Business PCs, Workstations and Point of Sale Systems

Esteemed Forum, upgrading an HP EliteDesk 800 G3 SFF to where few have gone before is going to be my next project in 2022.

Just bought one of these desktops for an amazing bargain via eBay. Just for kicks, I happened to bid ("Best Offer") on one of these units, not really expecting to get it for what I offered.  However, the Seller agreed, and the rest is history.

So, here is my blueprint where I intend to go (in bold) :

HP EliteDesk 800 G3 SFF

1a.) CPU (Kaby Lake, Skylake, Socket LGA 1151) :

Intel i7-7700 (3.6 - 4.2 GHz) TDP = 61 watts or (preferably) :
Intel Core i7-7700K (4.2 - 4.5 GHz) TDP = 91 watts [ EDIT: 01/12/22 purchased ] [EDIT: 03/23/22 installed on 01/20/22 and working great to this day especially after installing an external 'booster' cooling fan directly over the primary CPU cooling fan to bring down stress temps significantly -see thread.]

[EDIT: Xeon E3-1280 v6 (3.9 - 4.2 GHz, TDP =  72 watts)]  [ EDIT: purchased ]  [ EDIT: 01/12/22 tried: not compatible - am keeping for future Legacy HP Desktop Upgrade project]

1b.) Upgrade CPU heatsink cooling fan:

Iceberg Thermal IceGALE Xtra PWM (80mm, 1.4 watt, 37 CFM, 800 - 3,000 RPM)  [ EDIT: purchased ] [ EDIT: installed ]

[EDIT:] 02/14/2022: Because the Iceberg CPU heatsink fan performance was lacking, to be replaced with a 5.0 watt 65 CFM "GDSTIME 80mm PWM Fan, High Speed 12V 4PIN 80mm x 25mm CPU Cooler Fan". [EDIT: 03/23/22 installed external 'booster' cooling fan directly over primary CPU cooling fan -works like a charm.  See thread.]

2.) GPU -wish list:

AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT 16 GB or:  [ EDIT: pending ] [EDIT: [02/04/22] for the time being will stick with an RX 6600 XT 8GB eGPU as its gaming performance is quite satisfactory so far at ultra-high HD 1080P resolution.]
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 3080 10 GB

[Yes, you read that correctly: will likely have to raid my Roth IRA, but Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, why not.]

[EDIT: 02/09/2022] Purchased an "ASUS TUF Gaming NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 OC Edition Graphics Card (PCIe 4.0, 12GB GDDR6X, LHR, HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4a, Dual Ball Fan Bearings, Military-grade Certification, GPU Tweak)" via Newegg Shuffle.

[EDIT: 02/11/2022 - Installed]

3.) DDR4-2400 DIMM (4 slots 64 GB maximum)

Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 [4] X 16 GB) DDR4 DRAM 2400 (PC4-19200) C14 1.20V Desktop RAM Memory CMK32GX4M2A2400C14 - Black [ EDIT: purchased this RAM instead: G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2400 (PC4 19200) Intel XMP 2.0 Desktop Gaming Memory RED ] [ EDIT: installed 4 x 8GB of G.SKILL Gaming RAM ]

4.) Only has a HP OEM standard 180 watts PSU.  Replace with:

HP 913290-001 / HP 901759-003 500 Watts or:
HP L04618-800 / HP 942332-001 400 Watts or (preferably) :
ATX to HP EliteDesk 800 G3 SFF power converter cable [researching hard: approached a number of Vendors]

[EDIT: Found another option which I considered solving the power solution: see the next message in this Upgrade thread.]

[ EDIT: purchased the "ATX PSU ADAPTER ATX 24Pin to SATA Power Supply Adapter Cable Card" ] [EDIT: added an Aresgame 80+ Gold AGK850 fully modular PSU as a secondary dedicated 'daisy-chained' power supply to power the RTX 3080 12GB OC Edition GPU.

5.) Has a PCIe X16 v3.0 slot -see 2.).

6a.) Has an M.2 PCIe x4-2280 slot for Primary Drive:

SAMSUNG 970 EVO Plus SSD 1TB, M.2 NVMe Interface Internal Solid State Hard Drive with V-NAND Technology for Gaming, Graphic Design, MZ-V7S1T0B/AM or: [ EDIT: purchased ] [ EDIT: installed ]
Samsung 980 PRO SSD 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 Internal Solid State Hard Drive Memory Card, Maximum Speed, Thermal Control, MZ-V8P1T0B or:

Hynix/Kingston equivalents.

6b.) For Secondary Drive:

Samsung 870 EVO SATA III SSD 1TB or: [ EDIT: pending ]  [ EDIT: ordered a Samsung 870 QVO SATA III 1TB ] [EDIT: 01/15/2022: installed as dynamic drive]

Samsung 860 PRO SATA III SSD 1TB or:

Hynix/Kingston equivalents.

7.) Has six USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports: two front (including 1 fast charging) and four in the rear

8.) BIOS Date Versions: 20180717 / 20191225 / 20200428 / 20201018 / latest: 20210419 / latest: 20211217 (Version: 00.02.39 Rev.A) [ EDIT: pending: waiting for HP EliteDesk 800 G3 SFF delivery ] [ EDIT: BIOS fully updated ]

Link: HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Small Form Factor PC Software and Driver Downloads | HP® Customer Support

9.) Chipset: Q270 (limits support to 7th-generation Intel LGA 1151 CPU's - see "1a.)" )

10.) Motherboard: HP 8299

11.) Install: Windows 10 Pro 64-Bit [ EDIT: pending: waiting for HP EliteDesk 800 G3 SFF delivery ] [ EDIT: W10 Pro 64-bit installed ]