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forum threadblakezilla posted Dec 01, 2025 01:40 PM
forum threadblakezilla posted Dec 01, 2025 01:40 PM

HP Z2 customized build with ryzen 395 AI max for less than $1800

$1,776

$3,000

40% off
HP Small & Medium Business
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HP has a sale going on where you can customize this Z2 and add in the ryzen 395 AI Max for cheaper than the equivalent Minisforum or Gmktek counterparts. This actually has a warranty that you may be able to trust lol

If you remove windows11 business (-$270) add a 512 GB SSD ($20) the dual USB C ports ($12) and wifi 7 ($17ish) and use CARROT10 as a promo code you can get this down to about $1800ish after tax.

Shipping will be in December. I guess HP will charge now which keeps me from ordering.

I know people hate HP but this is less than the micro center minis forum or gmk tech ryzen 395 AI Max mini PCS.

This was shared on here with a different build for $2,200 range but I think the cheaper options are better because you can always add an SSD later when the prices are not insane.

Also HP MSRP is just insane at $3000+

If you do not need the 395 Max with 128gb RAM you can add in other strix Halo options to reduce the price.

I'm hoping that pricing for stuff like this comes down next year but with the AI boom/bust cycle in full swing and currently eating up all available RAM this may be the cheapest we see for something like this for a while.

https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp...a74x0av-mb
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Community Notes
About the Poster
HP has a sale going on where you can customize this Z2 and add in the ryzen 395 AI Max for cheaper than the equivalent Minisforum or Gmktek counterparts. This actually has a warranty that you may be able to trust lol

If you remove windows11 business (-$270) add a 512 GB SSD ($20) the dual USB C ports ($12) and wifi 7 ($17ish) and use CARROT10 as a promo code you can get this down to about $1800ish after tax.

Shipping will be in December. I guess HP will charge now which keeps me from ordering.

I know people hate HP but this is less than the micro center minis forum or gmk tech ryzen 395 AI Max mini PCS.

This was shared on here with a different build for $2,200 range but I think the cheaper options are better because you can always add an SSD later when the prices are not insane.

Also HP MSRP is just insane at $3000+

If you do not need the 395 Max with 128gb RAM you can add in other strix Halo options to reduce the price.

I'm hoping that pricing for stuff like this comes down next year but with the AI boom/bust cycle in full swing and currently eating up all available RAM this may be the cheapest we see for something like this for a while.

https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp...a74x0av-mb

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9 Comments

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Dec 01, 2025 01:52 PM
1,252 Posts
Joined Aug 2019
SlickCrayon1512Dec 01, 2025 01:52 PM
1,252 Posts
I trust GMKtec more on the quality. HP is only better on warranty.
1
1
Dec 02, 2025 01:20 AM
1,565 Posts
Joined Oct 2004
tenkenDec 02, 2025 01:20 AM
1,565 Posts
thanks! this deal is actually kind of a sleeper. I was hoping the Bosgame M5 or gmtek X-2 would go on sale, but I got this instead for sub-1700 including tax
Dec 02, 2025 06:55 PM
4 Posts
Joined Apr 2020
LavenderApparel915Dec 02, 2025 06:55 PM
4 Posts
CARROT10 not working for me, dead?
1
Yesterday 06:20 AM
563 Posts
Joined Mar 2009
StrategyFreakYesterday 06:20 AM
563 Posts
Super slick deal. Youtubers seem to be on a consensus that the HP has some of the best cooling seen for this particular chipset. Framework also looks good but the price is much higher. HP retail price on this used to be much higher too. Other 395 max units look like there's some risk of throttling.

Coupon worked just fine for me

Unfortunately this may be as cheap as these deals get for a long while, with RAM prices spiking. PC, server, and laptop prices are going to be crazy in 2026 unless the AI market crashes. This is the most RAM hungry of any consumer PC most likely
Yesterday 05:05 PM
2 Posts
Joined Mar 2014
lichaoYesterday 05:05 PM
2 Posts
Quote from StrategyFreak :
Super slick deal. Youtubers seem to be on a consensus that the HP has some of the best cooling seen for this particular chipset. Framework also looks good but the price is much higher. HP retail price on this used to be much higher too. Other 395 max units look like there's some risk of throttling.

Coupon worked just fine for me

Unfortunately this may be as cheap as these deals get for a long while, with RAM prices spiking. PC, server, and laptop prices are going to be crazy in 2026 unless the AI market crashes. This is the most RAM hungry of any consumer PC most likely
You got 128gb variant for $1800? ( for me I saw the 128gb variant is above $2200)
Yesterday 09:24 PM
393 Posts
Joined Apr 2011
man003Yesterday 09:24 PM
393 Posts
same here.. price is $2200+ before taxes. Cant replicate even after removing the OS and other addons
Yesterday 10:32 PM
4,074 Posts
Joined Mar 2005
bullgatesYesterday 10:32 PM
4,074 Posts
Quote from lichao :
You got 128gb variant for $1800? ( for me I saw the 128gb variant is above $2200)
Yes.

Most of the vendors have raised their prices after cyber Monday. I wouldn't be surprised to see another deal for Christmas. According to the unit count available on one vendor the product wasn't a hot seller.


It's better than most desktops for ai text inference but the limited bandwidth will present difficulty for video or image generation. Best to use the cloud alternatives.

According to many reviews and feedback the platform still suffers from lack of software support development and maturity.

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Yesterday 11:56 PM
563 Posts
Joined Mar 2009
StrategyFreakYesterday 11:56 PM
563 Posts
Quote from lichao :
You got 128gb variant for $1800? ( for me I saw the 128gb variant is above $2200)

Yes, the deal was even posted here
Today 08:47 AM
563 Posts
Joined Mar 2009
StrategyFreakToday 08:47 AM
563 Posts
Quote from man003 :
same here.. price is $2200+ before taxes. Cant replicate even after removing the OS and other addons

It has expired. I actually kept windows and got the price to mid $1700s with 128GB version

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