As priced, the HP Pavilion Gaming Desktop (TG01-2022) is at the middle to upper end of what we usually consider a budget desktop PC. With an intel Core i3 processor and dedicated graphics card, however, it’s a big bargain from a performance standpoint. It has a solid build, has a very attractive chassis, plenty of ports, and speedy solid-state drive instead of a hard drive.
The Pavilion TG01-2022 may not be the most powerful machine around, but it has room for upgrades, and that includes the ability to throw in another discrete graphics card and additional memory and storage. If you need a budget gaming PC that doubles up for productivity, the Pavilion TG01-1022 is a serious choice.
HP Pavilion gaming desktop design
A traditional tower PC like the Pavilion Desktop takes up a lot of desk space compared to a laptop or an all-in-one (AIO) desktop. It stands just over a foot tall and weighs about 13 pounds, which means it’s best suited to stay underneath your desk.
Like the HP Envy TE01-1022, the Pavilion TG01-2022 looks attractive and modern, with serrated lines on the faceplate and customizable LED lighting at the bottom. If you need to find a place for it on your desk, it won’t look ugly.
You get lots of expansion slots that you can outfit with your own hardware later on, including one PCI-Ex16 slot, one PCI-Ex1 slot and two M.2 slots.
Ports
The HP Pavilion Gaming desktop gets a decent number of ports as well, including four USB 3.1 ports, one USB Type-C port, four USB 2.0 ports, an RJ45 port, a headphone jack and an SD card slot. On the GTX 1650 graphics card, there are DisplayPort and HDMI ports for multi-monitor setup.
HP bundles into the package a standard keyboard and mouse, and while they are not gaming peripherals, at least you getting something. For the monitor, you’ll have to buy one separately – the Acer SB220Q bi is an excellent choice for casual gaming and productivity tasks.
HP Pavilion TG01-2022 Review: Performance
With an AMD Ryzen 3 5300G processor, 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD, the HP Pavilion TG01-2022 checks all the boxes for a capable multimedia or office productivity PC. It uses a newer chip and the option to use an SSD instead of a traditional HDD gives some leverage for most productivity tasks you might need to run.
For around the same price, the Acer Nitro 50 N50-620-UA91 packs an 11th Gen Core i5 processor, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD storage an Nvidia GTX 1650 graphics card; as well as USB-C port. If you need something for productivity, the Nitro 50 is a better choice, but for some gaming, the HP Pavilion is an even better budget choice.
When not working, the AMD Radeon RX 5500 graphics card lets you play modern games, albeit at medium settings, maxed at 1080p resolution. In real world gaming, it delivers decent frame rates per second: Far Cry New Dawn (55 fps – high; 50 fps – Ultra), Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (54 fps – med; 46 fps – high), and Shadow of the Tomb Raider (57 fps – med; 49 fps – high), all played at 1080p resolution.
For a budget PC, this is acceptable, but if you need something future-proof without spending too much, the CyberpowerPC Gamer GXiVR8480A10 in worth a long look. It comes with an Intel Core i5-11600KF processor, 12GB RAM, 1TB SSD and Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card. It is encased in a practical case that supports future upgrades and sports a gamer look, for those who need some lighting in their rig of choice.
Should you buy the HP Pavilion Gaming Desktop?
The right combination of price and performance is what sells the HP Pavilion Gaming Desktop. The inclusion of an AMD Radeon RX 5500 graphics card makes it a strong entry-level gaming contender among machines in its price range, allowing it to drum-up good 1080p gaming performance in today’s modern titles, but not as butter-smooth as you get with the CyberpowerPC Gamer GXiVR8480A10.
HP does offer a host of other Pavilion Gaming Desktop with SSDs and Omen Command Centers, or with SSD and hard drive pairings. You can even buy an HP Pavilion All-in-One if you don’t want to buy a monitor separately. Apart from the incremental power of a Core i5 processor, the HP Pavilion TG01-2022 delivers at least everything you could reasonably want in a budget gaming PC.