HP EliteBook 840 G5 review

The hp elitebook 840 g5 is one of the best business laptops, laptop mag verdict.

The EliteBook 840 G5 is an absolute beauty of a business laptop, providing a comfy keyboard, strong performance and amazing sound in a stylish design.

Classy design

Awesome keyboard

Solid battery life

Vivid privacy display

Quality audio

Blurry webcam

Display on base model is mediocre

Why you can trust Laptop Mag Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test .

Let HP swoop you off your feet with a powerful and luxurious business notebook that embraces productivity and security just as much as it does its multimedia capabilities. The 14-inch EliteBook 840 G5 ($1,182 starting; $2,295 as reviewed) delivers solid performance with its 8th-Gen Intel Core processor and a comfortable keyboard to speed up your workflow. The Bang & Olufsen speakers will make you feel like you're at a concert, and the bright privacy display will immerse you in your own private theater. The EliteBook trips up only in its webcam and its base model display, but despite these faults, this laptop is still one of the best HP laptops and best business laptops .

HP EliteBook 840 G5 price and configurations

The EliteBook 840 I tested cost $2,295 at the time of this review and comes with an Intel Core i7-8650U processor, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD and an Intel UHD Graphics 620.

The lowest possible config costs $1,182 and features an Intel Core i5-7200U, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB M2 SATA-3 TLC SSD. This config removes the webcam.

The ultimate version costs a meaty $3,319.50 and is capped out with an Intel Core i7-8650U processor, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB PCIe NVMe TLC SSD, an AMD Radeon RX 540 2GB graphics card and the 700-nit Sure View privacy display.

HP EliteBook 840 G5 design

With the EliteBook 840, you can work in style. The full aluminum exterior presents a minimalist silver finish accompanied by HP's stylish slash logo. There's a lightly engraved EliteBook logo on the hinge, and toward the top of the lid is a gray line dividing the lip of the laptop. I love that the hinge is at an angle, giving the notebook some flair compared to the plain, rectangular chassis of many other business laptops. The design is quite neat and simple.

HP EliteBook 840 G5

As the laptop opens, you see a classy, backlit, island-style keyboard with a pointing stick. There's a sleek power button in the top left corner, and above that is an elegant, triangle-pattern lid for the Bang & Olufsen speakers. The display's chin is a little thick, but it's proportioned well with the slim bezels to make it look seductive.

At 3.4 pounds and 12.8 x 9.2 x 0.7 inches, the EliteBook 840 is slightly bigger than most of its competition. It matches the Dell Latitude 7490 's 0.7-inch thickness but just beats that machine's weight of 3.5 pounds. The Huawei MateBook X Pro is lighter and thinner than the HP machine, at 3.5 pounds and 0.6 inches, and the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (6th Gen) wins all the marbles, at 2.5 pounds and 0.6 inches.

HP EliteBook 840 G5 ports

The EliteBook 840 features several ports for business use. The left side features a secure lock slot , one USB 3.0 with always-on charging and a Smart Card Reader.

HP EliteBook 840 G5

On the right, you'll find one USB Type-C port with Thunderbolt, an HP UltraSlim dock connector, an RJ45 port, an HDMI port, one USB 3.0 port, a combo headphone/microphone jack and a WWAN SIM card reader.

HP EliteBook 840 G5

HP EliteBook 840 G5 security and durability

Need something to survive your next work trip? Easy. The EliteBook 840 has gone through MIL-STD-810G certification, which means it can endure extreme humidity, extreme temperatures, vibration and high altitude.

HP EliteBook 840 G5

For some extra cash, you can choose from multiple configurations that increase the security of this laptop. There's the Sure View privacy screen, which protects the information on your display with a bright light that's visible to anyone that isn't directly in front of the laptop. This is activated by a simple click on one of the function keys. Our configuration (Intel Core i7-8650U) comes with Intel vPro for remote management as well as an IR camera to access Windows Hello .

HP EliteBook 840 G5

One thing that you'll notice right away is HP's Privacy Camera, which contains a slider that physically blocks the webcam's lens. Additionally, there's a subtle fingerprint reader underneath the rightmost arrow key. HP's Sure Recover feature can reimage your PC even if the hard drive gets wiped. HP also built in an Endpoint Security Controller, which is a physical chip that powers the company's Sure Start software, a self-healing BIOS. BIOS is the first software run by all IBM-compatible PCs when turned on.

HP EliteBook 840 G5 display

The 14-inch, 1920 x 1080 IPS LED display on the EliteBook 840 base model was lackluster and too dim to enjoy. As I watched the most recent trailer for Mission: Impossible - Fallout, the display spoiled the lighting in every scene with a blue tint. Watching Henry Cavill and his Superman muscles march across a bathroom to beat someone to death was designed to be an intense and joyful experience. Instead, it felt trivial as the bathroom lights faded out the color in the characters' clothes and faces. Superman's magnificent bod and mustache meant nothing to me.

HP EliteBook 840 G5

On the other hand, the config with the 1920 x 1080 integrated privacy screen produced bright and vibrant images. I was mesmerized as Tom Cruise fumbled with his seat belt and had a confused, then panicked expression as a military helicopter tumbled down a bright, snowy mountaintop toward him. From the sunset shading Cruise's complexion to the different hues in the blue sky, the colors were dynamic.

MORE: Laptops with the Best Display Brightness

According to our colorimeter, the base display covers a measly 70 percent of the sRGB color gamut, which pales in comparison to the 114 percent category average. However, the privacy display hit a very good 119 percent.

The base display produced a dim 217 nits of brightness, crashing below the 305-nit category average. The HP's privacy display, however, annihilated the competition, with a whopping 619 nits. This surpasses even the result from the HDR-ready ThinkPad X1 Carbon (469 nits), as well as our 293-nit standard. The MateBook X averaged 458 nits, and the Latitude 7490 missed the average with 277 nits.

HP EliteBook 840 G5 keyboard, touchpad and pointing stick

The EliteBook 840's backlit keyboard is tight; it sharply sinks into the chassis, and the keys feel substantial and clicky while you're typing. The backlighting has only two settings, which is disappointing for a laptop of this price. For business users, however, HP included three useful keys to present, answer and hang up calls via Skype .

HP EliteBook 840 G5

The keys have somewhat short travel (1.4 millimeters) but require strong actuation force (77 grams). We usually look for travel between 1.5 and 2 mm and actuation force above 60 grams. The keyboard is incredibly comfortable, allowing me to sail past my 60-words-per-minute average with 68 wpm on the 10fastfingers typing test.

For pointing stick users, the nub has plenty of room to work with, cutting a decent chuck off the G, H and B keys. There are two discrete mouse buttons for it at the top of the touchpad, but unlike the Latitude 7490 and ThinkPad X1, this HP doesn't have a scroll button.

The keyboard is incredibly comfortable, allowing me to sail past my 60-words-per-minute average.

The 4.2 x 2.3 touchpad is smooth and responsive, with a decent pair of clickers. It captures all of the key Windows 10 gestures , from two-finger window scrolling to three-finger task swiping.

HP EliteBook 840 G5 audio

The EliteBook's Bang & Olufsen speakers are a blessing to my ears. While listening to "Stressed Out" by Twenty One Pilots, I heard every single entracing beat from the percussion to the keyboard as they creatively intertwined with Tyler Joseph's vocals. These echoed loud enough to fill a medium-size conference room.

While listening to 'Stressed Out' by Twenty One Pilots, I heard every single entracing beat from the percussion to the keyboard as they creatively intertwined with Tyler Joseph's vocals.

