HP 645 G10 14" Silver

The HP 645 G10 is a cheap, lightweight business laptop with great ports and an okay processor. The screen is its biggest weakness, ranking near the bottom of what we test. Buy it if you're on a strict budget and mostly use an external monitor.

The Ryzen 5 Pro 7530U is a solid workhorse for office tasks. It handles dozens of browser tabs, Slack, and Office apps without breaking a sweat. Our benchmarks put it right around average for CPU performance, which is perfectly fine for a business machine at this price. The integrated Radeon graphics are a step above basic Intel integrated solutions, landing in the 70th percentile for GPU performance. You won't be gaming on this thing beyond light indie titles, but it drives a 4K external monitor without stuttering. The 16GB of RAM is the bare minimum we'd recommend in 2025, and it's a bit disappointing to see it rank in the bottom 40 percent compared to other laptops. Multitasking is fine today, but you might feel the pinch in a couple years.

Stacked against something like the MacBook Air M5, the HP looks like a budget special. The Air's screen, battery life, and build quality are in a different league, but it also costs more than double. The Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i and Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro similarly outclass the HP in display and performance, but they're aimed at creators and power users. The ASUS Zenbook S and Microsoft Surface Laptop are closer competitors in spirit, offering better screens and premium builds for a few hundred dollars more. If you can stretch your budget, any of those will feel nicer to use every day. If you can't, the HP gets the job done.

At around $450 to $470, the HP 645 G10 is priced to move. You're getting a current-gen Ryzen processor, a decent amount of memory, and Windows 11 Pro for less than most Chromebooks with similar specs. The value proposition falls apart if you care about the screen or plan to keep this laptop for more than three years. But for a fleet purchase or a no-nonsense work machine, the price is hard to argue with. Just know that you're trading display quality and long-term reliability for that low upfront cost.

The HP 645 G10 is a straightforward business laptop that doesn't try to be flashy. You get a capable AMD Ryzen 5 Pro chip, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD in a lightweight 3.1-pound chassis. It's built for spreadsheets, video calls, and the daily grind, not for creative work or gaming. The port selection is actually pretty generous for a modern 14-inch machine, with three USB-A ports and HDMI 2.1 alongside the USB-C.

But the screen is where HP clearly cut costs. It's a basic 1080p panel that lands in the bottom quarter of all laptops we've tested. Colors look washed out and brightness is just adequate for indoor use. If you're staring at this thing for eight hours a day, your eyes will notice the difference compared to a nicer display. Still, for under $470, you're getting a lot of functional hardware.

If you work outdoors or in bright offices, skip this one. The screen just doesn't get bright enough and the colors are underwhelming. Anyone who edits photos, designs graphics, or just appreciates a nice display should look at the ASUS Zenbook S or a refurbished MacBook Air instead. Also, if you need a machine that'll last five years without hiccups, the below-average reliability scores here are a red flag.

The HP 645 G10 is a sensible choice for IT departments and budget-conscious professionals who dock their laptop most of the time. The port selection and processing power are right for the price. But if you're a student, a creative, or anyone who values a good screen, this isn't the laptop for you. The display is a constant reminder of where the corners were cut.