HP Chromebox G4 2025, Core i5, 4GB, 64GB SSD, Black

The HP Chromebox G4 is a Chrome OS mini PC with a Celeron 7305, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage. It ranks at the bottom of our benchmarks for CPU and RAM, and the $459 USD price is hard to justify. It makes sense only for businesses that need Chrome OS management at scale. Everyone else should buy a used mini PC or a budget Chromebook instead.

Let's talk about that Celeron 7305. It's a 5-core chip, which sounds fine until you realize one of those cores is a low-power efficiency core and the base clock is 1.1GHz. In our database, this CPU sits at the 1st percentile for mini PCs. That's not a typo. It's literally at the bottom of the barrel. For basic web browsing and Google Workspace, it'll chug along. Open more than a handful of tabs and you'll feel it wheeze.

The integrated Intel UHD Graphics 770 is actually the least embarrassing part here, landing at the 36th percentile. That's still below average, but it'll push a 1080p display without crying. Don't expect to do anything beyond video playback and maybe some light photo viewing. Gaming is out of the question. Our gaming score for this box is 6.8 out of 100, which is the weakest area by a wide margin. This is not a machine for fun.

4GB of RAM is the real killer. Chrome OS is lighter than Windows, but modern web pages are memory hogs. With 4GB, you're looking at constant tab reloads and sluggish multitasking. The 64GB of storage is also rough. Chrome OS leans on cloud storage, so it's less painful than it would be on Windows, but local apps and offline files will fill that up fast. Both RAM and storage rank in the 1st percentile. This is the computing equivalent of a bicycle with one gear.

Stacked against the competition, the Chromebox G4 looks even worse. The GMKtec Nucbox K8 Plus and Minisforum DeskMini UM880 Plus are both mini PCs in a similar price range, and they absolutely demolish this thing. The UM880 Plus packs a Ryzen 7 with Radeon graphics, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. The Nucbox K8 Plus is similarly stacked. Both run Windows or Linux, so you lose Chrome OS, but you gain actual performance. For a home user or small office, those are no-brainers.

The Dell Tower Desktop ECT1250 and Lenovo Yoga AIO F0J20012US are different beasts entirely. The Dell is a full tower with upgrade potential, and the Lenovo is an all-in-one with a built-in display. Neither competes directly with a Chromebox, but they show what $459 can buy in the broader desktop market. The ASUS ROG G700 is a gaming rig that costs more but exists in a different universe performance-wise. The point is, there are better ways to spend this money unless Chrome OS is a hard requirement.

At $459 USD, this is a tough sell. The value proposition hinges entirely on Chrome OS and HP's enterprise support. If you're a business buying 50 of these for a call center, the management console and automatic updates might justify the cost. But for an individual buyer, this is a bad deal. You can get a used Dell or Lenovo mini PC with an i5, 16GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD for less money on eBay. It won't run Chrome OS, but it'll run circles around this thing on Windows or Linux.

HP is charging a premium for the Chromebox name and the enterprise management features. That's fine if you need those features. But the hardware underneath is worth maybe $150. The gap between what you pay and what you get is enormous. If you're price-sensitive and don't need Chrome OS specifically, look elsewhere. If you do need Chrome OS, consider a Chromebook with similar specs that at least includes a screen and keyboard for the same money.

The HP Chromebox G4 is a weird little box. On paper, it's a mini desktop running Chrome OS, aimed at businesses that want a cheap, locked-down terminal for front desks, kiosks, or call centers. But the spec sheet reads like someone grabbed parts from a clearance bin. A 12th gen Intel Celeron 7305, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage. That's not a computer, that's a Chromebook that forgot its screen and keyboard.

Who is this actually for? IT managers who need to deploy a fleet of simple machines for web-based work. Chrome OS is great at that. It updates itself, it's hard to break, and users can't install much junk on it. If your employees live in Gmail, Google Docs, and a browser-based CRM, this thing will technically get the job done. But "technically" is doing a lot of heavy lifting here.

The interesting part is the price. At $459 USD, HP is asking real money for hardware that would struggle to impress in 2015. You can buy a used ThinkCentre with twice the RAM and a real SSD for half that. But those don't come with Chrome OS's management features, and that's the pitch. You're not buying specs, you're buying simplicity and central control.

If you're buying a computer for yourself, skip this. The 4GB of RAM and Celeron CPU will frustrate you within a week. You'll be staring at loading spinners and watching tabs reload constantly. For the same $459 USD, you can get a used Dell or Lenovo mini PC with an i5, 16GB of RAM, and a real SSD. It'll run Windows or Linux and actually feel responsive.

Also skip this if you need any kind of local storage. 64GB is nothing. A few offline movies, some photos, and a couple of apps will max it out. Chrome OS assumes you'll live in the cloud, but not everyone has reliable internet or wants to pay for Google One storage. If you need local files, get something with at least 256GB. And if you're hoping to do any gaming, even light indie stuff, this is the wrong tool. Our gaming score of 6.8 out of 100 says it all.

For a business that's already invested in Google Workspace and needs locked-down terminals, the Chromebox G4 is a defensible choice. The management features are genuinely useful, and the fanless design means fewer moving parts to fail. If you're deploying these in a dusty warehouse or a reception desk, the simplicity has real value. Just don't expect anyone to enjoy using it.

For everyone else, skip it. Home users, students, small offices, anyone who wants a general-purpose computer, this is not your machine. The specs are too weak, the price is too high, and the competition is too strong. Buy a used mini PC, a budget Chromebook, or one of the Minisforum or GMKtec boxes instead. You'll get more for your money and won't feel like you're computing through molasses.