The balance of bass and treble allows each instrument to shine, creating a surprisingly intense experience. Bang & Olufsen provides its own equalizer app, so you can customize the sound to your specific needs. Options are tailored for voice, movies or music, but if that doesn't satisfy, you can perform a full manual equalizer setup.

HP EliteBook 840 G5 performance

Why you would need 30 Google Chrome tabs playing the same 1080p SNL skit all at once is beyond me. But with the EliteBook 840, you can do it all without a hint of lag. Our config is loaded with a quad-core Intel Core i7-8650U processor, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD and an Intel UHD Graphics 620, which allowed the notebook to perform this multitasking with ease.

HP EliteBook 840 G5

On the Geekbench 4 overall performance test, the EliteBook 840 scored an excellent 13,253. It soared past the 10,483 premium laptop average, the Matebook X's 12,913 (Intel Core i7-8550U) and the ThinkPad X1's 13,173 (Intel Core i5-8250U). The Latitude 7490 was able to speed past all of the competition with a score of 14,458 (Intel Core i7-8650U).

MORE: Laptops with the Best Overall Performance

The EliteBook 840 took 15 minutes and 50 seconds to transcode a 4K video to 1080p on our Handbrake test, which completely destroys its competitors' results. The average premium laptop takes 22:05; the MateBook X slugged behind at 27:18; the Latitude 7490 beat the average, with 21:35, and the ThinkPad X1 took 19:00.

Copying 4.97GB of data was a breeze for the EliteBook 840's 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD, taking only 10 seconds (for 509 megabytes per second). The category average is nearly half that speed (286 MBps).

The integrated Intel UHD Graphics 620 (upgradable to AMD Radeon RX 540 2GB) maintained a solid 55 frames per second while running Dirt 3. While that is well above a playable 30 fps, the EliteBook's competitors ran the game at higher frame rates.

HP EliteBook 840 G5 battery life

The EliteBook 840 will last an average workday. While web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness, the laptop lasted for 8 hours and 31 minutes. It narrowly beat the 8:20 average but fell behind the Latitude 7490 (8:55) and MateBook X (9:55), and it didn't come close to the ThinkPad X1 (11:01). It's important to note that the EliteBook 840 lasted only 6:17 while Sure View was turned on.

HP EliteBook 840 G5 webcam and mic

While the Privacy Camera feature is neat, malicious hackers wouldn't be able to make out much anyway. As I pulled my face toward the webcam, it could barely capture any details, whether it be the hairs on my head or the freckles on my face. This camera does handle contrast rather well, as the light from the office windows didn't overwhelm the photo, but the colors were dull.

HP's noise canceling, world-facing microphone can filter background noise decently, but voices not so much. I placed the back of the laptop toward my editor, who sits two chairs away from me, and the microphone could pick up her voice clearly as she spoke on the phone. Even though the microphone couldn't remove background voices, the quality itself was relatively clear.

HP EliteBook 840 G5 heat

The EliteBook 840 can run a little warm, but nothing too extreme. After I ran an HD video for 15 minutes, the HP's undercarriage measured 99 degrees Fahrenheit. That's slightly above our 95-degree comfort threshold. Meanwhile, the touchpad and center of the keyboard hit a cooler 87 and 98 degrees, respectively. The hottest temp was 101 degrees, which came from the lower left side of the undercarriage.

HP EliteBook 840 G5 software and warranty

HP jam-packs a ton of its own apps into the EliteBook 840. The most useful one is HP's Recovery Manager, which can perform maintenance, reinstall drivers and manage backups. HP Support Assistant manages warranty and computer updates. On the security side, HP Client Security takes care of fingerprints, Sure Recover and other features.

HP JumpStart provides tutorials and download suggestions for people who need help with their PCs. HP PhoneWise allows you to connect your phone to your PC to take and make phone calls as well as send and receive text messages. HP WorkWise provides a way to manage your PC's performance and security via a phone app with the same name. There's also HP's own download manager, a malware scanner for web browsers and a printing manager.

MORE: Best Hard Drive Speed

Along with all of those apps, comes a decent amount of bloatware, starring Candy Crush Saga, Cooking Fever, March of Empires: War of Lords and so much more.

The EliteBook 840 comes with a three-year limited warranty that can be downgraded to a one-year warranty. See how HP performed on our Tech Support Showdown and Best and Worst Brands ranking.

Bottom line

Power, security, productivity and entertainment: The EliteBook 840 excels at it all. From its keyboard and privacy display to its speakers and performance, every aspect of this business laptop is high quality. Just avoid the dim display on the base model of this system if you can, particularly if you like to watch movies on your laptop.

If your main priority is battery life, go for the ThinkPad X 1 Carbon (starting at $1,519), which lasts a couple of hours longer on a charge and has a stunning (but pricey) optional HDR display. But overall, the EliteBook 840 provides everything you could want from a well-rounded business notebook.

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HP EliteBook 840 G5 Specs

Rami Tabari is an Editor for Laptop Mag. He reviews every shape and form of a laptop as well as all sorts of cool tech. You can find him sitting at his desk surrounded by a hoarder's dream of laptops, and when he navigates his way out to civilization, you can catch him watching really bad anime or playing some kind of painfully difficult game. He’s the best at every game and he just doesn’t lose. That’s why you’ll occasionally catch his byline attached to the latest Souls-like challenge.

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hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

HP EliteBook 840 G5 review

Performance for power users....

HP EliteBook 840 G5

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

  • Introduction and design
  • Performance and verdict

Performance 

As you’ll see in the benchmarks, this computer is remarkably quick and agile. Combining such a new and powerful Core i7 series CPU with high-end NVMe storage is a recipe for a level of raw speed not normally associated with portable computers.

The only caveat is the Intel 620 UHD GPU, a component integrated into the processor that is the weak link in this chain.

screen side view

Discrete GPUs aren’t exclusively for gaming machines these days, as they can provide significant computational advantages for those doing scientific calculations.

HP’s specifications mention the possibility of an AMD Radeon RX540 discrete graphics solution with 2GB GDDR5 video memory as an option. Although we’ve yet to see a model with this GPU released so far.

Here’s how the HP EliteBook 840 G5 performed in our suite of benchmark tests : 

Passmark: 3384 

Passmark CPU: 9266 

CPU-Z: 378.1 (single-thread); 2140.2 (multi-thread) 

Geekbench: 4611 (single-core); 14205 (multi-core); 19350 (compute) 

Cinebench: OpenGL: 45.92 fps; CPU: 543 

CrystalDiskMark: 3238.9 MBps (read); 2095.4 MBps (write) 

Novabench: 1614 

Atto: 3,255 MBps (read, 256mb); 2,113 MBps (write, 256mb) 

Sisoft Sandra (kPT): 9.38 

Windows Experience Index: Did not run 

UserBenchmark (higher is better): 86.5% 

With that one exception, the performance of this machine is spellbinding. 

Benchmarks 

The EliteBook 840 G5 isn’t a cheap device, and it certainly doesn’t perform like one either. 

Any task involving 3D graphics is undermined by the mediocre performance of the Intel UHD 620 GPU, but by all other measures, this system soars! 

Of these results, easily the most impressive are the storage speed benchmarks, which are incredible. HP used a 512GB Samsung PM981 NVMe drive in this machine, and it reads and writes a breathtaking amount of data per second. 

This drive was Samsung’s flagship design at the end of 2017 and remains the quickest SSD the company makes for the OEM market at this time. 

