HP EliteDesk Secure & Productive Business Tower Review

This is a budget workhorse, not a speedster. Buy it under $300 for basic office work only, or get something modern.

Here's the one thing you need to know: this HP EliteDesk is a solid, boring workhorse for a very specific person. It's a refurbished business tower, which means you're getting a reliable, well-built machine that's been around the block, but you're also buying tech from 2016. If you need a basic desktop for spreadsheets, email, and web browsing, and you're on a tight budget, this is a contender. If you need anything more than that, keep scrolling.

The performance is exactly what you'd expect from an 8-year-old Intel Core i7-6700. Our database puts its CPU performance in the 17th percentile, which means it's slow by modern standards. It'll handle office tasks just fine, but don't expect it to zip through anything. The surprising part is the reliability score—it lands in the 78th percentile. These things were built to last in cubicles, and that durability seems to hold up even after a refurbishment.

The value swings wildly based on price. We've seen this listed anywhere from $287 to $600. At the low end, around $300, it's a decent deal for a basic, complete desktop system. At $600, it's a complete rip-off. You're paying for reliability and ports, not speed. Shop around.

Don't confuse this with the gaming towers listed as competitors. The HP Omen or Alienware Aurora are in a different universe performance-wise. A more relevant comparison is a modern mini-PC or a budget new desktop. For similar money, a new mini-PC with a modern Intel N100 chip will be smaller, use less power, and often feel snappier for basic tasks, but you'll sacrifice the extensive ports and the tank-like build. It's a trade-off between modern efficiency and old-school connectivity.

If you're looking for a gaming PC, a fast computer for creative work, or a modern, sleek machine, this isn't it. Go get a modern mini-PC or a budget gaming tower instead. Also, skip it if you think you might need more power in a year—this thing has no headroom.

We can only recommend this to one person: someone who needs a dead-simple, durable desktop for the most basic tasks (web, documents, email) and has a strict sub-$350 budget. For them, it's a safe buy. For literally anyone else—students, home users wanting to do more, people with any performance needs—there are better, more modern options. This isn't a computer you grow into; it's one you outgrow on day one.