Impossible to significantly improve cooling on HP Elitedesk 800 G4 SFF due to inherent design flaws.

[NickyD007]

The best option for improved cooling offered by HP, allegedly rated for 95W TDP, consists of a low-profile tower type side draft heatsink and fan combined with a dedicated case exhaust fan and shroud to evacuate heat from the case.  I say "allegedly" because these components are simply unavailable from anybody, at any price.  While many side-draft CPU air coolers are available, most are too tall to be compatible with the low profile required by the SFF case.  Yes, several manufacturers offer low profile side draft air coolers and I have so far ordered three different types but have been compelled to return them because the threads on their mounting screws were incompatible with the threads of the mounts, which, as noted above, are integral with the system case, according to videos posted online.  Even if I were willing to pull out the motherboard and install a backplate, which I am not, the online videos indicate that in order to create clearance for a backplate, one must first bash the stock mountings flat, which seems rather extreme.  I have searched for  screws with the correct height and thread gauge to mount any of the aftermarket low profile side draft air coolers currently available, some of them rated up to 125W TDP, but have been unable to find any compatible with the female fittings built into the case.  HP "support" personnel have been uniformly unhelpful, as have the "support" personnel of the various manufacturers of aftermarket CPU coolers.  In summary, while I can find efficient low profile side draft CPU air coolers that can fit into the case, none come with screws compatible with the HP mountings and I cannot buy the required screws separately.  I cannot believe I am the only person confronted by this problem which is the product of a series of bad design decisions by HP.  Suggestions?  

[NonSequitur777]

@NickyD007,

Welcome to our HP community forum!

You have come to the right place: nothing is impossible.

I have upgraded an HP EliteDesk G3 SFF to a G4 SFF and last but not least to a G5 SFF.

Here are some pictures and links to follow along:

1.) Adding additional cooling fans, such as this one positioned directly above the CPU heatsink blowing air in:

Link: Solved: Upgrading HP EliteDesk 800 G3 SFF - Page 7 - HP Support Community - 8251218.

Link: Solved: Upgrading HP EliteDesk 800 G4 SFF - HP Support Community - 8523990.

Link: Solved: Upgrading HP EliteDesk 800 G5 SFF Part II - HP Support Community - 8720291.

Link: Solved: Upgrading HP EliteDesk 800 G5 SFF Part II - Page 2 - HP Support Community - 8720291.

2.) Yes, upgrading your CPU heatsink: I was lucky to be able to buy the 95-watt TDP rated heatsink with p/n: L30413-001 ("HP Heatsink Gen Intel 95W Ent18 S / HP SPS-HEATSINK INTEL95W ELITEDESK800 G4 SFF") for a reasonable price:

But like you said, this particular heatsink is difficult to get.  And btw, it even cooled my i9-9900KS (127-watt TDP) and kept the temps down to acceptable levels in my G5 SFF upgrade.

You could do some slicing 'n dicing like our friend @Friddle did -aka "think outside the box":

Link: Solved: Upgrading HP EliteDesk 800 G5 SFF Part II - Page 6 - HP Support Community - 8720291.

Or what our friend @KAHBOOM did:

Link: Solved: Upgrading HP EliteDesk 800 G5 SFF Part II - Page 10 - HP Support Community - 8720291.

Some foot notes for your HP EliteDesk 800 G4 SFF:

1.) Best processors: i7-8700K and the i7-8086K.

2.) Best power supply: 500-watt SFF power supply with p/n: L77487-003.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[NickyD007]

None of the referenced prior entries are at all responsive to the issue I raised.  Please READ what I wrote.  I want a 125W TDP CPU air cooler that exhausts hot air from the case instead of just blowing it around, as the stock downdraft CPU cooler does, fits inside the stock case of the HP Elitedesk 800 G4 SFF, and can be installed in the stock 75 mm square mounts without the need to pull out the motherboard, bash the stock mounts (apparently integral with the case) flat and install a backplate.  I have tried 3 aftermarket CPU coolers which did not fit, due simply to the threads on the screws.  I have tried a short tower side-draft HP cooler which installs without difficulty but provides cooling no more efficient than the stock unit, with CPU temperature rising from 31 C to over 70 C whenever the CPU is stressed.  The components (side-draft short tower/fan and case exhaust fan with shroud) listed in the manual as rated for 95W TDP are simply unavailable, from HP or anybody else, at any price.  God only knows why.  I don't expect much help from HP but surely some manufacturer of aftermarket CPU coolers has come up with a device that fits my requirements.  All I know for sure is that it ISN'T Noctua, Dynatron, Cooler Master, Zalman, or any of the many others I have contacted.  Please do NOT offer any further trite "answers" which overlook the fact that this problem arises from multiple insanely bad design choices.  Please also do NOT offer any "answers" relating to other models with more room in the case or mini models which have a more efficient CPU cooler but are not applicable to my system.  

[NickyD007]

In reviewing my initial post and my answer to the sole prior response to it which was clearly well-intentioned, perhaps I was insufficiently explicit.  I am seeking a CPU cooler for the HP Elitedesk 800 G4 SFF, Core i7 8700, LGA 1151 which is 125W+ TDP,  with a low-profile (75 mm or less) tower type heatsink and one or more 12VDC, 4-wire, 4-pin, PWM-controlled, MagLev (magnetic levitation) low friction, high RPM quiet fan(s) or blower(s) pulling heat up from the CPU and laterally from the RAM and other sources, then pushing it out laterally through the vents in the rear of the case, with shrouding/ducting and/or an auxiliary PWM-controlled, case-mounted exhaust fan/blower if absolutely necessary.   I am seeking a system which screws into the existing mounts in a 75 mm square configuration on the MOBO , operates off the two existing   12 VDC 4-pin headers  (CPUFAN P8 and CHFAN2 P11) on the MOBO, does not require removing the MOBO and installing a backplate, does not require flattening or removing the existing CPU  heatsink mountings which are integral with the case, and does not require cutting holes in the case cover or otherwise modifying  the case in any way.  That's as precisely as I can describe it.  And please don't tell me that this is an unrealistic or unreasonable request.  If it doesn't exist it could readily be created and marketed at an attractive price, if anybody in the CPU cooler industry were listening to their customers....