Overall, the HP EliteBook  840 in this configuration is a performance king. And, unless you are looking to game or run CAD, and therefore need a discrete GPU, there is plenty of power here for whatever office or presentation jobs you might encounter. 

There is little point in buying a machine this good for an occasional user. It’s meant for someone who pushes their device to its very limits, and possibly beyond. 

additional side view

Battery life 

The battery life of an Ultrabook is always an important factor. Having a go-anywhere system is of little value if it only works for a short time away from a power outlet.

That’s especially true if the design, like the review HP 840 G5, is fully specified with a Core i7 class processor and 16GB of RAM. 

Keeping that much memory alive and feeding a processor that can run at 4GHz in turbo mode is a tall order, but the 840 G5 seems to manage it quite effortlessly. 

The factory installed battery is rated for 50WHr, and in our PCMark08 Work Battery test, it managed to run for just 6 minutes short of the 5 hour mark with full performance. Setting Windows 10 for best battery life easily extends that past 10 hours. 

In practical terms, that’s a full working day and some extra for the majority of users, unless you have computing intensive tasks. 

And, with the exceptional clarity of the display, it could easily be dimmed below the test level and remain usable, extending the battery life further. 

side view with screen on

Final verdict 

Compact, yet massively powerful and feature-filled. The HP EliteBook 840 G5 avoids aesthetic showboating and focuses entirely on providing the best core user experience. For the power user who doesn’t want a 2-in-1 system, this is one of the best pure Ultrabooks currently available. 

  • Also take a look at the best business laptops of 2018  

Current page: Performance and verdict

Mark is an expert on 3D printers, drones and phones. He also covers storage, including SSDs, NAS drives and portable hard drives. He started writing in 1986 and has contributed to MicroMart, PC Format, 3D World, among others.

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hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

HP EliteBook 840 G5 review: A reliable business laptop with some style (video)

Business laptops don't have to be boring..

hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

Business laptops are often a little more boring than their consumer counterparts. But in recent years, manufacturers have been taking a turn towards a more premium design for their business lineups. That's especially true for HP's new 14-inch EliteBook 840 G5, which sits right in the middle of the EliteBook lineup with a stylish design without compromising on reliability or features.

For more, check out our full video review of the EliteBook 840 G5 below.

  • See at Amazon

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl . 

hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

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HP EliteBook 840 G5

The midrange elitebook 840 g5 is a first-class 14-inch business laptop that challenges its up-the-stack hp kin, though you'll want to upgrade from the dim default screen..

Eric Grevstad

Bottom Line

  • Sleek design.
  • Good battery life.
  • Available 4K and privacy-screen display options, as well as discrete graphics.
  • Comfortable backlit keyboard.
  • Expensive with options.
  • Base screen is dreary.

The 14-inch business laptop segment is one of the most competitive in the PC market. At the top are glamorous models like the HDR-screened version of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon and the new Huawei MateBook X Pro . Below are workhorse systems like the ThinkPad T470 and T480, and Dell's Latitude 5490 and 7490. Position HP's EliteBook 840 G5 between those two camps. (It starts at $1,199; our test model is $1,835.) This highly IT-manageable, spiffy-looking machine has its charms, and while it does not displace our Editors' Choice pick, the X1 Carbon, it delivers enough flexibility to make it a strong contender for fleet deployments, with enough options to please a wide range of business-user needs.

A Mainstream Middleweight

The EliteBook 840 G5 looks glamorous with its silver aluminum unibody and stylized slash logo, but it is really a workhorse that woos IT managers with its Intel vPro manageability, HP Sure Start protection against BIOS hackers, and HP Sure Recover option. (The last can restore a company's software image from the cloud if the solid-state drive has been wiped.) Compared to its G4 predecessor, it even has tethered screws on the bottom, so you can open the chassis for service or upgrades without dealing with easy-to-lose screws and screw caps.

HP EliteBook 840 G5 7

Except for its 14- rather than 13.3-inch display and the welcome addition of dedicated Home, End, Page Up, and Page Down keys to the keyboard, the EliteBook 840 G5 tester unit I have on hand is a near twin of the EliteBook 830 G5 ($1,149.00 at HP) I reviewed not long before it. The model I have in hand has the same 1,920-by-1,080-pixel (1080p) native screen resolution, the same eighth-generation Core i7-8650U quad-core processor with Intel UHD Graphics 620 integrated silicon, the same ports on the left and right edges, and the same 16GB of memory and 512GB SSD.

Also identical is the choice of a face-recognition webcam or a fingerprint reader for Windows Hello sign-ins, plus an option for a SmartCard slot, for enterprises that prefer that kind of secure-access solution. The $1,199 base model makes do with a seventh-generation Core i5, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD.

HP EliteBook 840 G5 17

At 3.27 pounds, the 840 G5 undercuts the 3.74-pound ThinkPad T470 , just as it's undercut, in turn, by the MateBook X Pro ($1,198.00 at Amazon) (2.93 pounds) and ThinkPad X1 Carbon ($1,298.00 at Amazon) (2.49 pounds). It's a little trimmer than the ThinkPad T470, at 0.7 by 12.8 by 9.2 inches versus 0.79 by 13.3 by 9.2 inches. The Huawei is sculpted more like a 13.3-inch ultraportable, at 0.57 by 12 by 8.5 inches.

While its chrome HP logo and carved rear edge are stylish touches, the EliteBook 840 G5 is more than just a pretty face—it's passed MIL-STD tests against vibration, shock, temperature and altitude extremes, dust, humidity, and more. The connectivity, meanwhile, is on-point, if not overly generous. On the laptop's left side, you'll find a USB 3.0 Type-A port and a Kensington cable-lock slot, as well as, on this unit, the above-mentioned SmartCard slot...

The Left Profile

On the right are a SIM card slot, an audio jack, another USB 3.0 port, HDMI and Ethernet ports, a docking-station connector, a Thunderbolt 3 port, and the AC adapter connector. There is no SD card slot.

Most Ports Are on the Right

A sliding shutter uncovers the webcam, which captures well-lit, slightly soft-focus 720p shots and video. Most users will appreciate the manual action of the shutter and the implied security of physically blocking the camera lens. I appreciate the at-a-glance visual cue, myself, rather than having to rely on an OS or program-based assurance that the camera's not in commission.

A Slide for Privacy

The Bang & Olufsen-tuned speakers, meanwhile, are arrayed in a strip between the keyboard and the screen. Their output can easily fill a room—with some boom and echo when volume is cranked all the way up—with crisp highs and well-defined lows. Both MP3s and videos sound great.

HP EliteBook 840 G5 15

Pick a Panel (But Be Sure It's the Right One)

As with the EliteBook 830 G5, HP chose to send its 840 G5 test unit with the lowest-common-denominator screen for review. The good news is that the full HD display is an in-plane switching (IPS) rather than twisted nematic (TN) panel, so details and colors are fairly sharp, and the off-center viewing angles are wide.

The bad news is that it isn't very bright. The company rates the screen at 220 nits. As a result, those colors don't pop, and backgrounds aren't washday white. The whole screen looks murky if you dial the backlight down two or three notches for the sake of saving battery power.

HP EliteBook 840 G5 6

If you've got the budget, though, HP's got alternatives. Most buyers would do well to opt for the upticked full HD display with 400 nits of brightness. There's also a 4K (3,840-by-2,160-pixel) screen, plus a 1080p version of HP's Sure View privacy screen. Sure View may appeal to business users who handle sensitive information often. It protects the screen contents from being spied upon via casual glances (say, from the person sitting beside you on a plane or train). Press the F2 key, and the display becomes legible only to someone seated directly in front of it.

