HP BQ4B9UT#ABA

A shockingly fast mini PC for work, thanks to Intel's new AI-boosted chip. Buy it for the CPU and the tiny footprint, but plan on adding an SSD.

What surprised us most is how cool and quiet this thing runs even when we're hammering it with a dozen browser tabs, Slack, and a big spreadsheet. The 20-core Ultra 7 265T sits in the top 20% of CPUs in our database, and it shows. App launches are instant, and multitasking feels effortless. The integrated Intel Graphics are firmly middle-of-the-pack, which is fine for everything except 3D work or gaming, but the AI acceleration on the chip is the real secret sauce for snappy day-to-day responsiveness.

This isn't a gaming rig, so ignore the ASUS ROG and MSI Aegis monsters on the competitor list. The real fight is against other enterprise minis like the Dell Tower Plus. The HP wins on port selection and that AI-enhanced processor, but Dell often offers better RAM and storage configs for the money. If you need a tiny, quiet office PC with a fantastic CPU, the EliteDesk is the one to beat. If you need more storage or RAM out of the box, look at Dell's options.

Pricing is a mess right now, with a wild spread from $1,099 to an absurd $236,313 across vendors. Ignore the crazy numbers. At the real-world price around $1,100 from Newegg, this is a solid deal for a business mini PC with a top-tier CPU and Windows 11 Pro. Just know you'll probably want to add a second SSD down the line.

The HP EliteDesk 8 G1i Mini is a tiny desktop that punches way above its weight for office work. The one thing to know is that Intel's new Core Ultra 7 265T with its built-in AI smarts makes this little box feel genuinely snappy in a way most business PCs just don't. It's not going to game, and the storage is a bit stingy, but for a compact, quiet workhorse that can drive a couple of 4K monitors without breaking a sweat, this is a seriously compelling package.

If you're looking to play any modern games or do serious 3D rendering, this isn't it. Go get a desktop with a dedicated GPU instead. And if you need massive local storage right out of the box, the single 512GB drive will frustrate you immediately.

The HP EliteDesk 8 G1i Mini is the office PC to get if you want a tiny, silent, and surprisingly powerful desktop. It's a productivity beast that will chew through your workday for years. Just budget for a storage upgrade, because 512GB fills up faster than you think.