This is a REALLY good buy for an i7 processor (4 cores/8 threads) from HP, the build is small yet solid, you get 2 M.2 slots, gig ethernet and it has 4 USB 3.0 ports & 2 DisplayPorts. You can easily add a SSD & an integrated AC/BTLE wifi module in the M.2 ports, bump the RAM to 16GB w/ 2 8GB DDR3L modules and pick up a DisplayPort to HDMI cable for a little more to make an excellent & speedy rig. If you spec out this specific build through HP, you’ll see it’lol run about $1300. Oh yeah, comes with Win7, but you get free upgrade to Win10 AND it also includes an OEM copy of Win8.1 on DVD.
The only things lacking w/ this are: crappie standard issue mouse & keyboard (think “all business”), no cables or adapters for the DPs and no wifi.
Bottom Line: Great deal and I’d do it again. You can get an i7 build for less than a basement bargain i3 or Atom.
Are the photos actually for the device being sold? The box looks a little small to contain a HDD. Also, what size is the HDD? Is it 3.5" or 2.5"?
[Update: Oh, okay, this isn’t the usual SFF from HP, but it’s the SFF Mini. Still, wondering about the hard disk, though – 2.5" or 3.5"?]
It’s a 2.5", 7200 HDD and is as this as a SSD, which is actually quite thin.
I do have to modify my initial review on one item… the M.2 slot they have set aside as a SSD port. I picked up a very popular 256GB M.2 PCIe SSD and the darn thing won’t recognize it. Checking the official HP forum and many, many other sites and forums reveals that apparently it only supports a relatively small selection of M.2 SSDs, more specifically the 12 8GB one HP sells for $300. From what I gather in the various threads, several other M.2 drives worked up through BIOS .07, but subsequent updates broke that functionality. HP has even gone so far as to make it where you cannot flash with an earlier BIOS. Pretty shady to me and quite the letdown that they cannot support the M.2 PCIe SSD standard, as they advertised. I should have just replaced the mechanical drive with a SSD and been done with it, but I had high hopes.
Other than that, the PC performs quite well and accepted the Intel 802.11AC/BTLE M.2 combo card with no problems.
EDIT: Okay… I finally found out what was wrong with the M.2 port. The M.2 port is a fairly new innovation with PCs, so there are still quite a few things that need hashed out so that the average consumer can understand the tech. M.2 devices can support only ONE of three interfaces, USB, SATA, or PCIe, while motherboard M.2 ports can support more than one of the interface protocols. In this case, the M.2 portslot on this motherboard support USB on one (the NIC M.2 port) and PCIe on the other (the SSD M.2 port). The Samsung 850 M.2 drive I purchased uses a SATA interface, so it does not work with this system.
How can this be avoided in the future? M.2 devices need to advertise which interfaces are used on the device and consumers need to understand what interface protocols are supported within their PCs. None of this was advertised in the open, so it’s up to the consumer to figure it out (and there are a LOT of confused people).
BOTTOM LINE: The M.2 port for SSD on this PC requires a device that uses the PCIe interface with a M.2 connector. You will also need a M.2 screw to secure either of the devices to the board, none of which are supplied.