19:09 Linux & Render Test
21:09 Windows 11?
#EliteDesk800 #RenewedPC #explainingcomputers - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
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As some have spotted, whilst the HP EliteDesk 800 G2 I purchased was specified with a 6500T i5 CPU (the Amazon listing appears at 1:35), the unit I received has a 6500 CPU, which has a 65W rather than 35W TDP (thermal design power). So the machine is a bit more powerful than its claimed specs, but uses more energy. I should have looked more carefully at what Windows reported at 12:18. My apologies. Things were rather hectic when I was making this video.
You can tell the 65w versions from the 35w versions because the 65w ones *SHOULD* have a vented lid…
No problem man, the lack of that *'T'* is an easy one to miss 🤭😉
PS: is it possible to under-volt the CPU? Maybe you can get the energy usage down to 35W that way 🙂
The fans would be less noisier too 🙃
@@JohnStopman - not from the standard BIOS. These things are business oriented.
@@philharris9631 Yeah, I thought so...
The i7 version of this has been my step dad's daily drive for the past 3 years, he does audio editing at a professional level with it too. These are very underappreciated PC's.
I wish they were under appreciated. Used to get these things cheap for small company phone SBCs and other similar functions when Pis and single board computers went bananas. Now everyone uses them and the prices have gone up.
@@ragingbombast Facts! They used to be cheap AF, I know my old boss loved me when I showed him the 2 year old refurbs saved like 800usd a PC, most of these are old lease machines tbh.
Oh great, tell everyone.😂🤣
CPUS are CPUs. If you can feed enough power, than CPU based tasks are no problem. GPU tasks will take some doing
@@Commiehunter12 not true, we keep developing technology that gets faster and faster using less power. For example the 486 DX4 100mhz used 2.6 watts, so let's use this as a metric, if you scaled that 2.6watts per 100mhz to the current 3.2ghz you get nearly 84 watts(forget that level of tech CAN'T got that fast) for what is done currently at 35 watts
Mr. Bosch what a distinguished Gentleman.
You'd think so, but he's good friends with Bobby Box-cutter.
@@FatNorthernBigot Oh no. The box cutter is Mr. Stanley. 😅
@@terryashley4674 it's Stanley's American cousin.
That’s Herr Bosch to us plebeians
I'm in my 20s and that's the biggest reason I subscribe to him lol
In case you haven't been flooded with comments already, those HP hard drive mounts were widely used in different HP models and can be procured second hand from Amazon and the like. I did so myself years ago for an HP mini tower I was using as my media PC.
Yeah, those HD mounts are all over eBay… from a single mount, up to lots of 100’s…
We are using about 15 of these kind of small PCs HP/Lenovo/Dell in our business. Cheap and fast enough to run our warehouse program and other things on them. Saved us a lot of money
Similar here. All the computers in our factory are very similar to this type of computer. They're all from HP. Recently the attached printers were from HP as well, but they have been replaced by Canon's.
It's nice to see these machines finding homes where they can continue to be useful and reduce e-waste. I really enjoy these sorts of videos showcasing the great value here. Thanks!
One year ago I bought an HP ProDesk G5 for £150 with an i5 9500,8GB RAM and 256Gb SSD. I love the 6.5W idle power consumption because it runs 24/7 as a webserver.
A dell optilex with same config except 9600k cost me 100$.
Good. Now I have ZimaBoard 216 which is not powerful enough when needed, three days ago I ordered used/refurbished Fujitsu Q956 with i5-6500t, 128gb ssd (very likely nvme) and 8gb ram for 130EUR. Because SSDs, RAMs and euros are cheap right now I'm almost considering to upgrade it to 512gb or 1tb ssd and 32gb ram and it will be just slightly worse than i5-4590 computer I used year and half ago and was quite happy with it. Larger PCs usually have better specs for the same price, I hope I won't regret it, because any upgrade can complicated (such as adding sata ssd or 2.5" drive, because it has proprietary power connectors)
Nice deal for a G5 I5.
