HP Z2 G1i

The HP Z2 G1i is a well-built workstation with a top-tier CPU, loads of ports, and easy upgradability. The included 4GB GPU is its biggest weakness, holding back an otherwise excellent professional machine. Buy it for the platform, not the out-of-box graphics performance.

HP's Z2 G1i is a proper tower workstation built for professionals who need reliable, expandable power without the flashy gamer aesthetic. It packs Intel's new Core Ultra 5 245K, 32GB of DDR5, and a 1TB SSD into a chassis that's all about function over form. The port selection is genuinely impressive, and the whole thing feels like it's designed to be opened up and tinkered with, which is exactly what you want in a work rig.

But there's a catch. The dedicated GPU is an NVIDIA RTX A400 with just 4GB of VRAM. For a machine marketed toward modeling, simulation, and rendering, that's a surprisingly entry-level graphics card. It'll handle CAD and light 3D work fine, but anyone doing serious GPU rendering or AI workloads will hit that 4GB ceiling fast. The good news is the 700W PSU and spacious interior mean you can swap in something beefier down the line.

The Core Ultra 5 245K is a standout, landing in the 85th percentile for workstation CPUs. It chews through single and multi-threaded tasks without breaking a sweat, and paired with 32GB of fast DDR5 (82nd percentile for RAM), you've got plenty of headroom for complex assemblies or large datasets. Storage is a solid PCIe 4.0 drive, though it sits right around average for this class. The real bottleneck is that RTX A400. At the 59th percentile, it's fine for viewport acceleration in apps like SolidWorks, but it's not going to impress anyone in GPU-based rendering benchmarks. The port situation, however, is best-in-class at the 94th percentile. You get DisplayPort, Mini DisplayPort, a pile of USB-A, and USB-C. Connectivity is not a problem here.

Pricing on this config is all over the place, ranging from about $2,228 to $3,112 depending on the vendor. At the low end, you're getting a solid CPU, plenty of RAM, and a chassis that'll last through several upgrade cycles. That's a fair deal for a professional machine. But if you're paying north of $3,000, you're getting into territory where competitors include much stronger GPUs. Newegg currently has the best price we've seen, and at that level it makes sense as a foundation to build on. Just budget for a GPU upgrade if your workflow demands it.

Stacked against gaming-focused towers like the ASUS ROG GM700TZ or MSI MEG Vision X AI, the Z2 G1i is in a completely different lane. Those machines prioritize GPU horsepower and flashy cooling, while the HP is a quiet, professional tool. The Lenovo Legion Tower 5i and Dell Tower Plus offer similar CPU performance in more consumer-friendly packages, but they can't match the HP's port selection or enterprise-grade expandability. The Corsair ONE i600 is more compact and powerful out of the box, but it's a closed system that's hard to upgrade. If you need a workstation that'll grow with you and don't mind starting with a modest GPU, the HP makes a strong case.

If you need strong GPU performance right out of the box for rendering, AI training, or real-time visualization, look elsewhere. The RTX A400 is a lightweight, and by the time you factor in a GPU upgrade, you might be better off with a system that includes a proper workstation card from the start. Gamers should also steer clear entirely.

The Z2 G1i is a smart buy for engineers, architects, and designers who need a reliable, expandable tower and already know they might swap the GPU. It's a fantastic CPU platform with tons of connectivity, wrapped in a no-nonsense chassis. Just don't buy it expecting to render complex scenes or train models on the included graphics card. Treat the RTX A400 as a placeholder, and you'll be happy.