First impressions of HP ProBook 440 G3 – a great value business notebook as long as you find it for the right price

Next down the pipeline is HP’s budget-friendly ProBook 440 G3. However, the laptop may be considered as pretty controversial due to its pricing in different regions. For example, we were able to find our unit for around €500 and it offers a lot more than we expect it to be. However, most of the regions are selling the notebook for considerably higher price. In UK, for example, the notebook sells for around 1000 GBP and in the USA, the asking price is more than 900 US dollars.

So again, if you are able to snatch one for a decent price, the ProBook 440 G3 is a compelling offer for those searching for a compact business companion but there are also much better alternatives for £1 000.

You can look for the notebook at Amazon.com.

Design

If we are able to put the pricing aside, the HP ProBook 440 G3 features flawless build quality and strict design suitable for a business companion. The lid is covered in black matte plastic with HPs glossy logo in the middle. The material gives in under pressure, but not too much to be noticed, but fingerprints are easily attracted.

Opening the notebook reveals the sturdy aluminum construction around the touchpad and keyboard. It has that distinguished cold metal feel, which is mostly seen in higher-end notebooks.


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For the short time that we’ve been using the machine, we can easily say that the keyboard and the touchpad are the key selling points of this 14-inch notebook. The keys provide long tactile feedback and the same goes for the mouse buttons under the touchpad. The surface of the trackpad feels relatively smooth and registers all taps, swipes and gestures without fairly accurate. We are mostly happy with the variant, which HP chose, because most notebooks at this price range have floating surfaces that totally ruin the experience.


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At the end of the day, this 14-inch notebook offers superb typing experience and makes you forget the fact that you are using a 14-inch machine, despite the keyboard not having the Numpad keys. And it’s also pretty light – around 1.6 kg so you can easily fit it in your bag and forget that it’s there.

Hardware

Of course, the updated version of ProBook 440 G3 comes with the latest Skylake Intel processors in Core i7, i5 and i3 flavors. The entry-level comes with Core i3-6100U and for a few extra bucks you can opt for the Core i5-6200U and Core i7-6500U. All notebooks feature Intel’s HD Graphics 520 running a Full HD TN display, but keep in mind that the Core i3 version is paired with an HD (768p) panel.

You can go as high as 8GB of DDR3L-1600 SDRAM, but you can always upgrade with another one and it’s easy to do so because the notebook has a small maintenance lid giving easy access to the HDD, RAM etc. HP is providing a 44Wh battery running the show and they claim it’s enough for at leas 7 hours of mixed usage, but we doubt that the runtimes will go that far.

The best part, however, are the storage options. The unit we have features only one 7200 rpm 500GB HDD but HP is offering configurations with M.2 SSD slots and that’s a huge deal given the price point. Then again, if you are getting your’s in the UK or USA, for example, this might not be considered as a great plus.

Specs sheet

CPUIntel Core i3-6100U (2-core, 2.30 GHz, 3MB cache) / Intel Core i5-6200U (2-core, 2.30 – 2.80 GHz, 3MB cache) / Intel Core i7-6500U (2-core, 2.50 – 3.10 GHz, 4MB cache)
RAM8GB (1x 8192MB) – DDR3
GPUIntel HD Graphics 520
HDD/SSD500GB HDD (7200 rpm) + M.2 SSD slot
Display14-inch FHD (1920×1080) TN panel, matte
Optical Drive
ConnectivityLAN 10/100/1000 Mbps, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0
Other features
  • 2x USB 3.0
  • 1x USB 2.0
  • webcam
  • microphone
  • 3.5 mm combo audio
  • HDMI
  • RJ-45
  • VGA
  • card reader(SD, SDHC, SDXC)
  • fingerprint scanner
Battery4-cell, 44Wh
Thickness21.1 mm (0.83″)
Weight1.67 kg (3.69 lbs)

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