The EliteBook 745 G5 is a story of two laptops: one is a
beautifully crafted, professional notebook with many tools to protect your
data, the other a disappointing step on a budget screen. The strengths outweigh
the weaknesses overall, but there are better alternatives.
HP EliteBook 745 G5 -
Design and Connectivity:
This silver notebook is aesthetically somewhat simple, yet
well made. The metal case has a pleasantly expensive, matte finish, and the
whole looks more solid and rigid than an average laptop. These include the
hinge, which requires reassuring torque, and the strainer, which barely bends.
17.9 mm are average thicknesses in terms of thickness, and at 1.48 kg, it is
rather heavy for a 14-inch device. Still, we were happier than any 15.6-inch
laptop, except for the LG Gram.
As an EliteBook, security has a special focus. On the
hardware side, this means a smart card reader, a fingerprint reader and an
infrared camera that is compatible with Windows Hello to sign in through face
recognition. For us that worked very well, almost immediately after we sat
down, the desktop was unlocked. The fingerprint reader is also nice and fast.
HP has also included the client
security software. One of the best features, Full Disk Encryption, is not
supported by this notebook, but it adds many security features - such as the
need for additional password or fingerprint authentication before Windows
starts and HP Sure Recovery, which allows you in case of a malware attack The
EliteBook can be remapped over a network connection. Fortunately, we did not
have to use the latter, but the former is just as user friendly as signing up
through the standard Windows lock screen.
HP EliteBook 745 G5 Keyboard and Trackpad:
Typing on the EliteBook 745 G5 is for
the most part a pleasure. Apart from a few incredibly narrow up and down arrow
keys, the chiclet keys are big enough for easy and convenient typing, and the
switch design feels wonderfully clunky yet crisp. A strong white background
light also ensures that it can be used in all lighting conditions. After a
short idle time, it will automatically turn off to save the battery. The
EliteBook 745 G5 is packed with other inputs: There is the usual trackpad, but
also a touch screen and a stylus in the middle of the keyboard. The latter has
no problem in itself, but causes one of the few problems with the keyboard:
with three buttons chunks were taken out to make room. The B key suffered a lot
- it was really outrageous to catch our fingers on the little rubber cap every
time we made a keystroke. For example, when Lenovo builds pointers that have a
smaller profile and do not cut that much into the keycaps, this is a less
elegant implementation.
HP EliteBook 745 G5
Display:
The 14in touchscreen is not too bad at a glance; the Full HD
resolution is sharp, and contrast looks high; we tested this in our color
calibrator tests, measuring a very respectable contrast ratio of 1.264: 1.
However, these tests also revealed the display's ugly side. sRGB color gamut
coverage is particularly low, at just 56.8%, and the average delta is
especially high, at 3.45. In other words, against the laptop's professional
leanings it's great for things like graphic design and photo or video editing.
The biggest problem is brightness. With the laptop plugged
in, it only has a peak brightness of 213.7cd / m2, which is low enough - but
unplugged, with brightness settings at maximum, it only reached a 87.8cd / m2 -
not even enough to meet the 170cd / m2 we use for battery testing. Combined
with the glossy finish, this screen has problems with the reflections of
overhead office lights, let alone the sun.
HP EliteBook 745 G5 -
Hardware and Performance:
Along with its Ryzen 7 2700U processor, the EliteBook 745 G5
comes equipped with 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD; a cheaper Ryzen 5 2600U version
is also available for £ 862 exc VAT. Although our Ryzen 7 in the image and
video benchmark tests, scoring 102 and 86 respectively, it only produced 67 in
the multitasking test, which forced its overall score to 79. That's barely
better than the mid-range, consumer -focused Acer Swift 3, which only has a
Ryzen 5 2600U, which is disappointing.
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