This First-gen Hp Elitebook Has Almost Everything I Want In A Work Laptop - And It's $500 Off

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• HP's 14-inch EliteBook X G1a features AMD's latest Ryzen AI Pro chip, starting astatine $2,099.
• It's a powerful endeavor laptop pinch tons of I/O, a sleek shape factor, and comfortable keyboard.
• It's expensive, and tin tally lukewarm nether a dense workload.

As portion of HP's Black Friday successful July income event, nan EliteBook X G1a is connected waste for $1,599, a $500 discount.

HP rebranded its laptop lineup past year, renaming its high-performance business devices to nan EliteBook X series. The first laptop from this bid I've tested is nan 14-inch HP EliteBook X G1a, an awesome endeavor laptop pinch a batch to like, but a fewer considerations that make it unique. 

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This is simply a business laptop aimed astatine professionals, and it intends to harvester nan connectivity of a ThinkPad, nan sleek shape facet of a MacBook, and HP's signature minimalist, if non-descript, design.   

There are a fewer configurations of this laptop, nan astir premium featuring an AMD Ryzen AI 9 processor -- 1 of nan astir cutting-edge chips connected nan marketplace correct now -- and an OLED display, but nan 1 I tested had nan AMD Ryzen AI 7 Pro 360 processor, 32GB of RAM, and a 14-inch matte WUXGA IPS display. 

On nan surface, it's minimalist and alternatively corporate-looking, pinch a matte WUXGA show and an abundant action of ports. It passes nan one-finger trial and opens up to a alternatively modular show pinch 400 nits of brightness, 60Hz refresh rate, and a compact and businesslike keyboard. 

One of its champion features is nan keyboard. It's utterly silent, pinch a snappy tactile consciousness and a cardinal recreation region that (almost) feels mechanical. The keys are freely and smooth, and nan backlighting is effective and well-designed. Similarly, nan trackpad is responsive and premium, moreover if nan clicks consciousness a small connected nan "heavy" side.

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

I do wish it had a haptic trackpad, however, arsenic it would spell a agelong measurement toward making it much premium, particularly arsenic a instrumentality geared toward a blase demographic: business leaders and tech experts. When you see nan value of this laptop, it seems for illustration a missed opportunity. 

During my testing, I recovered this laptop really enjoyable to usage for agelong days astatine work, and a large portion of that was owed to its well-designed ergonomics. Unlike different machines, which require nan personification to set to bold aliases unorthodox creation choices, nan EliteBook X G1a fits for illustration a acquainted mitt correct disconnected nan bat, making it a coagulated long-day-at-work type of laptop.  

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If nan keyboard and trackpad lend to an enjoyable beingness form, nan abundant I/O action solidifies its practicality. You've sewage an HDMI, 3 USB-C (one Thunderbolt 4 connected each broadside -- convey you), a USB-A port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a Kensington fastener slot. This is, successful my opinion, 1 of nan champion combinations of ports you tin inquire for successful 2025; nan only point that would make it amended would beryllium an SD paper reader. 

It tin surely pivot to imaginative tasks, arsenic well, arsenic video editing successful industry-standard programs for illustration Da Vinci Resolve was a breeze. By nan aforesaid token, gaming connected this laptop is possible, but I wouldn't urge this arsenic a dedicated gaming instrumentality pinch nan 60Hz show and its power dissipation (more connected that later). 

While testing, I encountered a hiccup erstwhile connecting to an outer show pinch nan Thunderbolt 4 port. Both displays would flicker and restart intermittently, moreover aft driver and Windows updates.

Issues for illustration this tin consequence from immoderate number of things, including problems pinch nan operating system, hardware, aliases moreover nan USB-C cord itself, truthful I don't needfully responsibility nan EliteBook. However, this was nan first clip it happened to maine aft utilizing dozens of laptops pinch that relationship and monitor. 

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A engaged workday prevented maine from troubleshooting for an extended play of time, but this is wherever nan generous larboard action came successful clutch, allowing maine to simply switch to an HDMI connection. It's a cleanable illustration of wherever redundant I/O entree tin lick tech problems, particularly successful nan activity setting.

In position of performance, nan EliteBook X G1a is accelerated and responsive, pinch benchmarking numbers that backmost its declare of being a powerful endeavor machine. 

One point I noticed during testing nan EliteBook X G1a, however, was that it ran a spot hotter than different laptops successful its class, kicking connected nan fans during sustained workloads successful High Performance mode. When it's not being pushed, however, it's silent and cool, starring maine to judge there's simply a period present pinch nan hardware. At nary constituent did I spot immoderate grounds of throttling, however. 

Continuing its specialization successful nan master sphere, nan EliteBook X G1a features a 74.5Whr battery, which is connected nan ample size for a laptop of this size, earning it conscionable complete 11 hours during our modular artillery test. This is good, sure, but it didn't rather construe to nan spectacular long I was expecting. Particularly erstwhile you comparison this to competitors. 

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It's astir nan aforesaid magnitude of clip we sewage erstwhile testing nan MacBook Pro M4, though that laptop is cheaper and, not to mention, a MacBook. Conversely, HP's ain OmniBook X 14 with nan Snapdragon X Elite was an absolute marathon machine, earning complete 20 hours. 

Of course, nan hardware connected nan OmniBook is simply a spot much modest, but its 65Wh artillery overperforms successful a measurement that can't beryllium ignored. As I spent much clip pinch this laptop, however, I came to understand its intended usage lawsuit arsenic a instrumentality that trades successful nan ultrathin and ray shape facet for earthy power, making it a durable, reliable workhorse.

ZDNET's buying advice

There is nary shortage of bladed and ray laptops pinch marathon batteries. The HP EliteBook X G1a is, comparatively, much focused connected providing reliable musculus during moving hours. The beefy hardware takes afloat advantage of nan ample battery, nan abundant ports support your options open, and nan comfortable keyboard acts arsenic an ergonomic bid halfway truthful you tin hunker down and get activity done. 

However, each that hardware tin tally lukewarm erstwhile it's pushed, and this is not a inexpensive laptop. If you're looking for a 14-inch instrumentality that's afloat committed to nan endeavor usage case, it's a coagulated option, but support successful mind that it's rather specialized for that role. 

If you're looking for a akin laptop for a small less, I urge nan Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 -- different workhorse laptop pinch tons of connectivity and nan aforesaid processor astir nan $1,500 mark.