HP EliteBook 840 G5 Laptop
USD
Pros
- Classic design
- Long battery life
- Splendid keyboard
- High quality audio system
- Vivid display
Cons
- Blurry and low-grade webcam
- Proprietary PSU
- No memory card reader
- Mediocre display for base models
- Mediocre SSD
In This Article
Verdict
The HP EliteBook 840 G5 laptop is a good business laptop that has all the features and functionality to challenge other HP kinfolks with its 14-inch screen. However, the dim default screen may need some upgrade.
HP EliteBook 840 G5 Laptop & Variants Price
Introduction
This 14-inch laptop is a good enough business laptop that is very reliable due to its useful components.
Since the manufacturers majorly focused on the functionality of the system rather than its style while building it, you will have nothing in it that will cause any concern or make it less reliable.
The display features a Full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution. It produces images at a 16:9 aspect ratio and a wider viewing angle. The IPS panel comes with an anti-glare coating to reduce glare making it pleasant for the eyes.
With their respective limits and capacity, the RAM, the storage, and the connectivity, all plays their role superbly to add to its reliability and the performance of the system.
It helps the system to cope up with mainstream workloads most efficiently, effectively and reliably.
However, you may feel a bit distracted with the fan noise, which is quite a lot, when you do simple jobs such as writing a document, browsing through the web pages, or streaming a video or music.
Nevertheless, the machine is quite good and reliable for those non-occasional users who want to push their systems to their very limits, and even beyond, possibly.
Buy for: Bright and high-contrast IPS display, good input devices.
Beware of: High price, fan noise, mediocre GPU.
Best uses for: Basic office computing, playing basic games, non-occasional users.
The alternatives:
Design and Build
Most of the modern laptops come with great aesthetics but for this system it is more of practicality, functionality and performance rather than the look alone.
With an illusory all metal look, the design of the system clearly reflects the skill of the HP engineers. The use of plastic is typically restricted to only those specific areas where it will not be revealed due to wear and tear.
The metal skinned lid of the machine contains the usual HP logo embossed on it but it looks all new, hyper-stylish, inviting and cool to touch.
The underside of the body is built from plastic and therefore is less visually appealing. It hardly matters because you will not be seeing it often.
The design of the backlit keyboard is spacious and therefore makes it easy and comfortable to type on it, even while sitting in darker corners of the room. It contains a cohesive pointing device.
The device is very well built without any overengineering. The chassis avoids any flexible structures laconically and does not come with any sharp edges. The system weighs about 3.3 pounds, making it fairly light in weight.
The touchpad is also designed carefully and the build is of good quality. The two buttons are at the top making it easy to operate.
The bottom edge is more flexible and is compatible with default gestures of Microsoft Precision Touchpad, meaning it will not limit its functionality as would any normal mouse.
Performance
The system promises to perform at a faster and higher level due to the 8th generation Intel Core i7-8550U processor. This processor performs at a speed ranging between 1.80 GHz on average and up to 4.0 GHz, maximum, with Turbo Boost.
The speed along with the 8 MB cache supports the 4 cores and 8 threads of the processor to perform your desired computing tasks effortlessly and most successfully.
The Intel UHD Graphics 620 integrated in the processor, though being the weak link in the chain, also plays its role significantly well to ensure a higher and better performance of the machine.
Apart from supporting Full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution, it can also support 4K (4096 x 2304) display at 60 Hz.
The Windows 10 Professional 64-bit operating system makes this device an ideal one for use at home, by the professionals and small businesses, and even for education purposes.
However, there is one small weakness that may affect its performance especially in getting a 4K resolution at 60 Hz from the Thunderbolt port without using the right adapter. It is the limitation of 30 Hz in 4K of the HDMI 1.4b port.
Barring this, the system is remarkably agile and quick. It is due to the combination of the powerful Core i7 CPU and NVMe storage that provides the raw and high speed that is not usually found in any average laptop computers.
In short, this is not a cheap system and it definitely does not perform like any one either.
Benchmarks
CPU
1. The HP Elitebook 840 G5 laptop comes with an Intel Quad-Core i7-8550U processor. As of the 22nd of September 2022, the Intel Quad-Core i7-8550U processor’s average benchmark score is 61.7% on UserBenchmark, a renowned benchmarking site.
