Video games are the latest craze in our modern era. Everyone and their grandmother are hooked on one game or another. Whether it is mobile, console, or desktop gaming, there is no other medium quite like it. PC gaming is primarily on the rise. Although it doesn’t compare to the rapid growth of mobile gaming, a couple of decades ago, PC gaming was relatively unheard of.
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With a non-existent market share and scarce major releases, PC gaming was in an inferior position at the turn of the century. Consoles were all over the place back then. The past few years, however, have seen the emergence of the PC as the ultimate platform.
And with each developing market comes a myriad of companies. HP is one such company that has been part of the PC sphere for as long as PCs have existed. Recently, they’ve invested heavily in the ‘Gaming’ PC sphere, and we’re here to cover one of their latest products.
The HP Pavilion lineup is a versatile brand of personal computers suited for office, home, or gaming workloads. This article will look at HP’s latest and greatest gaming desktop, the Pavilion Gaming TG01. There’s a lot to cover, so brace yourselves as we delve into the world of HP’s fresh new battle station.
What you can expect:
- A detailed look at the HP Pavilion TG01 Gaming Desktop.
- An overview of the PC gaming market.
- The author’s insights.
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The Looks
The first thing that catches any striving gamer’s eye is the aesthetics. The HP Pavilion TG01 is one beautiful machine. The front of the PC features a beautiful, serrated black texture with green accents and an imprinted HP logo. All the front-panel features are located on the left side, and the ports are enriched with green coloring for more character.
This design is perfect for any room, office, or gaming lounge, no matter the wallpaper or paint. HP’s minimalist approach with the TG01 was the right choice for a feature-complete PC product suited for starting gamers.
The Size
For the power it packs, the HP Pavilion TG01 Gaming Desktop is one compact beast. It measures 13.28 x 12.09 x 6.1 inches and can fit just about anywhere. No matter how big your desk or how small your room is, the TG01 will be nice and snug in all its glory. You won’t have any issues with placing this fantastic piece of machinery within your home or office, making it much more suitable for your everyday needs. Compactness is HP’s signature with the Pavilion lineup, and the TG01 is no exception.
Graphical Performance
HP Pavilion TG01 features beastly graphical performance seldom found in this price range. Packed with the RTX 3060 Ti, it has enough to support all the latest releases with high fidelity. This 3rd Generation RTX card can handle the most demanding titles at over 60 fps in 1080 and 1440p resolutions.
While not the strongest of the bunch, this GPU also has the power to push Nvidia’s flagship Ray Tracing technology. Though it might struggle with this option turned on, Nvidia’s second flagship technology, DLSS, is there to help. With it enabled, players can utilize all the graphical fidelity available to them without sacrificing performance.
Nvidia keeps releasing new and breathtaking technologies and keeps them locked only to their own products. Owning a relatively new (2-year-old) GPU is an excellent idea to keep up with the times. Overall, the RTX 3060 Ti is considered one of the best mid-range graphics cards in 2023. Seeing how cost-effective it is, we’d say it deserves the praise.
Processing Power
The TG01 comes with an i5 11400 CPU–a fantastic processor for the latest gaming titles. It combines well with the aforementioned RTX 3060 Ti to provide the user with minimal bottleneck and incredible mid-to-high range performance. The processor clocks in at a 2.6GHz base clock that boosts up to a whopping 4.4GHz under heavy loads.
This means that no matter how demanding the title, the i5 11400 will easily carry the load and help your PC push out as many frames as possible. With the advent of new technologies such as DLSS, the CPU load should be much lower while the graphical fidelity remains the same.
The processor has six physical cores and twelve threads (thanks to hyperthreading), which is also perfect for performing workloads aside from gaming. It’s also fantastic for multitasking purposes, and you won’t have to close out everything just to run your favorite game.
Desktop usage is thus smooth and unobstructed and should feel satisfying.
Also read: The Best Surge Protector for Gaming PC in 2023: A Comprehensive Guide
Memory and Storage
Packing 16GB of DDR4 RAM, installed with two 8GB sticks, the TG01 covers all the memory you’ll ever need. No longer will Chrome bug you out after opening just a couple of tabs. Not only that, the most demanding new titles will run smoothly and without crashing. RAM demands have grown significantly over the years, and it’s good that HP noticed the trends and decided to upend its competitors. Most other pre-built PCs today feature only 8GB of RAM, an abysmally low amount for new gaming releases.
As for the Storage, this PC features a 256GB SSD, which is where HP seems to have cut costs. This is not enough for modern gaming, but there are options to upgrade that we will cover later. It’s a shame that this is where they saved their money, but it’s not a huge deal. SSDs have become very cheap today, and expanding your storage has never been easier. 256GB is enough to get some games running, but we’d advise against that.
Additional Features
The TG01 comes with a pre-installed and licensed Windows 11 Operating System–the best OS for gaming right now. Its most outstanding feature is certainly the utilization of all CPU cores, which processors like the TG01’s i5 absolutely love. CPU cores no longer remain unused and idle in unoptimized titles, and you should see more FPS in your favorite games.