It is interesting how low of a power draw simple computers have now. I just bought a cheap new laptop with a Celeron N4100 in it, it almost never draws more than 13 watts and that includes a 14 inch monitor. If I have it connected to my large office monitor it draws less than ten watts. It isn't the most powerful CPU in the world but it plays 1080P streaming video and is decent enough for simple internet use. It likely won't be my daily driver but it is light, compact and useful enough if I need to take a computer somewhere.
@@mharris5047 Until you are looking for a 4K gaming machine for flight simulator. Getting something power efficient is just not there yet. Probably I have to wait two hardware generations for that. I don't want a noisy +300Watt system for gaming.
I own a Prodesk 400 G4 I5 32 Watt and an Elitedesk 800 G4 I5 65 Watt. Affordable from auctions. Building a comparable Mini ITX system from second hand parts will be more expensive because of shipping costs.
I also built a Haswell I7 T series machine myself in 2014. Still a useful NAS because of PCIE with NVme adapters and the sata connectors. Not economically viable to replace that one yet.
Nice to see you recognizing that we are awash in affordable processing power!!
What a great way to put it! :)
These are a great deal because they are light, small, and easy to ship. The older SFF desktop pc's still weighed like 10lbs and took a big box to ship, so you couldn't find such great deals.
All my pc's are old office lease office hardware. I have a few mini Dell PC's like this, they are nice for what I need, and they even have socketed cpu's... I believe this HP should also.
@@volvo09 Same here, although I also love me some ThinkPads, and I also drive an old Volvo. (She'll be 25 this year, and still runs like a dream.) 😁
@@volvo09 I have several HP SFF (not the USFF like in this video) computers. They tend to last at least ten years and I have one that has a Pentium 4 HT CPU from 2005 that still booted up when I played with it last year (2022). At $100 I would say they are an excellent deal even if they only run Windows for 2 1/2 years. I usually pay about $150 when I buy one but my main computer was actually $50 in 2020, it has an i3 4th generation in it. I put $100 or so into it upgrading it to 16GB RAM and a large hard drive, though (I won't count the second large HDD used for backup purposes only).
Nice to see you recognizing the great value renewed systems can have
I’m glad the they are being repackaged and cleaned up ready for resale. A lot of companies don’t bother and just send them off to a recycling facility. Thanks for today’s video Chris, as always be safe and healthy.
A _recycling / refurbishment facility_ is probably where these are from. They will have standard disk images ready to install onto these machines, because they probably bought hundreds of them.
All my computers, except for the Raspberries, are ex-business machines. Unless you are a die-hard gamer that really needs power , even ten year old but high spec machines can be had for pennies on the pound, and are more than capable.
Buying new computers is a mug's game.
@@sarkybugger5009 Although, if you can find an ex-business low profile computer with a good processor, there are some pretty decent low profile graphics cards that can handle gaming. Sure, you might have to turn the settings down, but it can make for a low cost gaming solution.
My company was acquired a few years back. We had just had a tech refresh and the workstations we had where maybe a year old. Hexacore Intel i7 with NVME SSD's at them time. We got new machines (also Dell btw) and the old ones got recycled. It was just their process. Apparently cheaper than actually wiping them and re-installing.
Meanwhile, politicians all over the world is trying to tax us to death because of the climate.
They are leases, leased from HP, etc. to large companies/educational institutions. Once the lease is up they are mass exchanged for a newer model and these go off en mass to (possibly) be cleaned/refurbished and sold off. I've got several and I'm pleased.
I'm always happy to see new videos on this channel. Thanks again for making them.
Glad you included the power draw on this as I was curious. Thanks for such an in depth review. Awesome channel.
Thanks for the hard work Chris. Your videos are well researched and hit the key details spot on.
It's always encouraging to discover that you have twice as many fans as you thought, isn't it?
When the original board dies, the box might be recyclable to a container for another SBC.
Ah, a Pi in this case. I had not considered that . . .
You can most likely fit a normal mini-ITX motherboard into this case.
@@matsu1994 i don’t know this specifical case, but for example dell pc (i have one) have non standard parts
@@matsu1994 Nope, the motherboards of these 1L desktops are proprietary and slightly smaller than mini-ITX. It's quite easy to find replacement motherboards for them though.
