CPU Upgrade for my ProDesk 400 G3 MT

[jnz1]

Recently I got a ProDesk 400 G3 MT computer second hand, and it's been great.

As a little hobby project, I'm trying to push the little machine to it's limits by upgrading all the hardware.

So far I already upgraded the 180w power supply to a 550w 80+ Gold one, and the 2x4 ddr4 sticks to 2x16 for a total of 32gb.

Next up is the processor. The computer comes with an i5-6500 cpu.

I've searched all over the internet, and found that my best bet would probably be an i7-7700.

The HP support page mentions the max supported cpu to be an i7-6700, but if I look in the latest BIOS changelog, I can find support for 7th gen cpu's

Also, I cant think of a reason why an intel K series processor wouldn't be compatible either.

If I could I would like to go with an i7-7700K.

Is there anyone who's got more experience in with these products would could help me out?

Thanks in advance!

[NonSequitur777]

@jnz1,

Welcome to our HP User Forum!

Unfortunately, the HP ProDesk 400 G3 MT, according to: http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c04887112.pdf, and looking at actual HP ProDesk 400 G3 MT Users: https://www.userbenchmark.com/System/HP-ProDesk-400-G3-MT/25963, can only be fitted with 6th generation core processors, the i7-6700 (TDP=65 watt) being the best CPU you could pick -not even the i7-6700K (TDP=91 watt) is compatible.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[jnz1]

Thank you for taking the time to look into this! 🙂

Though, while I can understand that a K-series won't work due to the 95watt power requirement, I still don't believe a 7th Generation i7 non-K wouldn't fit.

Looking at other ProDesk models from the same generation you can find support for 7th gen Intel CPU's: HP ProDesk 400 G3 Desktop Mini Business PC Product Specifications | HP® Customer Support

Also, if you look into the revision history of the latest BIOS update, you can see that in Version: 02.18 Rev.A the notes read:  Rollback the CPU microcode for Intel 6th generation processors (Skylake) to 0xBA, and 7th generation processors (Kaby Lake) (link to the BIOS update: Driver - HP ProDesk 400 G3 Microtower PC | HP® Customer Support)

Which to me makes it look like a 7th gen CPU will work.

[NonSequitur777]

@jnz1,

You are welcome.  Look, I don't disagree with you at all. The ProDesk 400 G3 MT's Intel H110 chipset should indeed make it compatible with 7th gen Intel processors: CPU-Upgrade: Intel H110 chipset processor support, but HP can override this with their own motherboard code. And checking up on ProDesk 400 G3 MT super users -if a 7th gen Intel processor were to be compatible, it would have showed up here: UserBenchmark: HP ProDesk 400 G3 MT Compatible Components

If you don't believe me, buy an inexpensive, returnable 7th gen Intel processor such as the i3-7100, and see if it will work.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777