HP ProDesk 4 G1i Jack Black 2025

A shockingly fast office PC with a killer CPU and tons of RAM, but graphics performance that's stuck in the last decade. Buy it for work, not for play.

The Core Ultra 5 235 really surprised us. This 14-core chip sits in the 80th percentile for CPUs in our database, which means it punches well above what you'd expect in a small form factor office PC. The integrated Intel Graphics are a different story, landing squarely in the middle of the pack. That's fine for driving a couple of 4K monitors, but don't even think about firing up anything more demanding than Solitaire. The 32GB of DDR5 RAM is a standout, putting it in the top tier of our rankings and making multitasking feel effortless.

Stacked against something like the Dell Tower Plus, the HP trades blows on CPU power but gives up a dedicated GPU, making the Dell a better pick if you need even light graphics work. The Lenovo Legion and ASUS ROG systems are in a completely different universe, built for gaming with discrete graphics that leave the ProDesk in the dust. If your workflow is 100% CPU-bound office apps, the HP's modern Core Ultra chip and RAM advantage make it a smarter buy than older, similarly priced business towers.

Pricing is all over the map, with a wild $468 spread between vendors. At the low end, this is a solid deal for a vPro-equipped, AI-ready business desktop with 32GB of RAM. At the high end, you're getting fleeced. Shop around and don't pay a penny over the lowest price you can find. For a pure office machine, it's worth it at the right price.

The HP ProDesk 4 G1i is a business workhorse that knows exactly what it is and doesn't try to be anything else. The one thing to know is that HP packed a brand new Intel Core Ultra 5 chip with a dedicated AI engine into a compact, no-nonsense chassis, and it absolutely flies through office tasks. It's not flashy, it won't play games, but for churning through spreadsheets, video calls, and a dozen browser tabs, this thing is a quiet, cool-running champ.

If you're looking for a machine to do any kind of gaming, 3D rendering, or video editing, this isn't it. Go get a system with a dedicated GPU instead, like one of the ASUS ROG or Lenovo Legion towers. This HP is a desk jockey, not a weekend warrior.

The HP ProDesk 4 G1i is a purpose-built office PC that excels at its job. It's fast, well-connected, and ready for the next wave of AI-powered business software. Just know that its job description does not include gaming, 3D modeling, or anything that stresses a GPU. If you need a reliable, set-it-and-forget-it desktop for work, buy it from the cheapest vendor you can find and don't look back.