Hp Elitebook 840 G1 - 14 - Core I7 4300u Review

HP EliteBook 820 G1

MSRP $874.00

"The Elitebook 820 suffers from poor display quality and unimpressive bombardment life."

Pros

• Durable structure
• Well-rounded functioning
• Excellent software suite
• 3-year warranty

Cons

• Looks depression-budget
• Poor quality 1366x768 display
• Lackluster battery life
• Non a expert value

HP'southward Elitebook line has had difficulty competing with Lenovo's ThinkPad. Price has generally been to blame, equally even systems with mundane specifications often sold well above $one,000. This was justified, for enterprise users, by the company'southward elaborate suite of security and network management software, simply consumers have less use for such tools.

Now it appears that HP is changing tactics. The new Elitebook 820, a 12.5-inch laptop that offers 4th-gen Intel Core processors, starts at only $874. Our review unit of measurement, which boasts a Core i5-4200U CPU and a 180GB solid state drive, costs $1,274, only this price is reasonable compared to past systems. For example, the Folio 9470m we reviewed less than a yr ago was $1,549.

Cut the MSRP has required some sacrifices, withal, most notably the luxurious (and heavy) metal construction that the Elitebook is known for. Does this make the 820 a light-weight that packs a punch, or a shadow of HPs past?

Is lighter, better?

The new 820 sets itself apart from past Elitebooks by abandoning heavy employ of metal construction in favor of a mostly magnesium chassis. Though strong, magnesium feels much like plastic, and this cheapens the notebook's await and feel, resulting in a system that seems geared towards buyers on a budget. Even low-end HP Pavilions and Envy systems use more bonny materials

Nonetheless, switching to magnesium has its benefits. Weight has been cut down to just under three pounds, which makes the 820 over a one-half-pound lighter than  the preceding Elitebook 2560p, and the chassis is barely more than than 8/10 of an inch thick. Previous Elitebooks felt like bricks, and the new model is a feather-weight past comparing.

And while magnesium will never have the premium feel of aluminum, HP has fabricated sure the materials used are put together well. Panel gaps are tight, the display lid is coated with a grippy finish that prevents accidental drops, and the screen is lined with a rubber barrier designed to prevent display damage if the organisation is dropped while closed or if a heavy object is placed on top of information technology. These touches requite the 820 a crude-and-tumble attitude.

Not the keyboard you lot're looking for

HP'due south Elitebooks accept e'er lagged behind ThinkPads in keyboard quality, and the new 820 is no different. There'south a surprising amount of space given this organisation's 12.5-inch display, just key experience is spongy and a bit vague. We also wish the keys had a bit of a curve, every bit the HP's flat keycaps provide poor feel when touch-typing. Nonetheless, we didn't note any problems with accuracy when using the keyboard.

The Elitebook 820 is function of a new generation, but it makes familiar mistakes.

Though our review unit includd backlighting, it does not come up standard on the 820. There are just two brightness settings, just they're calibrated well. Light-leak is minimal, a infinitesimal amount does manage to escape via the area near the function keys.

The HP'south touchpad is well-nigh two inches alpine and three inches wide, which is rather small-scale. However, the organization also comes with a runway-pointer in the middle of the keyboard. Nosotros prefer to use this when information technology's available because information technology makes mouse navigation possible without shifting from a comfy typing position. Tactile left/right mouse keys are provided for both the touchpad and trackpointer, and multi-touch gestures piece of work well, though the lack of surface area can sometimes make information technology hard to pull them off.

Pixel wars? What pixel wars?

While other laptops wage state of war with increasingly pixel-dense panels, the HP 820 gets by with a simple 1366 10 768 non-touch on display. The pocket-size size of the screen means the panel notwithstanding looks acceptably sharp, but rough edges are noticeable when viewing fine fonts or watching Hard disk drive video.

The matte screen uses SVA-panel technology, a combination that results in poor paradigm quality. We measured a maximum contrast ratio of only 70:1 and very bright black levels, which means that media doesn't have the depth and vibrancy about users would expect. We capeesh that HP is targeting piece of work, non play, merely Lenovo has already shown that a display can exist functional and beautiful at the aforementioned time.

At least functionality is achieved, thanks to a backlight that measures up to 200 lux. While non overly bright, when combined with the matte coating, it's plenty to make the 820 usable even in direct sunlight.

Audio quality reaffirms the system'southward focus on professionalism. The speaker offers a articulate mid-range and is located above the keyboard, so dialogue sounds crisp. Book is lacking even when ready to max, however, then you may have difficulty enjoying music in all but the quietest locales. External speakers or headphones are recommended.

Heart of the pack in functioning

Our review unit came with an Intel Core i5-4200U processor, an upgrade over the Core i3 processor found in entry-level models. All the same, this is inappreciably an extreme dual-core CPU, as evidnced past the benchmark results nosotros got. SiSoft Sandra's Processor Arithmetic criterion gave us a score of 38.7 GOPs, while seven-Zip reached a combined score of seven,062. This beats the Lenovo ThinkPad X240's score of 27.9 GOPs past a broad margin, and is on par with the ThinkPad T440s, merely well behind the Acer Travelmate P645'due south grade of merely over 45 GOPs.

The new 820 sets itself autonomously from past Elitebooks by abandoning aluminum construction in favor of a generally magnesium chassis.

