HP EliteDesk 8 G1i 2026, Core Ultra 7 265T, 16GB, 512GB SSD, Jack Black

A fast, compact office PC with great ports and zero gaming chops. Buy it for spreadsheets, not for Steam.

The Core Ultra 7 265T surprised us. It lands in the 78th percentile for CPU performance, which means it outruns most desktops in our database for everyday workloads. The 16GB of DDR5 RAM is about average, and the 512GB NVMe SSD is solid but not huge. The real weak spot is graphics. The integrated Intel UHD sits at the 52nd percentile, which is fine for Excel and YouTube but falls apart the moment you try anything 3D. Ports are a highlight at the 88th percentile, with Thunderbolt, dual USB-C, five USB-A, HDMI, and DisplayPort all crammed into a 1.42kg chassis.

The EliteDesk 8 G1i sits in a weird spot. The Apple Mac Studio M4 Max absolutely destroys it in raw performance, but it costs way more and runs macOS. The Lenovo Legion Tower 5a Gen 10 is a gaming tower with a real GPU, so it's a different animal entirely. The Dell Tower ECT1250 is the closest direct competitor, but it's a full-size tower, not a mini PC. If you need the small form factor and Windows 11 Pro with vPro, the HP is the most sensible choice here. If you need graphics power, the Legion or Mac Studio are the obvious picks.

Pricing is all over the place. In the US, we saw listings from USD 1,179 to USD 1,915, a USD 736 spread for the same machine. Best Buy has the low end of that range, so if you're buying in the US, that's the place to start. In Canada, the gap is smaller at CAD 2,050 to CAD 2,255, but you should still shop around. For a business mini PC with vPro and a 20-core chip, the low end of the US range feels fair. Paying near USD 1,900 for integrated graphics and a 512GB drive is a mistake.

The HP EliteDesk 8 G1i is a compact workhorse for office tasks and light productivity, not a machine for play. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265T is a 20-core chip that handles spreadsheets, video calls, and multitasking without breaking a sweat, and the port selection is genuinely impressive for a box this small. But the integrated Intel UHD graphics and 512GB SSD keep it firmly in the business lane. If you need a quiet, vPro-ready mini PC for a desk, this is a strong pick. If you want to game or edit 4K video, look elsewhere.

If you're looking for a gaming PC or anything that needs real graphics power, this isn't it. The integrated Intel UHD graphics scored a 13.6 out of 100 for gaming in our database, which is rough. Go get a Lenovo Legion Tower 5a Gen 10 or something with a dedicated GPU instead. Also skip it if you need lots of local storage, 512GB disappears fast.

The HP EliteDesk 8 G1i is a great little office machine. The Core Ultra 7 265T is fast, the port selection is excellent, and the compact size is a genuine advantage. But the integrated graphics and modest storage mean it's a one-trick pony. Buy it for work, not for fun. And don't pay more than the low end of the price range.