HP EliteDesk 800 G8 Mini vs. HP ProDesk 400 G3 Mini

Comparison and Differences

HP_EliteDesk_800_G8_Mini.jpg case front and back pannelHP_ProDesk_400_G3_Mini.jpg case front and back pannel
Model
Form factorMicroMicro
CPU optionsIntel Gen11 i5/i7/i9;Intel Gen6&7 i3/i5/i7; Celeron; Pentium;
ChipsetQ570 H270
Dedicated GPU *NVIDIA GTX 1660 Ti (custom)N.A.
RAMSODIMM DDR4-3200SODIMM DDR4-2400
RAM slots22
RAM speed3200 MT/s2400 MT/s
RAM max128 GB32 GB
USB portsUSB-C 3.2; (3x)USB-A 3.1; (3x)USB-A 3.0; (3x)USB-A 2.0; (4x)USB-A 3.0; (2x)USB-A 2.0;
Video ports(2x) DisplayPort;DisplayPort;
Other portsRJ45; Hdph; Headset; Line-Out; SD card readerRJ45; Hdph; Mic/Headset; Serial;
Optional portsDP1.4/ HDMI2.0b/ VGA/ USB-C(DP1.4)/ (2x)USB-A 3.0/ LAN/ Thunderbolt3; Serial; PS2;DP/HDMI/VGA/Serial; WiFi antenna;
SATA ports01
PCI slotsN.A.N.A.
M.2 slotsM.2 2280 M-key (PCIe 3.0 x4); M.2 2280M-key (PCIe 4.0 x4); M.2 2230 (WiFi/BT);M.2 2280 M-key (PCIe x4); M.2 2230 (WiFi/BT)
Drive bays2.5in; (2x) 3.5in; 9.5mm (slim);2.5in
PSU90 W65/90 W
Weight1.42 kg (3.13 lb)1.21 kg (2.67 lb)
Released20212016
Manuallinklink
Price**Check PriceCheck Price

** As an Amazon associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
* Dedicated GPU warning: Check if your particular power supply model has enough power. Additionally some PSUs don't come with an auxiliary PCIe power connector and you may need to buy a SATA to PCIe power adapter.

Differences between HP EliteDesk 800 G8 Mini and HP ProDesk 400 G3 Mini

If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the HP EliteDesk 800 G8 Mini which was released in 2021. The HP ProDesk 400 G3 Mini is older and entered production in 2016.

Both models have the same form factor, meaning reoughtly they have the same phiysical size and form.

Processor

Usually the newer the generation of the CPU, the better the performance and efficiency is. If your budget allows it, you should go with the HP EliteDesk 800 G8 Mini as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that HP ProDesk 400 G3 Mini is bad - it can still run some powerful CPUs, albeit being an older generation.

Memory

Both models have have equal amount of ram slots (2 RAM). Usually two RAM slots are more than enough for most cases. However, the count should be taken into account when planning how much and what combination of RAM you are going to need for your system.

The HP EliteDesk 800 G8 Mini is using the faster 3200 MT/s RAM. The HP ProDesk 400 G3 Mini is slower by supporting RAM speeds of up to 2400 MT/s. Additionally, if you will be needing a lot of RAM, better go for the HP EliteDesk 800 G8 Mini as it has the ability to run 128 GB of RAM. The HP ProDesk 400 G3 Mini can do a bit less at max 32 GB. Most of the times, this should be sufficient for the majority of users.

Ports

In total the HP EliteDesk 800 G8 Mini has 10 USB ports. The HP ProDesk 400 G3 Mini is inferior in this regard and packs 6 USB ports. In any case, if you miss USB ports, you can always purchase a USB hub. What is nice about the HP EliteDesk 800 G8 Mini, is that it has 3 USB 3.1 port(s) which allows transfer of up to 10Gb/s. Unfortunately, the HP ProDesk 400 G3 Mini has no such port, thus restricting your transfer speeds significantly. For people who want to use external drives on regular basis, this might be an issue.

DisplayPort is crucial for any desktop machine. It is good to see that both models are featuring DisplayPorts. However, the HP EliteDesk 800 G8 Mini comes with 2 ports, while the HP ProDesk 400 G3 Mini has only 1. If you are planning to use multiple monitors, the HP EliteDesk 800 G8 Mini is the better choice.

None of the models has an HDMI port. If your monitor supports only the HDMI interface, you will need to buy an adapter. Such adapters are cheap so nothing to worry about.

SATA ports are placed on the system board and it is where you connect your HDD, SSD and Optical Disk Drives. More SATA slots will allow you to have more drives running at the same time. In this regard the HP ProDesk 400 G3 Mini is better equipped as it comes with 1 SATA slot(s), while the HP EliteDesk 800 G8 Mini has 0 slot(s).

An M.2 SSD can be several times faster than a SATA one. Thus, we are happy to see that both models support the M.2 interface. However, the HP EliteDesk 800 G8 Mini has 1 M.2 slots while the HP ProDesk 400 G3 Mini comes with just 1.

Make sure that the available M.2 slot supports the PCIe (also called NVMe) interface. This is important as there are M.2 slots which support only the inferior SATA III interface. For comparison, the SATA III interface has max speeds of 6Gb/s, while the PCIe 3.0 x4 will support speeds up to 32Gb/s!

Power Supply

Looking at the Power Supply Unit (PSU) of the two models we don't see any differences. For either of them you get a maximum power of 90 Watts. However be careful, many models have more than one power supply option. When buying your computer, it is a good idea to get a version with the most powerful PSU. This will potentially allow you to upgrade to a more powerful GPU for example.

Motherboard

HP_EliteDesk_800_G8_Mini_motherboard.jpg motherboard layoutHP_ProDesk_400_G3_Mini_motherboard.jpg motherboard layout