HP Z2 A85R8UT#ABA 2024, Core i7-14700, 64GB, 1TB SSD

64GB of DDR5 in the 96th percentile and a 20-core i7-14700 in the 83rd percentile make this a serious CPU workstation. The integrated Intel UHD Graphics 770 is a weak spot at the 37th percentile, and the gaming score of 17.1 out of 100 confirms this isn't for play. Buy it for work, add a GPU later if you need one.

The i7-14700 is the star here. 20 cores and a 2.1GHz base clock mean this thing chews through multi-threaded tasks. In our database, that CPU ranks in the 83rd percentile, which puts it ahead of most consumer desktops and right in the sweet spot for entry-level workstation power. Paired with 64GB of DDR5 at the 96th percentile, you've got a system that can run several CPU-heavy programs simultaneously without breaking a sweat. HP's marketing says zero throttling, and with a 700W PSU and their thermal design, the hardware should hold up under sustained load.

The weak link is graphics. The Intel UHD Graphics 770 is integrated, and at the 37th percentile, it's underwhelming for anything beyond office apps, web browsing, and light photo editing. Real-time ray tracing? Not happening on this GPU. The good news is the Z2's tool-less chassis makes adding a discrete GPU straightforward, and the 700W power supply gives you room to grow. Just know that out of the box, the graphics performance is a weak spot.

Stacked against the competition, the Z2 G9 occupies a specific niche. The Apple Mac Studio M3 Ultra will crush it in GPU-accelerated tasks and efficiency, but you're locked into Apple's ecosystem and paying a lot more. The Lenovo Legion 90YA003GUS and Dell Aurora ACT1250 are gaming-focused machines with discrete GPUs that will embarrass the Z2 in any graphics workload, but they typically ship with less RAM and lack the ISV certifications. The MSI Aegis ZS2 and CLX SET are similar stories: better gaming, weaker workstation credentials. If your work revolves around CPU-bound tasks, large memory footprints, and certified software compatibility, the Z2 makes sense. If you want to game or do heavy GPU rendering, look at the Legion or Aurora instead.

Pricing on this unit is a bit scattered. In the US, you're looking at $3,131. Canadian listings show a spread from CAD 2,518 to CAD 3,030, which is a CAD 512 difference between vendors. If you're buying in Canada, it's worth shopping around because that's real money. The best deal appears to be at the lower end of that CAD range. For the specs, 64GB of DDR5 and a 20-core i7-14700 justify a premium, but the integrated graphics and 1TB SSD hold the value proposition back. You're paying for workstation reliability and ISV certification, not raw component value. If you need the certifications and the expandability, it's a fair price. If you just want a fast desktop, you can do better elsewhere.

The HP Z2 G9 workstation is a serious machine for people who need CPU muscle and RAM headroom, not RGB lighting. The standout number here is 64GB of DDR5, which lands in the 96th percentile of our database. That's more memory than most gaming rigs and enough to keep multiple virtual machines, large datasets, or heavy render scenes humming without swapping to disk. The Intel Core i7-14700 with 20 cores sits in the 83rd percentile, which is well above average for a desktop and plenty for multi-threaded workloads like simulation or video encoding.

But this is a workstation, not a gaming PC. The Intel UHD Graphics 770 integrated GPU lands in the 37th percentile, which is mediocre for anything beyond basic display output. If you're planning to run CAD with heavy viewport rendering or do any GPU-accelerated work, you'll want to budget for a discrete card. The 1TB SSD is solid but middle of the pack at the 54th percentile. For the price, you're paying for the ISV certifications, the tool-less chassis, and the promise of zero-throttle 24/7 operation, not raw gaming performance.

Skip this if you need any kind of graphics performance. The gaming score of 17.1 out of 100 is a real letdown, and the Intel UHD Graphics 770 at the 37th percentile won't handle GPU rendering, serious CAD viewports, or even casual gaming. Also skip it if you're on a tight budget and don't need ISV certifications or 64GB of RAM. The 1TB SSD at the 54th percentile is average, and you can find faster storage in cheaper consumer desktops. If your work is mostly office apps and web browsing, this machine is overkill and you're paying for workstation features you'll never use.

The HP Z2 G9 is a purpose-built workstation that nails its target audience. The 64GB of DDR5 at the 96th percentile and the 20-core i7-14700 at the 83rd percentile make it a strong choice for CPU-heavy professional work. The tool-less chassis and 700W PSU mean you can add a proper GPU later, which you'll probably want to do given the integrated graphics. The 1TB SSD is average, and the gaming score of 17.1 out of 100 tells you everything you need to know about its entertainment credentials. If you need a reliable, expandable, ISV-certified machine for work, this is a solid buy. If you want to game or do GPU rendering, keep looking.