Great content and recommendations as usual! Traditionally I've done tons of projects all on Raspberry Pis but open minded to branching out so hearing about other options is really appreciated. Awesome stuff. Thank you.
Excellent presentation. I’ve had great luck with renewed equipment. Thanks
Greetings sir...so we got all three cameos Mr. Scissors, Stanley the Knife and Mr. Bosch in one video.
Yes, lots of cameos today! :) Greetings.
I love it when we go and take a closer look.
:)
Thank you for this video. The research performed shows in the clarity and detail. Well done!
Interesting as always. Nice to be introduced to Mr Bosch. Thank you.
just randomly watched one of your older videos about veracrypt, and now I see new upload. It keeps happening to me :)
You've lucked upon the best single board/small form factor educator on TH-cam! Christopher is a hidden treasure!
Thank you for this video.
This gets me thinking about used equipment, more than I otherwise might.
And I REALLY look forward to your upcoming 'Windows 11 on older hardware' video.
Once again, you really come through for the 'little guy/gal'.
☮
Why you need older hardware, and why you run Windows 11 on it ?
Once again ? why you need that ?
@@lucasRem-ku6eb Because that is what I have.
I'm glad that you present power consumption of tested computers - it is very helpful, thank you so much.
Thanks for this review, Chris! I used one of these machines for years at my job, and have often considered replacing my ailing home computer (tower) with one. The smaller footprint and impressive performance (along with your review) have sold me.
I have personally imaged and cared for thousands of these machines in a healthcare setting. These things still run when caked in dust. Great machines
what type of O/S they are running in your environment?
specs of hardware?
thanx
@@benjaminshtark5977 Running windows 10 (4gb ram, 128gb ssds or hdds)
21-25 degrees wall mounted in wards. Full of nasty dust and hospital crap
@@tbrowniscool nice!!!
did you do anything special to them to make them work in hospital environment?
things like disabling USB to prevent people hacking the devices by using some usb flashdrives, wifi using certificate authentication ? (or wifi disabled at all?)
lock bios?
disk encryption?
what about CPU fan? had any issues fans failing?
i am asking this because i am looking for similar device for schools on budget for a lot of children while budget is around 200$ per device (excluding monitor/keyb/mouse).
and main purpose is to have it running basicly 24/7 in classes while keeping maintenance and hacking (preventing kids breaking or hacking O/S) as low as possible..
@@benjaminshtark5977 Yes we use a custom windows image that disables USB use etc. All machines use bit locker and locked bios of course. All machines use wifi and if they are wired up that's a bonus. We do no physical changes to the machines.
Edit: we are spending about £400-600 per desktop and about £700-1200 per laptop btw.
Yeah make sure you order the right machine and have the knowledge for a custom windows image. Ideally flashed from a usb stick or network point. How many machines are you thinking of. Kids can't break what we have but out budget is over a million pounds a year on windows licenses!
@@tbrowniscool well, its a voluntary project, licenses for ms windows are provided for free basically.
we only need to get the proper hardware.
i was thinking about either this device or similar from Lenovo or Dell..
The main usage will be for kids to learn programming and school projects.
currently the requirement is for a pilot run for 80 machines... (2 full classes + some spare machines.)
BEWARE when buying these machines! VERY carefully read the listings. The manufacturers' and sellers' terminology varies, inconsistently and often erroneously regarding 'SFF' and 'USFF'. Ordering an 'SFF' machine without looking closely, may result in a larger form factor than you are expecting. Happened to me.
Does S.F.F. mean small form factor? U.S.F.F. meaning ultra-small form factor?
@@arvaneret_329Yes
@@arvaneret_329 it's supposed to, but a lot of eBay listers don't get that
Thanks for making this video! I recently began a journey with these little mini-pc's. I have puchased the 260 G2 and 800 G2 versions. I have an I7 cpu on the way and will be mounting the 800 to the back of a monitor with a vesa mount.
Omg that unboxing was intense 😂😂😂 I wasn't expecting such a climax with all the noise lmao.
