Desktop PC Review: HP Compaq 8000f Elite

Can less ever really be more? HP seems to think so, and they've produced a system to prove it: the HP Compaq 8000f Elite Ultra-Slim Desktop PC, starting at $849 ($1,254 as tested).

From its small size to its energy efficiency to its exclusion of environmentally harmful materials, HP seems focused on what this system has and uses less of. But does this come at the expense of performance and/or value? Let's take a closer look and find out.

Less of What, Exactly?

For starters, HP boasts that the 8000f is the first Windows desktop to be completely free of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardant (BFR) materials, from the chassis to the components right down to the keyboard and mouse. This means that the system will have less of a negative impact on the environment when eventually disposed of. Taking it a step further, HP uses only recycled and recyclable paper-based materials to pack and protect the system in shipping. But it doesn't stop there.

As mentioned before, the Elite is an "ultra-slim" or compact desktop that can be positioned either vertically or horizontally and that isn't much larger than most laptops. Measuring only 9.9 x 10 x 2.6 inches and weighing just 6.75 pounds, the system seems almost too small to be properly called a desktop PC. And this is partly made possible by the fact that it's built using a number of components that would more typically be found in a notebook.

Take, for example, the system's power supply. In addition to the facts that this 87-percent-efficient, 135-watt supply idles at around 25 watts and typically stays in the 30- to 50-watt range (though we did push it into the 60's when running benchmarks), the 8000f's power supply is external and looks like a bulkier version of a laptop's power brick. This allowed HP to make the chassis smaller and lighter than would be possible if they had used an internal PSU. And as you'll see below, the 8000f's laptop-esque qualities don't end there.

Still Not Green Enough For You?

If you want to go the extra mile in terms of being green, HP is also offering a similarly BFR/PVC-free monitor solution: the 22-inch HP Compaq LA22f, available at $259. The LA22f is a mercury-free WLED-backlit display that offers 1,680 by 1,050 resolution, a 5-millisecond response time, and a 1,000:1 contrast ratio. This 16:10 widescreen monitor includes VGA, DVI-D, and DisplayPort input options and two integrated USB 2.0 ports. Speakers are not built in, but HP does offer an LCD speaker bar option for an additional $19.

The included stand allows you to adjust the height and tilt and also lets you swivel and/or pivot the monitor. Additional mounting options are also available by way of the VESA 100 mounting holes in the monitor's back.

A nifty alternative, however, comes if you choose to buy the HP Integrated Work Center Stand. This $79 option not only supports the LA22f monitor but also lets you affix the 8000f desktop to its back using the four VESA holes in the side of the chassis, leaving you with an even more space-saving approximation of an all-in-one PC setup.

So What Comes in That Little Box?

At the heart of the Elite are Intel's Core 2 Duo E8400 CPU, clocked at 3.0GHz, and Q45 Express chipset. While the E8400 isn't exactly what one would call the latest and greatest, HP likely went with a Core 2 Duo (as opposed to, say, a Core i5 or i7) to help keep costs under control. The tradeoff, predictably enough, comes in the form of middling performance, with our unit posting a score of 4,544 in PCMark Vantage and taking just under four minutes to render the sample scene in Cinebench 11.5's CPU test.

Graphics-wise, the 8000f's performance was as uninspiring as its integrated Intel GMA X4500HD would lead you to expect: It managed a score of only 1,006 in 3DMark06 and plodded through Cinebench 11.5's OpenGL animation at just 1.55 frames per second. Are business users going to find this performance sufficient for office productivity? Yes. But while this obviously isn't meant to be a gaming machine, it still would have been nice to have the option of upgrading to a more capable graphics processor.

As mentioned above, a number of the 8000f's other components are more along the lines of what you'd typically find in a laptop than a desktop. The 160GB, 7,200-rpm hard drive in our test unit, for example, is a 2.5-inch model, and the included optical drive is an 8x slimline SuperMulti LightScribe SATA DVD writer. Both are fine products that perform well enough, but neither of them is what one would expect to find in a desktop. And neither is the notebook-style 2GB DDR3 SO-DIMM that occupies one of the two memory slots (leaving the other available to upgrade the system to its 4GB maximum).

Each of these choices made it possible for HP to fit as much as they did into the 8000f's petite case. But each also limits one's ability to make any significant upgrades to the system. Given that the system has no expansion slots and no available drive bays (its only 2.5-inch bay being occupied by the hard drive), upping the RAM is about as much as anyone is likely to do. And given that HP is shipping these systems with the 32-bit version of Windows 7 Professional installed, the 8000f's 4GB maximum is all (in fact, a bit more than) you'd be able to make use of.

As far as connections go, the Elite comes with an integrated Intel 82567LM Gigabit Ethernet adapter, an integrated HD audio card, and an optional SD memory reader. Also available are 10 USB 2.0 ports (four front, six rear) and headphone and microphone jacks. And while the system came with a very basic USB keyboard and even more basic USB mouse, PS/2 mouse and keyboard ports are available for those who remain attached to their legacy devices.

The integrated graphics adapter, meanwhile, outputs to displays using either a DisplayPort or a VGA port, the latter of which we used to connect the 8000f to the LA22F monitor in our testing. While a DVI-D output would have been nice, this omission is nothing a DisplayPort-to-DVI adapter can't take care of.

As for software, we were pleased to find little else beyond the aforementioned 32-bit version of Windows 7 Professional and a handful of utilities preloaded onto the system.

How Does it Stack Up?

Is the HP Compaq 8000f Elite Ultra-slim Desktop the right system for you and your office? Maybe, maybe not. It's not a powerhouse by any stretch of the imagination. It's not a system that allows for much in the way of future expansion, either. And at $1,254, it's on the pricey side. (We'd gladly settle for the $849 preconfigured model, which has a slightly slower Core 2 Duo E7600 CPU.) But HP does deserve credit for a bold approach to green computing, one that not only talks the talk, but walks the walk.

So if you care primarily about performance, price and upgradability, you may want to consider HP's and other brands' more conventional desktops. But if what you're looking for is a compact, environmentally friendly, energy-efficient computing platform, then the 8000f might be a system worth looking at.