HP Elitedesk SFF G4

[fenderman]

Here are some internal images of the Elitedesk G4 SFF. This is an i5-8500 system.
It can hold 2x3.5 drives, a dvd drive, a 2.5 drive as well as 2 additional m.2 2280 ssd's on the motherboard.

 

[J Sigmo]

I followed the link to the ones on Ebay. Looks like a winner.

A coworker just happens to need a new general purpose PC. And I could use one as well. Nice timing.

 

[fenderman]

I followed the link to the ones on Ebay. Looks like a winner.

A coworker just happens to need a new general purpose PC. And I could use one as well. Nice timing.

Note that if you plan to use an nvme ssd on the MB, it requires a specialized (not the standard M2x3mm) screw hp part no L54548-001. They are out of stock though. They are 10 bux. HP support confirmed they are not made of gold despite the price. I will look around for something that works.
The HP Parts Store | HP Computer Parts | HP Printer Parts

 

[J Sigmo]

I've got three of these computers coming. I was planning on just getting some of these:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KLD9333/ref=twister_B07L1MP7KM?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

These particular PCs won't be for Blue Iris, but for general use, so I wanted a larger SSD. But I'm open for any recommendations as to what might work well for a boot drive.

 

[fenderman]

I've got three of these computers coming. I was planning on just getting some of these:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KLD9333/ref=twister_B07L1MP7KM?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

These particular PCs won't be for Blue Iris, but for general use, so I wanted a larger SSD. But I'm open for any recommendations as to what might work well for a boot drive.

If you are going to use the 2.5 ssd's then you dont need the nvme mounting screw.
You will need these for 2.5 ssd 20x HP 2.5 HDD Mounting Screws 6000 6005 Pro 8000 8100 EliteDesk ProDesk G1 G2 | eBay
If you plan on installing 3.5 drives you will need these 4pcs Screws 3.5 HDD compaq blue hard drive isolation mounting for HP TEUS | eBay

Also, spend 10 bux more on the MX500 series https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-MX500-NAND-SATA-Internal/dp/B077SF8KMG/ref=sr_1_1?crid=U8X1DRRJ4MZJ&keywords=crucial+mx500&qid=1557633864&s=electronics&sprefix=crucial+,electronics,174&sr=1-1

I will be using these nvme drives
https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-500G...rucial+p1&qid=1557634068&s=electronics&sr=1-2

 

[J Sigmo]

@fenderman:

Thanks for the information! I was planning on using the 2.5" SSDs, and then likely some sort of standard spinning drive for extra storage in each of these. Usually I've got the necessary screws for this sort of thing in my junk collection, but those screws look like they've got some isolation bumpers built in, so I may well order a batch of each of them.

What is the advantage of the NVMe drives? Is it just the small size, and not taking up one of the larger "slots", so you've got more room for future expansion? Or are they faster?

Thanks again for your time.

Those MX500s are what I got for the three PCs I've updated to SSDs a few months ago. You'd recommended them back then. They've been great!

 

[fenderman]

@fenderman:

Thanks for the information! I was planning on using the 2.5" SSDs, and then likely some sort of standard spinning drive for extra storage in each of these. Usually I've got the necessary screws for this sort of thing in my junk collection, but those screws look like they've got some isolation bumpers built in, so I may well order a batch of each of them.

What is the advantage of the NVMe drives? Is it just the small size, and not taking up one of the larger "slots", so you've got more room for future expansion? Or are they faster?

Thanks again for your time.

Both. They are technically faster, but I have never tested them side by side. Based on online comparisons, you should not notice a perceptible difference. So unless you really need the extra space for the 2.5 it should not matter. The P1 500gb was a few bux cheaper than the mx500 so I figured why not, but now have to find the screw.

 

[J Sigmo]

I'll have to think about that. I always seem to need space to add another drive, so saving space would be a definite advantage. The screws must be pretty odd. They're not something like an "Inch" thread such as 4/40 or something, are they? You wouldn't expect them to use something really odd, but then again, if you can get $10 for a screw...

 

[fenderman]

I'll have to think about that. I always seem to need space to add another drive, so saving space would be a definite advantage. The screws must be pretty odd. They're not something like an "Inch" thread such as 4/40 or something, are they? You wouldn't expect them to use something really odd, but then again, if you can get $10 for a screw...

Not even close...they are tiny. You can see the hole in my image in the OP. At first I though it might need a standoff like many boards use, but that would make it lay too high. I am going to call support again and see if they can find a better spec for me. One nice thing about hp business support is that you get through to a human based in the US in seconds and they are really nice.

 

[J Sigmo]

Not even close...they are tiny. You can see the hole in my image in the OP. At first I though it might need a standoff like many boards use, but that would make it lay too high. I am going to call support again and see if they can find a better spec for me. One nice thing about hp business support is that you get through to a human based in the US in seconds and they are really nice.

