The compact HP Z2 Mini G5 is capable of matching much bigger workstations in its higher-end configurations, with minimal compromises and all the pro-grade features that power users seek.
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– Hi, I’m Matthew Buzzi from PCMag And this is the HP Z2 Mini G5 Workstation. We reviewed the G4 previously.
It’s mostly the same From the outside you wouldn’t
notice any differences But the updates have mostly
to do with the components. We have new processor options And that sort of elevates
that even further. We liked this before, when
we previously reviewed it But now it’s even faster. The starting price for this is $1400. To get up to the very
high specs configuration That we reviewed, which
I’ll get to in a moment, You got to spend a couple
thousand more dollars than that. This is an expensive configuration we have And for that you get a Core i7 processor, 32 gigs of RAM, a NVIDIA Quadro GPU, And over a terabyte of SSD
storage, so definitely no slouch. You might be thinking the
Core i7 is not what you want Out of a workstation,
because this is really For high-end professional
use, big heavy workloads, Architects, engineers, animators, Media editors, and creators, So, people who really need
a lot out of their computer. That’s what the workstation
category is for. So, Core i7, you might think
that that’s not quite enough, Maybe I want a Core i9 or
an Intel Xeon processor, And those are options offered with this. You can upgrade to those chips. As I said, It does get even more
expensive, but they are options. That said, the Core i7, in particular The 10700K, was really
impressive in this unit. It hung up there with some
Core i9s from previous gen, But Core i9 nonetheless, as
well as intel Xeon option It was kind of smoked
by AMD’s Ryzen 9 5090X,
As the competitor, but
as far as the Intel chips Are concerned, you can upgrade And the 10700K was also
plenty capable and really In the same power tier as
those other chips anyway, So, not a lot to worry about
as far as the processor. It’s still great and
it’s even more impressive Because it’s in such a small chassis. Now, the GPU obviously you can’t fit A full-size graphics card in here. It’s got to be the mobile
version of the Quadro T2000, But still again, we saw
pretty good GPU performance: 32 gigs of RAM helping it
out across the board, and You have a 512 gigabyte boot
drive, and a one terabyte SSD For the rest of your
applications and data. Almost as important as the components For professionals are the port options, And this does have plenty
again, despite its small size. We’ll start here on the
left flank. There’s nothing On the front except the
power button and nothing On the right. All the ports are located Around here on the left and on the rear. On the left side here we have
USB-C with Thunderbolt through Support, two USB-A ports,
and just the headphone jack. So, not a ton over there But most of them are located around back. There’s three display ports. We have a VGA connection
which not everybody Might need, that actually
occupies the flex port option, Which you can choose between
any of these other options Or HDMI port, which I
probably would’ve picked, But the review that we were
sent has the VGA connection. There’s also, as you can
see, an ethernet jack, And two additional USB-A ports, And another USB-C port
with Thunderbolt free.
So, really multiple display support, Plenty of ports for your peripherals, Maybe you want to see a
couple more USB-A supports If you’re really peripheral-happy,
but generally speaking This has everything you’re going to need. You can plug in multiple
peripherals drives, mice keyboards. It also supports Bluetooth and WiFi 6. So, options are available to you: Three display ports, no HDMI on this But the creator types we’re using… We’re using this type of
system, probably have big hi-res Multiple monitors set up that
all support display port. So, if you do need HDMI you
can always switch it out And order the HDMI in the flex option. Another great thing about
this system is that the access To the interior is tool-less.
It really could not be easier. There’s a switch around
back that you just flip And then from there you can
pop the top off the system. It does require two hands, just like that. Very easy to do. When it comes off, You can see the fans, CPU and GPU, And these do lift up,
which is pretty neat, Which gives you a sneak
peek to the SSDs below And that’s really the
most accessible thing. Anything else is screwed down, So get your IT manager to do
it, to do any of this really, But it is accessible, no tools needed, So despite the fact that
it’s small form factor And can’t take all of the things And parts that you might want to install In a full size tower,
you can still access it And maintenance it or upgrade
some of it pretty easily. And one of the main cons that
I do have to cover is the fact That it needs this external power break.
Obviously, most desktops don’t need this. There’s not much room in here though For an internal power supply So that has been relegated to the outside. This plugs in just like a laptop charger. This is an even bigger brick Than the average laptop
charger but it is what it is. It saves you space on
your desk still at least And you can strip this
behind put it on the floor, So it’s better than that all taking up A footprint size on your desk. So, a bit of a compromise
and it’s not like You’re taking this with you
anywhere so once it’s plugged in It’s probably where it’s going to stay So a power brick is a lot less annoying Than it would be to travel with. So, aside from that relatively
minor complaint with The power brick, there’s not
that much to complain about. Our configuration is
pretty expensive, granted. Most configurations that
are going to compete On the high end are, but the
competitors are expensive too, And they don’t offer the
small form factor advantage, So you are getting something for it. You’re definitely paying a
bit of a premium to get it In this small of a chassis
but not a huge premium And if these parts are good,
then they’re expensive, So there’s a little bit of pros and cons. You should really only be looking at this If you have much interest
in the fact that it’s small, Otherwise at different tower,
if you have essentially Unlimited or very large
amount of desk space Or office space to store
a bunch of computer towers That are much larger than this
then go for it. Go for those, They might save you a bit of money.
If you do want something that
can fit in a bit of a more Restricted area, you have tight confines Or you’re trying to fit
this into a home set up, This is the way to go. I mean, it’s a really appealing option, It’s still serviceable,
you can configure it Across the board however you want it. There’s a ton of configuration options Straight from HP when you’re ordering it And there really aren’t
any cons. It’s expensive, Yes, all of them are going be expensive. The power brick’s a little annoying. It could maybe have more ports Although that’s really nitpick. Otherwise it’s really powerful,
it keeps up with the others And we give it a four star out of five. If you’re interested in the Compaq design Likes what it has to offer,
and think you can find The configuration that’s
right for your power needs And budget, this definitely
could be the system for you. You can read my full review on PCMag.com For more on the details
of the performance, And benchmark test, as
well as a little bit more Of a breakdown of the components. So, go ahead and check that
out. Four stars out of five. We think this is a really solid product Even if it’s not that
different from last year’s. Please go read the full
review for more details, And thanks for watching.
