Project TinyMiniMicro: Reviving Small Corporate Desktops

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unmesh

Active Member
Apr 17, 2017
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I'm looking at the following models for sale in the country I'm in... HP EliteDesk 800 G6 mini i5-10500t /8gb/256gb. They also have HP ProDesk 600 G6 mini i5-10500t /8gb/256gb. I've been studying online specs but can't see any real difference between these models... any idea?
Also can anyone tell me if the vPro functionality in these is useable from Mac OSX, either via client application or web interface? I know nothing at all about vPro, and have an all-Mac environment.
Intention is to use it as some kind of server or virtualization machine maybe with Proxmox.
Thanks
Usually you have to go to the 800 to get vPro and, sometimes, a second M.2 SSD connector but that distinction seems to have been blurred with G6. The difference seems to be that they have a PCIe riser card option if you buy their discrete graphics card which means that you could conceivable run a 10G NIC card instead in this small a form factor.

To access vPro, I use MeshCommander for Windows but it is available for other platforms as well

MeshCommander
 
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Helzy

Active Member
Oct 19, 2017
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Soldered RAM, M2 storage (probably 1 slot) though. It's basically like an X1 Carbon minus the screen, battery and human interface devices. That's a very large price to pay for not much expansion options down the line.
Yes Uggh, I have 7x X1 Carbon's. Not happy with soldered RAM. Really poor design decision and quickly exited my deployment strategy. All seven are earmarked for kiosk use now. too bad really, they are nice units, however, Lenovo really crapped the bed with power delivery issues on the 2x USB-C ports.
 

foureight84

Active Member
Jun 26, 2018
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ProDesk 600 G4 inbound.
This is a note for anyone that has or is buying an HP Prodesk 600 G4 Mini. I have been using one for a year now as Frigate NVR server (didn't need display or sound) but today I refashioned it into a Chrome OS Flex and discovered that there was no sound via the DisplayPort. I tested it against Debian and then Windows 10/11 and the same issue occured. I was on the latest firmware (02.19.00 Rev.A) at the time of this issue. I decided to roll back the bios and the issue persisted back to version 02.14.01 Rev.A where I was no longer able to roll back via the network bios update feature. So I downloaded a much older version where I randomly picked (02.10.00 Rev.A) and used the "Create Recovery USB flash drive" in order to flash. I can confirm that sound works through DisplayPort now. There are two bios updates between 2.14.01 Rev.A and 02.10.00 Rev.A but I did not test those to confirm which bios version where this issue began.

On a separate note, external USB hard drive enclosures with the JMicron JMS567 chipset (such as the Syba SY-ENC50104) would cause bios to lock on reboot. Cold boot doesn't exhibit this issue. I suspect that it might be a bios-related issue as well but I have not tested after flashing to 02.10.00 Rev.A to see if it had solved the problem.
 
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Quartermaster

Right, now pay attention 007!
Jun 3, 2020
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Does anyone know of a low horsepower TMM style box that has Intel NICs?

Installing a PCIe NIC is a bit overkill, but not totally out of the question if the TMM box cost isn't too much higher.

For my desired use case, cost is super important, whereas CPU performance is not: AMD GX-4xx embedded processors are quite ok.

Thank you for any recommendations!
 

PigLover

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Jan 26, 2011
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Does anyone know of a low horsepower TMM style box that has Intel NICs?

Installing a PCIe NIC is a bit overkill, but not totally out of the question if the TMM box cost isn't too much higher.

For my desired use case, cost is super important, whereas CPU performance is not: AMD GX-4xx embedded processors are quite ok.

Thank you for any recommendations!
One of the Lenovo units with the 4x i350 nic is a great option. Might not be the lowest cost but they are not only Intel NICs, they are the really good end of the Intel 1gbe line.
 
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Mike Test

New Member
Feb 3, 2023
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Hi all,
Happy to join the bandwagon...

I was looking for a cheap TMM for some home hosting projects, and I managed to find a second hand Dell 7040 in perfect condition for 180 euros. It came fully loaded with an Intel i7 Gen6, 16 GB of RAM and 500 GB HDD + an other 500 GB NVMe. I removed the NVMe that I gave to my son for his gaming PC, so this 7040 already made 2 happy campers in the house :)

Just one quick question: I find that the internal fan makes a rather unpleasant high pitch noise when it starts spinning faster than idle. I do some GCC compilations from time to time that can stress the CPU a little bit which triggers the fan.

Is there a good replacement option available ? I'm aware of the proprietary connector and I've found some 3rd party fans on Amazon (from Sunon I believe) but I have no idea if this is going to solve the problem.

Thank you.
 
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bigfellasdad

Member
Apr 10, 2018
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You could try this maybe X series Ear Muffs | Zoro UK

Sorry...

