M920q vs EliteDesk 800 G5 Mini
PCIe riser or two NVMe slots? The differences that matter for a home server:
- EliteDesk 800 G5 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 G5 Mini cannot. Choose M920q for a router, 10GbE or an HBA.
- The top CPU option in M920q has 12 threads versus 8 in EliteDesk 800 G5 Mini.
- M920q has a path to 10GbE networking; EliteDesk 800 G5 Mini is limited to 1 GbE plus USB adapters.
Full spec comparison
| Spec | M920q | EliteDesk 800 G5 Mini |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2018 | 2019 |
| CPU generations | 8th gen (Coffee Lake) / 9th gen (Coffee Lake Refresh) | 9th gen (Coffee Lake Refresh) |
| Most threads | 12 | 8 |
| 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 |
| 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) | Not measured yet |
| Spec confidence | Widely confirmed | Verify before buying |
At least one of these models has specs we have not fully verified against the official manual. Confirm slot counts for the exact machine type before buying.
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 G5 Mini
Upgrades: 2× DDR4-2666 SODIMM (max 32 GB official), 2× M.2 2280 NVMe + 1× 2.5" SATA, HP Flex IO module.
M920q detailsEliteDesk 800 G5 Mini details
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