You could be running a business or an organisation, living in a busy home or undertaking some serious study at college or university. Whichever it is, there’s a high-performance HP desktop PC which is ideal for you.
With great build quality and care taken over assembling their impressive specs, HP computers are reliable and designed to operate efficiently and continuously over a long life cycle. When thinking about home office or small business use, here are a handful of the best HP offerings, from different spec levels and price points…
HP 290 G3
The HP 290 is an affordable small form-factor desktop PC with reliable computing power, featuring an Intel Core i5 processor and 8GB RAM, plus a 256GB NVMe solid-state drive. With ports for peripherals and storage expansion, and an internal PCIe x16 slot for component expandability in the future, this is a wise choice for those on a more modest budget.
HP Business Desktop ProDesk 400 G6
The ProDesk 400 offers solid desktop performance for your workflows in a surprisingly small package, with an Intel Core i5 processor, high-speed DDR4 memory and an array of ports providing good connectivity options.
HP EliteOne 800 G6
It’s perhaps not that often you’d consider an all-in-one when thinking about desktop PCs, but the EliteOne 800 is really impressive. You might have thought these devices are design-led – but they are practical and highly functional too. With an Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD, plus connectivity options and a 23.8” Full HD display, this is a compact and powerful device.
HP Z4G4T
The HPZ4G4T is a little more of a powerhouse than the others we’re mentioning in this brief list – but we felt we had to include something for those who are looking for a serious piece of kit. It’s a high-end desktop workstation eminently suitable for visualisation and graphics work. With the power to move seamlessly between 3-D CAD, rendering and simulation applications, the Intel Core i9 processor plus 16GB of DDR4 memory and a 512GB SSD equate to feature-rich functionality.
Why HP?
HP is also known for other devices such as printers and innovative schemes, but it produces computers which are trusted without question by businesses, organisations and domestic users. This is because HP produces reliable and high-performing devices – whether at an entry-level for word processing and web browsing, or at a workstation-level where the tasks are complex and require a lot of power. Whichever end of that scale you are at, HP will have the right PC for the job!
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What makes ‘the right’ desktop PC?
Well, it depends on what you need it for, as the old saying goes. But whatever the intended purpose, you are going to want something that is up to handling whatever you ‘throw at it’ now, and that will also be able to cope with what you might expect to do in the future.
For instance, if you intend to move into something processor and graphics-heavy like (say) video production in six months, but are not doing that now, then it would be a false economy to buy a desktop PC which isn’t capable of it. You’d only have to upgrade, or upgrade components, six months from now.
It’s possible that, if you are a business or a very busy organisation, you would actually benefit more from investing in a workstation than a high-end desktop PC. These are highly specced PCs which are designed to handle massive workloads.
So what are the specs and components that make a good desktop PC?
Processor (CPU)
CPU stands for Central Processing Unit. This is the brain of your desktop PC, and it dictates how fast the device performs. The higher the iteration (so i5, i7, i9 and so on), the more powerful the processor is going to be. Dual-core or quad-core CPUs are basically two or four CPUs in one. They can give you extra performance when multi-tasking and using modern, multi-threaded applications.
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Memory
RAM (Random Access Memory) is where your desktop PC stores files for quick access when you are working on them. As you open a file, it’s temporarily copied from the PC’s storage to the super-fast memory. When you save, it returns from the RAM back to the permanent storage. It’s a good idea to get a PC with as much RAM as possible, within your budget – 4GB as the minimum, but 8GB or 16GB if you can afford it.
Storage
Your files and documents are stored on the storage drive of your computer. When you work on something, it is copied from the storage drive to your RAM, and back again when you save it. Increasingly, PCs use solid-state drives (SSDs) instead of hard drives. These SSDs have no moving parts so are less prone to damage. As they don’t have to spin a physical disk, SSDs are incredibly fast too, accessing data in a flash.
Connectivity / Peripherals / Extra Storage
There’s no doubt that you’ll need to connect external devices of some sort to your desktop PC. This could mean the monitor and other peripherals, such as keyboard and mouse. But it could also mean external storage of some kind – a USB flash drive, an external HDD or a portable SSD, for storing files and documents or even for backing-up the PC. So, it’s a good idea to make sure your desktop PC has the right kind of ports (USB 3.0, USB 2.0, HDMI, USB Type-C and so on) and plenty of them to handle the things you’ll want to attach.
Monitor
It’s a good idea to go for a monitor which is as large as you can afford – but not forgetting the amount of space you have to put it into. It’s pointless opting for a massive screen when you have an extremely limited amount of desk space, everything will be ‘out of balance’ and will feel uncomfortable. But too small makes working on documents quite difficult. Being sensible in finding the appropriate balance is the key, when making your choice of monitor.
There are options for curved screens or for using two monitors side-by-side which are worth thinking about. You should opt for a Full HD resolution (that’s 1920 x 1080 pixels) if you can – though if you are doing a lot of streaming or video work it might be worth considering 4K.
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Those are a few of the things you need to think about when considering your next desktop PC purchase. And, at the start we gave you a handful of recommendations from us about the best HP has to offer (at different spec and price levels), whether you are working at home, in the office or – as is the norm now – a hybrid. Of course, there are several more options from HP and you can see them at our website…