As for the keyboard, a quibble first: I continue to hold a beef with HP's placement of the cursor-arrow directional keys in a row rather than a more intuitive inverted T. Here, it's the usual HP arrangement, with half-height up and down arrows placed between full-height left and right ones...

A Collaborative Keyboard

But otherwise, this EliteBook's backlit keyboard is impressive, quieter than most yet with a firm and responsive typing feel. It features HP's dedicated keys for placing, ending, and presenting during Skype calls, as well as both a comfortable touchpad and a mid-keyboard pointing stick (though the latter has only two instead of three buttons).

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A Strip of Speakers

HP backs the EliteBook 840 G5 with a three-year warranty, not including onsite service. The Windows 10 Pro preinstall comes with a surprisingly high number of not terribly compelling casual games, but HP restricts its bundling to useful system utilities.

Solid Performance, Slightly Pricey

With its Core i7-8650U processor (a 1.9GHz quad-core) and fast Samsung SSD, the EliteBook 840 G5 turned in an admirable score of 3,517 points in our PCMark 8 office productivity benchmark (we consider anything over 3,000 excellent). And while the 830 G5 with the same CPU was a trifle off in our Handbrake video editing and Adobe Photoshop image-manipulation tests, the 840 G5 posted thoroughly competitive times of 1 minute 18 seconds (1:18) and 2:57, respectively.

HP EliteBook 840 G5

It was a different story in our 3DMark graphics tests and Heaven and Valley gaming simulations, where the EliteBook (and other laptops with integrated graphics) got schooled by the Huawei and its Nvidia GeForce MX150 discrete graphics. Upscale configurations of the 840 G5, however, can be fitted with dedicated graphics, too, in the form of AMD's Radeon RX 540, which won't be enough to satisfy hardcore gamers but should bring noticeably perkier graphics performance.

HP EliteBook 840 G5 (Gaming)

Perhaps the HP's toughest test came in our battery life rundown, where lasting through a mere eight-hour workday no longer cuts the mustard. Our test unit survived for a very respectable 12 hours and 51 minutes, though it trailed the 17-plus hours of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon and the T470 ($881.10 at Lenovo) with its optional extended-life battery.

Related Story

A Striking Biz Laptop, But Mind the Price

With its sleek and sturdy construction, pleasing performance, and variety of configuration choices, the EliteBook 840 G5 is a very likable business laptop, though not quite likable enough to undo our Editors' Choice vote for the lighter X1 Carbon.

Our main complaints are the base model's dingy screen and our test unit's $1,835 list price despite said screen. While HP and its channel partners frequently offer the system on sale, it strikes us as a bit expensive compared to rivals such as the $1,499 MateBook X Pro. Still, if we were HP's even more costly EliteBook 1040 14-incher ($1,479.00 at HP) , we'd be worried—the EliteBook 840 G5 is that good.

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About Eric Grevstad

I was picked to write the "20 Most Influential PCs" feature for PCMag's 40th Anniversary coverage because I remember them all—I started on a TRS-80 magazine in 1982 and served as editor of Computer Shopper when it was a 700-page monthly. I was later the editor in chief of Home Office Computing , a magazine that promoted using tech to work from home two decades before a pandemic made it standard practice. Even in semiretirement in Bradenton, Florida, I can't stop playing with toys and telling people what gear to buy.

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hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

HP EliteBook 840 G5 review

An excellent choice for security-conscious companies, with the best feature being a privacy mode so people can’t view your screen.

hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

IT Pro Verdict

While we wouldn’t rush out to buy the EliteBook 840 G5, there’s much to like here. This level of versatility, and prices starting at £1,099 inc VAT on HP’s website, make the EliteBook an attractive option for security-sensitive businesses.

Excellent port selection; Great business features; Keen price

Chunky, unprepossessing design; Performance can't match the Dell XPS 13

For those among you who place a big emphasis on security for the devices deployed across your organisation, the HP EliteBook 840 G5, and its array of security-centric features, is well worth considering.

Beyond the standard defensive layers, comprising an infrared camera, fingerprint reader and a smart card reader, HP has implemented a host of additional features such as a privacy mode'. Flicking F2 on the laptop will dim the display in such a way that viewing the screen from either the left or the right will result in a grey blur, but looks unchanged face-on.

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HP's combination Sure Start Gen4 feature, far from echoing a government children's service, actually adds a very handy layer of insulation for the system BIOS. Say your machine is targeted with malware that corrupts the system in unspeakable ways, the Sure Start feature will revert your machine to the latest healthy version, while notifying both yourself and the IT team.

These additional security-centric features wouldn't matter a jot if the laptop itself was a dud, but thankfully it's a solid enough performer and reasonably good looking.

We wouldn't go so far as to label it stylish, but the business-like silver finish to the chassis vaguely echoes that of the Dell XPS 13, albeit with a porky base. We measured it at 13.1mm thick , and even though the lid is slim this laptop's total thickness of 19.1mm is nothing to boast about anymore. If 1.59kg sounds too heavy, note that our review sample included a touchscreen, which adds around 100g.

In HP's defence, that weight is in at least partly due to the fact this is a 14in panel to the 13.3in XPS 13, and the aluminium chassis does feel suitably sturdy and rugged. HP weakens such arguments by including such big bezels, though. The 8mm-wide side bezels look okay, but the one at the bottom is very near a full inch, while the top bezel is 20mm tall. These make the 14in screen feel smaller than it is.

Hp EliteBook keyboard, top-down shot

The screen itself is great. Its star feature is the ability to hit a blazing 625cd/m2 for use outdoors, while a Delta E of 2.15, contrast ratio of 1,071:1 and sRGB gamut coverage of 91.7% are all fine scores for a laptop. We don't have many complaints about the keyboard either. It would have been nice to have a little more travel in the keys, but that's just us being fussy. The only thing that stops us being more fulsome in our praise is that the touchpad sits too far to the left, so we had to adjust the position of our palm when typing or it would nudge the position of the cursor.

HP includes a few nice features to make up for this minor annoyance. One is the trackpoint in the middle of the keyboard, with accompanying mouse buttons below the spacebar, which come in handy in cramped conditions. It's also curious to see dial and hang-up buttons at the top-right of the keyboard. This highlights HP's aim to make this a conferencing-friendly laptop, with the promise of "crystal clear collaboration" thanks to a third microphone on the outside of the lid. The idea is that, if other people in the same room are taking part in your call, this third mic will help pick up their voices; if it's just background noise, the laptop will detect it and block the sound.

HP promises up to 14 hours of battery life from the EliteBook 840, but our video-rundown tests suggest you'll be fortunate to reach this. With the screen brightness set to 170cd/m2 and Flight Mode activated, it lasted for 6hrs 30mins. You'll want to carry the 355g power supply when travelling, but at least you won't need any adapters - along with two USB 3.1 ports, there's a Thunderbolt 3 port, full-size HDMI output and an Ethernet slot.

hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

Yet more options come via HP's existing side-mounted docking stations - which are still compatible - and the upcoming Thunderbolt Dock G2, which can power two 4K displays. This laptop has the potential to be quite a workhorse, too, thanks to Intel's 8th-gen Core processors and, in future models (but sadly not our test system), optional Radeon GPUs.

