HP ProDesk 480 G6 Microtower case front and back pannel

HP ProDesk 480 G6 Microtower

Specification and Upgrade Options

The HP ProDesk 480 G6 Microtower is a pre-built entry-level business desktop computer first released in 2018. Although more than five years old, it is still a viable solution for home, office, and when properly upgraded – gaming. The motherboard is using the B360 chipset and supports 8th gen Intel Core processor, 64GB of DIMM DDR4-2666 memory, and dedicated graphics card.

HP ProDesk 480 G6 Microtower is a Mini Tower form factor computer. The Mini Tower is the largest chassis in the business class desktops segment. If you are looking for a system with maximum upgradability, HP ProDesk 480 G6 Microtower is a good option. Models in this category usually have 4x PCIe slots, several drive bays and better cooling.

Specification

Model
Form factorMini Tower
CPU optionsIntel Gen8 i3/i5/i7; Celeron; Pentium;
ChipsetB360
Dedicated GPU *GeForce GTX 1660 Super
RAMDIMM DDR4-2666
RAM slots2
RAM speed2666 MT/s
RAM max64 GB
USB ports(4x)USB-A 3.0; (4x)USB-A 2.0;
Video portsDisplayPort; VGA;
Other portsRJ45; Headset; Line-In; Line-Out;
Optional portsSD card reader; Serial; Serial and (2x) PS2; DP/HDMI/VGA/USB-C;
SATA ports3
PCI slotsPCIe 3.0 x16; PCIe 3.0 x16 (wired x4); PCI;
M.2 slotsM.2 2280/2230 M-key (PCIe x4); M.2 2230 (WiFi/BT)
Drive bays2.5/3.5in; 3.5in; 5.25in (slim);
PSU180/250/310 W
Weight5.47 kg (12.0 lb)
Released2018
Manuallink
Price**Check Price

* 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.
** As an Amazon associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Can you upgrade HP ProDesk 480 G6 Microtower to play games?

Yes, you can upgrade HP ProDesk 480 G6 Microtower for gaming with better processors, graphics card, memory, and storage devices. However, like many other business pre-built PCs, this model may have proprietary elements like the power supply, the chassis or the power connector, which can make it difficult for users to install aftermarket PSUs to support better GPUs. You can also find that there is space constrains inside the chassis, making it difficult to accommodete larger GPU to boost the gaming performance.

Please explore the sections bellow to find ideas and suggestions on how to upgrade HP ProDesk 480 G6 Microtower.

Windows 11 compatibility

Yes, HP ProDesk 480 G6 Microtower is compatible with Windows 11. According to Windows 11 specification, all models that have Intel 8th Gen processors (or newer) with TPM 2.0 support and a UEFI BIOS with Secure boot, are eligible to upgrade form Windows 10 to Windows 11 through Windows Update.

GPU upgrade

You can upgrade HP ProDesk 480 G6 Microtower with a full size GPU. Models like NVIDIA GTX 1660 or GTX 1650 Super are good and safe upgrade option and will work with most Mini Tower form factor. However, keep in mind that the type of GPU you can install will depend on the available space in the chassis and the PSU power rating.

Before you begin shopping for a new GPU, it's important to consider the power supply unit (PSU) currently installed. This is because powerful GPUs require more power than the stock PSU can provide, which means that you may need to upgrade your PSU as well.

According to the manual, the maximum stock power supply available on HP ProDesk 480 G6 Microtower is 310W. However, to be absolutely sure, check the stock power supply power rating and use one of the GPUs from the table.

GPU upgrade options for HP ProDesk 480 G6 Microtower with the stock 310W power supply:

GPU Power consumption Memory Req.
NVIDIA GTX 1660 Super 130 W 6 GB DDR6 *SATA to PCIe adapter
NVIDIA GTX 1660 Ti 125 W 6 GB DDR6 *SATA to PCIe adapter
NVIDIA GTX 1070 145 W 8 GB DDR5 *Dual SATA to PCIe adapter
NVIDIA RTX 3050 130 W 8 GB DDR6 *Dual SATA to PCIe adapter
* Typically, the stock power supply in a business PC does not have the necessary 6 or 8 pin connectors to power the GPU. In such cases, you may need to use a low-power GPU or a SATA to PCIe power adapter. Alternatively, you can change the entire PSU.

Processor

The HP ProDesk 480 G6 Microtower supports Gen8 Intel Core technology. Intel introduced their new 8th generation CPUs in 2017. Those processors are built using the second version of Intel's 14 nm manufacturing process. The 8gen marks a change in the number of cores for desktop processors. Mainstream i7 desktop CPUs feature 6 cores (12 threads), while i5 CPUs feature 6 cores (6 threads). The i3 CPUs are paired with 4 cores (4 threads).

Best CPUs for HP ProDesk 480 G6 Microtower upgrade:

Model Cores (Threads) Base frequency Turbo
Core i5 8500 6(6) 3.0 GHz 4.1 GHz
Core i5 8600 6(6) 3.1 GHz 4.3 GHz
Core i7 8700 6(12) 3.2 GHz 4.6 GHz

Memory

HP ProDesk 480 G6 Microtower has two RAM slots. This is more than enough for most users. For those of you who need extra flexibility and RAM size, go for a model with 4 memory slots.

