Does HP Elite 800 G1 allow third-party WLAN adapters?

[ddimitrov]

I bought recently a refurbished HP desktop PC (HP Elite 800 G1 SFF). I would like to add an internal WLAN card to it. I know that HP laptops reject WLAN cards that are not HP-designated, so only HP-designated WLAN adapters can be used in HP laptops. However, I cannot find any information about whether the same restriction applies to HP Desktops too (e.g. to my HP Elite 800 G1)?

What I am going to do is to buy a desktop PCIe expansion card for a WiFi adapter (it provides an empty mini-PCIe slot + 2 external antenas) and to put a mini-PCIe WLAN adapter on it.  Would this work with a WLAN adapter that is not HP-designated? It not, is it going to work with an HP-designated WLAN adapter (e.g. with an adapter with the same HP spare part number 695915-001, which is specified in my PC's manual)?

Thank you in advance.

[banhien]

@ddimitrov

To be safe, please use a list on page 16 of the following documents

      http://www8.hp.com/h20195/v2/GetPDF.aspx/c04123137.pdf

or better use part # as shown on manual.

Regards.

[ddimitrov]

Thank you for your reply. However, it does not answer my question. Page 16 of the forementioned document just says "Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 802.11 a/b/g/n PCI Express x1", but it does not specify whether any Intel N-6205 or only these N-6205 with the specific HP number would work. The topic is even more unclear, because HP part # 695915-001 refers to the mini-PCIe WLAN adapter alone (without the holder PCIe x1 card).

My general question is whether HP desktop PCs would accept WLAN adapters that do not carry the specific HP # 695915-001. For example, what if I want to add a faster 802.11ac WiFi adapter (which will carry a different HP number)?

I have very thoroughly read the whole technical documentation of this PC model, and it does not specify anything (neither yes nor no). It could not be assummed anynthing by default. I cannot assume that HP-designated parts only (and in particular only the exactly specified HP numbers) will be accepted, because there are examples for the oposite. For example, these PCs accept non-HP-designated HDDs. Why should I then assume that only HP-designated parts would be accepted, if this is not exactly stated in the documentation?

I am looking for an aswer based on experience by hand.

Thanks.

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

It has been my experience that there are no wifi BIOS whitelists in HP business desktops.

The same could be said for the consumer models too.

I have recommended wifi upgrades to many forum users with the HP consumer desktops and they all reported the upgraded wifi cards worked just fine.

The only thing that you need are two wifi antennas.

I don't have your model, but I don't think there should be a problem.

Also, BIOS whitelists were removed from most HP notebooks sometime in 2013.

I highly doubt you will get a response from anyone that has your exact model, and did exactly what you want to do to report the results.

Most of us just buy an external USB AC wifi adapter and have zero issues with compatibility, etc.

If you are determined to use an internal wifi adapter why not just cut to the chase and get the nice HP rig already available...I think they are about $50 - $60 bucks.

http://www8.hp.com/us/en/products/oas/product-detail.html?oid=8872137#!tab=features

[ddimitrov]

Thank you Paul,

This is the answer I was looking for - a simple claim that there are no whitelists in HP business desktops. 

---

@Paul_Tikkanen wrote:

If you are determined to use an internal wifi adapter why not just cut to the chase and get the nice HP rig already available...I think they are about $50 - $60 bucks.

The PC is a refurbished HP Elite 800 G1 SFF (i5-4670, 8GB, 500GB HDD, DVD-RW). I bought it for ~$300, so I am not going to spend $60 for just a WLAN adapter. I'm in Bulgaria (European Union), where OEM parts are more expensive. I would have to pay additional 20% VAT (when buying parts from outside EU) and things could easily reach $90-100, which is unacceptable for this PC.

I have the option to buy a high-quality holder PCIe x1 card with 2 antennas (for $15) and to put there an existing Intel Centrino N 6205 mini-PCIe adapter from a Lenovo laptop of mine (which is going to be upgraded with a new 802.11ac adapter), so this is what I am going to do.

HP Elite 800 G1 SFF is a great PC. Compact though well-thought engineering design, with a lot of oportunities for upgrade. I love it! I am upgrading the PC for the needs of a friend of mine. I am doing that for fun, so I am trying to make it with as little money as possible. This is part of the fun 🙂

Thank you again for your confirmation.

Regards,

Dimitar

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

Yes, I love my HP business desktops too, though I prefer the MT's/CMT's because they have better power supplies that allow you to install halfway decent video cards.

The SFF's are fine as long as you don't plan to do any intensive graphics work on them.

I do have a dc7900 SFF with a Q9500 processor, 8 GB of memory and I tossed in a Radeon HD 2400 for a little better graphics performance over the onboard Intel graphics.

I was thinking of getting the 800 G2 MT one of these days.

Fortunately, in the USA, I can pick up that wifi kit I posted for $53 on Amazon, free shipping, no tax.

But I just use USB adapters.  Plug and play.

[ddimitrov]

My computer is going to be used in summer as an office computer by my friend's wife in their office on sea. The other time it is going to be used by their kids (for purpose of learning computer programming), so this is why I consciously bought for them a compact business desktop with powerful processor but with no powerful graphics.

They have a TV that supports Intel WiDi. This is the main reason I am going to try to put an internal Intel WiFi adapter (which is WiDi capable) instead of an USB WiFi adapter. It is quite possible that there exist WiDi capable USB adapters too, but I do not like to put external adapters for permanent use while there are available empty internal slots.

Anyway, TV's WiDi is just an interesting option we have. It was not our primary goal (even not the secondary one) when we were deciding about the WiFi, so the decision for an internal adapter was not based on it 🙂

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Cool.

Yes, that platform with the Intel 6205 wifi adapter shold support widi--even in W10, but I would recommend if you ever move to W10, that you get the 7260 AC, because the 6205 has lousy driver support in W10.

Here is a useful sheet from Intel on Widi

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000014932/emerging-technologies.html

I turned my HP 350 business notebook into wireless display capable.  It is a pretty neat option.

I just swapped out the Broadcom wifi card for an Intel 7260.

[ddimitrov]

You remark about lack of good support for 6205 in Win10 was an important note I was not aware about. Fortunately, Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 adapters are very cheap today (less than $10 in Internet shops), so we can just throw and replace them with 7260 or better if necessary.

Thank you again and Good Night!

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Anytime.

Glad to have been of assistance.

Good night to you too!