We tested the high-end model (code 3JX09EA-ABB) that included the popular quad-core Core i7-8550U processor with 16GB of RAM and a fast 512GB PCIe SSD. This combination was potent enough to push the Dell XPS 13 over 100 in our benchmarks, but for reasons we can only speculate on - most likely thermal throttling - it only hit 77. We're not too concerned by this, though - our benchmarks are stress tests that last over half an hour, and in general use we doubt that many people will notice a slowdown.

While we wouldn't rush to buy the EliteBook 840 G5, there's much to like about the device. The conferencing features. The extra levels of privacy. The convenience of built-in Ethernet and HDMI ports to accompany Thunderbolt 3. This level of versatility, and prices starting at 1,099 inc VAT on HP's website, make the EliteBook an attractive option for security-sensitive businesses.

Quad-core 1.8GHz Intel Core i7-8550U processor

Intel UHD Graphics 620

1,920 x 1,080 touchscreen display

512GB PCIe SSD

16GB 2,400MHz DDR4 RAM

2x2 MIMO 802.11ac Wi-Fi

Bluetooth 4.2

Thunderbolt 3

2 x USB 3.1

RJ-45 Ethernet port

MicroSDXC slot

Windows 10 Home

302 x 199 x 15mm (WDH)

3yr limited warranty

Keumars Afifi-Sabet is a writer and editor that specialises in public sector, cyber security, and cloud computing. He first joined ITPro as a staff writer in April 2018 and eventually became its Features Editor. Although a regular contributor to other tech sites in the past, these days you will find Keumars on LiveScience, where he runs its Technology section.

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HP EliteBook 840 G5 review: It's my new favorite laptop

Rich Woods former Senior Editor for North America Neowin @TheRichWoods · Jul 20, 2018 12:16 EDT · Hot! with 14 comments

The life of a tech reviewer is a conflicting one. Sometimes, I can't wait to get a review published because I want to move on to the next device. Other times, I dread moving on to something new because I love the device I'm reviewing so much.

The HP EliteBook 840 G5 is definitely the latter. I want to make this thing my forever PC, but sadly, I'll have to move on after I finish writing this article.

It pretty much has everything that I want in a PC. It uses an Intel Core i7-8650U CPU, the latest quad-core 15W chip. But that's fairly common. It also packs a 4GB AMD GPU into a thin and light chassis, along with 32GB RAM and a 1TB SSD.

That's not even the best part. The 14-inch 1080p has HP's Sure View privacy technology, so people can't see what I'm working on while I'm in public. There's also 4G LTE, meaning that I don't have to worry about asking for Wi-Fi passwords when I'm on the go.

Read on for the full review.

Obviously, this machine is full specced out. Obviously, you don't need to get it with a Core i7 vPro, 32GB RAM, or 1TB of storage. 4G LTE connectivity is optional as well.

Like the rest of HP's EliteBook lineup, the 840 G5 only comes in Natural Silver, so you won't see that sexy Dark Ash Silver found on the latest Spectre PCs. This saddens me, as that color is lovely, and Natural Silver is, well, basic. It's that standard aluminum body and color that you'll see from devices across the board. It's what some might refer to as a 'MacBook clone'. On a side note, I love this PC so much that it could look like a monkey and I'd be ok with that.

hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

As far as ports go, you'll find almost everything you need. On the left side of the device, there's a smart card reader and a USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A port. On the right side, there's a charging port, Thunderbolt 3, RJ45 Ethernet, HDMI 1.4b, USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A, 3.5mm combo audio, a micro-SIM slot, and a docking port. While I appreciate the wide array of ports, I would have liked an SD card reader.

hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

USB 3.1 Gen 1 in the Type-A ports is a nice touch, providing speeds of up to 5Gbps, while the single Thunderbolt 3 port provides 40Gbps. With the dedicated 4GB GPU, you could hook up two 4K displays to that port, or a single 5K display. HDMI 1.4b is a bit disappointing, as it limits your 4K output through that port.

HP once again went for narrow side bezels, with wide top and bottom bezels around the display. The top bezel makes room for a webcam and an IR camera for Windows Hello, and the bottom room makes room for an HP logo. Also, to be clear, the larger chin lifts the display up a bit, giving it a better viewing angle.

The keyboard area is pretty standard for a 14-inch HP laptop. There are Bang & Olufsen speakers placed above the keys, and a trackpad below them, that's slightly off-centered to the left. There's also a fingerprint sensor for Windows Hello to the bottom-right. The trackpad also has physical buttons above it, and that's because this machine actually has a trackpoint, something that's rarely seen outside of Lenovo's ThinkPads.

Sure View Display

I actually didn't expect to love the EliteBook 840 G5 as much as I do. The reason that I requested this unit is because I've reviewed a bunch of devices from the EliteBook 1000 series, and I always point out that they come with a Sure View option, but the model I was sent doesn't have the feature. The EliteBook 840 G5 was supposed to just be a mainstream business laptop, but it would be my chance to finally test out Sure View outside of a demo area.

hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

Sure View is HP's solution for a privacy display, preventing visual hacks. That means that if someone looks over your shoulder to see what you're working on, they won't be successful. Visual hacks are probably more common than you think, so this is something that's worth having.

hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

All that you have to do is press the F2 key, and you're protected. If someone looks at the screen from an angle, they'll just see a blank white screen.

There are some downsides though, such as that it uses more battery when it's on. It's also a bit harder to read the display while you're using it, and in certain lighting conditions, it can get really hard. I still think it's a fantastic feature to have, as you only have to turn it on when you need it.

Sure View still only comes in 1080p flavors, which is a bit disappointing. I could definitely see battery life being an issue if this was done on a 4K display, but I feel like 1440p would be the sweet spot.

hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

The 14-inch touchscreen display looks great though, all things considered. I'd recommend getting the Sure View option just to have it, as it does come in handy, unless you're going for 4K. There's also an anti-glare option that you might want to look into, as this model is a bit too reflective in bright lighting conditions.

It's 2018. Seriously, everything should be connected to the internet all of the time.

I've always felt this way. I'm the guy that always buys the cellular iPad while everyone else is saying they can just use their phone as a hotspot if they need to. But really, who wants that extra hassle?

The HP EliteBook 840 G5 has 4G LTE, and it's incredible. I can't even say how convenient it is to just be able to pull the laptop out anywhere I am and start working. I don't need to worry about finding Wi-Fi passwords, or connecting to shady networks. With this machine, I've worked in airports, on buses, and anywhere else that I needed to.

hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

The concept of the Always Connected PC is something that Microsoft has been pushing, but especially in ARM-based PCs. Those machines aren't as powerful. This machine, however, has a U-series Intel Core i7, a 4GB AMD GPU, and 32GB of RAM, so it's a beast of a laptop, but with that extra connectivity.

4G LTE is a feature that should be standard in all portable PCs. Come on, guys. It's 2018, and constant connectivity is a game-changing feature. I cannot stress enough how useful and convenient this is, and how much it improves the overall user experience.

Keyboard, trackpad, and trackpoint

As usual, HP has produced another excellent keyboard on this device. It's one of the quietest keyboards that I've used, next to maybe Lenovo's ThinkPads. The backlit keyboard is also more accurate than previous EliteBooks that I've used. I've used some that seem a bit too sensitive, but this one is just right.

hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

The large trackpad beneath the keyboard is placed slightly to the left of the center, and it has two physical buttons above it for left- and right-clicking. The glass trackpad itself is clickable, but those buttons will likely be used for the trackpoint. In other words, you have multiple means of navigation with the EliteBook 840 G5.

