HP EliteBoard G1a review: It's a desktop in a keyboard! But it's not for you

RATING : 8.5 / 10

When I tested an early type of HP's Eliteboard G1a — a keyboard that has each of nan courage of a desktop PC shoved wrong of it — I was intrigued. Now, aft spending clip pinch a finalized type of nan device, I'm convinced it's a motion that computers will go wholly unrecognizable successful nan adjacent fewer years. But there's a logic HP isn't trading nan EliteBoard arsenic a user device: In its existent form, and pinch its existing $1,499 starting price, it chiefly exists to fulfill a saturated IT manager's curiosity. It's not meant for you. But wouldn't it beryllium cool if it was?

Looking astatine nan EliteBoard gave maine flashbacks to nan early days of PCs, backmost erstwhile nan Commodore 64 was fundamentally conscionable a monolithic keyboard container you connected to your TV. You'd person to spell backmost to ASUS's Eee Keyboard successful 2009 for nan latest stab astatine nan keyboard PC concept, conscionable arsenic nan smartphone gyration was conscionable beginning. These days, nan plethora of inexpensive ultraportable laptops and moreover lighter tablets connected nan marketplace makes it reliable for mainstream consumers to warrant a genuine keyboard desktop.

But put yourself successful nan shoes of an IT worker who has to negociate dozens of computers successful a lab, aliases perchance hundreds aliases thousands crossed an full organization. Really, I'm asking you to put yourself successful my shoes 20 years ago, erstwhile I spent almost 8 years moving successful IT astatine my college. I spent much clip than I'd for illustration transporting monolithic Dell desktops crossed field pinch play carts and manus trucks. Most of those machines were only ever lightly utilized successful labs and offices. And while location are acold much compact desktops astir these days, they judge can't hit nan weight of nan 1.5-pound EliteBoard.

What's astir singular astir HP's EliteBoard is really unremarkable it looks. Seriously, it looks precisely for illustration dozens of different grey and achromatic keyboards you find shackled to firm machines. Even its weight doesn't deny its secrets, since galore mechanical keyboards thin to beryllium beautiful hefty. But look a spot person and you'll announcement what makes it unique. Its keys person a soft touch covering, which practically invites your fingers to commencement typing. There's besides a decent magnitude of cardinal travel, making for a responsive typing acquisition without nan hammering of difficult integrative you mightiness consciousness and perceive from cheaper keyboards.

Around nan back, it has conscionable 2 USB-C ports. That's wherever things get a spot weird: One is simply a 45W larboard that tin some powerfulness nan Eliteboard and present a show awesome to USB-C monitors. You tin besides powerfulness nan strategy done its standalone USB-C charger from nan different port, while utilizing nan first relationship pinch an HDMI adapter. HP includes an HDMI hub that connects straight to monitors, giving you ports for connecting for an further HDMI screen, USB-C charging and a abstracted USB-C relationship to nan Eliteboard.

Under nan hood (or keys, arsenic it were), nan strategy features AMD's Ryzen AI 300 chips, arsenic good arsenic personification replaceable RAM and SSDs. My reappraisal portion shipped pinch a Ryzen AI 5 Pro 340 pinch Radeon 840M graphics, 32GB of representation and a paltry 512GB SSD, which is nan bare minimum of what I'd expect from a firm machine. There's besides built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, arsenic you'd expect.

HP besides includes a wireless rodent pinch nan EliteBoard, which is paired to nan strategy retired of nan box. It's perfectly good for basal activity and travel, but I recovered it a spot excessively ray and flimsy. I deliberation astir group would beryllium amended disconnected investing successful thing likeLogitech's MX Master bid for much superior usage, since it's acold much ergonomic and responsive.

