HP EliteBook 14" 840 G8 Silver 2020

The HP EliteBook 840 G8 is a refurbished business laptop with an unusual spec combo: 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD in a lightweight 14-inch chassis. It's fantastic for multitasking and office work, especially if you can find it near the $583 end of the pricing range. But the integrated graphics and aging CPU mean it's a poor choice for gaming or demanding creative work.

The Core i5-1145G7 is a 4-core, 8-thread chip from Intel's 11th gen lineup, running at 2.6GHz base. In our database, it lands in the 22nd percentile for CPUs in this category, which means it's not exactly setting records. For everyday office work, email, web browsing, and video calls, it's perfectly adequate. But if you're compiling code, rendering video, or running heavy data analysis, you'll feel the ceiling. The 32GB of DDR4 RAM is the real star here, sitting in the 73rd percentile. That's more memory than most people will ever need, and it means multitasking is genuinely smooth.

The 2TB SSD is a standout, ranking in the 90th percentile for storage. That's top-tier capacity, and the WD Black drive is a quality unit with fast read and write speeds. Boot times are quick, apps launch without hesitation, and you'll have room for a massive file collection. The Iris Xe integrated graphics sit right around the middle of the pack at the 49th percentile, which is about what you'd expect from integrated graphics. It'll handle 4K video playback and light creative work, but gaming performance is weak. The display is a 14-inch 1080p IPS panel at the 42nd percentile, so it's average at best. Brightness and color coverage are typical for a business laptop, nothing more.

Stacked against the Apple MacBook Pro M5, the EliteBook 840 G8 loses on raw performance, display quality, and battery life. The M5 chip absolutely demolishes the i5-1145G7 in both CPU and GPU tasks, and the MacBook's screen is in a different league. But the MacBook costs significantly more, and you won't find one with 32GB of RAM and 2TB of storage anywhere near this price. The Lenovo Legion 5i is a gaming laptop that trades blows differently: it has a dedicated GPU that crushes the Iris Xe, but it's heavier, bulkier, and likely more expensive. The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro and ASUS Zenbook UX3405CA are both thinner and lighter with better displays, but they typically come with less RAM and storage at comparable prices. The MSI Prestige is probably the closest competitor in spirit, a business-focused thin-and-light, but again you're looking at less memory and storage for the money. If you prioritize specs per dollar, this EliteBook config is hard to beat. If you prioritize performance per dollar, almost everything else here wins.

The value story here is complicated. Prices on refurbished units range from $583 to $1,065 across the four US listings we track, and that $482 spread means you need to shop carefully. The best deal we've seen is at the lower end of that range, which gets you 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD for under $600. That's genuinely compelling if you need the memory and storage. But at the top end, you're paying over a grand for a laptop with a below-average CPU and integrated graphics, which is a much harder sell. For context, you could find newer machines with better processors in that price range, though you'd likely sacrifice the RAM and storage capacity. If you can snag this near the $583 mark, the value proposition is strong. At $1,065, you're paying a premium for the EliteBook name and the refurbished condition.

The HP EliteBook 840 G8 is a business laptop that's been given a serious spec bump in the refurbished market. You're looking at a 14-inch machine with an Intel Core i5-1145G7, a frankly ridiculous 32GB of RAM, and a 2TB WD Black SSD. That's workstation-level storage and memory in a chassis that weighs just 1.46kg. Pricing on the refurb units we track runs from $583 to $1,065, which is a pretty wide spread for what's essentially the same laptop with different cosmetic grades.

HP built this thing for corporate fleets, and it shows. You get Windows 11 Pro, a Thunderbolt port, Ethernet, and a proper port selection that includes two USB-C and two USB-A ports. The 14-inch 1920x1080 IPS display is fine for spreadsheets and documents, though it's not going to win any color accuracy awards. If you're asking whether the EliteBook 840 G8 is good for business use, the answer is yes, that's literally what it was designed for. The question is whether this specific refurbished config makes sense for you.

Here's the thing: this isn't a gaming laptop, no matter what the marketing copy says. The integrated Iris Xe graphics will handle light photo editing and older titles, but the gaming score in our database is a 16.7 out of 100. That's not a typo. If you want to play modern games, look elsewhere. But if you want a durable, portable workhorse with enough RAM to keep 50 Chrome tabs open while running Excel and Slack, this config is genuinely interesting.

Skip this if you're a gamer, a video editor, or anyone who needs serious graphics performance. The integrated Iris Xe graphics are a hard limitation, and no amount of RAM will fix that. Creative professionals who work with 4K video or 3D rendering should look at machines with dedicated GPUs, like the Lenovo Legion 5i or a MacBook Pro M5. Also skip it if you're sensitive to display quality, the 14-inch 1080p panel is average at best, and there are much better screens available in this price range. And if you're buying refurbished and want peace of mind, the reliability scores here are below average, so you might want to consider a new machine with a full warranty instead.

Should you buy the HP EliteBook 840 G8? If you need a portable work laptop with an absurd amount of RAM and storage for under $700, yes, absolutely. The 32GB of memory and 2TB SSD are the kind of specs you'd normally pay $1,500 or more for in a new machine, and the EliteBook's build quality is genuinely good. It's a business laptop through and through, with Windows 11 Pro, a proper port selection, and a keyboard that's comfortable for all-day typing.

But if you're looking for a laptop that can game, edit video, or run demanding creative applications, this isn't it. The integrated graphics are a hard ceiling, and the CPU is showing its age. The reliability score in our database is also a concern at the 33rd percentile, which is worth considering when you're buying refurbished. For the right buyer, a multitasker who lives in browser tabs and office apps, this is a fantastic deal at the right price. For everyone else, keep looking.