HP EliteDesk 800 G2 Tiny 2016, Core i7-6700T, 32GB, 1TB SSD, Black

The HP EliteDesk 800 G2 Tiny is a refurbished office PC with 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD for under $500. The i7-6700T CPU is old and slow by modern standards, but it's fine for everyday productivity. Gaming is a hard no at 19.6/100. Buy it for a cheap, compact work machine, not for anything demanding.

Let's talk about that i7-6700T. It's a 4-core, 8-thread chip from Intel's Skylake era, running at up to 3.6GHz. In our database, it lands in the 12th percentile for CPUs, which means it's near the bottom of what we track. That sounds harsh, but context matters. For basic office tasks, web browsing, and media consumption, this chip still gets the job done. It's the kind of processor that feels fine until you ask it to do something heavy, then you remember it's nearly a decade old.

The integrated Intel HD Graphics 530 is actually the most interesting spec here, ranking in the 97th percentile for GPUs in our database. That's not because it's powerful, it's because integrated graphics in mini PCs are usually even weaker. The HD 530 can handle 4K video playback and basic display output without breaking a sweat, but don't expect to play anything more demanding than Minesweeper. Our gaming score for this machine is 19.6 out of 100, which is about as clear a signal as you'll get. The 32GB of RAM sits at the 65th percentile, which is solid, and the 1TB SSD lands at 57th percentile, right around average. The storage is a real bright spot for a refurb at this price.

The Apple Mac mini M4 is the obvious elephant in the room. It's faster in every measurable way, has better graphics, and sips power. But it starts at a much higher price point, and you're locked into macOS unless you want to deal with compatibility headaches. The Mac mini is the better computer, full stop. But it's also not in the same budget conversation for most buyers looking at a sub-$500 refurb.

The Minisforum DeskMini UM880 Plus is probably the more relevant comparison. It's a modern mini PC with AMD's latest integrated graphics, which means it can actually handle light gaming and some creative work. It costs more, but you're getting a CPU that's not from 2015. The Lenovo Yoga AIO and Dell Tower Desktop are different form factors entirely, so they're less direct competitors. The iBUYPOWER Slate is a gaming desktop, which makes it a completely different animal. If you're cross-shopping this HP against any of those, you need to figure out whether you want a cheap office box or something with actual performance headroom.

At $440 to $477 USD depending on the listing, this is a tricky value call. On one hand, you're getting 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and Windows 11 Pro in a tiny, quiet package. Try building something comparable new and you'll spend more than this. On the other hand, the CPU is the bottleneck here, and it's a bottleneck you can't fix. The i7-6700T is soldered to the board, and the integrated graphics are what they are.

Compared to the competition, the value depends entirely on what you need. The Apple Mac mini M4 absolutely demolishes this thing in performance, but it costs significantly more. The Minisforum DeskMini UM880 Plus offers modern AMD silicon with much better graphics in a similar footprint, though again at a higher price. If you just need a reliable office machine and don't care about future-proofing, this HP is hard to beat on price. If you want something that'll still feel snappy in three years, save up a bit more.

The HP EliteDesk 800 G2 Tiny is a refurbished office workhorse squeezed into a chassis you could hide behind a monitor. HP sold these things by the truckload to corporate IT departments, and now they're flooding the refurb market at prices that make budget builders do a double take. This particular config pairs an Intel Core i7-6700T with 32GB of DDR4 and a 1TB SSD, which is a lot of practical hardware for a machine this small.

Who's this for? Someone who needs a dependable desktop for spreadsheets, web apps, email, and maybe some light photo editing. It's not a gaming rig, not a video editing station, and not a machine you'll want to push hard. But for everyday office work and general computing, the specs here are more than enough. The 32GB of RAM is honestly overkill for the CPU, but it means you can keep a ridiculous number of browser tabs open without the system breaking a sweat.

What makes this interesting is the value proposition. You're getting a business-grade machine with Windows 11 Pro, a 1TB SSD, and 32GB of RAM for under $500. That's the kind of spec sheet that would have cost well over a grand new. The catch is that this is a refurb with a CPU from 2015, and that age shows in some areas. But for the right buyer, this is a lot of computer for not a lot of money.

If you're looking for a gaming machine, a video editing workstation, or anything that needs real graphics horsepower, this is not your computer. The 19.6 gaming score isn't a fluke, it's a fundamental limitation of the integrated HD Graphics 530. You'd be better off with the iBUYPOWER Slate or even the Minisforum DeskMini UM880 Plus if you want to stay in the mini PC form factor.

Also skip this if you care about future-proofing. The i7-6700T is already nearly a decade old, and it's only going to feel slower as software gets more demanding. If you plan to keep your next computer for five years or more, spending a bit extra on something with a modern CPU will pay off. The Apple Mac mini M4 or a current-gen mini PC with AMD silicon will age much more gracefully. This HP is a right-now machine for right-now tasks at a right-now price.

For a basic home office or small business setup, this HP EliteDesk 800 G2 Tiny is a genuinely good buy. The 32GB of RAM and 1TB SSD mean it'll handle everyday multitasking without complaint, and the tiny footprint is a real quality-of-life win. If your computing life is browser tabs, email, documents, and the occasional video call, you'll be perfectly happy here. The Windows 11 Pro license alone is worth a decent chunk of the asking price.

But if you have any aspirations beyond basic productivity, look elsewhere. The CPU is old enough that it'll struggle with anything demanding, and the integrated graphics rule out gaming entirely. Creative work like video editing or 3D modeling is off the table. This is a machine for getting work done, not for having fun. If that's what you need, it's a steal. If you want more, spend more.