HP EliteBook 14" G1i Atmospheric Blue 2025

A bright, RAM-packed business laptop with a fantastic screen and great port selection. The 512GB SSD is a letdown, and it's heavier than you'd expect. Worth it if you find a deal under $2100, but skip it if you need a GPU or more storage.

The Core Ultra 7 258V handles everyday multitasking and AI-accelerated workloads without breaking a sweat, landing in the middle of the pack for CPU grunt. The integrated Arc 140V graphics are a step up from older Intel iGPUs, but they're still integrated, so don't expect to do any serious gaming or rendering. The 32GB of RAM is a standout, putting this machine in the top tier for memory and making it a champ for running VMs or juggling dozens of browser tabs. The 512GB SSD is a bit stingy for the price, sitting well below average, so you'll likely need cloud storage or an external drive sooner than later.

Stacked against a MacBook Pro M4 Max, the HP gets demolished in GPU performance and efficiency, but it fights back with a touchscreen and more RAM at a lower potential price. The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 will run circles around it in gaming and creative apps thanks to a dedicated GPU, though the EliteBook has a brighter, more color-accurate screen for office work. Compared to the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i, the HP is more portable and business-focused, but the Lenovo is a raw power monster. The MSI Prestige and Microsoft Surface Laptop are more direct competitors, and the HP holds its own with better port selection and a brighter display, but it's heavier and has less storage than both.

Pricing is all over the map, with a wild spread from $1985 to $3241 across vendors. At the low end, you're getting a solid deal for the RAM and build quality, especially if you snag it from a retailer like Newegg where we've seen the better prices. At the high end, you're creeping into territory occupied by machines with more storage, dedicated GPUs, and better reliability. For this to be a good value, you absolutely need to shop around and not pay a cent over the low two-thousands.

HP is pitching the EliteBook X G1i as a next-gen AI workhorse, and on paper it mostly delivers. You get Intel's new Core Ultra 7 258V, a generous 32GB of RAM, and a bright 14-inch touchscreen in a package that screams business class. It's clearly built for productivity, developer tasks, and media consumption, not for gaming or heavy 3D work. The port selection is fantastic, and that 500-nit display is a real treat for long workdays.

Gamers and creative pros should look elsewhere immediately. The integrated graphics are a non-starter for modern games or GPU-accelerated rendering. If you need more than 512GB of local storage without carrying an external drive, this single-drive configuration will frustrate you. And if reliability is your top concern, the below-average scores here should give you pause.

The HP EliteBook X G1i is a specialized tool for business users and developers who live in spreadsheets, code editors, and video calls. It's a multitasking beast with a gorgeous screen and all the ports you'll ever need. Just don't ask it to game or edit 4K video, and be prepared to live in the cloud with that small SSD. If you can find it for around two grand, it's a compelling, if slightly flawed, productivity partner.