HP ProDesk 4 Mini G1i 2025, Core Ultra 5 235T, 16GB, 512GB SSD, Jack Black

The HP ProDesk 4 Mini G1i is a compact office workhorse with a 14-core Core Ultra 5 235T and 16GB of DDR5. It's great for productivity but useless for gaming, with a 13.3 gaming score. US prices swing from USD 800 to USD 1,239, so shop around. Buy it for business use, skip it for anything graphical.

The Core Ultra 5 235T sits at the 72nd percentile for CPUs in our database, which puts it well above average for mini PCs. You're getting 14 cores with a 2.2 GHz base clock and a 5.00 GHz boost. In real terms, that means snappy multitasking, fast app launches, and enough headroom for heavier business software. The 16GB of DDR5 at 5600 MT/s helps too, though it lands at the 56th percentile for RAM, so it's solid but not a standout. For most office workloads, you won't feel constrained.

The integrated Intel Graphics are the weak link. At the 52nd percentile for GPUs, they're fine for driving displays and basic video work, but the gaming score of 13.3 out of 100 tells the real story. Don't expect to run modern titles at anything resembling playable frame rates. The 512GB NVMe SSD sits at the 44th percentile for storage, which is about average. It's fast enough for boot times and file transfers, but 512GB fills up quicker than you'd think if you're storing large files locally. The 90W PSU keeps power draw modest, which is nice for an always-on office machine.

Stacked against the competition, the ProDesk 4 Mini G1i occupies a specific niche. The Lenovo Legion Tower 5a Gen 10 and ASUS ROG G700TF-U7KF5070TI are gaming machines with dedicated GPUs that will absolutely crush this HP in graphics performance, but they're also much larger and draw way more power. If you need a gaming rig, those are the obvious choices. The Apple Mac Studio M4 Max is in a different league entirely for creative work, but it costs significantly more and locks you into macOS.

The Dell Tower ECT1250 and Acer Nitro N60-180-UB33 are closer in spirit to the HP, but they're traditional tower desktops. The HP's advantage is the mini form factor. It's smaller, lighter, and easier to deploy in bulk. The trade-off is expandability. You're not swapping in a dedicated GPU or adding a bunch of drives. For IT departments managing dozens of workstations, the ProDesk makes a lot of sense. For a single user who wants flexibility, a tower might serve you better.

Pricing on this thing is all over the place. In the US, you'll see it listed anywhere from USD 800 to USD 1,239 across four listings. That's a USD 439 spread for the same machine, which is frankly ridiculous. If you're buying in the US, shop around and don't pay the high end. The lower end of that range feels fair for what you get, especially with Windows 11 Pro included. At USD 1,239, you're getting into territory where you could start looking at more capable machines.

For Canadian buyers, the spread is even wider. CAD 1,200 to CAD 1,708 across three listings means a CAD 508 difference. Again, the low end is where the value lives. The Japanese and Mexican listings are single data points, so there's not much to compare there. Overall, this is a machine where the deal you get depends heavily on which store you buy from. Do your homework before clicking buy.

The HP ProDesk 4 Mini G1i is one of those machines that doesn't scream for attention, and that's kind of the point. It's a tiny desktop built for desks where space is tight but the workload isn't a joke. HP stuffed a 14-core Intel Core Ultra 5 235T into a box that weighs just 1.19kg, which is honestly a little absurd when you think about it. This is the kind of PC that disappears behind a monitor and just quietly does its job.

Who's it for? Office workers, IT departments, and anyone running spreadsheets, browser tabs, and business apps all day. The compact score of 79.4 out of 100 tells you HP nailed the form factor. The total score of 66.8 is more of a mixed bag, mostly dragged down by the integrated graphics, which land this thing at a 13.3 for gaming. If you want to play anything beyond solitaire, look elsewhere.

What makes it interesting is the balance. You get Windows 11 Pro, Wi-Fi 6E, Thunderbolt, and a decent port selection in a chassis smaller than a shoebox. The Core Ultra 5 235T can boost up to 5.00 GHz, and with 16GB of DDR5 at 5600 MT/s, this little box punches above its weight for productivity. It's not flashy, but it's competent, and for a lot of offices, that's exactly what matters.

Gamers should skip this without a second thought. The integrated graphics are a hard wall, and no amount of CPU performance makes up for it. If you want to play anything released in the last five years, you need a dedicated GPU, and this machine doesn't have one. Look at the Lenovo Legion Tower 5a or ASUS ROG G700TF instead.

Creative professionals working with video, 3D, or heavy photo editing should also pass. The Mac Studio M4 Max is the obvious alternative if you're in that world, though it costs more. Even a mid-range tower with a discrete GPU will serve you better than this HP. And if you're a tinkerer who likes swapping parts and upgrading over time, the mini form factor will frustrate you. A standard tower gives you room to grow.

If you're outfitting an office or need a compact, reliable machine for everyday productivity, the ProDesk 4 Mini G1i is a solid pick. The Core Ultra 5 235T handles business workloads with ease, and the small chassis means it fits almost anywhere. Windows 11 Pro, Wi-Fi 6E, and Thunderbolt round out a package that's easy to deploy and manage. Just make sure you're paying the lower end of that price range.

For home users, the calculus changes. If you want to play games, edit video, or do anything graphically intensive, this isn't your machine. The integrated graphics are a hard limit. You'd be better served by a tower with a dedicated GPU, even if it costs a bit more. But if your needs are email, documents, web browsing, and business apps, the ProDesk 4 Mini G1i does the job without taking over your desk.