[Official] HP ProDesk 400 G4 SFF Owner's Thread

[JDM_WAAAT]

Overview

• Intel Pentium G4560 (2C/4T, 7th-gen QuickSync)
• 8GB DDR4 RAM
• 2 SATA ports
• 1 x DisplayPort, 1 x VGA
• 2 x Low profile PCIe slots (x16, x4)
• No NVMe slots, but does support NVMe boot with a PCIe adapter
• Realtek GbE NIC (add an Intel dual or quad port for pfSense)
• ~10W idle power consumption
• about 2U wide
• 1x80mm fan (quiet)

Possible uses

• Small QuickSync box
• pfSense router
• Dedicated NZB unpack box
• Dedicated Torrent seed box
• Physical “VM” for whatever you want
• use multiple with Docker Swarm
• Use a dual port 10GbE adapter
• Use a 9201-8e for NAS/DAS

Resources

• [Guide] Hardware Transcoding: The JDM way! QuickSync and NVENC
• HP Documentation
• [Official] NVMe FAQ & Info - M.2, U.2, heatsinks, and more!

Links

• HP ProDesk 400 G4 on ebay (seller accepts $90 offers)
• NVMe FAQ - Adapters: [Official] NVMe FAQ & Info - M.2, U.2, heatsinks, and more!
• Add 8GB RAM or 8GB RAM (pick whichever is cheaper)
• Add 2x 10GbE ports - Intel X520 T2 (this serves no purpose on pfSense or Plex unless your external connection is >1Gb)
• DisplayPort dummy plug

[roo_my_dude]

Thanks for sharing the deal! I’m considering picking one up to use as a small transcode box but am somewhat new to this. Do you foresee any issues?

I took a look and saw that this processor is ready for Quick Sync, and this box seems to accept NVMe if I wanted to expand to another SSD later as the metadata for my plex library expands. Do you foresee any issues with this setup? Any idea as to how many transcodes this CPU might be able to handle?

[joeshmoo]

Seller accepted $110. Just what I needed for a little off-site transcode box project. Thanks!

[Bluemenace404]

How many 1080 Transcodes will be possible with this vs the HP 290?

[JDM_WAAAT]

Seller accepts $90, allegedly.

[JDM_WAAAT]

How many 1080 Transcodes will be possible with this vs the HP 290?

The same amount, if not more. The CPU is faster.

[Bluemenace404]

Thanks, so if I want to direct stream 4k from my NAS 4.0 killer and transcode 1080 I will be ok to do so? Sorry this is my first time hosting my own server and PLEX.

[JDM_WAAAT]

Oh yeah, totally. This is a great box for that, just make sure you use a SSD for your OS. I’d recommend a 250-500GB NVMe if possible.

[Bluemenace404]

Awesome!! Thanks

[JDM_WAAAT]

If/when you need help setting it up, make a post over in #builds:jdms-hardware-transcoding-builds and we can help you there.

Or on the discord!

[Bluemenace404]

Will do! Thanks for the help!

[JDM_WAAAT]

You’re welcome!

[Bluemenace404]

Just bought mine for $90 as well!!

[jsclayton]

Accepted $90 almost immediately/automatically

[neldonado]

Would this work well for strictly running blue iris? 3-5 2mp cameras max.

[JDM_WAAAT]

Yes, it will!

[badi95]

Just picked one up for $90. If I wanted more power would it possible to upgrade the processor on this?

[jsclayton]

The spec sheet lists up to 65W processors, I would assume you could drop one of those in without problems. That said I’ve not tried myself.

[emonster]

JDM, The SFF and the Micro Tower are actually slightly different - your title says Micro Tower, but you linked the SFF spec sheet. And the ebay listing is also the SFF model. Just FYI - you might want to edit the title

[jsclayton]

Got mine today, nice little system. Has anyone tried booting from an nvme adapter? Since it’ll be offsite I was thinking of slapping a big HDD in the disk spot and booting from nvme. Just wanted to check before ordering a disk.