HP ProDesk 600 G4 SFF Black/Silver 2019

A storage and RAM monster in a tiny box, held back by a wheezy old processor. Perfect for office drudgery, a total dud for anything creative or fun.

The 2TB SSD is the real star here. Boot times are near-instant, and you can hoard a frankly irresponsible number of files without breaking a sweat. The 32GB of RAM is overkill for basic office work, which means you can run a million Chrome tabs and a Zoom call simultaneously without the system batting an eye. The i5-8500 processor is the bottleneck, though. It's a six-core chip from 2018, and while it handles daily tasks fine, it sits in the bottom quarter of our database for raw CPU grunt. Don't try to edit 4K video on this thing.

Stacked against a new Apple Mac mini M4 Pro, this HP looks ancient in terms of raw speed and efficiency, but it costs half as much and includes a keyboard and mouse. The Dell Tower ECT1250 is a more direct competitor, often offering a newer CPU generation for a similar price, but you'll typically get less RAM and storage. If you need a ton of local storage and memory right now for a low price, the HP wins. If you want a CPU that will feel snappy for longer, look at a refurb Dell with a 10th-gen chip or newer.

Pricing is a bit of a rollercoaster, with vendors asking anywhere from $600 to $730 for this refurb. At the low end, it's a solid deal for a turnkey office PC with this much RAM and storage. At $730, you're getting into the territory of newer, more powerful mini PCs. Hunt for the $600 listing on Newegg if you're pulling the trigger.

The HP ProDesk 600 G4 SFF is the office PC equivalent of a trusty sedan. It won't turn heads or win any drag races, but it'll get you to work every single day without a fuss. This refurbished unit packs a surprising 32GB of RAM and a generous 2TB SSD into a compact chassis, making it a multitasking champ for spreadsheets, browser tabs, and all your business apps. Just don't expect it to do anything fun after hours.

If you're looking for a machine to edit photos, render video, or do any 3D work, this isn't it. The CPU is too old and the integrated graphics are a non-starter. Go find a refurbished workstation with a dedicated GPU or a newer Mac mini instead.

The HP ProDesk 600 G4 SFF is a purpose-built office machine that excels at exactly that and nothing else. Buy it for the massive SSD and abundant RAM, not for the processor. It's a perfect fit for a reception desk, a home office for basic tasks, or a point-of-sale system. Just know you're buying old silicon, and set your performance expectations accordingly.