HP Pro Mini 400 G9 review: An ultra-compact office computer
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Describe: Mattias Inghe
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Knowledgeable’s Rating
Pros
- Stable for assign of enterprise work and productivity
- Without grief accessible connections
- Speedily Wi-Fi
Cons
- Minimal upgradeability
- Some cooling noise
- Older processor
- Significantly expensive for what you bag
Our Verdict
The HP Pro Mini 400 G9 would possibly possibly per chance well no longer be the prettiest or strongest mini PC we’ve ever seen, but it offers real efficiency for browsing and day-to-day tasks.
HP has loads of adaptations of mini PCs and the Pro Mini 400 is their most compact yet. Primarily the most as much as date model is is called the G9 and it’s purchased in loads of diversified configurations, with 12th or Thirteenth know-how Intel Core i5 or Core i7 for desktop computers and pretty about a portions of memory and SSD. There would possibly possibly per chance well additionally be variants with or without Wi-Fi, which is barely a little M.2 card mounted in an odd assign in the pc.
My examined mannequin has an Intel Core i5-12500T, which is a more energy atmosphere pleasant model of the “frequent” i5-12500, 16GB RAM, and 256GB SSD. It’s no doubt doubtless the most more cost-effective variants. It’s also on hand with 8GB of RAM, but I wouldn’t point out that. A few hundred greenbacks for twice as mighty is neatly worth the money.
Efficiency is superb, but no longer mighty. The processor’s six cores are superb at pushing particular person cores high for short periods of time, but end no longer end so neatly for prime continuous loads. This results in high Geekbench results and decrease Cinebench ratings in my measurements. It suits the skills once I spend the pc. Bettering and cutting back a video project is refined and seamless even with a total bunch results and short sequences with many layers, but it takes longer to export the final result.
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The Pro Mini 400 is a flat petite field, measuring superb over 17x17cm broad/deep, and decrease than 4cm thick. It’s designed to stand on a desk or dangle on the support of a pc music. HP also sells mounting kits for it as an accent, but doing so is a petite bit impractical, because the overall connections are deep into the support of the music and it’s only appropriate for chosen HP monitors.
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On a desk, it’s discreet and stands firmly on rubber feet, though it’s no longer the most enticing ingredient on this planet. A dusky, flat aluminum tube with connectors and cooling grids on the flat entrance and support. Constructed more for practicality than ornamentation, you bag a good deal of rapid USB ports and headphone jacks readily on hand in the entrance panel.
There’s also a little speaker, which the pc has as a backup whereas you don’t bear any diversified audio instrument connected by the usage of headphones, USB, or cloak. It doesn’t sound mighty, but it’s higher than you’d demand and would possibly possibly per chance well even be mature in emergencies to listen to what’s being acknowledged in video conferences or to play system sounds and movies. But we’d point out connecting a headset or exterior speakers as an various.
You bag a good deal of connections on the entrance and support of the instrument, and also you obtained’t want a USB hub anytime quickly. Mostly USB-A, but also a USB-C. One port on the entrance and one on the support has a energy provide to payment your cell phone, let’s take into accout.
HP Pro Mini 400 G9: Easy to begin
The discontinue would possibly possibly per chance well additionally be loosened and removed with a screw on the support for upgrades and maintenance. No longer that there’s mighty to end once you’re inner. There’s a free SO-DIMM slot for inserting additional memory, but that’s it. While you happen to desire to expand the storage, you’ll wish to interchange the overall SSD with a elevated one. But no longer decrease than the SSD is understated to bag admission to now not just like the memory that’s hidden below the system fan.
In response to unconfirmed files, it needs to be possible to set up a 2.5-rush disc in the pc, but there’s no interior SATA port. Is it worth the thunder? No, join more storage on USB as an various. It works perfectly neatly.
HP will get a gold star for an formidable strive to abet the fan noise down no topic a formidable desktop processor. It has some vigorous cooling at all cases, but it’s practically impossible to listen to it when it’s switched on but passive. And total load of the processor doesn’t pull up the RPMs so mighty that they’re distracting.
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HP Pro Mini 400 G9: Cooling
One clarification for its restricted efficiency in certain scenarios would be that HP has chosen subdued cooling over continuous maximum load. On the diversified hand, the pc generally will get a clear buzzing tone at medium load that on the overall is a petite bit annoying, but I’ve heard worse.
That you just need to additionally peaceable buy the HP Pro Mini 400 G9 with Windows 10 Pro, which Microsoft peaceable permits for swap computers. Then you positively bag a free toughen to Windows 11 Pro in mumble for you it. Alternatively, you can’t return to Windows 10 Pro again whereas you swap your suggestions.
My take a look at sample had already made the switch to Windows 11, so I couldn’t rush on a nostalgia outing. I point out that particular person customers follow Windows 11 for future compatibility and updates. Microsoft is phasing out toughen in 2025. You obtained’t bear any bloatware with the exception of for some pointless things that steadily arrive with Windows. The sole things HP adds are occasional apps that alter particular hardware as well to enhance aspects and a digital handbook.
HP Pro Mini 400 G9: Rating: 3 out of 5
HP Pro Mini 400 G9: Specifications
Product Title: HP Pro Mini 400 G9
Examined: January 2024
Producer: HP
Examined mannequin: 6B2D9EA#UUW
Processor: Intel Core i5-12500T, 6pcs P-core 2-4.4 GHz
Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 770
Reminiscence: 16GB DDR4
Storage: 256GB
Expansion slots: 1 SO-DIMM
Connections: USB-C 20 Gbit/s, 2pcs USB-A 10 Gbit/s, headset entrance. USB-A 3 10 Gbit/s, 2pcs USB 2.0 5 Gbit/s, lan, 2pcs DisplayPort, HDMI rear.
Wi-fi: Wi-Fi 6e, Bluetooth 5.2
Working system: Windows 11 Pro (pre-installed with Windows 10 Pro downgrade)
Other: Audio system
Noise level: 27-35 dBa
Size: 17,7 x 17,5 x 3,42 cm
HP Pro Mini 400 G9: Efficiency
Cinebench R23, cpu all cores: 7,834 parts
CinebenchR23, cpu single core: 1,396 parts
Geekbench 6, cpu all cores: 7,122 parts
Geekbench 6, cpu single core: 2,286 parts
Geekbench 6, graphics: 7,001 parts
Disk read: 3,163.23 MB/s
Disk write: 1,920.2 MB/s
Author: Mattias Inghe, Testredaktör PC för Alla
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