HP 800 G3 SFF with GTX 1650 vs RTX 3050 video card

[Tempak]

Hi.
Just wanna share my HP 800 G3 SFF video card upgrade.
This desktop is equipped with integrated video card Intel HD Graphics 530.
It's relative slow for gaming, thus I bought this one:

MSI GeForce GTX 1650 4GT LP OC, 4GB GDDR5, PCI-E x16 3.0
L=168 W=69 H=37 mm
Power consumption 75W
Recommended PSU 300W
1xHDMI, 1xDisplay Port, 1xDVI-D

This video cards fits fine within SFF case.
HP 800 G3 is equipped with 180W PSU, so it's far lower from recommended, but knowing that in fact it will take only 75W, I was hoping that rest will be enough for mainboard, CPU, HDD, SSD and DVD drive. And it works. I'm not playing games a lot, so my GPU usage is not extensive, but desktop is running fine with original PSU.

But nowadays some games require RTX to run, and it won't even run on GTX video card. For example "Indiana Jones and the Great Circle".
It's not a huge number of games, but most probably more RTX-only games will be released in future.

So I started to look for any RTX card, which will fit into HP 800 G3 SFF.
Of course it have to be Low Profile (LP), without need for additional power cord, as long PSU does not have any additional video card cables.

The second requirement is low power consumption.

I decided for RTX 3050, which comes from two manufacturers:

Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3050 OC Low Profile 6GB GDDR6, PCI-E 4.0
L=181 W=69 H=36 mm
Recommended PSU 300W
2xDisplay Port, 2xHDMI

MSI GeForce RTX 3050 LP OC Low Profile 6GB GDDR6, PCI-E 4.0
L=174 W=69 H=42 mm
Power consumption 70W
Recommended PSU 300W
1xDisplay Port, 2xHDMI

For the first one Gigabyte does not provide info what's real power consumption. It only provides recommended PSU power, which is 300W in both cases.
First one have one more Display Port, allowing to connect up to four displays.
I decided to buy first one, but it wasn't good choice for HP 800 G3 SFF.
I did not read carefully about it's length 181mm, and... it doesn't fit into this desktop.
Most probably MSI should fit, because it's 174mm long, but I don't have one, so I can't confirm it for sure.
Knowing that GTX 1650 with 168mm fits without problem, 174mm should also be fine. But 181mm is too long for sure.
What I did, was cut out part of drive metal shelf to make room for the card (see photos).

My advice is: don't buy Gigabyte RTX 3050 for HP 800 G3 SFF.

GTX 1650 consumes 75W, and worked fine with 180W PSU.
MSI RTX 3050 consumes even less power: 70W, so it could also work with 180W PSU.
But this time I decided to replace original PSU with 400W for the sake of my peace.
I was searching for 942332-001 but finally I bought L76557-003, which also fits, but deos not provide Fan_Tach signal to 7-pin P2 motherboard connector, causing annoying 90E error on every boot (90E-Power Supply fan is not connected or may have malfunctioned). I made fake Fan_Tach sensor electronic circuit to get rid of it (https://www.techidiots.net/project-pages/fake-fan-sensor), but If you plan to replace PSU, choose one with 7-pin P2 connector having all cables, not only three in my case. Just pay attention on PSU 7-pin connector to make sure that all 7 cables are used, not only 3.
See related post: https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Desktop-Hardware-and-Upgrade-Questions/HP-800-G3-SFF-Error-90E-after-P...

An finally, GTX 1650 vs RTX 3050, was it worth?
Well, to run some RTX only games, yes.
I compared 2D and 3D test results using Passmark Performance Test v11.1.1004. Both GTX 1650 and RTX 3050 are way better compared to integrated Intel HD Graphics 530.
But looking at GTX 1650 and RTX 3050 there is no huge difference. 3050 is faster but 1650 in my opinion is still fine for gaming, especially using 1080p resolution.

Regards, Tempak.

[NonSequitur777 · Accepted solution]

@Tempak,

Again, another 'thank you' for contributing to our Community!

This will undoubtedly assist other HP EliteDesk 800 G3/G4/G5 SFF users who choose to upgrade their system.

Warm Regards,

NonSequitur777

[DC7600CMT]

I know this is off-topic but I tried opening my own one and no one responded, that too you have lots of experience with HP Z420s. Hello, I have a HP Z420v1 with a 600W PSU and it originally came with a NVIDIA Quadro NVS 450, which I replaced with a RX 470. When I put in the RX 470 and plugged in the necessary PCIe connector (one 6-pin), it POSTed into Windows 10 but then suddenly I got 6 beeps and a red flashing power button, and then it turned off. I tried with a RX 560 but the same thing happened, except this time it didn't POST and instead started beeping 6 times. Now when I try with a NVS 450 it refuses to POST, even after resetting the CMOS. The bottom slot (Slot 5) that is wired as PCIe 3.0 x16 does work however. Clearing the CMOS using the yellow button seems to work, which let me put a Quadro FX 3450 in, however any other card refuses to work.

Here is the link to my post: https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Desktop-Boot-and-Lockup/HP-Z420-Slot-2-PCIe-3x16-not-working-with-NVS-...

[NonSequitur777]

@DC7600CMT,

I will respond in your initial post.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[DC7600CMT]

Thank you