HP EliteBook 14" 840 G3 2015, Core i5-6300U, 8GB, 128GB SSD, Silver

The HP EliteBook 840 G3 is a durable but dated business laptop. The dual-core i5 and 8GB RAM struggle with modern multitasking, and the 1366x768 screen is one of the worst we've seen. At CAD 501 refurbished, it's only worth it if you need a cheap, tough machine for very light tasks. Most buyers should save up for something with more RAM and a better display.

Let's talk about that Core i5-6300U. It's a dual-core chip from Intel's Skylake generation, running at 2.4GHz base. In our database, this CPU lands in the 35th percentile for laptops, which means it's mediocre at best. For single tasks like opening a PDF or typing in Word, it'll get the job done. But the moment you have a browser with more than a handful of tabs open, or you try to run a video call while sharing your screen, you'll feel the ceiling. This is a chip that was mid-range eight years ago.

The GPU situation is a bit of a statistical quirk. The Intel HD Graphics 520 integrated chip ranks in the 97th percentile for GPUs in our database, but that's because most laptops in this category have similarly weak integrated graphics. It's not that this GPU is good, it's that the bar is incredibly low. You're not playing anything beyond solitaire or maybe some very old indie games. The 8GB of RAM is also a problem. It ranks in the 5th percentile, which means almost every laptop we track has more memory. Windows 10 alone will eat a good chunk of that, leaving you with very little headroom.

Stack this against a refurbished Lenovo ThinkPad X9-14 Gen 1 and the difference is stark. The ThinkPad offers a much better display, more RAM, and a more modern CPU, though you'll pay more for it. The ASUS Zenbook UX3405CA is another step up, with a gorgeous OLED screen and much better performance, but again, the price climbs. If you're looking at the EliteBook 840 G3, you're probably not cross-shopping a MacBook Air M4, but it's worth noting that even a used M1 MacBook Air from 2020 will absolutely demolish this HP in every metric.

The Acer Predator Helios Neo is a gaming laptop, so it's a different beast entirely, but it shows how far your money can go if you're willing to buy something bigger and heavier. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition is also in a different league. The point is, the EliteBook 840 G3 only makes sense if you specifically need a cheap, durable Windows machine with an Ethernet port and you don't care about screen quality or speed.

At CAD 501, this is a tough sell. The refurbished market is flooded with older ThinkPads and EliteBooks, and many of them offer better specs for similar money. You can often find machines with 16GB of RAM and 256GB SSDs in the same price range if you're patient. The EliteBook 840 G3 does have that business-grade build quality going for it, which is worth something if you're hard on your gear.

But the value proposition falls apart when you look at what you're giving up. The 128GB SSD is in the 7th percentile for storage, meaning almost every other laptop we track has more space. The screen is in the 4th percentile, which is one of the worst we've seen. You're paying for durability and a brand name, not for performance or modern features.

The HP EliteBook 840 G3 is a business laptop from a different era, now showing up on the refurbished market for around CAD 501. It's a 14-inch machine with an Intel Core i5-6300U, 8GB of DDR3L RAM, and a 128GB SSD. On paper, that sounds like a reasonable budget setup. In practice, this is a machine built for 2016 workloads, and it shows in almost every benchmark we track.

Who is this for? Honestly, it's for someone who needs a cheap, durable Windows laptop for very light tasks. Email, web browsing with a few tabs, maybe some document editing. The EliteBook line was HP's business workhorse, so the build quality is generally better than consumer laptops from the same era. But the specs here are so dated that even basic multitasking will feel tight.

The interesting thing about this listing is the price. CAD 501 for a refurbished business laptop with a 128GB SSD is not a screaming deal when you look at what else is out there. But if you need something with a real Ethernet port and a keyboard that can take a beating, this might scratch that itch. Just don't expect it to feel fast by 2025 standards.

Skip this if you plan to use it as your primary computer. The 1366x768 display is genuinely unpleasant for reading text or watching video, and the 8GB RAM ceiling will have you closing tabs constantly. If you do any photo editing, coding, or even heavy spreadsheet work, this machine will frustrate you.

Also skip it if you care about portability. The EliteBook 840 G3 is not particularly light by modern standards, and the battery life on a refurbished unit is a gamble. If you need something for travel or all-day use away from an outlet, look at a used MacBook Air or a newer ThinkPad instead. And if you're buying for a student, the 36.4/100 student score in our database tells the story: this is not a good fit for schoolwork that involves research, video, or creative apps.

If you need a beater laptop for a workshop, a point-of-sale terminal, or a machine for a kid to do homework on, the EliteBook 840 G3 is... fine. It'll boot Windows 10, run Office, and browse the web. The Ethernet port is genuinely useful if you're in an environment with spotty Wi-Fi. And the business build quality means it'll survive being tossed in a bag.

But for anyone who wants to actually enjoy using their laptop, this is a pass. The screen is genuinely bad, the RAM is limiting, and the CPU will frustrate you on a daily basis. If you can stretch your budget by even CAD 100-200, you'll find refurbished machines that are dramatically better. If you can't stretch the budget, consider a used Chromebook or a tablet with a keyboard instead.