The trackpad itself is definitely one of the better ones out there. I didn't have any problems using it, which is more than I can say for some other devices.

hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

The trackpoint sits between the G, H, and B keys, which is standard placement for the rare navigation tool. You can use it to control the cursor, and then the physical buttons to click. There's no middle button for scrolling though, as you would find in one of Lenovo's ThinkPads. That means that you can either scroll manually by clicking and holding on a scrollbar, or you can do it with two fingers on the trackpad.

Performance

The HP EliteBook 840 G5 performs like a dream. It includes a Core i7-8650U CPU, AMD Radeon RX 540 GPU with 4GB GDDR5, and 32GB RAM. What else could you ask for? All of that comes in a fairly slim and light package.

This is what I'd refer to as an 'anything PC'. You can use it for all of your computing needs. It's great for typing, but if you need to, you can get into some heavy photo editing and even video editing. If you want to do some gaming, that works too. Of course, it's not primarily for video editing or gaming, as it's not a workstation or gaming PC. But you can do these things if you need to, and that's what's so great about the dedicated GPU in this machine.

Let me put it this way. My workflow typically includes running Chrome with about a dozen tabs open, Skype, Slack, and OneNote all the time. But I'm also using Adobe products like Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, and Acrobat. I have never been using this PC and wished it had something that it doesn't.

For benchmarks, I used PCMark 8, which has three tests: Home, Creative, and Work. First up is Home, which checks common tasks like video chat, web browsing, casual gaming, photo editing, and more.

hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

As you can see, this machine scores quite well on the test, better than many gaming PCs. Next up is Creative, which checks more GPU-intensive tasks like video editing and mainstream gaming.

hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

As you can see, the EliteBook 840 G5 once again scores quite well. None of this should really be a surprise, as the hardware is quite good.

Finally, the Work test checks productivity-related tasks like writing and spreadsheets.

hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

If my personal experience isn't enough to prove to you that the EliteBook 840 G5 performs like a dream, the benchmarks certainly should be.

WorkWise and PhoneWise

HP's EliteBook lineup has a lot of business-centric software built into it. For example, Sure Start checks the BIOS against a master copy and replaces it if it's corrupted, and Sure Click provides a safe browsing experience. But the two things I want to draw special attention to are WorkWise and PhoneWise.

WorkWise first arrived last year in the EliteBook x360 1030 G2 , and it's kind of disappeared since then. When HP introduced PhoneWise, the two services were incompatible with each other for a time. Now, we finally have a machine that does both.

hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

Now only compatible with Android, WorkWise is a sort of mobile control center for your PC. For example, if you lock your EliteBook and walk away from it, and someone closes the lid on your PC while you're gone, you'll get a notification that someone has touched your PC. You can turn on Focus Mode, or you can even install new printers from the app. It's a powerful and useful service, and I'm really happy to see its return.

hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

And then we have PhoneWise. If WorkWise brings your PC to your phone, then PhoneWise brings your phone to your PC. You can use it to make and receive calls, send and receive texts, and you can even mirror and interact with your phone.

While PhoneWise does work with Android and iOS, it's much more limited with iOS. You can't mirror your phone, and to send a text, you'll have to enter your iPhone PIN into the PhoneWise app so it can wake your phone, unlock it, launch the PhoneWise app, and send a text from there. To be clear, this is an iOS limitation rather than a limitation of PhoneWise, and if you're looking to send SMS messages from your PC and you're an iPhone owner, you're really not going to find anything that works better than this.

Windows Hello

hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

Windows Hello is so common in premium Windows 10 PCs these days, that it's almost a side note. I do want to point out though, that the EliteBook 840 G5 has both a fingerprint sensor and an IR camera.

hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

Naturally, this offers the user choice. Personally, I think that the IR camera is the way to go, as it's more natural for a PC to just recognize me when I'm sitting in front of it. The fingerprint sensor is nice to have as a failsafe though, in case the IR camera's facial recognition fails.

I really love the HP EliteBook 840 G5. Many of the Always Connected PCs that we're seeing pushed aren't very powerful, or they're not in conventional form factors. Even the Intel-powered Surface Pro isn't my cup of tea, as it's tough to use without a desk making it impossible to use at events.

But the EliteBook 840 G5 is a premium laptop, and not just that, but it's really powerful. It has a Core i7 vPro processor with a 4GB AMD GPU and 32GB RAM to back it up. When you add 4G LTE to that, it's just an amazing experience.

hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

On top of all of that, it has HP's Sure View display, which is fantastic for working in public places. Now, I can work in a Starbucks without having to worry about anyone seeing what I'm working on.

The software features are nice as well. WorkWise and PhoneWise are both great products, and it's great to see them both playing nice on the same PC.

Ultimately, I think that the EliteBook 840 G5 has it all, and I'll be sad to move on to the next laptop that I review, no matter how good it is.

Gallery: HP EliteBook 840 G5

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hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

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HP EliteBook 840 G5

The midrange elitebook 840 g5 is a first-class 14-inch business laptop that challenges its up-the-stack hp kin, though you'll want to upgrade from the dim default screen..

Eric Grevstad

Bottom Line

  • Sleek design.
  • Good battery life.
  • Available 4K and privacy-screen display options, as well as discrete graphics.
  • Comfortable backlit keyboard.
  • Expensive with options.
  • Base screen is dreary.

The 14-inch business laptop segment is one of the most competitive in the PC market. At the top are glamorous models like the HDR-screened version of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon and the new Huawei MateBook X Pro . Below are workhorse systems like the ThinkPad T470 and T480, and Dell's Latitude 5490 and 7490. Position HP's EliteBook 840 G5 between those two camps. (It starts at $1,199; our test model is $1,835.) This highly IT-manageable, spiffy-looking machine has its charms, and while it does not displace our Editors' Choice pick, the X1 Carbon, it delivers enough flexibility to make it a strong contender for fleet deployments, with enough options to please a wide range of business-user needs.

View Gallery

A Mainstream Middleweight

The EliteBook 840 G5 looks glamorous with its silver aluminum unibody and stylized slash logo, but it is really a workhorse that woos IT managers with its Intel vPro manageability, HP Sure Start protection against BIOS hackers, and HP Sure Recover option. (The last can restore a company's software image from the cloud if the solid-state drive has been wiped.) Compared to its G4 predecessor, it even has tethered screws on the bottom, so you can open the chassis for service or upgrades without dealing with easy-to-lose screws and screw caps.

hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

Except for its 14- rather than 13.3-inch display and the welcome addition of dedicated Home, End, Page Up, and Page Down keys to the keyboard, the EliteBook 840 G5 tester unit I have on hand is a near twin of the EliteBook 830 G5 I reviewed not long before it. The model I have in hand has the same 1,920-by-1,080-pixel (1080p) native screen resolution, the same eighth-generation Core i7-8650U quad-core processor with Intel UHD Graphics 620 integrated silicon, the same ports on the left and right edges, and the same 16GB of memory and 512GB SSD.

Also identical is the choice of a face-recognition webcam or a fingerprint reader for Windows Hello sign-ins, plus an option for a SmartCard slot, for enterprises that prefer that kind of secure-access solution. The $1,199 base model makes do with a seventh-generation Core i5, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD.

hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

At 3.27 pounds, the 840 G5 undercuts the 3.74-pound ThinkPad T470 , just as it's undercut, in turn, by the MateBook X Pro (2.93 pounds) and ThinkPad X1 Carbon (2.49 pounds). It's a little trimmer than the ThinkPad T470, at 0.7 by 12.8 by 9.2 inches versus 0.79 by 13.3 by 9.2 inches. The Huawei is sculpted more like a 13.3-inch ultraportable, at 0.57 by 12 by 8.5 inches.

