HP EliteDesk 800 G6 2020, Core i5-10500T, 16GB, 256GB SSD

The HP EliteDesk 800 G6 is a refurbished mini PC with a six-core i5, 16GB of RAM, and Windows 11 Pro that's perfect for quiet office work. The 256GB SSD is the main compromise, and the integrated graphics mean no gaming. Prices range from CAD 432 to CAD 490, so hunt for the low end. If you need a tiny, dependable Windows box for everyday tasks, this is a solid buy.

The i5-10500T is a 35W chip with six cores and a 2.3GHz base clock. In our database, its CPU performance lands right around the middle of the pack, 48th percentile. That means it'll chew through Outlook, Chrome with a dozen tabs, Excel, and the usual office suite without breaking a sweat. It's not going to win any rendering contests, but for the kind of work this machine is built for, it's plenty. The low power draw also means it stays quiet and cool, which matters when it's sitting two feet from your face on a desk.

The integrated Intel UHD 630 graphics are where things get honest. That's a 38th percentile GPU, which is fine for driving a 4K display for productivity but hopeless for anything beyond light browser games or solitaire. The 16GB of RAM is solid for multitasking, though it sits at the 32nd percentile, so it's not a standout. The 256GB SSD is the real weak spot, landing at the 14th percentile. That's enough for Windows 11 Pro, Office, and a modest pile of documents, but you'll be leaning on cloud storage or an external drive before long.

Stacked against the Apple Mac mini M4, this HP gets absolutely demolished on raw performance. The M4 is in a different universe for CPU and GPU work, and it's brand new with a full warranty. But it also costs a lot more, and if your office runs on Windows-only software or you need to manage a fleet of machines with Active Directory, the Mac is a non-starter. The EliteDesk wins on price and Windows compatibility, loses on everything else.

The Minisforum DeskMini UM880 Plus is a more interesting comparison. It's also a mini PC, but with a much stronger Ryzen chip and better integrated graphics. It'll cost more than a refurbished EliteDesk, but you get modern performance and likely more storage. The Dell Tower Desktop ECT1250 is a traditional tower, so it's bigger but often cheaper per unit of performance. If you don't need the tiny footprint, a tower gives you more room to upgrade later. The Lenovo Yoga AIO is a different beast entirely, an all-in-one with a screen, so it's only a competitor if you're buying the whole desk setup at once.

Pricing on this renewed unit is a bit of a moving target. Across the four Canadian listings we track, prices range from CAD 432 to CAD 490. That's a CAD 58 spread for what should be the same machine, so it pays to shop around. The cheapest listing is your friend here, and at the low end you're getting a capable six-core Windows 11 Pro box for under CAD 450. That's a solid deal for a business machine with this build quality.

At the high end of that range, the value proposition gets shakier. Once you're pushing CAD 490, you're within spitting distance of newer mini PCs with better storage and more modern ports. The sweet spot is finding this at the bottom of the price range. If you can snag it for CAD 432, it's a genuinely good buy for a quiet office workhorse.

The HP EliteDesk 800 G6 is a refurbished mini PC aimed squarely at offices, reception desks, and anyone who needs a quiet Windows machine that disappears behind a monitor. It's not flashy. It's not exciting. But it's the kind of box IT departments buy by the pallet because it just works and doesn't take up half a desk. This particular config pairs an Intel i5-10500T, a 35W six-core chip, with 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, all running Windows 11 Pro.

What makes this interesting is the form factor. This thing is tiny. HP's mini desktops are about the size of a hardcover book, and they sip power with that 65W PSU. You get DisplayPort, a USB-C port, four USB-A ports, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi, so it'll hook up to a modern monitor and your office peripherals without a dongle circus. The renewed status means someone else owned it first, but HP's business machines are built to survive corporate life.

Who's this for? Small business owners setting up a front desk, remote workers who need a dependable Windows box for spreadsheets and video calls, or homelab folks who want a low-power always-on machine. It's not for gamers, not for video editors, and definitely not for anyone who wants to brag about their setup. But for the right job, it's a sensible little workhorse.

If you want to play games, even casual ones, skip this. The Intel UHD 630 graphics are a 38th percentile performer, which means anything beyond 2D games or very old titles will chug. You'd be much happier with a machine that has a dedicated GPU or at least a modern AMD APU, like the Minisforum DeskMini UM880 Plus. The gaming score of 9.2 out of 100 tells the whole story.

Also skip this if you need lots of local storage. The 256GB SSD is the weakest spec here, and while you can add external drives, that defeats the purpose of a clean mini setup. If you work with large media files or want to keep a big local library, look for something with a 512GB or 1TB drive, or consider a tower where adding a second drive is trivial. And if you need the absolute latest performance for demanding work, a newer machine with a modern CPU will serve you better in the long run.

For a front desk, a back office, or a home office where the computer just needs to run Windows, handle email, and not make noise, this EliteDesk 800 G6 is a smart buy at the right price. The six-core i5 and 16GB of RAM mean it won't feel sluggish during normal work, and the mini form factor keeps your desk clean. Just make sure you're okay with the 256GB SSD, because that's the spec most likely to annoy you six months in.

If you're a tinkerer or someone who wants to play games or edit video, look elsewhere. The integrated graphics are a hard wall, and the storage is too tight for media work. But if you need a dependable Windows 11 Pro machine for under CAD 450 and you find it at the low end of that price range, this is a quiet, competent little box that'll earn its keep.