HP Elite t655 2024, Ryzen Embedded R2314, 8GB, 64GB SSD, Black

The HP Elite t655 is a thin client with a 10th percentile CPU and 4th percentile storage, but owners still rate it 4.2 stars. It's built for office tasks and virtual desktop duty, not heavy workloads. The expandable memory (up to 32GB) and Wi-Fi 6 are the highlights, while the 64GB eMMC drive is the biggest letdown.

Let's be blunt about the processor. The Ryzen Embedded R2314 runs at 2.1GHz base with a 3.5GHz boost, and it lands in the 10th percentile of our database. That's not a typo. For a thin client, that's acceptable. For anything beyond web browsing, document editing, and light multitasking, it's going to feel sluggish. The integrated Radeon Graphics sits at the 60th percentile, which is actually the strongest spec here. It'll push up to three UHD/4K displays, which is genuinely useful for trading desks or monitoring stations.

The 8GB of DDR4-3200 comes as two 4GB sticks, so you're already in dual-channel mode. That helps. And the memory is expandable to 32GB, which owners consistently mention as a plus. The 64GB eMMC storage is the real bottleneck. It's in the 4th percentile, and eMMC is slower than even budget SATA SSDs. Boot times will be fine for a thin client OS, but don't expect to store much locally. Windows 10 IoT Enterprise is lean, which helps, but 64GB fills up faster than you'd think.

Stacked against the Apple Mac Studio M3 Ultra, this thing looks like a calculator next to a supercomputer. But that's not a fair fight. The Mac Studio is a creative workstation, and the Elite t655 is a thin client. The more honest comparison is against other business desktops like the Dell Tower Plus EBT2250 or the Lenovo Legion 90YA003GUS. The Dell and Lenovo both offer significantly more CPU and storage headroom, but they're also bigger, heavier, and aimed at different use cases. The Elite t655's real advantage is its size (1.17kg) and its enterprise management stack. If you need something to sit quietly on a desk and run a virtual desktop session, this does that. If you need local processing power, every competitor on this list beats it.

Pricing is a bit of a mess right now. US listings range from USD 850 to USD 1,000, a USD 150 spread across just two vendors. That's a meaningful gap for what is essentially the same box. The CAD listings are tighter, at CAD 959 to CAD 963, but those amounts aren't directly comparable to the US prices. For a thin client with a 10th percentile CPU and 4th percentile storage, even the low end of that US range feels steep. You're paying for the enterprise management features, the 3-year offsite support, and the HP name. If your IT department needs the HP Device Manager and ThinUpdate software, that's worth something. If you're just buying one for a home office, you can do better for less.

The HP Elite t655 is a thin client that knows exactly what it is, and what it isn't. It's built for office desks, call centers, and kiosk duty, not for anything resembling heavy lifting. The numbers tell the story fast: 8GB of DDR4-3200 RAM, a 64GB eMMC drive, and an AMD Ryzen Embedded R2314 with four cores at 2.1GHz. That CPU sits in the 10th percentile of our database, the RAM in the 9th, and the storage in the 4th. If you're shopping for a gaming rig or a video editing box, this thing will disappoint you before lunch.

But here's the twist: users actually like it. The sentiment score lands at 80 out of 100, and the 4.2-star average across 7 reviews backs that up. Owners praise the expandable memory (up to 32GB), the preloaded HP management software, and the Wi-Fi 6 plus Bluetooth 5.2 combo. The recurring gripe is about the processor being modest for heavy workloads, which is fair. This is a machine for daily office tasks, not for crunching spreadsheets with a million rows.

Skip this if you need any real local processing power. The CPU is in the 10th percentile, the RAM in the 9th, and the storage in the 4th. That's a triple threat of mediocrity for anyone doing video editing, software development, or even heavy spreadsheet work. The gaming score of 10.7 out of 100 should be enough to scare off anyone looking for a budget gaming box. And if you're a home user who just wants a simple desktop, the USD 850 to USD 1,000 price range is hard to justify when you can get a much more capable machine for less. This is an enterprise thin client, and it's priced like one.

The HP Elite t655 is a purpose-built tool, and it does that purpose well enough. The 80/100 user sentiment score and 4.2-star rating suggest owners who bought it for the right reasons are happy. The expandable memory, Wi-Fi 6, and triple 4K display support are genuine strengths. But the 10th percentile CPU and 4th percentile storage are hard to ignore, especially at USD 850 to USD 1,000. This is a machine for IT departments that need manageable, secure endpoints, not for individuals who want a general-purpose desktop. If that's your situation, it's a solid pick. If not, keep looking.