To cover the needs of your OS, games, and apps, HP ProDesk 480 G6 Microtower supports up to 64 GB of DIMM DDR4-2666 RAM. For office work, home use, and light gaming we recommend 8GB of RAM. For everything else, use 16GB or more.

Faster RAM speeds permit your processor to access the data stored inside the memory faster. This is important for the overall speed of your system. The motherboard of the HP ProDesk 480 G6 Microtower supports RAM speeds of up to 2666 MT/s.

Wi-Fi Support

HP ProDesk 480 G6 Microtower doesn't come with any on-board Wi-Fi support. In that case, you have two options to upgrade this model with Wi-Fi. You either use an external USB Wi-Fi adapter (wireless network dongle) or a PCIe-based wireless adapter.

The USB dongle is much more convenient and easy to install, but has less space for a decent antenna and can have thermal problems. On the other hand, the PCIe based adapter is much more powerful, more reliable, and has better antenna, but it is harder to install.

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless adapter upgrades for HP ProDesk 480 G6 Microtower:

Model Speed Frequency Interface
WiFi 6E (Gig+) Kit 3000 Mbit/s 2.4GHz / 5GHz NGFF M.2 A/E Key
Rekong AX210 3000 Mbit/s 2.4GHz / 5GHz NGFF M.2 A/E Key
Gigabyte GC-Wbax200 2400 Mbit/s 2.4GHz / 5GHz PCIe
TP-Link Archer TX50E 2400 Mbit/s 2.4GHz / 5GHz PCIe
TP-Link Archer T9UH 1300 Mbit/s 2.4GHz / 5GHz USB 3.0

Ports

Ports are important and often people don't think about them when buying a PC. For example, if you don't have enough USB ports, using external devices becomes problematic. Before you buy any system, considering your use case, check the number of external devices you are going to use and plan the number of the extension ports accordingly.

USB ports

The HP ProDesk 480 G6 Microtower comes with eight USB ports in total. Having more USB ports is always better, but also pay attention to the version of those USB ports. Higher version ports support faster transfer speeds. Unfortunately, this model doesn't come with a USB 3.1 port. If you need a faster connection for your peripherals, like external Solid State Drive, you will need to choose another model.

Video ports

The DisplayPort (DP) is the most widely used digital interface for transmitting digital video and audio between display devices and PCs. It is good to see that the HP ProDesk 480 G6 Microtower is featuring a DisplayPort 1.2. The post version is important if you target higher resolutions with high refresh rate. Although, ver. 1.2 is completely fine for most users, if possible, aim for the higher versions DisplayPort.

The HDMI port is another digital video port you can use to connect external display. It has very similar capabilities to the DisplayPort with few exceptions. However, the HP ProDesk 480 G6 Microtower doesn't have one. This is not a problem if there is on-board DisplayPort.

*Please keep in mind in order to use the video ports available through the motherboard, you need a CPU with integrated graphics card. If you have a dedicated GPU, use his ports instead.

SSD storage - M.2 sockets and SATA ports

The SATA port is one of the places where you can connect a stora gedevice. The HP ProDesk 480 G6 Microtower comes with three SATA port(s). Not enough SATA ports might limit your options for additional storage devices. Think about your use case and decide if the SATA ports provided by this model will be sufficient.

HP ProDesk 480 G6 Microtower has also one M.2 socket(s) that supports both PCIe NVMe (PCIe 3.0 x4) and SATA M.2 drives with speed of up to 4 GB/s. This configuration works very well for both gaming and work related tasks.

The M.2 PCIe SSD connector in combination with an NVMe drive allows for higher transfer rates, compared to the old SATA interface. In some situations, NVMe device connected to the M.2 PCIe socket can be more than 5 times faster.

Best PCIe NVMe drives for HP ProDesk 480 G6 Microtower storage upgrade:

Model Form factor / Interface NAND type DRAM
Samsung 980 PRO SSD M.2/x4 PCIe 4.0/NVMe TLC Yes
CORSAIR MP600 PRO M.2/x4 PCIe 4.0/NVMe TLC Yes
SAMSUNG 970 EVO Plus M.2/x4 PCIe 3.0/NVMe TLC Yes
Western Digital Black SN770 M.2/x4 PCIe 4.0/NVMe TLC Yes
Kingston A2000 M.2/x4 PCIe 3.0/NVMe TLC Yes

Power Supply

The HP ProDesk 480 G6 Microtower comes with a 310 Watt PSU. Having a power supply with high power rating is important, especially if you are doing upgrade with addtional components, like dedicated GPU and more HDDs. Will this 310 W be enough, it all depends on your specific use. Please keep in mind that some models might have more than one PSU option. Whenever possible get the most powerful one, as it might make future upgrades easier.

Motherboard

HP_ProDesk_480_G6_Microtower_motherboard.jpg motherboard layout