While its chrome HP logo and carved rear edge are stylish touches, the EliteBook 840 G5 is more than just a pretty face—it's passed MIL-STD tests against vibration, shock, temperature and altitude extremes, dust, humidity, and more. The connectivity, meanwhile, is on-point, if not overly generous. On the laptop's left side, you'll find a USB 3.0 Type-A port and a Kensington cable-lock slot, as well as, on this unit, the above-mentioned SmartCard slot...

hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

On the right are a SIM card slot, an audio jack, another USB 3.0 port, HDMI and Ethernet ports, a docking-station connector, a Thunderbolt 3 port, and the AC adapter connector. There is no SD card slot.

hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

A sliding shutter uncovers the webcam, which captures well-lit, slightly soft-focus 720p shots and video. Most users will appreciate the manual action of the shutter and the implied security of physically blocking the camera lens. I appreciate the at-a-glance visual cue, myself, rather than having to rely on an OS or program-based assurance that the camera's not in commission.

hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

The Bang & Olufsen-tuned speakers, meanwhile, are arrayed in a strip between the keyboard and the screen. Their output can easily fill a room—with some boom and echo when volume is cranked all the way up—with crisp highs and well-defined lows. Both MP3s and videos sound great.

hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

Pick a Panel (But Be Sure It's the Right One)

As with the EliteBook 830 G5, HP chose to send its 840 G5 test unit with the lowest-common-denominator screen for review. The good news is that the full HD display is an in-plane switching (IPS) rather than twisted nematic (TN) panel, so details and colors are fairly sharp, and the off-center viewing angles are wide.

The bad news is that it isn't very bright. The company rates the screen at 220 nits. As a result, those colors don't pop, and backgrounds aren't washday white. The whole screen looks murky if you dial the backlight down two or three notches for the sake of saving battery power.

hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

If you've got the budget, though, HP's got alternatives. Most buyers would do well to opt for the upticked full HD display with 400 nits of brightness. There's also a 4K (3,840-by-2,160-pixel) screen, plus a 1080p version of HP's Sure View privacy screen. Sure View may appeal to business users who handle sensitive information often. It protects the screen contents from being spied upon via casual glances (say, from the person sitting beside you on a plane or train). Press the F2 key, and the display becomes legible only to someone seated directly in front of it.

As for the keyboard, a quibble first: I continue to hold a beef with HP's placement of the cursor-arrow directional keys in a row rather than a more intuitive inverted T. Here, it's the usual HP arrangement, with half-height up and down arrows placed between full-height left and right ones...

hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

But otherwise, this EliteBook's backlit keyboard is impressive, quieter than most yet with a firm and responsive typing feel. It features HP's dedicated keys for placing, ending, and presenting during Skype calls, as well as both a comfortable touchpad and a mid-keyboard pointing stick (though the latter has only two instead of three buttons).

hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

HP backs the EliteBook 840 G5 with a three-year warranty, not including onsite service. The Windows 10 Pro preinstall comes with a surprisingly high number of not terribly compelling casual games, but HP restricts its bundling to useful system utilities.

Solid Performance, Slightly Pricey

With its Core i7-8650U processor (a 1.9GHz quad-core) and fast Samsung SSD, the EliteBook 840 G5 turned in an admirable score of 3,517 points in our PCMark 8 office productivity benchmark (we consider anything over 3,000 excellent). And while the 830 G5 with the same CPU was a trifle off in our Handbrake video editing and Adobe Photoshop image-manipulation tests, the 840 G5 posted thoroughly competitive times of 1 minute 18 seconds (1:18) and 2:57, respectively.

HP EliteBook 840 G5

It was a different story in our 3DMark graphics tests and Heaven and Valley gaming simulations, where the EliteBook (and other laptops with integrated graphics) got schooled by the Huawei and its Nvidia GeForce MX150 discrete graphics. Upscale configurations of the 840 G5, however, can be fitted with dedicated graphics, too, in the form of AMD's Radeon RX 540, which won't be enough to satisfy hardcore gamers but should bring noticeably perkier graphics performance.

HP EliteBook 840 G5 (Gaming)

Perhaps the HP's toughest test came in our battery life rundown, where lasting through a mere eight-hour workday no longer cuts the mustard. Our test unit survived for a very respectable 12 hours and 51 minutes, though it trailed the 17-plus hours of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon and the T470 with its optional extended-life battery.

Related Story

A Striking Biz Laptop, But Mind the Price

With its sleek and sturdy construction, pleasing performance, and variety of configuration choices, the EliteBook 840 G5 is a very likable business laptop, though not quite likable enough to undo our Editors' Choice vote for the lighter X1 Carbon.

Our main complaints are the base model's dingy screen and our test unit's $1,835 list price despite said screen. While HP and its channel partners frequently offer the system on sale, it strikes us as a bit expensive compared to rivals such as the $1,499 MateBook X Pro. Still, if we were HP's even more costly EliteBook 1040 14-incher , we'd be worried—the EliteBook 840 G5 is that good.

HP EliteBook 840 G5

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About Eric Grevstad

I was picked to write the "20 Most Influential PCs" feature for PCMag's 40th Anniversary coverage because I remember them all—I started on a TRS-80 magazine in 1982 and served as editor of Computer Shopper when it was a 700-page monthly. I was later the editor in chief of Home Office Computing , a magazine that promoted using tech to work from home two decades before a pandemic made it standard practice. Even in semiretirement in Bradenton, Florida, I can't stop playing with toys and telling people what gear to buy.

More From Eric Grevstad

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hp elitebook 840 g5 notebook review

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HP EliteBook 840 and 846 G6 Notebook PC Specifications

Product image.

HP EliteBook 840 and 846 G6 Notebook PC

Operating systems

note: 1 Not all features are available in all editions or versions of Windows. Systems might require upgraded and/or separately purchased hardware, drivers, software or BIOS update to take full advantage of Windows functionality. Windows 10 automatic updates are always enabled. ISP fees might apply and additional requirements might apply over time for updates. 2 Some devices for academic use automatically update to Windows 10 Pro Education with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. Features vary; for more information, see Windows 10 Pro Education features. In accordance with Microsoft support policy, this product does not support Windows 8 or Windows 7. HP does not support the Windows 8 or Windows 7 operating system on products configured with Intel and AMD 7th generation or later processors, or provide any Windows 8 or Windows 7 drivers.
note: Multicore is designed to improve performance of certain software products. Not all customers or software applications necessarily benefit from use of this technology. Performance and clock frequency vary depending on application workload and hardware and software configurations. Intel numbering is not a measurement of higher performance. Processor speed denotes maximum performance mode; processors run at lower speeds in battery optimization mode.
note: Resolutions are dependent upon monitor capability, and resolution and color depth settings. High-definition (HD) content is required to view high definition images.
note: Due to the non-industry standard nature of some third-party memory modules, we recommend HP branded memory to ensure compatibility. If memory speeds are mixed, the system performs at the lower memory speed.

Storage/drives

note: For solid state drives or hard drives, GB = 1 billion bytes. TB = 1 trillion bytes. Actual formatted capacity is less. Up to 30 GB (for Windows 10) is reserved for system recovery software.

Ports/slots

Audio/multimedia, networking/communication, keyboards/pointing devices/function keys, software/security, weight/dimensions, additional support options.

