HP Pavilion HP 16" Laptop, Ryzen 7 8840U, 8GB, 512GB SSD, Star Gray

A capable CPU trapped in a RAM-starved body. Buy it cheap, or don't buy it at all.

The Ryzen 7 8840U surprised us. It's a 6-core chip that boosts up to 5.1GHz, and in our database it lands well above average for CPU performance. For everyday tasks, it feels snappy. The integrated Radeon graphics are also better than we expected, strong enough for light gaming and streaming. But here's the catch: that 8GB of non-upgradable LPDDR5 RAM is a bottleneck. Open 20 browser tabs and a Zoom call, and you'll feel it. The SSD is also on the slower side, which makes boot times and file transfers feel more 'meh' than 'wow'.

Against the MacBook Air M4, this HP gets smoked on build quality, battery life, and RAM. The MacBook is in a different league, but it also costs a lot more. The Lenovo Slim 7 is a closer fight: similar screen size, but Lenovo usually ships with 16GB of RAM and a better SSD, which makes it the smarter buy if you can stretch your budget. The ASUS Vivobook Pro 15 is the one to watch if you want any gaming capability at all, since this HP's integrated graphics will choke on anything beyond light titles.

Pricing is all over the place. We're seeing USD 400 to USD 600 across two US listings, which is a USD 200 spread for what should be the same machine. At USD 400, this is a solid deal for a student who just needs a big screen and a decent CPU. At USD 600, you're getting into territory where a new laptop with 16GB of RAM starts to look a lot more appealing. If you're buying, hunt for the lower end of that range.

The HP Pavilion 16 is a renewed laptop that nails the basics for students and office work, but it's got one glaring problem: 8GB of RAM in 2025 is like showing up to a potluck with a single napkin. The Ryzen 7 8840U is a genuinely capable chip, and the 16-inch 1200p display is fine for spreadsheets and Netflix. But that RAM ceiling, combined with a sluggish SSD and a weight that's anything but 'lightweight', keeps this from being the no-brainer it could be.

If you're a developer, a gamer, or anyone who keeps more than a handful of browser tabs open, this isn't your laptop. The 8GB RAM ceiling will drive you nuts. Go grab a Lenovo Slim 7 or an ASUS Vivobook Pro with 16GB instead. And if you need something actually portable, the 2.45kg weight here will make you regret every coffee shop trip.

If you can find this HP Pavilion 16 at the USD 400 end of the price range, it's a decent budget pick for students and office drones who live in a browser and don't need to run anything heavy. But that 8GB RAM ceiling is a ticking time bomb. For most people, spending a bit more on a laptop with 16GB of RAM will save you a world of frustration a year from now.