I have a few of these little workhorses running various OSes which I purchased from Microcenter and packaged in considerably smaller boxes. 😁Blessed Easter to all who celebrate. Stay well!
I was using a little lenovo i5 based mini pc at my previous work for a while. Those mini PC are totally underrated. They are so convenient, cheap, and totally capable of the most common tasks.
Intel came out with the mini PC motherboard and T series CPU to combat the Mac Mini on the PC side, and almost all of these "1 liter" PC uses the exact same internals.
People hate them as a PC, too minimal, meant for Warehouse and offices app only !
What you run on them ?
What an exciting unboxing with Mr Scissors.... Love your humor. 🙂
Hi Chris, another informative video! Thank you so much! On this topic, I wish you would release full video on the basics of benchmarking. I have computers like this at work, some old, some newer, and I wish I knew which tests to run when. With all the specs to consider, It can be very hard for me to tell how good a computer is!
This was well worth the time and trouble. I can't wait for the follow videos. i know im well inside the top 100!!
Always good to be in the top 100! :)
I watched this from a HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Micro, that I bought as a second hand machine from a PC recycler, I upgraded the ram and am running Ubuntu 22.04, it's a great little machine, and with 3 monitors it's great for programming and desktop stuff, when I need compute power I have proxmox servers for that, and I don't game, so this was a good low cost way to power a few monitors
Always find your content informative and full of humour. Cheers Chris!
I purchased a elitedesk 800 G3 a month ago and installed Tiny 11 on the M.2
It works great and super a super fast boot up time as well. Amazing performance for the cost. This is an awesome video!
Thank you for all the great information.🙂
Very nice PC. I have the G1 version. Modded the bios to boot from NVME and upgraded the cpu to an i7-4790T couldn't be happier with it
For the longest time I had one of these, but later switched to the newer G2 design with the Ryzen 5 as a server. Absolute beast 4C/8T with 32GBs of DDR4 ram. Powerful micro server. :)
Great video, loved the way you explained it all and made it so simple for the lay man. Keep up the great work.
Per usual another fine video. I discovered SFF systems a while back and picked up a ThinkCentre barebones computer. It came with the motherboard. No RAM. no disk. no PS and no CPU. I had to add all that and I was amazed that it worked when I got it together. I had a disk but I bought the rest of the parts used on Ebay. I figured at least one of the pieces would be junk, but I was wrong. It's been running for about 2+ years with no hiccups.
As always, great content. For basic computing needs this is a great way to go. Performance per dollar spent can't be equaled. I'm somewhat biased here as I love to take older hardware (10 years or less) and use those machines as my daily driver for both Windows and Linux (also a Zorin user). I currently have the HP Z series workstations ranging from the Z230 to the Z440 with a Z420 sandwiched in between. And let's not forget Dell Optiplex and Lenovo Thinkcentre. Both companies have great products in their business class portfolio that can't be beat in performance per dollar. Thanks again for sharing!
Question: do you think it is easy to install Linux on such HP mini-PCs?
I had bad experiences on Laptop equipped natively with Windows...
@@giuliobuccini208 Any time you install Linux on any PC there is the possibility for incompatibilities. Some Linux distro's have better chances for success, such as Zorin. There are two versions of Zorin, a paid version and a free version. Of all the distro's I've personally installed, Zorin seems to give the most consistent result. Normally you'll probably have some difficulty with graphics and/or audio. And typically somewhere on the web there will be a resolution described that works. Even with the few hiccups I've had, I still prefer Linux as my daily driver. If I need windows I have VM's that can solve the problems. Now, the laptop can be a real issue due to the proprietary nature of the drivers. Desktops, on the other hand, seem much easier to get everything working. Good Luck!
I remember getting a box 3 times that size at work, there was another box inside with the gray foam padding as well, and all it had in it was a sheet of paper. I believe it was from HP and was just a list of terms and/or licensing agreement.
Hi Chris, I'm glad to hear that you do receive commissions! As I stated a few videos ago, many times after your videos air, the products you spoke of are out of stock so I thought that you deserved a commission! Glad to hear you do get one for helping to sell these products! Stay well. And thanks again! Rich
My local used refurbished computer retailer currently has 9 in stock. Based on ypthe strength of this excellent review, I am ordering one on Monday! Thank you,, Christopher!
