HP Elitebook 640 G10 review: Compact business notebook with 4G

The HP Elitebook 640 is a classic work laptop for the desk or on-the-go. It offers a compact 14-inch format, but still plenty of connections for office peripherals and a 4G modem as an extra. The Intel XMM 7560R supports LTE-Advanced Pro with Cat 16, which theoretically enables up to 1 Gbit/s in download. The business notebook also offers the latest standard fare from a technical perspective, with a long 36-month warranty as a bonus for professional users.

As is usual for a mid-range business notebook, the Elitebook 640 avoids visual conspicuousness. The case comes in the usual silver-colored aluminium casing. At the top edge of the display is a slide switch that can be used to cover the camera. The laptop is also solidly built and can be opened comfortably with one hand, and the stable display hinge reliably holds the screen at the set angle. While the SSD could be faster, we generally liked this machine overall. Read on to learn more.

Looking for more options? Check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best laptops available right now.

Thomas Rau

HP Elitebook 640 G10: Many connectivity options

The 14-inch format offers the advantage that, in contrast to smaller notebooks, many connections can be accommodated on the casing, especially as HP has not made the 640 extra slim.

Numerous peripherals can be connected at the desk via HDMI, two Type-C, and two Type-A ports, while a Gigabit LAN connection ensures stable connectivity. One Type-C port supports Thunderbolt 4 with USB data rates of up to 40 Gbit/s and the other Type-C port transfers suitable external storage at up to 10 Gbit/s. Both ports can be used to charge the notebook with the supplied 65-watt power adapter.

The EliteBook also has a hollow plug for older power supply units. There’s no slot for memory cards, but there is one for smart cards. The front camera also only has a resolution of 720p, which isn’t super great.

Thomas Rau

HP Elitebook 640 G10: Good enough for office work

The EliteBook 640’s screen isn’t state of the art. It still uses the 16:9 aspect ratio, as HP reserves the more practical 16:10 for office use for the more expensive Elitebook 840 and 1040 series.

The picture quality is sufficient for office use. However, the maximum brightness of just under 250 cd/sqm is too low to be able to work ergonomically on the notebook under sunlight despite the matte display surface. The 640 doesn’t deliver outstanding contrast values either and the same applies to color reproduction, but it’s good enough for Word and Excel.

Thomas Rau

HP Elitebook 640 G10: Ideal for typists

A good keyboard is important for texts, tables, and other office applications. The EliteBook 640 scores points here, even though it lacks a number pad due to its compact casing. You get very clear pressure feedback when typing yet the sturdy keyboard remains quiet.

The touchpad is pleasant to use as well. It provides extremely clear feedback on a mouse click regardless of where you click on the large touchpad surface. For our taste, the surface could use more grip, which would facilitate fast and precise mouse movements.

Thomas Rau

HP Elitebook 640 G10: SSD is a bit slow

The EliteBook 640 G10 uses a Core i7 from Intel’s 13th generation Raptor Lake: The Core i7-1355U works with ten cores – two of which are powerful P-cores – and 12 threads. The RAM is 16 GB and consists of a DDR4-3200 bar: the second DIMM slot is free so that the RAM can be easily expanded. You open the underside after loosening five Phillips screws.

In system tests such as PCMark 10 and Crossmark, the EliteBook 640 delivers the expected speed for this configuration, but works slower than other notebooks with the same processor. This is partly due to the compact casing, which offers less space for the cooling system and less heat dissipation surface. This is why HP limits the CPU power consumption to 51 (maximum) or 24 watts (standard). In a 16-inch notebook, the same CPU is therefore around 10 to 15 percent faster in Cinebench R23 and R24.

On the other hand, HP does not choose a particularly fast SSD with the SSSTC CL4. It performs significantly worse than other 512 GB drives in the PCMark 10 storage test.

HP Elitebook 640 G10: The fans are quiet

What the EliteBook takes away in terms of speed, you get back in ergonomics. The notebook always works quietly and hardly heats up. The fan runs at a maximum of 38 dB(A) under load, which you only notice when it’s quiet in the office. In addition, the temperature always remains uncritical at a maximum of around 40 degrees on the underside, allowing you to place the notebook on your thighs.

HP Elitebook 640 G10: Decent battery life

The EliteBook weighs about 3.1 pounds, a normal weight for a 14-inch laptop. It achieves just under 13 hours in the battery test, which is decent. However, HP only installs a battery with 51.3 watt hours, which prevents a longer runtime.

After one hour at the socket, the battery charges up to 82 percent. HP limits the charging capacity to 85 percent by default in order to extend its service life.

HP Elitebook 640 G10: Test results and technical data

This review was translated from German to English and originally appeared on pcwelt.de.