HP G3 Phoenix 2025, AMD Pro A10-9700, 16GB, 1TB SSD, GT 1030

The AMD Pro A10-9700 ranks in the 6th percentile of all CPUs we track, which is rough. The 1TB SSD and 16GB RAM are decent, but the GT 1030 isn't a gaming card. At $885 USD, you're paying for the dual monitors and accessories, not the tower.

Let's talk about that CPU first, because it's the headline story. The AMD Pro A10-9700 lands in the 6th percentile of all desktop CPUs we track. That's not "budget friendly," that's "should have been retired years ago." Four cores at 3.5GHz sounds okay on paper until you realize this chip predates Ryzen and struggles with anything beyond light web browsing and document work. The GT 1030 with 2GB of VRAM sits at the 17th percentile, which means it'll handle older games at low settings and maybe some light photo editing, but modern titles will choke.

The 16GB of DDR4 RAM is the one bright spot, though it's still only at the 32nd percentile. That's enough for a dozen browser tabs and a few apps running at once. The 1TB SSD lands at the 54th percentile, solidly middle of the pack, and it'll make boot times and app launches feel snappy. But storage speed can't rescue a processor that's one of the weakest we've seen in this category.

Stacked against the competition, the G3 Phoenix doesn't just lose, it gets lapped. The Apple Mac Studio M3 Ultra is in a completely different universe, with a CPU that would make this AMD chip look like a calculator. The Lenovo Legion Tower 5a Gen 10 and MSI Aegis ZS2 are actual gaming machines with GPUs that can handle modern titles, while the GT 1030 here is basically a display adapter with delusions of grandeur. Even the Dell Desktop ECT1250, which isn't exactly a powerhouse, likely offers better port selection than the 5th percentile connectivity on this HP. The only argument for the Phoenix is the accessory bundle, because on raw specs it's bringing a butter knife to a gunfight.

At $885 USD, the value proposition depends entirely on how much you want those accessories. The tower alone would struggle to justify half that price given the 6th percentile CPU and 17th percentile GPU. But you're getting two 27-inch curved monitors, which on their own could run a few hundred dollars, plus a keyboard, mouse, headphones, and webcam. If you need a complete setup for basic office work or school and don't care about gaming performance, the bundle math starts to make sense. If you want to actually play games, this is a bad deal.

The HP G3 Phoenix is a weird one. Our database puts its CPU at the 6th percentile, which is about as close to the bottom as you can get without falling off the chart. The AMD Pro A10-9700 is a 2016-era chip, and pairing it with a GT 1030 and calling this a "Full Light Gaming PC" feels like putting racing stripes on a minivan. But the 1TB SSD and 16GB of RAM keep it from being a total write-off for basic tasks.

At $885 USD, you're paying for the bundle more than the tower. Dual 27-inch curved monitors, an RGB keyboard with AI Copilot support, a mouse, headphones, and a webcam all come in the box. That's a lot of stuff. The question is whether the stuff is worth it when the core machine scores 30.6 out of 100 overall.

Anyone who wants to play games should skip this. The GT 1030 at the 17th percentile and the CPU at the 6th percentile are a recipe for disappointment the moment you launch anything made after 2015. Power users should also look elsewhere, since the port selection at the 5th percentile means you'll be hunting for adapters and hubs just to plug in basic peripherals. And if you already have a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, the bundle loses its main appeal, leaving you with an overpriced tower that can't keep up with machines half its price.

The HP G3 Phoenix is a bundle deal disguised as a gaming PC. The 1TB SSD and 16GB RAM are fine, and the reliability score at the 70th percentile suggests it won't fall apart immediately. But the CPU at the 6th percentile and GPU at the 17th percentile mean this machine will frustrate anyone expecting smooth performance. If you need a basic workstation with monitors and peripherals included, it's a passable package. If you want to game, save your money and buy something with a real graphics card.