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HP 8300 Elite USDT w/ Internal Desktop GPU

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Connected up the PCIe Wifi card (Broadcom BCM94360CD) and it works normally, wasn't able to test BT though. For that you'd need a USB 2.0 port adapter or it won't work. No USB 2.0 headers on this motherboard.

You may have a different version of the 8300 USDT motherboard, however, mine does have a USB header inside. Facing the front, it is located on the right-hand side of the motherboard right next to the HSENSE header, and is noted as the MEDIA reader header, because the 8300 USDT has an optional SD card reader that can connect there. I have installed a miniPCIe wifi-bt combo and attached the requisite USB data lines to that internal header. It is a 8 pin (two port) header.

BTW, this USDT is one of my all time favorite machines. I installed a 256GB mSATA to dual boot macOS Mojave and Windows 10, the WiFi+BT combo BCM94360CSAX Airport Bluetooth (needs an adapter card) and ran the HP 8200 USDT Mozart Antenna KIT Assembly New 621903-001 621904-001 - 640247-001 to get the antenna outside the case as designed by HP. I also added a 4TB HHD, partitioned into 2 x 2 TB, because of the BIOS limit of 2 TB. All works a treat.
One thing to note: HP didn't implement the FULL PCIe spec on this motherboard miniPCIe port; specifically there is no pass-through of the USB on pins 36 and 38 (D- and D+, respectively). That's why an adapter is needed so that you can connect the WiFi+BT card to the internal header elsewhere on the board, as mentioned.

I was interested in the MXM, until I understood how poorly it would work even in Windows and unsupported in macOS.

Now I am following your progress with great interest!
 
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specifically there is no pass-through of the USB on pins 36 and 38 (D- and D+, respectively). That's why an adapter is needed so that you can connect the WiFi+BT card to the internal header elsewhere on the board, as mentioned.
It turns out the motherboard pic I had in post #1 was the 8200 model and not the 8300. The seller on Ebay posted the picture of the 8200 by mistake. Post #1 has been modified, thanks.

I checked my board again for the Media header (9pin) and it is there, #5 in the diagram. It's sort of hidden away with the HDD tray in place. There is also a large capacitor right next to it that makes it difficult to connect a standard 9 pin USB 2.0 connector. Here's the HP diagram.

Screen Shot 9.jpg
 
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Hope I am not too late to the party, I also have a 8300 USDT as my latest project and was interested in doing something similar but with a beefier graphics card.

Make sure to turn "PCI Express x1 Slot Security Slot 1" item in the BIOS to "Disabled". I believe this removes the whitelist.

BIOS > Security > Slot Security > PCI Express x1 Slot 1 = Disabled

Mine was on by default. I am using version 2.15.1229 of the BIOS
IMG_8631.jpg


You will likely still need external power. The slot is limited to about 10 watts.
 
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I also have a 8300 USDT as my latest project and was interested in doing something similar but with a beefier graphics card.
Which graphics card will you try to use with the 8300 ?
 
Mine was on by default. I am using version 2.15.1229 of the BIOS
Why not flash the BIOS up to at least 2.99 ? Probably a good idea as it doesn't contain any spectre or meltdown patches. My PCIe slot security was disabled by default with the 2.99 BIOS.
 
Which graphics card will you try to use with the 8300 ?
I am still searching around on eBay, something used and cheap and probably amd. I almost want to experiment with the MXM slot as well, as some AMD GPU available for pretty cheap. Whenever my aliexpress riser gets here I will try it with a GeForce GTX 760 I have on hand.

As far as bios updates go, the updater is windows only. I acquired the computer with no drive or OS, so I went straight into MacOS.
 
As far as bios updates go, the updater is windows only
You can also flash it without Windows. I made a video guide that shows you how to. Just need a FAT32 flash drive and the 0299.BIN file.

 

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Why not flash the BIOS up to at least 2.99 ? Probably a good idea as it doesn't contain any spectre or meltdown patches. My PCIe slot security was disabled by default with the 2.99 BIOS.
If you haven't already, try flipping the Security Setting to Enabled. I played with these settings when setting up the mini wifi card, and IIRC, Disabled actually disables the slot entirely.
 
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