HP ProDesk 600 G4 Black/Silver 2018

A refurbished tiny PC that's fine for basic office work if you get a good price. The 8GB of RAM and tiny SSD in the base model are major weak points, so hunt for a 16GB configuration. Avoid the overpriced listings and don't believe the gaming hype.

The i5-8500T is a solid chip for office work and web browsing, but it's not going to set any speed records. Our database puts its CPU performance in the bottom quarter of all desktops, so don't expect to be rendering video or crunching huge spreadsheets without some patience. The real story is the RAM and storage. The base 8GB of RAM is a real choke point, landing in the 8th percentile, and the 256GB SSD is also on the small side. Some configurations bump you to 16GB and a 500GB drive, which is a much better starting point. The discrete AMD RX 550 GPU in some models is fine for light 1080p gaming on older titles, but it's a middle-of-the-pack performer at best.

Stacked against a modern Apple Mac mini M4, the HP gets absolutely demolished in raw performance and efficiency, but it also costs a fraction of the price. A Lenovo IdeaCentre or a newer ASUS NUC 14 Pro will run circles around it and have modern ports, but again, you're paying a premium. The real competition is another refurbished office PC like a Dell OptiPlex 3050. They're in the same ballpark, so your choice will come down to which one has a better configuration for the price on the day you're shopping. The GMKtec Nucbox K11 is a more modern mini PC that will feel much snappier for a similar price.

Pricing for this thing is a rollercoaster, ranging from a reasonable $300 all the way up to a laughable $8799. Obviously, don't pay anywhere near the high end. The sweet spot is the lower end of that range, especially if you can snag a bundle with a monitor from a seller like Newegg. Just know that for the base $300 model, you're getting a very basic office PC with a slow Wi-Fi dongle. You'll probably want to factor in the cost of a RAM upgrade almost immediately.

The HP ProDesk 600 G4 is a refurbished tiny desktop that's trying to be a lot of things to a lot of people, and honestly, it's a bit of a mess. The listing data is all over the place, mixing up specs for a basic office PC and a budget gaming rig. What you actually get depends entirely on which seller you pick, so you need to read the fine print very carefully. The core of it is a capable but aging 8th Gen Intel i5 processor in a compact chassis that sips power.

If you need a computer for any kind of serious gaming, video editing, or heavy multitasking, look elsewhere. This machine's aging CPU and minimal RAM will frustrate you. You should also skip it if you absolutely need reliable built-in Wi-Fi without dongle hassles, as that's a common pain point.

The HP ProDesk 600 G4 is a decent deal only if you find the right configuration at the right price. It's a basic office machine for basic office work, period. If you need a cheap PC to check email, run Microsoft Office, and browse the web, and you find one with 16GB of RAM for under $350, it's a sensible buy. Just don't expect it to be a gaming powerhouse, no matter what some of the marketing copy says.