Mario,
The Predecessor is the HP 280 G1. The highest rated HP 280 G1 on Passmark (14 tested):
Passmark Rating = 2214 CPU= 4931 (i3-4160 / 2D= 791 (Intel HD 4400) / 3D= 514 / Mem= 1518 (4GB) / Disk= 3403 (SanDisk SDSSDHII120G) Theh best CPu is the i5=4590S: 7104. The highest 3D is the HD 4400
Unfortuately, there is no test of the HP 280 G2 on Passmark for comparison.
So as to comment about the HP 280 G2 MT, it would be useful to know the current systems and more about the use . In general, the HP 280 G2 appears to be a very modern LGA1151 design and for general business use, capable, compact, and knowing HP, probably very quiet. The Intel 530 Integrated Graphics is far better than one might assume. On Passmark baselines, an i7-6700 / Intel 530 system scored 988 in 2D and 3305 in 3D. That does use system RAM, so buy a system with at least 16GB. For comparison the $450 Quadro K2000(4GB) in an HP z420 scored 250 in 2D and 3535 in 3D. The 280 GT MT does have a PCIe x16 slot to add a dedicated graphics card and it can use up to 32GB of RAM- that will run 4 or 5 big programs at once with good sized files.
However, I don't see this as a intensive visualization system as the number of cores and the peripherals will be restricted by the number of PCIe lanes and slots due to the compact format. However, a good GPU could work wonders as the i7-6700 is in the top tier for single-threaded performance. Teh Ig is very good, but a dedicated card ill release the CPU and ssystem RAM for processing use. Likewise, database or analytical / simulation will be moderate given the memory bandwidth and lack of ECC memory. In summary, it's appears to be good, but sort of generic, all purpose system that could come into focus by adding a GPU and sorting the drives, an SSD or better yet an M.2 SSD paired with a good storage drive. It will however, not have room for a RAID card, so connection to a server for backup seems a good idea.
As for the future potential, the Skylake 14nm Intel is just starting, so there will be better ones, the advances in SSD and M.2 technology is making 1TB SSD at only $250, plus nVIDIA is releasing Pascal GPU graphics cards, that are compact and energy efficient- and fantastic performers. I can see the 280 GT MT having a single round of upgrades at two-three years that could present a good potential for about 5 years' use. Workstations have been amazingly reliable in my experience. We have systems from 2007- Dell Precision 390 /E520, 2008: Precision T5400, 2010" Poweredge 2650, 2011: T5500, and (4) newer 2013 and 2015 HP z-series and every one has been 100% reliable. We have never lost data.
In summary, if you need to buy a number of non-specialized, compact systems with good performance, good potential for upgrade and moderate expansion, the 280GT looks quite good. For specialized use, consider LGA2011-3 platform and a larger format.
If you would mention some specifics about the use- programs /priorities, budget, I could say more.
Cheers,
BambiBoom
HP z420 (2015) > Xeon E5-1660 v2 (6-core @ 3.7 / 4.0GHz) / 32GB DDR3 -1866 ECC RAM / Quadro K4200 (4GB) / Samsung SM951 M.2 256GB AHCI + Intel 730 480GB (9SSDSC2BP480G4R5) + Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > 600W PSU> > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit > Logitech z2300 speakers > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H (2560 X 1440)>
[ Passmark Rating = 5581 > CPU= 14046 / 2D= 838 / 3D= 4694 / Mem= 2777 / Disk= 11559] [6.12.16]