A decade ago, HP released a series of laptops – the HP EliteBook – which generally became a success. To this date, the EliteBook series remains to be among the company’s most popular lines of compact laptops. As part of the tenth-year celebration of the series, HP did a complete redesign of the EliteBook. The redesigned notebook, the HP EliteBook 840 G5, is now a business class device.
At First Glance
The fifth generation EliteBook comes in style. It has a full aluminum external surface with silver accents. Adding to its minimalist theme is the stylish slash logo of HP. The hinge of the notebook is angled, which is different to most business laptops.
The 840 G5 is slightly bigger than most of its competition. It is 0.7-inch thick. Display-wise, the screen of the EliteBook 840 G5 is a 14-inch IPS LED (1920 x 1080) display.
Both sides of the EliteBook 840 G5 have connectivity ports. There is a USB 3.0 that is always on for charging purposes. A port for a Smart Card Reader is also available. There is a solo USB Type-C slot with Thunderbolt on the right side of the laptop. An UltraSlim dock connector is also available. You also have the basics: an HDMI port, a USB 3.0 port, a mic and a headphone jack.
Under the Hood
The average score for a premium laptop on the Geekbench 4 overall performance test is 10,483. The EliteBook 840 G5 Scored 13,253. HP’s elite laptop runs a quad-core Intel Core i7-8650U chip and an Intel 320 UHD graphics card. It has 16GB of RAM as well as a 512GB M.2 PCle NVM Express SSD.
Keys, Pads and Pointing Stick
The 2018 HP EliteBook has a tight backlit keyboard. The keys have a substantial feel to them. One significant drawback of its keyboard is the minimal options for settings. There are only two available. The upside is that HP added three valuable keys on the board to dial, hang up and answer calls, in particular via Skype.
The touchpad captures all keys assigned for Windows 10 gestures. It is 4.2 x 2.3. It is exceptionally responsive and smooth. It also has a pair of clickers. In terms of a pointing stick, the 840 G5 has a spacious nub with two partly-hidden mouse buttons.
Secure and Sturdy
The latest EliteBook model can withstand just about anything. It is certified MIL-STD-810G. That means it can hold up against severe weather conditions, temperature highs and lows, high altitudes and constant vibrations.
HP’s EliteBook is also all about security settings. Something that you will notice immediately is the laptop’s Privacy Camera. If you’re not using the web cam, you can physically block it using the slider. Moreover, there is an arrow key on the right side of the 840 G5 that points a fingerprint reader underneath. You also have access to Sure Recover, which is another security feature of HP that can reimage your laptop even if the hard drive is damaged.
Price and Value
Most of the variations of the EliteBook 840 G5 are already available in the US, UK and other regions. The starting price of HP’s 2018 EliteBook in US stores that sell laptop units is $1769.
