HP EliteDesk 8 SFF G1i 2025, Core Ultra 5 235, 16GB, 512GB SSD, Jack Black

The EliteDesk 8 SFF G1i scores 72.6 out of 100, with a standout 97th percentile port selection and a strong Core Ultra 5 235 CPU at the 78th percentile. But integrated graphics drag the gaming score down to 14.5 out of 100. It's a business workhorse, not a gaming machine.

The Core Ultra 5 235 is the engine here, and it's a genuinely strong one for business use. 14 cores at 3.4GHz base with a 5.00 GHz boost puts it at the 78th percentile in our CPU rankings. That means it outruns roughly three quarters of the desktops we've tested. Paired with 16GB of 5600 MT/s DDR5, you'll chew through browser tabs, Excel models, and video calls without breaking a sweat.

But the integrated Intel graphics are a different story. At the 51st percentile, they're dead average. Fine for driving monitors and basic productivity apps, but the gaming score of 14.5 out of 100 tells you everything you need to know. Don't expect to run anything more demanding than Minesweeper at a decent clip. The 512GB NVMe SSD at the 42nd percentile is also a bit tight for 2025, especially if you're storing large project files.

Stacked against the competition, the EliteDesk 8 SFF G1i occupies a specific niche. The Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 10 and Dell Aurora Gaming will absolutely crush it in graphics performance, but they're gaming machines with big power supplies and flashy cases. The Apple Mac Studio M3 Ultra is in a completely different performance class, but it also costs significantly more and runs macOS. The ASUS ROG GM700 and The Horizon Pcs Autherium Dragon are similarly gaming-focused. What the EliteDesk offers that none of those do is enterprise-grade manageability with vPro, a compact 3.74kg chassis, and that ridiculous port selection. If you need a fleet of reliable office machines, this is the boring but smart choice.

Pricing is all over the place. US listings range from USD 1,319 to USD 1,699, a spread of USD 380 for what appears to be the same configuration. That's a meaningful chunk of change, so shop around before you commit. The CAD listings show a similar pattern, ranging from CAD 1,992 to CAD 2,284, a CAD 292 gap. For a business desktop with integrated graphics and a 512GB SSD, the lower end of that range feels about right. At the top end, you're paying a premium for the vPro management features and the EliteDesk build quality, which may or may not matter to your IT department.

The HP EliteDesk 8 SFF G1i scores 72.6 out of 100 in our database, which puts it in solid territory for a business desktop. The standout number is the port selection, sitting at the 97th percentile. You get 9 USB-A ports, 2 USB-C, HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort, and Ethernet. That's the kind of connectivity that makes IT departments smile and keeps dongle drawers empty.

The Core Ultra 5 235 with 14 cores and a 5.00 GHz boost clock lands at the 78th percentile for CPU performance. That's well above average for office workloads, spreadsheets, and multitasking. But the integrated Intel graphics only hit the 51st percentile, and the 512GB NVMe SSD sits at the 42nd. So this machine is built for productivity, not pixel pushing.

Anyone looking for a gaming or content creation machine should look elsewhere. The 14.5 out of 100 gaming score is one of the weakest we've seen for any desktop, and the integrated graphics at the 51st percentile won't help with video editing or 3D work either. The 512GB SSD at the 42nd percentile is also a bottleneck if you work with large files. And if you don't need vPro or enterprise management features, you're paying extra for capabilities you'll never use. A standard consumer desktop with a dedicated GPU would serve you far better at a similar price.

The HP EliteDesk 8 SFF G1i is a purpose-built business desktop that knows exactly what it is. The Core Ultra 5 235 delivers strong productivity performance at the 78th percentile, and the port selection is genuinely best-in-class. But the integrated graphics and 512GB SSD hold it back for anything beyond office work. If you're outfitting an office or need a reliable workhorse with vPro management, this is a solid pick, especially if you can snag it at the lower end of the USD 1,319 to USD 1,699 range. Just don't expect it to moonlight as a gaming rig.