These small devices are very interesting, and their prices make them very attractive in many situations: from small workstations at home (especially under Linux) to Nextcloud servers... And as they are quite easy to find, they represent a very relevant acquisition option. And digital recycling is a great initiative... Thanks for the presentation!
Hopefully they don't increase in price anytime soon
I picked up a similar secondhand EliteDesk model a year ago or so for use as HomeAssistant server, and in the wake of the global RPi-shortage it turned out to be a solid choice. They are of "enterprise HP" build quality, and definitely value for money. Plus being x86, you don't need to cross-compile any custom software.
Fun detail: mine was lacking precisely those two drive bracket knobs as well! 😆
I always enjoy your videos, the little comical quips in your commentary makes me laugh and you remind me of my history teacher he had the same sense of humour. Take care of yourself and looking forward to the next video.
Thanks for the tests.
This is a very nice mini pc.
Really good Chris. Huge amount of computer for a very reasonable price. Certainly good enough for the majority of users. Thanks
These are such gems. I have a whole array of these with i7 att home for proxmox lab usage with 32 gb ram in each, + ssd, nvme AND 2,5 gbit networking for ceph. The i7 versions often comes with vPro for remote management. So much awesomeness in a little box!
How did you get 2.5Gbit networking on these?
@@MnemonicCarrier I’m guessing vis USB3/C dongles. I use them for ESXi with such dongles.
@@MnemonicCarrier some have PCIe capability, like Lenovo m920q
Great informative review! I'm really looking into getting a mini somedah
Thanks for another great learning experience really appreciated your sharing this video
Crazy we seem to be totally in sync! I am at my mum's and I just refurbished an HP Compaq 6000 small-form factor from about 2007. I got rid of Windows, (and the HDD it was sitting on) upgraded the 2GB DDR3 Ram for 8GB (for pennies) and installed Lubuntu on a 512GB SSD. Works like a charm now, very responsive, even plays HD TH-cam without problems. I'm tempted to upgade the processor for the highest spec one it will take, a Core 2 Quad 9500, for £11.
It also has a Display Port which surprised me, I didn't know it was so old!
We are in sync indeed! And I get the impression -- both from the comments here, and more generally, that we are far from alone. Refurbished SFF business hardware is I think a rising maker/enthusiast trend.
@@ExplainingComputers Perhaps because it's so easy to get hold of compared to the Raspberry Pi, and also outperforms it with many tasks, especially with desktop internet browsing.
i hope you will make always videos with this AWESOME quality!
I will try. Thanks for your support.
This is I spend the majority of time working on! Right in my wheel house! I usually never get the mouse and kb with it! This video is exactly what i do for folks! THANKS Mr. Barnatt!
Hi Chris, great to see Mr Scissors making a welcome return. I have been using these particular units at home for a few years. We have 3 in the house, one running a laser cutter and the other two performing basic internet and office tasks. They are i5's fitted with M.2 drives and the performance is superb. Even though they have fan cooling they are virtually silent. I'd recommend these to anyone for running basic computing tasks.
Hi Chris, I have been Mr. Scissors for a few years.
@@TimPerfetto we are all Mr Scissors !
@@lucasRem-ku6eb Who is scissors? Yes. Twelve people have to go now? o
ServerHome talked about this little PC awhile ago. Back then I got 4 of these babies and now I plan to add 2 more to my clusters. Here are some of my takes who actually own a bunch of these sub 1L PCs.
1- Most of the G2 comes with Windows VL, some even comes with Win10 PRO which doesn's required you to pay extra $$ to get a genuine OS.
2- Be aware of the m2 for wireless connectivity. Not all card works with G2, only those wireless that are whitelisted by HP. Alternatively you can get a mod BIOS for walkaround.
3- Be careful of the blue screws for the 2.5" hdd tray, from what I understand, there are 2 kinds of threads, one for 3.5" and one for 2.5" but the exterior is the same blue rubber shock absorvant washer. So be careful when you buy those screws or you are gonna ended up like me with a crap load of screws that looks exactly the same but doesn't screwed onto the 2.5" disks.