To estimate this processor’s real processing capabilities, the technical experts considered 1359 processors in this category and this particular processor has ranked at 525th position. As a gaming processor, the i7-8550U has got a benchmark score of 62%.
For regular desktops, this score is 67% and for workstations, it is 48%. So casual users can get very speedy processing from this chip, but the high-end users will not be satisfied with the performance of the Intel i7-8550U.
2. The Intel i7-8550U is a quad-core processor and the average CPU mark of it is 5983 as displayed on Cpubenchmark.net on 22nd September 2022.
The single-thread rating of this processor is 2073. 5656 samples were analyzed by the technical experts of this benchmarking site and they figured out the processor’s margin of error is low and decided to give it an overall rank of 1136.
The AMD Ryzen 5 3500U is the closest competitor of the Intel Quad-Core i7-8550U. But this AMD chip is not as strong as the Intel Core i7-8550U. The single thread rating of the AMD Ryzen 5 3500U is 1974. So the Intel Core i7-8550U is a better choice than the AMD Ryzen 5 3500U.
3. Geekbench5 is a very popular benchmarking scale nowadays. The Intel Core i7-8550U processor has 4 cores and the single core score of it (As of 22nd September of 2022) is 878 and the multi-core score is 2622.
Comparing the single core score with the others in this category, we can see that the Intel core i7-8650U is the closest competitor of this chip and its single core score is 895.
There is not a huge difference in these scores. But still, these are enough to consider the Intel core i7-8650U as a superior edition to the Intel Core i7-8550U; it can deliver better performance.
And in the same way, the Intel core i7-8650U’s multi-core score is a little higher than that of the Intel Core i7-8550U. These are 2710 and 2622 respectively.
Here we can also notice not a huge difference in the scores. But, practically the Intel core i7-8650U is a better edition although they count in the same category.
GPU
1. The HP Elitebook 840 G5 is equipped with the Intel UHD Graphics 620. According to UserBenchmark, the Intel UHD Graphics 620’s average benchmark score is 4.83% (as of 22nd September 2022).
To estimate the real performing capacities of this integrated graphics card, the experts have considered 685 GPUs of this category and among them, this one has ranked at 389th position.
2. On Passmark software, the Intel UHD Graphics 620 has an average G3D mark of 1034 (as of 22nd September 2022). The average G2D mark of this graphics card is 246. Based on the test made on 14161 samples of this GPU, the experts have given this graphics card an overall rank of 853.
It will not be fair if anyone expects top-notch graphical performance from an integrated GPU; but in comparison to the many integrated graphics cards, this Intel UHD Graphics 620 performs better. With basic to medium-level graphical content, the users will get very smooth processing.
3. The Intel UHD Graphics 620’s 3D mark time spy Graphics score is 362. This graphics card’s 3D mark rank is 192 and its popularity rank is 200. All of these data are displayed on benchmarks.ul.com on 22nd September 2022.
RAM & Storage
You will get an upgraded 16 GB DDR4 RAM integrated with the system.
You will get a 512 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD upgraded storage which may not be exceptional but good enough to support most of your computing tasks.
Ports & Connectivity
The exclusive placement of the ports on the sides of this system makes it all the more functional.
However, most of the ports are available on the right side. This is great for the users who are right-handed. However, this may not be helpful for those users who want to use a mouse.
On the left side of the chassis there is a single USB 3.1 Gen 1 port. On the right side there is another such port along with one Thunderbolt Type-C, RJ-45 Ethernet, and HDMI 1.4b port.
Apart from that, there is also a 3.5 mm headphone and microphone combo. It also comes with the proprietary docking connector.
This machine, like most of the modern laptops, comes with Bluetooth and Wi-fi connectivity. The system supports 802.11ac wireless type communication technology and v4.2 Bluetooth feature.
Battery Life
The system operates on two power sources, AC and battery, like most other laptops.
However, the lithium ion battery life of this system is on point to enable you to work for fairly long hours. Ideally, the 50-watt-hour battery has a 5-hour life while performing at its highest level.
However, if you want to do your full day’s work then you will need to make sure that the brightness of the screen is no more than 60% of its full capacity. This will enhance the battery life.
