M920q vs EliteDesk 800 G4 Mini
Which is the better Proxmox node? The differences that matter for a home server:
- EliteDesk 800 G4 Mini has 2 M.2 NVMe slots; M920q has 1. That matters for ZFS mirrors or separating boot and VM storage.
- M920q can take a PCIe card (PCIe x8 via riser); EliteDesk 800 G4 Mini cannot. Choose M920q for a router, 10GbE or an HBA.
- M920q has a path to 10GbE networking; EliteDesk 800 G4 Mini is limited to 1 GbE plus USB adapters.
Full spec comparison
| Spec | M920q | EliteDesk 800 G4 Mini |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2018 | 2018 |
| CPU generations | 8th gen (Coffee Lake) / 9th gen (Coffee Lake Refresh) | 8th gen (Coffee Lake) |
| Most threads | 12 | 12 |
| Chipset | Q370 | Q370 |
| Memory type | DDR4-2666 | DDR4-2666 |
| Max RAM (official) | 32 GB | 32 GB |
| M.2 NVMe slots | 1 | 2 |
| 2.5" bays | 1 | 1 |
| PCIe expansion | PCIe x8 via riser | None |
| Onboard NIC | Intel I219-LM | Intel I219-LM |
| Second NIC option | PCIe x8 card via Lenovo riser (replaces the 2.5" bay) | HP Flex IO module (e.g. second Ethernet port) |
| 2.5/10GbE path | 10GbE (owner-reported) | USB only |
| AV1 decode | No | No |
| Transcoding | Good for 4K HEVC; no AV1 decode | Good for 4K HEVC; no AV1 decode |
| Idle power (measured) | 12–15 W at the wall (ServeTheHome, Quad/six-core 8th-gen T-series CPU) | 11–12 W at the wall (ServeTheHome, Six-core Core i5-8500T) |
| Spec confidence | Widely confirmed | Widely confirmed |
Which one for which job
M920q
- PCIe slot
- 10GbE
- 2.5GbE+ networking
- Plex / Jellyfin 4K
- Proxmox node
- OPNsense / pfSense router
- Budget home server
- vPro / AMT
- Low idle power (measured)
Upgrades: 2× DDR4-2666 SODIMM (max 32 GB official), 1× M.2 2280 NVMe + 1× 2.5" SATA, PCIe x8 card via Lenovo riser (replaces the 2.5" bay).
EliteDesk 800 G4 Mini
- Two NVMe slots
- Plex / Jellyfin 4K
- Proxmox node
- OPNsense / pfSense router
- Budget home server
- vPro / AMT
- Low idle power (measured)
Upgrades: 2× DDR4-2666 SODIMM (max 32 GB official), 2× M.2 2280 NVMe + 1× 2.5" SATA, HP Flex IO module (e.g. second Ethernet port).
M920q detailsEliteDesk 800 G4 Mini details
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