4- vPro, this is one those hidden gems, it's basically an IPMI which is really cool if you plan to use it as a server.
5- Power hack, the i5 6500T is low power enough to ditch the gigantic brick that passes for power supply. You can go to Aliexpress and find a USB type c to barrel connector for HP and then purchase a 65W type C GaN power charger. I used it on 6500T and it has no problem booting it up.
6- Second ethernet hack, this one is the best, it is great to have an additional ethernet port if you want to transform G2 into a server, like using it as Pfsesne or OpenSense, you'll get more performance comparing to an USB 3 gigabit ethernet. This works by pulling the second display port module, and install a daugther board with a RJ45 socket which is connected via JTAG to an m2 module connected under the HDD tray, there are 2 options to choose from one by realtek and one by intel, I recomend the intel chipset. Be aware that doing this mod you need to take out the second small fan to fit the m2 module, and you will be sacrificing the nvme for a second eth.
I'm running a small cluster of 4 G2 with HA Proxmox and so far I have zero complains.
Also tried with an i7 6700k which is rated for 91W, strangely the original power brick can actually run it, although the temps are a little bit high.
It's just crazy that all SBC prices are so jacked up, you can litterally get on of this for roughly the same price, the perfomance difference is astronomical.
Where can I find out more about the second ethernet hack? tried googling couldn't find anything thanks!
This is an heroic post. THANKS A TON for all of this additional info! I figured I'd just "go crazy" and get 4 G4's for like a proxmox cluster & HA, but obviously the G2's are quite a bit cheaper, esp in volume. I'm also interested in the 2nd eth port..
Thanks for the review. I have ordered this in Amazon and waiting for delivery.
Good luck with your new hardware. As you will discover, it is very solid, and good value for the money.
My son and I messed around with renewed SFFs and laptops for years. Plus, I repaired or rebuilt used systems for years due to affordability. What I valued about that experience was my experimentation with over 20 OSs to determine usability and preference. Many people do not need the powerful systems that they purchased due to desire not need. Which channel was the most influential and informative over the years - Yours! Thanks, Christopher!
I've got one of these as my TV pc / media center. I picked up 16GB ram for £20 from cex along with a 512GB nvme SSD for £40. The last upgrade I've gotten is a i7 6700T as a processor upgrade again from cex. The pc itself I purchased from Cash Generators for £50.
Is the CPU actually socketed for upgradeability? I've assumed they are soldered onto the board.
@Chris Brisson It's a normal socketed desktop processor. I purchased the exact same system as Chris is using from cash generator for £50. I re pasted the processor when I upgraded it to the i7 6700t. The I5 that I had in the system I traded in for 16gb ram.
These are a joy to have! My workplace have a mix of Hp z2, elitedesk tower and an elitedesk 800 G8 mini :) Allocated according to use
I really like this video. I like how you explain everything, it makes me want to order one.
Honestly an underrated form factor. Some Lenovo Tinys have the option to replace the HDD bay with a PCIe 8x slot, if you need expandability
Happy Easter Chris & thank you for an excellent video most enlightening. A large unboxing with Stanley, Mr Scissors & finally Mr Bosch, happy days! Upgrading the memory, adding an NVMe drive & fans will probably make it last longer.
Hi Alan, and thanks for your support.
Thanks for another great video. It just so happens I ordered a mini PC literally a few hours ago to build a very fancy router/firewall with. I was looking at some systems like your HP and similar but I went with something even smaller with very specific networking ports. I will say though, your system is more powerful and for the price of just my bare-bones unit! I especially appreciate anything that combats e-waste, what a terrible problem.
Great review and I must say very helpful. Keep up the excellent work!👍🇬🇧
Thank you! 👍
Great video Chris, I have been using one of these computers for the last 4 years as my daily triple booted with no issues. Although I have and array of other sbc and towers. I really like the size and performance of these units
Thanks for your work
You don't trust the cloud ? Stuck in 1978, Personal systems need !
What you run on them ?