Well, bummer! But it is nice that you can talk to a human. I wonder if they can tell you what the thread pitch and major diameter are. Maybe they could be found in bulk somewhere else.

 

[fenderman]

Well, bummer! But it is nice that you can talk to a human. I wonder if they can tell you what the thread pitch and major diameter are. Maybe they could be found in bulk somewhere else.

The support guy had little info on the screw other than what is on the hp parts site. They would likely have to send it up the chain.

 

[J Sigmo]

I wonder if there's some kind of "standard" mounting screw for those drives. It seems like the manufacturers of the motherboards would follow some sort of standard, so maybe we can find out what it is from a drive manufacturer.

 

[J Sigmo]

One forum says this:

The correct screw size is 2.0 x 3mm (CM2x3-3.3).

Edit to add: But it looks like that's exactly what you already tried!

 

[fenderman]

One forum says this:

The correct screw size is 2.0 x 3mm (CM2x3-3.3).

That is not even close to the correct size, that is the standard size for most motherboards... But much bigger then what is needed here.

 

[J Sigmo]

I'd be tempted to just run a drill and then tap through there and make it into a 4/40!

 

[J Sigmo]

@fenderman

Thanks again for your time.

I have a couple of the NVMe drives you were going to use coming, except I got the 1TB versions because a couple of these machines may be used for Photoshop, which is a real pig, and one for a development and human machine interface PC for an industrial control system. They might benefit from a larger boot drive.

We'll likely also add some regular HDDs for mass storage that doesn't need to be really fast.

When the PCs arrive, I may see if something like an "inch" 2-56 fits the screw hole. Who knows, we might get lucky!

 

[grumpywilson]

Would you need to use a 3.5 to 2.5 mount to put the 2.5 into the elitedesk g4? I wound up buying one of those elitedesk i5 8500's last week and I ordered a crucial mx500 250gb that will be here today.

And also thank you for your help with the recommendation and information on chosing a desktop @fenderman

 

[fenderman]

Would you need to use a 3.5 to 2.5 mount to put the 2.5 into the elitedesk g4? I wound up buying one of those elitedesk i5 8500's last week and I ordered a crucial mx500 250gb that will be here today.

And also thank you for your help with the recommendation and information on chosing a desktop @fenderman

No you don't need a mount but you will need the proper screws for the drive ... See my post above for the link... The mounting screws are different for the 3.5 and 2.5

 

[J Sigmo]

@fenderman

I don't want to wear out my welcome, but "you da man!". Now that I've apparently bought the last of this seller's batch of these particular machines, another friend still needs a replacement for his home PC. He doesn't do anything that requires a particularly powerful PC, but it never hurts to get something that will serve you well for some time into the future.

He asked about a particular Dell refurb that he can get from Amazon, but it was around $450, and is only an i7 4500 or some such. It does have 16 Gig of RAM, and a 450GB SSD, but I figured you might have a recommendation for something similar for less money, or something more powerful for about the same price. He most likely will not be using this for Blue Iris, but just surfing the net, doing his taxes, etc., for the most part. I hate to see him spend more than he needs to, and I like the idea of the better-built enterprise/business PCs, so if you've got something good scoped out, I'd love to have your recommendation.

Thanks again, I know this takes time to research and post for us!

I'm itching to get the three of these HP Elitedesk SFF G4s now that I ordered them.

Thanks again for your valuable time.

 

[crw030]

Both. They are technically faster, but I have never tested them side by side. Based on online comparisons, you should not notice a perceptible difference. So unless you really need the extra space for the 2.5 it should not matter. The P1 500gb was a few bux cheaper than the mx500 so I figured why not, but now have to find the screw.

Based on personal experience, as well as several youtube videos, a good speed test is Windows Boot, and I don't see enough difference to pay a premium unless you are going for just "tidiness of internals", plus check your motherboard because NVME has a downside of sometimes disabling a bunch of onboard SATA ports on your computer.

YMMV but imho SATA SSD is still plenty good for all purposes. Here are my personal results:

• wife i5-6600k PC boots from SSD (M.2 850 EVO SATA) - boot time 31 seconds
  
• mine i5-8600k PC boots from a 960 EVO (M.2 NVME) - boot time 30.x seconds (more than 30, less than 31)
  
• sons i7-920 PC boots from a Crucial SSD using onboard SATA - boot time 35 seconds (same PC booted the same OS in 14 minutes off 5400 RPM platter drive, circa 2009)

But from what I can tell you, only silly benchmarks can measure a difference at least when it comes to booting, loading games, saving files and so forth. If there is a place where NVME crushes SSD I haven't yet encountered it. Most are marketed based heavily on disk benchmarks that in no way seem to mimic real world usage.