HP EliteBook 16" 665 G11 2023, Ryzen 7 PRO 7735U, 32GB, 512GB SSD, Silver

The HP EliteBook 665 G11 is a 16-inch business laptop with a Ryzen 7 PRO 7735U and 32GB of DDR5 RAM. It's great for productivity and development work, especially near the USD 1,000 price point. Skip it if you need gaming performance or a bright, high-refresh display.

The Ryzen 7 PRO 7735U is a capable 8-core chip that lands around the 68th percentile in our database. That's above average for business laptops, though not a chart-topper. In practice, it chews through Excel macros, Docker containers, and VS Code builds without breaking a sweat. The 32GB of DDR5 RAM is a real highlight here, sitting in the 84th percentile. That's more memory than most laptops in this class, and it means you can run a pile of browser tabs, Slack, and a couple of VMs without hitting swap.

The integrated Radeon 680M sits around the 62nd percentile for graphics. It's fine for video playback, light photo editing, and older or indie games at low settings. But the gaming score of 18.7 out of 100 tells the real story. If you want to play modern titles, look elsewhere. Storage is a 512GB PCIe 4.0 SSD, which is about average at the 52nd percentile. Boot times and app launches feel snappy, but you might want an external drive if you keep a lot of large files around.

Stacked against the Apple MacBook Pro M4 Pro, the EliteBook 665 G11 loses on raw performance, display quality, and battery life. The MacBook's screen is brighter and sharper, and Apple's silicon runs circles around the Ryzen for both CPU and GPU tasks. But the HP fights back with more RAM at a lower price, plus Ethernet and USB-A ports that Apple simply doesn't offer.

The Lenovo Legion 5i 83F00008US is a gaming laptop that also works for productivity. It has a dedicated GPU, which makes it far better for gaming and GPU-accelerated work. But it's heavier and less business-focused. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition is a closer competitor in spirit, with a premium build and better portability, though you'll pay more for similar RAM. The ASUS ROG Flow Z13 and MSI Raider are gaming machines first, so they're not really in the same conversation unless you want a detachable or a desktop replacement.

Pricing is a bit of a rollercoaster. US listings range from USD 1,000 to USD 1,499, which is a USD 499 spread across just two vendors. At the low end, this is a reasonable deal for a 32GB business laptop with a solid port selection. At the high end, you're creeping into territory where a MacBook Pro M4 Pro or a well-equipped Lenovo Legion 5i starts to look tempting. The CAD listing at CAD 2,159 is a single data point, so it's hard to judge the Canadian market fairly. If you're shopping in the US, hunt for the USD 1,000 listing and avoid paying the premium.

The HP EliteBook 665 G11 is a 16-inch business notebook aimed squarely at IT departments and professionals who need a dependable workhorse. It sits in the mid-range business laptop bracket, with US listings running from USD 1,000 to USD 1,499 depending on the vendor. You get an AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 7735U, 32GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 512GB NVMe SSD, which is a solid spec sheet for productivity work.

People searching for this laptop usually want to know if it's good for software development or office multitasking. The short answer is yes, mostly. The 8-core Ryzen chip and generous RAM handle code compilation, virtual machines, and heavy browser sessions without much fuss. But this is not a gaming machine, and the integrated Radeon 680M graphics make that clear pretty fast.

HP pitches this as a highly secure and easily managed fleet laptop, and that tracks. Windows 11 Pro, a 5MP IR webcam, and plenty of ports including USB4 and Ethernet make it easy to slot into a corporate environment. Just don't expect it to wow you with a premium display or featherweight chassis.

Skip the EliteBook 665 G11 if you do any gaming or GPU-heavy creative work. The integrated Radeon 680M just can't keep up, and the 60Hz display won't do you any favors. Content creators who need color accuracy should also look elsewhere, since the 300-nit panel is average at best. If portability matters, the 1.75kg weight and 16-inch footprint make this a desk-bound machine. For gaming, grab a Lenovo Legion 5i. For creative work, the MacBook Pro M4 Pro is the obvious upgrade. For a lighter business laptop, check the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition.

Should you buy the HP EliteBook 665 G11? If you need a no-nonsense business laptop with 32GB of RAM, a good port selection, and Windows 11 Pro, and you can find it near the USD 1,000 mark, it's a sensible pick. IT departments will appreciate the manageability and the 5MP IR webcam for Windows Hello. Developers get enough memory and CPU headroom for serious work.

But if you want a bright, color-accurate display or any kind of gaming capability, this isn't your machine. The 300-nit 60Hz panel is mediocre, and the integrated graphics are a hard stop for modern games. Battery life is also a concern with just a 56Wh cell in a 16-inch chassis. For general office use, it's fine. For anything more demanding, you'll want to look at the MacBook Pro or a Legion with a dedicated GPU.