Some people (me ) just like computer hardware for the sake of it. I have a large collection of machines of different ages and types; just fun to use a different one now and again with various operating systems. They would have been thrown out so it's a good thing!@@lucasRem-ku6eb
Hi Chris, I have bought refurbished corporate pcs twice now. They are built well and perform well too. This is a good way to go.
Well done my friend!
Very good video, man. Real interesting, informative and nicely presented.
Another jolly superb video 👍
Many (non-Windows) uses for this class of PC, and longevity is better than what MSFT would have one believe.
Kindest regards, neighbours and friends.
I have no uses for any kind of Windows PC these days unless it's Windows 98, 2000 or XP inside a VM to play a few classic old games with. I rid myself of my Microsoft abuser fully when support for Windows 7 ended - only Linux these days.
I have two 800 G3's and two 600 G2's and they are Fantastic!
When I started my quest to downsize and to make a quieter, less heat producing room, I discovered these on ebay and now I can't stop ordering them to use for various things!
My new plan is to buy a few more of these to set up a Proxmox cluster!
I've just received one and I am already itching to buy even more of them. The homelab bug is hitting hard. I'm not even sure exactly what I am going to run on the Proxmox cluster I am planning to use these for. I just know I need to do it :)
For the same reasons you pointed out in the introduction I recently bought a similarly powerfull refurbished Thinkpad for around 190 euro's. Installed Fedora Silverblue on it and it works like a charm.
Getting close to 1M subs! Grats in advance! 🥳
Thanks. :)
i5s are small power stations in almost every configuration you can come across. I love the power/cost/life ratio. Great video Chris. Keep up.
We've tested hundreds of used HP Minis (G1, 2, and 3) for resale, and they proved to be very reliable.
Meaning you refurbished and sell them? I'm constantly trying to find sellers other than the huge greedy corporations like Amazon or best buy but google usually pimply shows search results for the giant corporations and no one else.
@@DarkGhostHackerSorry, we don't buy/sell/own these assets, we only provide services like deployment/decommission/data sanitisation and testing.
Just took delivery of two of them. I can't wait to tear into them!
I have one of these! i find it to be a proper Desktop. It performs on all I have put it to. Thanks for the review
The I/O in this Mini Pc is quite amazing
Great review! These mini PCs are awesome! Since Raspberry Pi 4 SBCs dried up, I started buying these instead to use as headless home servers. It's really worth getting the i7 version if you can, as you get twice as many CPU cores than the i5 version (and probably a slightly better iGPU too). The CPU is user upgradeable, but I think it's cheaper to buy one with an i7. Was surprised that the fans can get quite loud on these. I have two, and they run silently, although I don't run a desktop environment on mine. You can also perform a hack to attach a desktop GPU to these small computers via the M.2 connector - you just need the right adapter (m.2 to pcie riser).
Maybe I haven't pushed my mini's enough, but I haven't had an issue with fan noise. But I use these for tinkering so that may be why.
@@warbirdnut9269 I think the reason why Christopher mentioned fan noise is because he has the model with the 65W CPU (I have the 35W model), so his unit probably generates a lot more heat (but it will be around 25% faster too).
Oh nice an HP small pc Nice surprise for Easter! Happy Easter love theses small PC
Thanks for another great video Chris. 👍
Greetings Steve.
Enjoy your video. Looks a great value. As the demise of support for Windows 10 looms, I think the prices might even get more attractive for these computers. I will certainly be looking forward to your video on Windows 11 on non-supported PCs as I have a couple that will lose support in a couple of years, including a barely used tablet that I bought from Microsoft directly.
I am sure you are right that a lot of hardware will become available as machines that are not able to officially run Windows 11 are taken out of service.
@@ExplainingComputers As I've mentioned in my previous comment, they run Linux just fine.
As with all HP corporate hardware, you can also update the BIOS from within the BIOS. Just hit F10 to go into the BIOS. Make sure an ethernet cable is connected to your network, and hit Update Bios. Given these were £600 to £700 when new they are now amazing value.
those things are 7 years old now, so the value is in doubt, those fans and the mobo are on the limit of needing replacement, these kind of machines were used 24/7 where they were used first
Another joyful and very educational video bravo 👏👏👏
Excellent a usual. great video. thanks a lot!
