HP Pro 400 G9 2024, Core i7-14700, 32GB, 1TB SSD, Black

The HP Pro 400 G9 packs a seriously strong i7-14700 and 32GB of DDR5 into a compact office-friendly case. The integrated graphics are the weak spot, dragging the overall score down to 64.4. It's a solid buy for developers and office multitaskers, but gamers and creators should look elsewhere.

The i7-14700 is the star here. It sits in the 82nd percentile for CPUs in our database, which means it's well above average and will chew through heavy multitasking, virtual machines, and code builds without breaking a sweat. The 32GB of DDR5 RAM is also strong, landing in the 79th percentile, so you can keep a ridiculous number of browser tabs and apps open. Storage is a 1TB NVMe SSD at the 75th percentile, which is plenty fast for boot times and file transfers. But the integrated Intel UHD Graphics is the weak link. It lands in the 38th percentile, which is mediocre at best. Fine for video playback and basic display output, but don't expect to run anything more demanding than Minesweeper at a decent frame rate.

Stacked against the Lenovo Legion Tower 5a Gen 10 or the ASUS ROG GM700, the HP Pro 400 G9 gets absolutely smoked in graphics performance. Those machines have dedicated GPUs and are built for gaming and creative work. The Apple Mac Studio M4 Max is in a completely different league for content creation, though it costs way more. The Dell Tower ECT1250 is probably the closest competitor in spirit, another office-focused desktop, but the HP's i7-14700 gives it a real edge in CPU-heavy tasks. If you need a quiet, compact office machine, the HP holds its own. If you need any GPU power at all, look elsewhere.

The price situation is murky. We see one US listing at $1,290, but no official price from HP. At that number, you're paying a premium for the compact form factor and the i7-14700. The CPU and RAM are legitimately good, but the integrated graphics and limited upgrade path make this a tough sell if you ever want to do anything graphically intensive. For pure office and development work, it's reasonable. For anything else, you're better off looking at a tower with a discrete GPU.

The HP Pro 400 G9 is a small form factor workhorse that skips the flash and focuses on getting office work done. You get a 20-core i7-14700, 32GB of DDR5, and a 1TB NVMe drive in a compact case that won't eat your desk. No discrete GPU here, just Intel's integrated graphics, so set your expectations accordingly.

This is a machine built for spreadsheets, code compiles, and multitasking, not for gaming or 3D rendering. The CPU is genuinely strong for this class of desktop, and the RAM and storage are solid too. But that integrated GPU is the anchor dragging the overall score down.

Skip this if you need any real graphics performance. The integrated Intel UHD Graphics are fine for spreadsheets and web browsing, but they'll choke on games, 3D modeling, or video editing. If you want to play games or do creative work, get a tower with a dedicated GPU. Also skip it if you like upgrading your machines over time, because that 240W PSU and SFF case leave almost no room to grow.

This is a developer or office worker's machine, plain and simple. If your day involves compiling code, running local servers, or juggling a dozen spreadsheets, the i7-14700 and 32GB of RAM will serve you well. The compact case is a nice bonus if desk space is tight. Just don't expect to play games or do any serious video editing on it.