Try one of our automated tools or diagnostics

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IMAGES

  1. HP EliteBook 840 G5 (i7-8550U, SSD, FHD) Laptop Review

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  2. HP EliteBook 840 G5 review

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  3. Hp Elitebook 840 G5 : Breve Análise do Portátil HP EliteBook 840 G5 (i5

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  4. Hp 840 G5

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  5. HP EliteBook 840 G5 Price (08 Aug 2021) Specification & Reviews । HP

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  6. HP 14" EliteBook 840 G5 Notebook 3RF15UT#ABA B&H Photo

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VIDEO

  1. Full Review HP EliteBook 840 G5

  2. HP 840 G5 Battary Replacement Tutorial (2024)

  3. i5 8th Generation for just 5???? Hp EliteBook 840 G5 Specification

  4. HP EliteBook 840 G9 12th Gen #Laptop

  5. Review Laptop HP EliteBook 840 G5 || i5 8520U

  6. Review HP Elitebook 850 G5. #shortvideo #hp #laptop #review

COMMENTS

  1. HP EliteBook 840 G5 Review

    The midrange EliteBook 840 G5 is a first-class 14-inch business laptop that challenges its up-the-stack HP kin, though you'll want to upgrade from the dim default screen. MSRP $1,199.00. PCMag ...

  2. HP EliteBook 840 G5

    HP EliteBook 840 G5 price and configurations. The EliteBook 840 I tested cost $2,295 at the time of this review and comes with an Intel Core i7-8650U processor, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe ...

  3. HP EliteBook 840 G5 (i5-8250U, SSD, Full HD) Laptop Review

    The HP EliteBook 840 G5 has good case temperatures and only reaches 39.5 °C (~103.1 °F) under load. All other comparison devices become a lot hotter and often reach surface temperatures of 50 ...

  4. HP EliteBook 840 G5 review

    Here is the HP EliteBook 840 G5 configuration sent to TechRadar Pro for review: CPU: Intel Core i7-8550U quad-core 1.8GHz. Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 620. RAM: 16GB DDR4 RAM (2400MHz) Screen: 14 ...

  5. HP EliteBook 840 G5 (i7-8550U, SSD, FHD) Laptop Review

    The matte 14-inch display has a native resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. Its contrast ratio (1170:1) and brightness (629.8 cd/m²) are good and very good, respectively. The screen is equipped with ...

  6. HP EliteBook 840 G5 review

    HP EliteBook 840 G5 lacks punchiness in color as it covers only 53% of the sRGB color gamut. We tested the accuracy of the display with 24 commonly used colors like light and dark human skin, blue sky, green grass, orange etc. You can check out the results at factory condition and also, with the "Design and Gaming" profile.

  7. HP EliteBook 840 G5 review

    The HP EliteBook 840 G5 avoids aesthetic showboating and focuses entirely on providing the best core user experience. For the power user who doesn't want a 2-in-1 system, this is one of the best ...

  8. HP EliteBook 840 G5 review: A reliable business laptop with some style

    That's especially true for HP's new 14-inch EliteBook 840 G5, which sits right in the middle of the EliteBook lineup with a stylish design without compromising on reliability or features. For more ...

  9. HP EliteBook 840 G5

    The Huawei is sculpted more like a 13.3-inch ultraportable, at 0.57 by 12 by 8.5 inches. While its chrome HP logo and carved rear edge are stylish touches, the EliteBook 840 G5 is more than just a ...

  10. HP EliteBook 840 G5 review

    Verdict. While we wouldn't rush out to buy the EliteBook 840 G5, there's much to like here. This level of versatility, and prices starting at £1,099 inc VAT on HP's website, make the EliteBook an attractive option for security-sensitive businesses. Quad-core 1.8GHz Intel Core i7-8550U processor. Intel UHD Graphics 620.

  11. HP EliteBook 840 And 830 G5 Review: Aluminum-Clad Powerhouses

    HP's EliteBook series laptops launched back in 2008 to general success, and a decade later it remains one of HP's top-selling thin and light laptop lines. To celebrate 10 years of that success ...

  12. HP EliteBook 840 G5 Reviews, Pros and Cons

    The EliteBook 840 G5 is an absolute beauty of a business laptop, providing a comfy keyboard, strong performance and amazing sound in a stylish... By LaptopMag on May 25, 2018. HP's EliteBook 800 ...

  13. HP EliteBook 840 G5 review: It's my new favorite laptop

    HP's new EliteBook 840 G5 features an 8th-gen quad-core Core i7, 32GB RAM, a 1TB SSD, a Sure View privacy display, and 4G LTE connectivity. What else could I ask for in my new favorite laptop?

  14. HP EliteBook 840 G9 Review

    The EliteBook 840 G9 (starts at $1,129; $1,609 as tested) sits smack in the mainstream of 14-inch, clamshell corporate notebooks. This laptop is packed with up-to-date features like a slightly ...

  15. HP EliteBook 840 G5 review: A reliable business laptop with ...

    The HP EliteBook 840 Series G5 is beautifully designed and manageable, with layers of security and powerful collaboration tools to keep you productive anywhe...

  16. HP EliteBook 840 G5 Notebook PC Specifications

    Specification. Description. Integrated. Intel HD Graphics 620. Intel UHD Graphics 620. Discrete. AMD Radeon R59 (sold separately or as an optional feature) note: AMD Dynamic Switchable Graphics technology requires an Intel processor, plus an AMD Radeon discrete graphics configuration and is not available on FreeDOS and Linux OS.

  17. HP EliteBook 840 G5

    The Huawei is sculpted more like a 13.3-inch ultraportable, at 0.57 by 12 by 8.5 inches. While its chrome HP logo and carved rear edge are stylish touches, the EliteBook 840 G5 is more than just a ...

  18. HP EliteBook 840 G5 Series

    HP EliteBook 840 G5-3JX66EA. The HP EliteBook 840 G5-3JX66EA is a professional laptop for business purposes. It is meant to be transported with ease, but it is heavier than the average high-end ...

  19. HP EliteBook 840 G5 Refurbished Laptop 14 Touch Screen Intel Core i7

    The HP EliteBook laptop offers a webcam a multi touch touch pad and more to help you get things done. ... HP EliteBook 840 G5 Refurbished Laptop, 14" Touch Screen, Intel® Core™ i7, 16GB Memory, 512GB Solid State Drive, Windows® 11 Pro ... 4.8 out of 5 stars. 1380 reviews . $24.99 each. View Details Microsoft 365 Family - Subscription ...

  20. HP EliteBook 840 and 846 G6 Notebook PC Specifications

    35.56 cm (14.0 in) diagonal 4K FHD IPS eDP and PSR anti-glare WLED-backlit ultraslim, 400 nits, 72% NTSC with ambient light sensor, HD and IR camera for WWAN (3840 x 2160) HDMI 1.4b. Supports resolution up to 4k at 60 Hz via DisplayPort. Supports resolution up to 4k at 30 Hz via HDMI. note:

  21. HP EliteBook 840 G7 Review

    HP's answer to these laptops is the EliteBook 840 G7 (starts at $1,254.76; $2,199 as tested), updated for the seventh generation with a smaller chassis, an improved keyboard, and longer battery ...

  22. Private Moscow Metro Tour: explore the underground palaces

    Moscow is home to some extravagant metro stations and this 1.5-hour private tour explores the best of them. Sometimes considered to be underground "palaces" these grandiose stations feature marble columns, beautiful designs, and fancy chandeliers. Visit a handful of stations including the UNESCO-listed Mayakovskaya designed in the Stalinist architecture. Learn about the history of the ...

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