Setting Windows 10 will also extend the life of the battery to more than 10 hours.
This is good enough for doing your full day’s work and also a little bit more, provided that you do not perform any computing intensive tasks on your system.
Additional Features
The display is well supported by the Bang & Olufsen speakers. The speakers enhance both the audio system and the viewing pleasure with more bass frequency that is usually expected from a laptop.
If you do not have a sound system in the presentation room, this feature will help you a lot.
The HD IR camera is also another useful feature that will surely grab your attention when you take pictures using it.
The security measures of this system are good enough with features like a fingerprint scanner and more.
The product also comes with warranty from HP for a year.
Specs:
- Brand: HP
- Screen: 14 inches
- Display: FHD (1920 x 1080)
- Storage: 512 GB
- RAM: 16 GB
- Storage Type: PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
- RAM Type: DDR4
- Processor: Intel Core i7-8550U
- Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620
- Processor Speed: 1.80 GHz up to 4.0 GHz
- Processor Brand: Intel
- Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 13.3 x 0.74 inches
- Operating System: Windows 10 Pro
What Do Users Think about EliteBook 840 G5?
There are a few users who think that this device is good enough but they had a few complaints about the model.
They said that the function or ‘fn’ key seems to be faulty because it sticks sometimes and the light stays on.
The only way to fix it is to stop everything and restart the system. This annoys them so much so that they sometimes prefer using an external keyboard.
Other users also did not possess any high regard about the keyboard of the system specifically. They said that the key depth is very short to the extent that it slows down their typing speed.
Some of the users of this system even went a step ahead to recommend other laptops that come with the same specifications and costs about 60% of this particular laptop.
They said that they found it extremely troublesome to use the system because they lose all of their work due to the fact that it comes out of the sleep mode often.
However, there are lots of users who found that this is a great computer to possess and would buy this specific laptop again, if they have to. The larger screen and the faster processor are what struck to their fancy.
Other users to whom performance matters most find this systemand its configuration too good to resist. Check out EliteBook 840 G5 Manual.
They found that there is plenty of power in this machine for any presentation or office job. They only wished that it could also support running CAD or high-end gaming just as efficiently.
Our Testing & Analysis Report
While testing the display of HP EliteBook 840 G5 laptop, our technical analysis team used Delta E color accuracy tool.
They found that the brightness and contrast ratio of the FHD display is quite good with about 630 nits of brightness, a pretty high contrast ratio, and a satisfactory color accuracy of 3.27.
They found that the processor of the system was quite powerful to handle all usual applications and basic computing tasks.
According to the Cinebench benchmark, the CPU ran at a steady speed ranging between 2.4 GHz and 2.5 GHz all through for single threaded performance, but in AC mode.
The speed reduces to around 1.6 to 1.8 GHz for multi-threaded performance and between 1.6 and 2.2 GHz for single threaded performance in battery mode.
As for multi-thread tests, our team found that it starts at a high-speed ranging between 3.4 and 3.6 GHz but throttles down to 2.4 and 2.5 GHz after some time. As for the Cinebench R15 multi-thread test, the results were slightly different.
The Intel UHD Graphics 620. On testing, it was found to operate at a reasonably high-speed ranging between 300 and 1500 MHz, with DirectX 12 support.
This was found to be the average operational speed of the GPU based on the 3D Mark benchmarks. It supports playing basic games as well but not but not those like Far Cry 5.
In the battery rundown test, we found that it lasted for about 5 hours with the brightness of the display set to half its capacity and other battery saving tweaks made.
Questions & Answers:
Is the Ram capacity of HP Elitebook 840 G5 expandable?
Yes, if you need more speed in your laptop, then you can upgrade the RAM capacity of it up to 32 GB.
Is there any option to install two SSD on the HP Elitebook 840 G5?
No, there is only one SSD slot and that is also occupied by the initial 512 GB SSD. If you need more storage capacity, then you need to replace this initial storage unit with another one that has higher storage capacity; or you can use an external storage unit.
Is the HP Elitebook 840 G5 good for gaming?
No, this is a basic level portable, light device. Its GPU section is not too strong. The gamers should avoid this deal. But if you are willing to play some casual games, then you can use them.