Affordable laptops have never been that easy to find, at least not with hardware that’s actually good enough to run the current version of Windows. If you’re okay with a refurbished unit, today you can get an HP laptop with a Ryzen processor and 16GB of RAM for just $244.99. That’s a good deal in any situation, but this is also an EliteBook model.
EliteBook is HP’s business-class designation, the equivalent of Lenovo’s ThinkPad line or Dell’s Latitude (RIP). This one even has a ThinkPad-style nub pointer. The EliteBook 845 G8 is a few years old now, but for a 14-inch laptop with an aluminum chassis and some respectable guts, it’s still pretty darn good. The Ryzen 5 PRO 5650U is a 6-core CPU with integrated Radeon graphics that should be enough to handle basic gaming — just don’t toss the latest titles at it.
It’s also packing a respectable 16GB of DDR4 RAM — the lowest I’d recommend for Windows 11 — and a less-respectable 256GB of SSD storage. That’s pretty darn anemic for any laptop these days, unless you just don’t store anything locally. But thanks to the EliteBook’s business-minded build, you can pop the bottom off and get all up in those guts. The 80mm M.2 SSD is user-accessible and replaceable. Ditto for the RAM, both SO-DIMM slots are accessible… but good luck finding a deal on a 32GB set. It’s a good thing you just saved a bunch of money, huh?
The EliteBook 845 G8 has a decent selection of ports for a 14-inch laptop: double USB-C, double USB-A, and HDMI. The 1080p screen isn’t amazing, but it does have an anti-glare coating for working outside, and the laptop comes with an IR camera for Windows Hello face unlock. The 53 watt-hour battery is pretty good for a laptop that’s under three pounds.
Note that this is a refurbished model, i.e., slightly used or returned. But it’s sold by Newegg and certified by eBay, which means that it’s getting a one-year Allstate warranty, considerably better than the 90 days offered with most refurbished electronics. At less than half the price of the best 16GB laptop you can find new, plus a lot of upgrade options, it’s an outstanding deal. But if you still want to look around, be sure to check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best laptops on the market.
Get an HP EliteBook laptop with 16GB of RAM for $245