The motherboard is also packed full of features that we seldom see in desktop environments. The HP Pavilion TG01 has the latest Bluetooth support as well as the ‘best-in-business’ Wi-Fi technology. All your wireless gadgets and Bluetooth devices can be easily connected and utilized without additional dongles. It’s good to see these features in a desktop PC, as it’s not the norm, even though it should be.
The TG01 also has card-reading capabilities for those that require it. This PC truly has a little something for everyone, making it a perfect choice for consumers of all backgrounds.
Customizability
The TG01 is exceptionally customizable. You can expand the power supply just like that, preparing the existing chassis for sizable upgrades. Switching parts out is also easy and without hassle. The low SSD storage we’ve mentioned above can be replaced effortlessly, allowing you to put more games on your Drive and enjoy fast loading times.
The LEDs are all also customizable, and you can tweak them according to your preferences.
Swapping out other parts for future-proofing purposes is also no big deal. Everything in the chassis can be switched out for better, newer parts–so long as it can fit inside. The case isn’t too big, so getting those brick GPUs, such as the RTX 4090, will be difficult. But everything else should be fine.
All of this, combined with the excellent framework offered by HP’s breathtaking case design, means that you’ll have one beefy sleeper build in no time. Unassuming and sleek, the HP Pavilion is a powerful PC monster capable of pulling high frames in the most demanding video games.
HP Pavilion Gaming Desktop TG01
| Pros: | Cons: |
| Affordable Great performance Compact Looks good Highly customizable |
Pre-installed bloatware Off-brand parts Low storage space |
Recommended Accessories for HP Pavilion TG01
HP has various brands that create unique accessories for PC enthusiasts. One such brand is certainly HP’s OMEN. Here, we’ll list a couple of additional peripherals you should look at if purchasing an HP Pavilion TG01.
Mouse
The OMEN Vector Wireless Mouse is an excellent choice for gaming with an HP PC. It has impressive ergonomics, a sensor with a wide DPI range (100-16,000), and HP’s Warp Wireless technology. It’s a fast and precise mouse that’ll suit all of your gaming needs. The comfortable design means you can game for long hours without hurting your hand or wrists. Whether you’re playing Counter-Strike or League of Legends, the OMEN Vector is a suitable choice alongside the TG01.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| Wireless convenience Precise tracking Ergonomic design Customizable buttons Long battery life |
Relatively high price Limited color options |
Keyboard
For the keyboard solution, you should look at the OMEN Encoder Mechanical Keyboard. This mid-range keyboard offers fast and quiet Cherry MX Switches that are tactile, satisfying, and precise. The fully back-lit LEDs mean you’ll never miss a key, be it night or day. The keyboard is also highly customizable, and you can tailor it to your taste and needs. It’ll also last forever with a 50-million-click lifespan. The universe could end, and you’d still be using an OMEN Encoder.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| Responsive mechanical switches Customizable RGB lighting Durable construction Comfortable typing experience Programmable macro keys |
Bulky form factor Relatively high price |
Headset
The OMEN brand also has a ton of great headsets to choose from. For premium, mid-range quality, you should consider the OMEN Blast Gaming Headset. It is an affordable pair with impressive sound clarity, a noise-canceling microphone, and 7.1 surround sound. With this headset, you won’t miss a footstep or a musical beat, and your allies will hear you perfectly without the intrusion of background noises. The headset is also compatible with other platforms, such as the XBOX or PlayStation.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| Immersive sound quality Comfortable and ergonomic design Noise-canceling microphone Durable construction Versatile compatibility with multiple platforms |
Limited adjustability of the headband Relatively high price compared to other gaming headsets |
Monitor
Considering the graphical and processing power of the HP Pavilion TG01, it’d be a shame to choose a monitor with a resolution lower than 1440p. The OMEN 27 is a fantastic 27-inch 1440p monitor that’ll satisfy all your visual needs. With Nvidia’s signature G-Sync technology and 165Hz refresh rate, the OMEN 27 is unmatched for gaming purposes. It also has a 1ms response time, meaning that you’ll never know lag again.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| Vibrant display colors High refresh rate Adaptive sync support Adjustable stand Slim bezel design |
Limited connectivity options Pricey compared to alternatives |
The Author’s Opinion on the TG01
Pre-built gaming PCs are often not worth the price. I built all of my PCs from the ground up–chose all the parts and put them together myself. However, sometimes a deal comes around that even I cannot ignore. The TG01 is undoubtedly one such example. It features a ton of good specs and high customizability, and all that for less than $900. This HP Pavilion option is beyond good for those who don’t want to throw their life savings at a gaming desktop. If I were in your place, I’d seriously consider picking this product up, as better deals are scarcely going to appear so long as the PC shortage lasts.
Also read: Top Best Budget Motherboards of 2023: Unleash Maximum Power without Draining Your Wallet
Conclusion
The HP Pavilion TG01 is a great budget option for starting gamers. While not bound strictly to gaming needs, this PC is certainly designed around them. Nevertheless, you could also perform all your work needs with this PC, especially if you’re in the design/video editing branch. With high performance and affordable price, the TG01 is one of the better HP Pavilion releases, and we cannot wait to see what’s next.
(5 votes, average: 4.20 out of 5)
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