I’ve been running one of these as a Hyper-V homelab server running WS 2019 24/7!
I’m amazed how much compute power you get from such a small machine :)
We live off grid with 24v dc batteries. Our two second hand small footprint HP 800s have run for years without problems. A 24v to 19v converter from Ali runs them without even getting warm so low drain and we leave them on a lot. One is Linux and the other Win 10.
Thank you and as usual most informative..
Yay!! You finally reviewed one of these bad boys
Worked for a bit in a place where each worker had the Lenovo ThinkCentre M900 Tiny with i7 6700 and 16 gigs of ram - they actually do fairly well for the programing/designing that company does. The power rusage and snappy performance are the only real + sides tho. Even at 20-30% CPU usage the fan ramp up to max rpm and they not only produce serious heat (old hdd sitting next to it on the table was warm and that wasnt directly behind the fan) but the noise can be heard across a big room. The expansion or upgrade options are non-existent - u cant replace anything inside of them beside adding storage or ram...
Yeah, they are basically like laptops. If you do any major work the fan will crank up. Fine for general use, but if you like silence, or do heavy computing a full size desktop will be a better option.
@@volvo09 Not exactly. In terms of expansion/thermals/power they are the same as laptops but even tho physically these tiny towers are smaller, you still need full peripherals to use them - aka input device/s, monitors etc. The main reason I was given why they bought them there was cuz of the pandemic and working from home (it was hard to carry the big desktop and monitors to ur home and room was an issue in smaller living spaces) + electricity bills (before they had older xeon systems which indeed hog more power). For this company, the workload requires 2 monitors with decent resolution (2k is minimum) and big screens - anything less or a single monitor just doesn't work when you need easily 4,5,6+ things opened at the same time. When you need to put 2 biga** monitors in your home, I don't see how the form factor of the PC would solve any space problems you might have..... Meanwhile, as annoying as a track pad can be, laptop can easily operate anywhere on their own. Just bring portable 2nd monitor and , imo, you have better version of that PC...
These are great wee devices. I run a Dell 1L for my Plex and its fantastic. Costs next to nothing to run.
I recently bought one of these mini pcs from DELL, though a brand new one, also got a dp-hdmi 1.4 adapter and was surprised to get 4k60p resolutions on my tv, just looked at the displayports on mine, they are dp++, I’ve never knew about that, now things make sense again, thanks!
Very educational video. thank you for sharing your knowledge sir!
The price for performance and connectivity on systems like this is hard to beat. The Windows 10 deadline may be a concern for some, but x86 means a variety of robust Linux distributions are available. These compact systems are available form many OEMs as well.
Xubuntu 22.04 installed without incident on my 64 bit HP SFF computers. Xubuntu boots too slow now for my ancient laptop with the Celeron 900 CPU on it. Once booted (taking five minutes to do so) it works well enough for 480p video and simple web use although much slower than my new laptop.
I’ve got a G2 of same config but went to max 32GB of RAM with a fast 1TB NVME. It runs very nice and I didn’t spend much on it - around 200 total with everything.
Are there any left for around that price?
Mr Siccors made me smile. Love your style.
As always another extremely interesting video. Thank you. In the future, you could make a video ( if you haven't already done so ) about the BIOS and its settings for dual booting and/or installing Linux and windows together?
What about 4K TH-cam playback ?
The one you've got is a 65 watt version that can be easily recognized by the vents on top, there are also 35 watt versions without those venting holes and can be easily stackable.
Also, 35 watt version use lot less energy while performing slightly less (assuming both have i5). Still, 35 watt version is my preferred model (got 5 of those).
P.S.
Fans on the HDD caddy seem to only be present on 65W versions.
P.P.S
G3 version of 800 series mostly don't have HDD caddies so be careful if/when ordering one of those newer models.
Very interesting. I assumed this was the 6500T version, and the power use was consistent with this. But Windows reported 6500 as you note.
Of course if you run 5 of of them, more shillings in the meter 😉