EliteDesk/ProDesk mini NAS

I have several of these HP mini PCs sitting unused, and I wanted to do something useful with them. I settled on using one as a NAS when I realized that I could put a 5-port SATA card in one of the m.2 slots, and a 10 GbE card in the other. I installed proxmox on it, set up a storage pool across the 5 drives, and set up a simple container to serve it to my network. While completely functional, this was a mess of wires and a pile of drives, and was frankly ugly :)

So, I designed this case to contain the mess and make it look a bit more aesthetically pleasing.

Note: I've added a STEP file for Version 2. I can't guarantee it matches the model used to generate the 3mf files exactly, but it should be close enough to make remixes from.

Version2.0:

This is the updated version; The power is integrated, and the whole thing can be run off of a single 20v power supply (this includes running off of an appropriate USB-C power supply).

There's space on the top for a slim 120mm fan as well, but I haven't seen the need for it so far; temperatures seem to be well under control.

Changes from version 1.0:

• Larger; Allows room for:

  • Internal power circuitry

  • Network card mount

  • Easier cable management.

• Now powered by single 20v external supply (this also allows powering from a single 100w USB-C power supply)

• Fans mount to the disk shelf instead of the case; (disks and fans slide in as a single module)

• Disks are centered for weight distribution

• Internal tabs for mounting network card

Parts involved:

• HP EliteDesk 800 g6 mini (but should work with any g3 or later)

• (Up to) 5 SATA HDDs

• M.2 to SATA interface (e.g. this one)

• M.2 10gbE NIC; optional (I’m using this one)

• 2x 92mm fans (I’m using Noctua NF-A9)

• If you plan to use the internal power circuitry:

  • 5525 jack (I'm using this one)

  • 20v power supply (I'm using this USB-C trigger cable with a 100W USB-C PD charger )

  • 20v to 12v buck converter 

  • SATA power adapter 

  • 5525 to HP 7450 adapter

Setting up the power is pretty straightforward:

• 20v power comes in via the barrel jack

• It is routed to both the buck converter and the mini PC in parallel

• 12v from the buck converter is routed to the SATA adapter, and to the fans.

• The SATA adapter powers the drives and the network card.

Possible future directions:

• It would be nice to set up a relay so that the fans and drives are only powered when the miniPC itself is turned on

• Make the drives hot-swappable; This would require:

  • Using a proper backplane

  • Either moving the fans to the rear, or reversing the orientation of the drives so that they could slide in from the rear

Notes:

• Just as with the 1.0 version, when printing the vents on the front and back, set your slicer to have zero top or bottom layers, and use the infill to generate the grille pattern

• When printing the top fan grille, you have to print it separately and glue it int place as the orientation of the main body would have the infill oriented the wrong way to serve as a fan grille

• The 10 GbE NIC is optional, and requires a second m.2 slot (I know the EliteDesk g4 and later have them, but I believe the EliteDesk g3 and earlier, as well as most (if not all) of the ProDesk models have only one m.2 slot. If you don't have a second m.2 slot, or you do have one, but want to use it for something other than networking (like like an SSD, or another 5 SATA drives), you have options:

  • You can use a 2.5 GbE or 5 GbE USB adapter

  • You can put an A+E key 2.5 GbE card in the Wifi slot, but finding one that will physically fit might be tricky. I use this one in my Dell Optiplex micros, but it won't fit in myHP EliteDesk minis due to the slot orientation. You would either have to find a different one, leave the metal chassis off, or cut a hole in the chassis. 

Version 1.0:

This is still a work in progress. Remaining todos:

• design a bracket to hold the 10 GbE NIC (it currently, just sits loose in the 6th bay)

• design/ build a more compact power supply (I currently use two USB-C power supplies with a 20V trigger to power the PC on one and a 12v trigger on the other to power the drives and fans. When I get around to it, I’ll likely use a single 0v power supply with appropriate DC-To-DC converters to get the 12v and 5v needed.

• Integrate a USB fan controller, so the fans can be software controlled instead of running full-tilt all the time

Parts involved:

• HP EliteDesk 800 g4 mini (should work with any g3 or later)

• 5 SATA HDDs

• M.2 to SATA interface (e.g. this one)

• M.2 10gbE NIC; optional (I’m using this one)

• 10x #6 32 hard drive screws

• 2x 92mm fans (I’m using Noctua NF-A9)

• 20v USB-C trigger with HP adapter

• 12v USB-C trigger

• magnets in the corners of front and back panels. 

• no-name, SATA power splitter (takes the DC power from the above trigger, and splits it into power for the 5 SATA Drives, and the PCIe NIC

• Filament (I used ELEGOO Rapid PETG Filament Brown and Beige  for a Noctua-like color scheme.