HP 800 G2 Tower Review

The refurbished HP 800 G2 is a budget gaming desktop with a major caveat. It packs a huge 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, but its 8-year-old Intel i5-6500 CPU severely limits performance for modern gaming and applications. It's only for the most budget-conscious buyers.

If you're hunting for a cheap gaming PC that can handle more than just Minesweeper, this refurbished HP 800 G2 tower is a common find. It's an older business desktop that's been souped up with a GTX 1050 Ti graphics card and a massive 32GB of RAM. For around $500, you're getting a complete Windows 11 Pro system with a 1TB SSD, which is a solid deal for a starter rig or a home office workhorse. Just know you're buying into 2015-era processor tech, so it's a bit of a trade-off.

Let's be real about the specs. The Intel Core i5-6500 CPU is the weak link here, landing in the 6th percentile in our database. That means it's going to struggle with modern, CPU-heavy games and applications. The saving grace is the discrete NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti 4GB. It's not a powerhouse, but it's enough for decent 1080p gaming on medium-to-low settings in many titles. The 32GB of RAM is wildly overkill for this setup and won't make up for the older CPU or mid-tier GPU, but it does mean you'll never have to worry about running out of memory for Chrome tabs.

At $519, the value proposition is simple: you're paying for the RAM, SSD, and operating system, with the GPU and CPU thrown in as a bonus. It's hard to build something new at this price with these specs, but you can find used gaming PCs with newer, more balanced components for similar money. This is a 'good enough' package if your budget is absolutely locked at $500 and you need everything right now.

This HP G2 is in a different league than its listed 'competitors' like the HP Omen 45L or Alienware Aurora, which are modern, powerful, and cost three times as much. A fairer comparison is against other refurbished office PCs turned gaming rigs. Compared to a similar Dell Optiplex with an i5-6500, this HP wins on its 32GB RAM and 1TB SSD. However, a Lenovo ThinkCentre with a newer 8th or 9th Gen i5 and the same GTX 1050 Ti would offer much better CPU performance for a similar price, making it a smarter long-term buy for gaming.

Skip this if you're a serious gamer wanting to play new releases, a content creator editing videos, or anyone who needs a fast processor for multitasking. The i5-6500 will hold you back immediately. Also, avoid it if you want a small, portable PC—this is a hulking tower. Look instead for refurbished systems with 8th Gen Intel or newer CPUs, or consider building a budget PC with modern AMD Ryzen components.

Should you buy this? Only with very specific expectations. If you need a basic PC for office work, web browsing, and very light or older gaming (think Fortnite on low settings, indie titles, or games from 5+ years ago), this will do the job. It's a decent 'my first gaming PC' for a tight budget. But if you plan to play newer AAA titles like Cyberpunk or want something that won't feel slow in two years, the ancient CPU is a deal-breaker. Save up a bit more for a system with a newer processor.