Hp elitedesk 800 g2 review
Mini Specs:
35W CPU: i7-6700T i5-6600T [i5-6500T] i3-3100T # I3 has no Vpro
65W CPU: i7-6700 i5-6600 [i5-6500] i3-3100 # I3 has no Vpro
GPU: intel HD 530
Chipset: Intel Q170 # Vpro supported
Ram_Slots: 2x DDR4 SODIMMs
Ram_Configs: [1x8gb] 2x4gb 1x16gb 2133MHz*
PCIE_Slots: msata
Storage_Slots: m.2 ssd 2280 + 2.5" hdd/ssd
Misc: Interal Speaker,
Display_Ports: 2xDP, 1xVGA
IO: 6xUSB3, F 3.5mm Headphone & Microphone + 3.5mm Speaker
Notes: 35W has one main CPU fan while 65W adds a secondary one
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Small Form Factor Specs:
CPU: i7-6700 i5-6600 [i5-6500] i3-3100 # I3 has no Vpro
GPU: intel HD 530
Chipset: Intel Q170 # Vpro supported
Ram_Slots: 4x DDR4 DIMMs
Ram_Configs: [1x8gb] 2x4gb 1x16gb 2133MHz*
PCIE_Slots: 1x16x 2x1x 1x4
Storage_Slots: m.2 SSD 2280 + 2.5" Bay + 2x3.5" Bays or 1x3.5" & Laptop dvd drive
Misc: Interal Speaker
Display_Ports: 2xDP, 1xVGA
IO: 8xUSB3, 2xUSB2, PS2, F&B 3.5mm Speaker + 3.5mm Microphone
PSU: 200W or a 230W 80+ platinum?
Notes: 2 fans one for CPU and one for the PSU
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Overview
The Hp EliteDesk 800 line is the "high-end" of hp's *Desk line with better IO and better chipsets. G2 brings Skylake processors most came with the i5-6500/T 4C/4T CPU which is plenty for most normal users and can even do some light video editing 3d modeling and gaming. The SFF and mini variants can be gotten for very cheap on eBay (around 65$) the MT is more expensive but can have full hight GPU's.
These machines are Quite Power Efficient with the 14nm Skylake CPU's especially when undervolted.
Performance
Included HD 530 iGPU
While the iGPU is very Power efficient (15w TDP and extremely low idle power) it has problems playing newer games that are not extremely well optimized and a good few DirectX and Vulkan games/programs will not run.
Most older or highly optimized games you can run at 720@30 or less on low settings. While most open-source games will run good even at 1080@60. Adding a second stick of ram for dual-channel memory will help a lot with Performance.
D-GPU
You should be able to install any low profile graphics card that does not need a external power connector. While it is possible to use a riser to fit larger GPU's you still probably will run into issues with the PSU's wattage, (which there are different versions from 200w to 230w i've found) You can also use a Sata to 8pin adapter but again your going to have to watch the wattage.
I have tested the RX 640 dell LP card does work, but the bios screen does not display with the GPU installed.
Benchmarks
Mini 35w i5-6600T Arch linux x64:
CPU:
sysbench single threaded events per second: 606
sysbench multi threaded events per second: 2357
ffmpeg x264 vbench: 105 sec
GPU:
glmark2 Score: 4332
SFF i5-6600 Arch Linux x64:
sysbench single threaded events per second: 688
sysbench multi threaded events per second: 2567
Notes and Tips
Fans always run but at a low speed if the CPU is cool. Regardless of CPU temp the fans will spin faster if ambient temp is high (90f)
Undervolting # reduce power usage and improve performance
To undervolt hp elitedesk 800 g2 systems you need to be on BIOS v2.42 or older. Newer versions disable undervolting as a mitigation for plundervolt. If you are on a newer version you can downgrade to v2.42.
Hard Drive installation
To install 3.5" or 2.5" drives you need special hp drive mount screws with a plastic thing around it, these can be found on eBay or 3d printed.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3641428
You can get away with using just normal screws jankly but this is not ideal especially for HDD's
Article by X5DragonFire. CC BY-NC 4.0. Last updated January 5, 2025.
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