HP EliteDesk 8 Mini G1i 2026, Core Ultra 9 285T, 64GB, 1TB SSD, Black

The EliteDesk 8 Mini G1i packs a 24-core Core Ultra 9 and 64GB of DDR5 RAM into a 1.35kg box, with RAM in the 97th percentile of our database. It's a compact productivity beast scoring 84.2 out of 100 for compact use. Just don't expect to game on it, integrated graphics land at 17.7 out of 100 for gaming.

The Core Ultra 9 285T is the star here. With 24 cores and a 1.4GHz base clock, it lands in the 80th percentile for CPU performance in our database. That's well above average, and for a mini PC it's frankly a bit absurd. Pair that with 64GB of 5600 MHz DDR5 RAM, which sits in the 97th percentile, and you've got a machine that can chew through virtual machines, large codebases, and heavy multitasking without breaking a sweat. The 1TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD is solid, landing in the 70th percentile for storage, and there are two empty M.2 slots if you need more room.

The integrated graphics are the trade-off. Intel Graphics puts this machine in the 60th percentile for GPU performance, which is about average for office-focused mini PCs but nowhere near what you'd get from a dedicated card. The 90W PSU tells the story: this is a CPU-first machine. Connectivity is a bright spot though, with Thunderbolt 4, Wi-Fi 7, and a healthy port selection that lands in the 77th percentile.

Against the Apple Mac Studio M3 Ultra, the EliteDesk 8 Mini G1i can't touch the GPU performance, but it's also a fraction of the size and likely a fraction of the price depending on configuration. The Lenovo Legion 90YA003GUS and MSI Aegis ZS2 are gaming-focused machines with dedicated GPUs that will absolutely destroy this HP in any graphics workload, but they're also much larger and draw way more power. The Dell Aurora ACT1250 and CLX SET are similar stories: bigger, louder, more GPU muscle, but overkill if you just need a compact workstation. For pure CPU and RAM density in a tiny footprint, the EliteDesk 8 Mini G1i is in a class of its own.

Pricing on this thing is all over the place. US listings range from USD 2,869 to USD 3,827, a spread of USD 958 for what appears to be the same configuration. That's a huge gap, and it means you could overpay by nearly a grand if you're not careful. The Canadian listing sits at CAD 3,985, but that's a different market with different taxes and import costs, so don't try to compare those directly. For the specs you're getting, especially that 97th percentile RAM and 80th percentile CPU, the lower end of the US range feels reasonable for a business-grade mini PC. The higher end does not.

The HP EliteDesk 8 Mini G1i packs a serious punch for a box you can hold in one hand. We're talking an Intel Core Ultra 9 285T with 24 cores, 64GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 1TB NVMe SSD stuffed into a 1.35kg chassis. The RAM alone sits in the 97th percentile of our database, which means this little machine out-muscles almost everything else in its class when it comes to memory. For compact workstations, it scores 84.2 out of 100 in our testing, which is genuinely impressive.

But let's be real about what this is. The integrated Intel Graphics put it in the 60th percentile for GPU performance, and gaming lands at a rough 17.7 out of 100. This is not a machine for playing games or rendering 3D scenes. It's a productivity workhorse for developers, home office users, and anyone who needs serious CPU and RAM headroom without a tower taking over their desk.

Gamers and anyone doing GPU-heavy work should look elsewhere. The integrated Intel Graphics land in the 60th percentile, and gaming performance scores just 17.7 out of 100, which is one of the weakest results we've seen for that use case. The 90W PSU also means there's no realistic path to adding a dedicated GPU later. If you need to render video, train models, or play anything more demanding than solitaire, this is not your machine. The weak social proof at the 19th percentile also means you're buying on specs alone, with only 4 reviews to back up the experience.

If you need a compact machine that prioritizes CPU and RAM over everything else, the EliteDesk 8 Mini G1i is a compelling option. The 97th percentile RAM and 80th percentile CPU make it a multitasking monster, and the 84.2 compact score reflects how well HP has nailed the form factor. Just don't expect to game on it, and don't pay the high end of that USD 958 price spread. Shop around, find the USD 2,869 listing, and you've got a serious little workhorse.