PCMark 8's storage test returned a strong result of 4,900, courtesy of its 180GB solid state drive. Alternatives like the ThinkPad T440s, ThinkPad X240, and Acer Travelmate P645 scored worse in our tests, but the Lenovo units were non equipped with SSDs, which are much speedier than mechanical drives.

Intel's HD 4400 integrated GPU powers this notebook's graphics and, every bit expected, it delivers so-so results. The 3DMark Deject Gate criterion turned in a score of 3,850, while the Fire Strike test spat out a class of 498. These figures basically tie the ThinkPad T440s, which scored iii,861 and 463, respectively, but the more powerful Travelmate P645 is quicker, scoring five,700 and 1,194.

We tested real-globe gaming by playing League of Legends, and constitute the 820 to be adequate, but cipher more. At the display'southward native resolution of 1366 ten 768, and with the game at medium item, we received an average framerate of 42 with a minimum of 33 and maximum of 49. Turning detail upwards to maximum reduced the average to 31, the minimum to 27, and the maximum to 36.

Losing weight, losing battery

The lightweight 820 seems similar a neat travel companion, merely its portability was spoiled past battery life that'due south average at best. Information technology only lasted five hours and forty-three minutes with the Peacekeeper web browsing benchmark.

While this beats the ThinkPad X240 configured with the smaller of its ii batteries (it lasted less than four hours when equipped this fashion), it comes in short of the six hour and forty-one infinitesimal mark posted by the ThinkPad T440s. As for the Acer Travelmate P645, well, it whips the 820 handily, lasting just over 8 hours. Even our calorie-free-load Reader's Test consumed the HP'southward battery quicker than that. The 820 lasted just seven hours and thirty minutes in that benchmark.

Ability consumption may be the issue hither. We measured 12 watts of power used at idle with the display at maximum brightness, which is a bit high. The ThinkPad X240, idles at 8 watts. Load spikes describe every bit high as 28 watts, which is average for a system of this size.

Cooling

Predictably, the increased power consumption leads to increased heat, as the system reaches a maximum external temperature of 85.nine degrees Fahrenheit at load. That'southward non terribly high, only it'due south one degree warmer than the ThinkPad T440s or Acer Travelmate P645, and viii degrees toastier than the ThinkPad X240.

At load, the shoe is on the other human foot, as the 820 just reaches 101.1 degrees while the ThinkPad X240 soars to 107.v and the Travelmate P645 reaches a toasty 109.9. The ThinkPad T440s, is much cooler, reaching only 91.2 degrees.

The organisation fan never seems concerned about temperatures. At idle information technology occasionally spins up but, for the nearly part, turns slowly enough to be almost unnoticeable. Load increases noise to as much as 42.1 decibels, which is aural, but non annoying.

Software

Dissimilar Lenovo, which has gradually scaled back its software suite on consumer systems, HP has remained committed to its grade-leading array of enterprise apps. This includes Connection Manager, Client Security, Spare Central, Drive Encryption, and more than.

The HP Elitebook 820 is a needed departure from the company's tradition.

These tools nonetheless have a problem with accessibility, as they can be confusing, even annoying. Many popular-ups appear to warn or remind the user of tools that have not yet been used or need attention. However, information technology'southward hard to deny the advantages that the included software can provide. You can encrypt drives, setup custom file-sharing with only select contacts, manage your passwords, backup your BIOS, and more. 

One notable chip of software our review unit lacked, nevertheless, was Windows 8.i. Instead it arrived with Windows 7, which makes sense given the lack of a touchscreen. You tin cull to equip the 820 with Windows 8, and there are optional Linux and FreeDOS installs that subtract $125 from the price.

Decision

The HP Elitebook 820 is a needed departure from the company's tradition. Though fans of older systems may balk at the new notebook'southward less luxurious chassis, the new blueprint is lighter, thinner and less expensive, all of which are positive traits. And, like most previous Elitebooks, this model has a standard three-yr warranty.

All the same, price is all the same an issue. Our review unit of measurement's $1,274 MSRP puts it solidly in MacBook territory, and the Pro 13 with Retina wipes the floor with the 820 in every category. The Dell XPS thirteen and Lenovo ThinkPad X240 besides offer superior hardware at a similar price.

What's the justification for the 820, and then? The software. HP offers more than bundled features in its Elitebook line than anyone else, and its systems are probably the most secure notebooks coin tin buy correct out of the box. Just the question remains; is the boilerplate user really going to make the most of these tools?

Probably not, equally they lack an attractive, centralized interface and, in some cases, can be quite complex to use.

The more things change, the more they remain the same; this new HP, despite its departure from tradition, is yet as well expensive for what it offers.

Highs

• Durable construction
• Well-rounded performance
• Excellent software suite
• three-yr warranty

Lows

• Looks low-budget
• Poor quality 1366×768 display
• Lackluster bombardment life
• Not a expert value

Editors' Recommendations

• M1 Macs could take a problem with their Thunderbolt ports
• HP is also secretly working on a 17-inch foldable laptop
• Best MacBook deals and sales for April 2022
• Best 17-inch laptop deals for April 2022
• The all-time monitor for the MacBook Pro

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Source: https://www.digitaltrends.com/laptop-reviews/hp-elitebook-820-g1-review/

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