Usually I consider a Windows laptop a deal if I can find one with 16GB of RAM — the lowest I would recommend at this point — for around the $500 mark. But today you can get one with a full 32GB, practically bougie, for under $300. Newegg’s official eBay store has an HP EliteBook for just $260.99 right now, so long as you’re okay with a refurbished unit.
The EliteBook 845 G8 isn’t all that, well, elite, in my opinion. Notably its 256GB storage is positively miserly at this point, and while the 6-core AMD Ryzen Pro 5650U CPU is decent, its Zen 4 architecture is a little long in the tooth — this processor came out in 2021 and still uses DDR4 RAM. But to make up for all of that, 32GB of RAM should be enough to load this thing down with dozens of browser tabs without breaking a sweat.
If you want, you can slide in a cheap SSD upgrade to buff up that storage. All you need is a screwdriver to get inside, which is more than you can say for most 14-inch laptops. Other specs are decent, with a 1080p screen (non-touch), double USB-C and USB-A ports, and full-sized HDMI for easy video. You probably won’t find this thing to be a battery champion with just three cells, but at this price range that seems like a worthwhile compromise. Speaking of compromise, this refurbished laptop comes with a 1-year warranty, which is good, but it’s from Allstate, not HP or Newegg, which is less so.
This is a great deal taking quite a bit off the going rate for refurbs, so it might disappear quickly. If you’re looking for something with more power, check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best laptops on the market.
Get and HP laptop with 32GB of RAM for just $261