I'd check the connector on the fan, if it's standard, a noctura or similar are quiet. Just make sure the new fan pushes enough air. If your box was an hp I'd leave alone as their fans are naturist for needing extra connectors
 

0xKruzr

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Feb 2, 2023
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is there a current general agreement on the best deal in tinyminimicros with PCIe slots? specifically, I don't even need GPU support - I just need 10GbE. (I should add tho that support for at least two M.2s would be a huge benefit, bordering on necessity)
 
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drvcrash

New Member
Jul 29, 2020
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for me it was the m90q gen2 or the p350. they have two m.2 slots and with the 16x riser i have dual 10gb cards. the m90q's i got around 400 each

is there a current general agreement on the best deal in tinyminimicros with PCIe slots? specifically, I don't even need GPU support - I just need 10GbE. (I should add tho that support for at least two M.2s would be a huge benefit, bordering on necessity)
 
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0xKruzr

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Feb 2, 2023
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for me it was the m90q gen2 or the p350. they have two m.2 slots and with the 16x riser i have dual 10gb cards. the m90q's i got around 400 each
thanks, will start looking for these. I just snagged an M720q for $179 but I think it might only have one M.2 slot on the bottom :-/ although, it looks like there is another very short one under the hard drive bracket that is almost certainly intended for WLAN, but AFAICT would also be just fine for a boot drive since I have 0 need for WiFi for this build.
 

arcadia420

New Member
Feb 13, 2023
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Raleigh, NC
thanks, will start looking for these. I just snagged an M720q for $179 but I think it might only have one M.2 slot on the bottom :-/ although, it looks like there is another very short one under the hard drive bracket that is almost certainly intended for WLAN, but AFAICT would also be just fine for a boot drive since I have 0 need for WiFi for this build.
Next time, if you're looking for a great deal and have half a day check out the closest university surplus store. I went to one for the first time last week. They stocked multiple shelves of optiplex micro machines for ~$25. Get there early because, at mine, they let people inside in groups.The procedure was to first fill a cart then wait in a line to use the test stations to see what you pulled. I wasn't there specifically for these and was just checking things out. Some of the configurations had pcie and some didn't. I went home with a precision tower that had a v4, 128gb ddr4, and w5100 for $60. I am going to the next one to get something smaller!
 
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foureight84

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Jun 26, 2018
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Next time, if you're looking for a great deal and have half a day check out the closest university surplus store. I went to one for the first time last week. They stocked multiple shelves of optiplex micro machines for ~$25. Get there early because, at mine, they let people inside in groups.The procedure was to first fill a cart then wait in a line to use the test stations to see what you pulled. I wasn't there specifically for these and was just checking things out. Some of the configurations had pcie and some didn't. I went home with a precision tower that had a v4, 128gb ddr4, and w5100 for $60. I am going to the next one to get something smaller!
Dang that's a great deal. It's crazy expensive in LA. I looked at UCLA's surplus and saw a few expensive listing for very outdated hardware like a laptop with an i7 3520M /8gb ram/128gb SSD for $900. USC doesn't sell to the public. It's just California, maybe. I remember randomly perusing a yard sale in Washington state and saw really good deals and very reasonable asks.
 

Mike Test

New Member
Feb 3, 2023
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the internal fan makes a rather unpleasant high pitch noise when it starts spinning faster than idle
Responding to myself: I just noticed that i8ktools installs and works just fine on the 7040 mini. With that I now have the fan spinning at 800 RPMs at idle instead of 1,200 - and as a result the 7040 is now completely silent.
 
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arcadia420

New Member
Feb 13, 2023
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Raleigh, NC
USC doesn't sell to the public. It's just California, maybe. I remember randomly perusing a yard sale in Washington state and saw really good deals and very reasonable asks.
UCLA might not be a lost a cause. I was looking at the UCLA ad for this month and it had a list of names and contacts with the items they sold. It never hurts to reach out directly and ask, the worst they'll say is no.
 
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PANiCnz

New Member
Apr 22, 2022
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You can ask Racknex if they want to custom build one, if you dont find one for you needs, but they have these:
Thanks! That looks ideal but a bit too expensive. Will keep hunting and see what else I can find.
 
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bigfellasdad

Member
Apr 10, 2018
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Thanks! That looks ideal but a bit too expensive. Will keep hunting and see what else I can find.
I thought so as well, especially as id need a few, the photo's look like they cable everything to the switch as well, so it would be no where near as tidy. Its hard finding something that suits the home though. Ive looked at floating shelf/draw and so many options... keep drawing a blank though. They will end up in the laundry room out of sight at this rate
 

[Nobody]

Member
Nov 1, 2020
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I'm interested about these tiny PCs as well. But since I'm using Proxmox with ZFS (with 14 SSDs at the moment) and ECC, I have some concerns about moving to a system with less SSD slots, no ECC, no PCI-E for 10g and so on..