HP EliteDesk 800 G3 mini

The HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Mini is a tiny, cheap refurbished office PC with a generous 16GB of RAM and a painfully slow 6th-gen processor. It's fine for basic web and document work at a very low price, but the weak performance and poor included peripherals, especially the Wi-Fi dongle, are a real drag. Only buy it if you find it for under $200 and don't expect much from it.

The 6th-gen i5-6500 is the weak link. It lands in the bottom 10% of CPUs in our database, so even basic multitasking can spike usage and bring things to a crawl if you push too hard. The massive 16GB of RAM is overkill for this chip and sits at the 100th percentile compared to similar boxes, but it helps keep browser tabs from crashing. The 256GB SSD is on the smaller side. Boot times are quick thanks to Windows 11, but the integrated Intel HD 530 graphics absolutely cannot handle modern games, hence the abysmal 20.4 score for gaming. This machine does one thing well, and that's light office duty.

Stacked against a newer Dell Optiplex 7070 Micro, the HP feels ancient. The Dell can be found refurbished with 8th or 9th gen Intel chips that walk all over the i5-6500. A Minisforum DeskMini UM880 Plus is in a totally different league for performance and is worth the extra cash if your budget allows. The Lenovo IdeaCentre 91CF000CUS is a more modern tiny desktop that also outmuscles this HP. Even a similarly aged Certified Refurbished iMac 21.5" gives you a gorgeous screen. The HP's only real edge is its rock-bottom starting price and Windows 11 Pro upgrade, but you're making serious performance sacrifices to save a few bucks.

Pricing is all over the map for this refurb, ranging from about $169 to a ridiculous $3,389. The sweet spot is clearly at the low end. If you can snag one for under $200, it's a solid value for a no-frills office machine, especially since it comes with a keyboard, mouse, and a valid Windows 11 Pro license which is worth something on its own. Paying anything close to four figures for a decade-old mini PC is madness. At that point, you're in brand-new Mini PC territory with an actual warranty and modern components.

HP's EliteDesk 800 G3 Mini is a tiny office PC that's been refreshed and sold as a budget desktop. It packs a 6th-gen Intel i5, 16GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD into a box you can mount behind a monitor. The hardware is old, dating back to 2015, but the refurb process adds Windows 11 and a fresh coat of paint.

For basic office work, spreadsheets, and web browsing, it's totally fine. The SSD keeps things snappy and the dual DisplayPorts let you run two 4K screens. Just know you're buying a decade-old processor with integrated graphics that choke on anything beyond Solitaire. The refurbished nature also means your mileage may vary with the bundled keyboard, mouse, and that infamous USB Wi-Fi dongle.

Skip this if you do anything more demanding than web browsing and word processing. Video streaming alongside a few heavy apps will push the aging CPU to the brink. Gamers shouldn't even glance at it, and anyone who values rock-solid Wi-Fi out of the box should look at a newer mini PC that has a built-in adapter, not a cheap dongle.

This is a machine for a very specific buyer. If your only jobs are Google Docs, email, and watching YouTube, and your budget is painfully tight, this refurbished HP gets it done in a tiny package. Just factor in the cost of a new Wi-Fi adapter and a decent keyboard and mouse, because the included ones are junk. It's an acceptable disposable office PC, not a daily driver you'll love.