HP ProBook 14" 4 G1a Pike Silver 2025

The ProBook 4 G1a scores 70.6 out of 100 for compactness, landing at 81st percentile, and at 1.40kg it's genuinely easy to carry. But the 17.8 gaming score is one of the worst we've seen, and the 62.5% sRGB display is a letdown. At the low end of its USD 1,017 to USD 2,107 price range it's a decent business laptop, but the 33rd percentile reliability score gives us pause.

The Ryzen 5 220 6-core processor sits at 63rd percentile in our CPU rankings, which translates to solid but not spectacular. It's a 3.5GHz chip with six cores, and paired with 16GB of 5600 MT/s DDR5 RAM, it handles multitasking without breaking a sweat. We're talking dozens of Chrome tabs, Slack, Zoom, and a few Office apps all running at once. The 512GB PCIe 4.0 SSD lands at 52nd percentile for storage, which is about average. Boot times are quick and app launches feel snappy, but you're not getting class-leading transfer speeds.

The integrated Radeon 740M graphics are where things get real. At 58th percentile for GPU, this is a middle-of-the-pack performer for integrated graphics, which is a polite way of saying it's fine for everything except gaming. The 60Hz display doesn't help matters. For business use, spreadsheets, and web browsing, you'll never notice. For anything GPU-intensive, you'll notice immediately.

Stacked against the competition, the ProBook 4 G1a is a value play with compromises. The Apple MacBook Pro M4 Pro absolutely destroys it on performance, display quality, and reliability, but it costs significantly more. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition is a closer competitor, with a better screen and similar portability, though you'll pay a premium for it. The ASUS ROG Zephyrus and Lenovo Legion 5i are gaming machines that make the ProBook's 17.8 gaming score look embarrassing, but they're heavier and aimed at a completely different buyer. The MSI Raider is in the same boat. For pure business productivity at a reasonable price, the ProBook holds its own. For anything else, the competitors pull ahead fast.

Pricing on this thing is all over the map. In the US, you're looking at USD 1,017 to USD 2,107 across two listings, a spread of USD 1,090. That's a massive gap for the same machine. If you're shopping in the US, the lower end of that range is where this laptop makes sense. At USD 1,017, you're getting a solid business machine with 16GB of RAM and a decent CPU. At USD 2,107, you're getting fleeced. Canadian buyers see a tighter but still meaningful spread of CAD 950 to CAD 1,390 across three listings, a CAD 440 difference. The CAD 950 price is the sweet spot there. For what this laptop offers, anything near the top of those ranges is a hard pass.

The HP ProBook 4 G1a lands in our database as a compact workhorse with a 70.6 out of 100 compact score, good for an 81st percentile finish. That's the headline here. At 1.40kg with a 14-inch 1920 x 1200 IPS panel, it's built for people who actually carry their laptop places, not just admire it on a desk. The AMD Ryzen 5 220 6-core chip at 3.5GHz and 16GB of DDR5 RAM give it enough muscle for business apps, browser tab hoarding, and the occasional spreadsheet that makes your eyes glaze over.

But the numbers tell a more complicated story. The gaming score is 17.8 out of 100, which is one of the worst we've seen for that category. The integrated Radeon 740M graphics are fine for video playback and light photo work, but this is not a machine for anything resembling modern gaming. The 62.5% sRGB coverage on the display is also a weak spot, sitting at 67th percentile for screens. If you need color accuracy for design work, keep walking.

Gamers should skip this without a second thought. The 17.8 out of 100 gaming score is one of the worst we've seen, and the integrated Radeon 740M graphics simply can't keep up with modern titles. Creative professionals should also look elsewhere. The 62.5% sRGB coverage means colors will be off, and the 67th percentile screen score confirms this isn't a display for color-critical work. And if reliability is a top concern, the 33rd percentile reliability score is a red flag. This is a laptop for basic business tasks and web browsing, not for pushing any kind of performance envelope.

The HP ProBook 4 G1a is a competent business laptop that wins on portability and loses on almost everything else. The 81st percentile compact score and 1.40kg weight are genuinely impressive, and the 16GB of DDR5 RAM paired with the Ryzen 5 220 makes it a reliable daily driver for office work. But the 17.8 gaming score, 62.5% sRGB display, and 33rd percentile reliability score are hard to ignore. If you can find it at the low end of the price range, around USD 1,017 or CAD 950, it's a reasonable buy for a no-frills business machine. Pay much more than that and you're overpaying for mediocrity.