[M]ROCK flawlessly installed on HP Prodesk 600 G3

Tinkering
1

Hi, good people. I don`t know if this new topic has any value for you guys, but it might.

I have a HP Prodesk G3 Mini that I got second hand for $160. It has one Intel i5 6005, 16 GB RAM and one 256 GB M.2 PCIe connected SSD.

My plan was to run RoonOS on it, and I thought that since it has a cut-through Intel setup, from the mobo chipset, to sodimms and an M.2 PCIe SSD, this would be very compatible. And it is, coming out on the other side.

With Win 10 almost glued into the BIOS settings on this machine, it’s frustrating and irritating to make it right and make the SSD (NVMe, not SATA) visual to the ROCK installer. But when I finally got the M.2.up and ready, everything worked like a charm, ARC included. And it all cost me less than $160.

If anybody need the correct BIOS setup for HP Prodesk miniPC, let me know.

2 Likes
3

I might buy a G5 for a Roon server. I’d be interested in what you’ve learned. Thanks!

4

Hi, Mark.
Im very happy with my g3. Its no NUC, like its not Roon “approved”, but the g3 inside is all over Intel hardware. CPU, RAM, m.2 PCIe ssd, network, all Intel.
The g3 is upgradeable and supports 32 GB RAM (mine is 16), CPU i7 7700T (mine is i5 6500T), up to 564 GB m.2 SSD over PCIe. And last, its very decorative together with the rest of my gear.
I’ve been running it now for a couple of months, with ROCK installed, and no issues what so ever. And that’s 24/7.
The fan is almost zero noise. Close to the zero that you can set in BIOS.
I run ARC in my car (at work) every day and the G3 is beeing put under load most of the time during the day. No issues so far.
My recommendation is to use the Prodesk only for server and not for your library. It has two controllers, SATA and PCIe and supports 1 TB 2.5" SSD over SATA, but then you’ll be filling up the cabinet and that might not be good for heat control. I don’t know, though. I use 2 external USB drives, one 4 TB for lib and one 2 TB for backup.
And last but not least, its a cheap investment. You should get it for less than $200 on ebay.
If you need mor info or have questions, don’t be shy😀
PS: For the ROCK install you don’t need more than a 256 SSD.