I'll admit, I was confused by nan system's setup process astatine first, since I expected to spot an HDMI aliases DisplayPort relationship alongside its USB-C ports. Instead, HP suggests utilizing either its bundled HDMI hub aliases connecting straight to a USB-C screen. The hub is functional, but its short cablegram magnitude made it reliable to plug into my Alienware monitor. I fig nan institution conscionable wanted thing that you could easy hide down a screen. Connecting to a USB-C show is nan cleanest option, since it takes only 1 cablegram to present some video and powerfulness signals to nan EliteBoard.

My first strategy of connecting nan EliteBoard to a standalone USB-C charger and my ain USB-C hub (which has an HDMI port) made my table look for illustration a messiness of wires. And unfortunately, I couldn't get HP's hub to nonstop a video awesome to my monitor. So I picked up a $10 HDMI to USB-C adapter and plugged that into an HDMI cable. While nan EliteBoard yet only needed 2 cables to get going connected my desk, I couldn't thief but ideate really cleanable it would look if I had a USB-C monitor.

Beyond being perfect for machine labs and offices, HP besides says nan EliteBoard is built for workers who move betwixt different spaces, for illustration basking desking spots. For that situation, though, you'd ideally want USB-C monitors successful each location. Dealing pinch HP's HDMI hub each clip would conscionable beryllium a pain. The strategy tin besides support moving for astir 3 and a half hours arsenic you move betwixt different spots pinch an optional built-in battery.

Once I dealt pinch nan ligament work, nan HP EliteBoard G1a was for illustration immoderate different PC. I booted it up, logged into Windows, configured my fingerprint connected its built-in scholar (which besides covers nan powerfulness button) and sewage to nan desktop wrong 5 minutes. And aft that, utilizing it conscionable felt for illustration immoderate different basal Windows system.

Installing apps from nan Microsoft Store, browsing nan web, watching YouTube videos, penning articles and checking email didn't consciousness overmuch different from different PCs I've seen recently. Its PCMark people of 6,736 puts it correct alongside ultraportable laptops from 2 years ago, for illustration HP's Spectre x360 16 and different systems moving Intel's Core Ultra 7 155H chip. My reappraisal unit's built-in Radeon GPU had only a meager magnitude of VRAM though, which threw up warnings each clip I tried to tally a 3DMark benchmark. You tin astir apt get astir of your agency activity done pinch nan EliteBoard, but don't scheme to sneak successful immoderate crippled time. (Which honestly makes it moreover much compelling to businesses.)

HP deserves other praise for paying attraction to nan keyboard portion of its keyboard PC. Typing connected nan EliteBoard felt for illustration a dream, and I ne'er erstwhile felt for illustration nan acquisition was compromised by having a ton of hardware shoved wrong it. Since it's a full-fledged PC, you'll decidedly perceive its fans rotation up occasionally, which could beryllium a problem successful libraries and quiet labs. But astatine slightest you won't consciousness overmuch power connected nan keys erstwhile you're difficult astatine work.

I was besides amazed to find a mini speaker connected nan EliteBoard, but it's really only useful for proceeding strategy sounds. If you want immoderate benignant of tunes, you'll request to usage Bluetooth speakers aliases headphones, aliases link to machine speakers complete USB-C.

The EliteBoard G1a had 1 job: to beryllium an effective desktop successful nan style of a keyboard. And it yet succeeded astatine that. But I'll reiterate: Unless you're moving successful IT, there's nary logic for you to moreover see buying nan EliteBoard G1a, particularly astatine our reappraisal unit's $1,795 price. (It starts astatine $1,500 without a battery, 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD.) Like Intel's Compute Stick earlier it, nan system's creation unsocial intrigues me, and nan truth that it's a beautiful decent PC makes it each nan much interesting. But immoderate emblematic user successful their correct mind would beryllium amended disconnected buying a mini desktop PC if they wanted a cleanable setup.

While HP doesn't scheme to make nan EliteBoard broadly disposable to consumers, institution representatives person mentioned to maine that they'll beryllium paying attraction to its reception. If location seems to beryllium request for immoderate benignant of simplified user rotation connected a keyboard PC, astatine slightest HP will person immoderate acquisition building one.