HP EliteBook 865 G10 review – All-Metal Business Powerhouse with Quiet Performance

The EliteBook 865 G10 is another business notebook by HP. The manufacturer states that this device is a good choice for hybrid employees who work partially in the office and partially from home (remotely). This is possible because the laptop is light for a 16-incher. In addition, you can choose between two battery capacities, the bigger one is definitely for the ones who are often on the go. In this case, the optional LTE or 5G connectivity can be a dealbreaker for some when there isn't a stable Wi-Fi connection during travel. The power department looks good. You get snappy AMD Zen 4 Phoenix-U or Phoenix-HS processor options. If you need additional security features, you can get a PRO CPU which offers that. The most powerful chip for the series is the Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS. So, you can transform this machine into a portable powerhouse for business tasks, if you get a laptop with such a powerful 8-core processor. No dGPUs here but the integrated graphics cards are quite punchy (especially the AMD Radeon 780M) when they are complemented by dual-channel memory. Interestingly, all display variants are 1200p units. On the bright side, there is no sign of TN screens which is good. One of the panels is a touch model and the top dog supports the HP Sure View Reflect function which can be handy in an office environment. The screen will become tinted when viewing from the sides (with a press of a button) and your precious on-screen info will be safe. We can hint that the upgradability is decent and the I/O is very good thanks to the two USB4 ports and the HDMI 2.1. There is also an optional Smartcard reader. By the way, some of the useful goodies are optional like the IR Web camera, the fingerprint reader, and the keyboard backlight. The base security seems okay - a Nano security lock slot, a privacy shutter, a self-healing BIOS, and a dTPM 2.o chip. You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/hp-elitebook-865-g10/ Specs, Drivers, What's in the box Drivers All drivers and utilities for this notebook can be found here: https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/hp-elitebook-860-16-inch-g10-notebook-pc/2101555139 What's in the box? Inside the box, we found a 65W Type-C charger and a bit of paperwork. Some notebooks are bundled with a 100W USB Type-C power adapter plus a 10W USB Type-A port, for charging smaller devices like phones or tablets. Design and construction The HP EliteBook 865 G10 looks almost identical to its predecessor and to the Intel-based EliteBook 860 G10. The design is simplistic and clean, with a glossy HP logo on the center of the lid. The latter can be opened with a single hand but the main body always jumps up at the beginning of the process and when you reach the 90-degree angle of opening. The device is made of metal. This results in a 1.74 kg weight and a 19.22 mm profile thickness. That's fine for a 16-inch form factor. The rigidity seems (almost) good. The lid can be flexed a bit if you twist it and the chassis can be bent slightly in the zones above the touchpad and below the Arrow keys. The keyboard deck remains stable during harsh typing so we can call it a day. The silver matte finish doesn't attract a lot of smudges and the surface color contrasts well with the dark-themed display bezels (which are also thin). The top bezel is home to a 5MP Web camera with a privacy shutter. There is an optional IR unit with the same resolution for Windows Hello. The notebook can lay almost fully flat on an even surface. The lid can slightly lift the back of the base but this happens only when the angle of opening is very wide which isn't optimal for normal work (or at least that's our opinion). In addition, the contact area of the lid doesn't have any rubber feet so sooner or later, scratches can appear in this section. The thing that we didn't like about the full-sized keyboard with a NumPad is the not-so-big Up" and "Down" Arrow keys and the fact that the backlight is optional. The rest is very good - the keycaps are big, with long travel and clicky feedback. The optional fingerprint reader is placed on the right palm rest area. The glass touchpad is smooth and accurate. Gliding and tracking feel great. The left clicks can be a bit more noisy-ish for some of you. The bottom plate looks standard - two speaker cutouts, two long rubber feet, and a ventilation grill. The heat is being exhausted via a pair of vents on the back of the laptop. The hinge cover stands in front of the exhausts and just a small amount of heat can reach the display during max CPU loads. Ports On the left, you get an HDMI 2.1 for up to 4K 60Hz external displays, a USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) port, two Thunderbolt 4 / USB4 connectors with USB Power Delivery and DisplayPort 1.4 support, and an optional Smart Card reader. On the right side, we can spot the Audio combo jack, a USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) port with charging capabilities, a Nano security lock slot, and a SIM card tray for optional LTE or 5G connectivity. Display quality, Health impact (PWM), Sound HP EliteBook 865 G10 is equipped with a WUXGA (Widescreen Ultra Extended Graphics Array) IPS panel, model number AUO AUO1AA7. It comes with a 60Hz refresh rate. Its diagonal is 16.0" (40.6 cm), and the resolution - 1920 x 1200p. Additionally, the screen ratio is 16:10, the pixel density – 141 ppi, and their pitch – 0.18 x 0.18 mm. The screen can be considered Retina when viewed from at least 61 cm (from this distance, the average human eye can’t see the individual pixels). Viewing angles are comfortable. We offer images at different angles to evaluate the quality. Also, a video with locked focus and exposure. The maximum measured brightness is 285 nits (cd/m2) in the middle of the screen and 276 nits (cd/m2) average across the surface with a maximum deviation of 7%. The Correlated Color Temperature on a white screen and at maximum brightness is 6200K (average). In the illustration below you can see how the display performs from a uniformity perspective. The illustration below shows how matters are for operational brightness levels (approximately 140 nits) – in this particular case at 67% Brightness (White level = 141 cd/m2, Black level = 0.11 cd/m2). Values of dE2000 over 4.0 should not occur, and this parameter is one of the first you should check if you intend to use the laptop for color-sensitive work (a maximum tolerance of 2.0 ). The contrast ratio is good – 1250:1. To make sure we are on the same page, we would like to give you a little introduction to the sRGB color gamut and the Adobe RGB. To start, there’s the CIE 1976 Uniform Chromaticity Diagram that represents the visible specter of colors by the human eye, giving you a better perception of the color gamut coverage and the color accuracy. Inside the black triangle, you will see the standard color gamut (sRGB) that is being used by millions of people on HDTV and on the web. As for the Adobe RGB, this is used in professional cameras, monitors, etc for printing. Basically, colors inside the black triangle are used by everyone and this is the essential part of the color quality and color accuracy of a mainstream notebook. Still, we’ve included other color spaces like the famous DCI-P3 standard used by movie studios, as well as the digital UHD Rec.2020 standard. Rec.2020, however, is still a thing of the future and it’s difficult for today’s displays to cover that well. We’ve also included the so-called Michael Pointer gamut, or Pointer’s gamut, which represents the colors that naturally occur around us every day. The yellow dotted line shows HP EliteBook 865 G10's color gamut coverage. Its display covers 52% of the sRGB/ITU-R BT.709 (web/HDTV standard) in CIE1976 and 40% of DCI-P3. Our “Design and Gaming” profile delivers optimal color temperature (6500K) at 140 cd/m2 luminance and sRGB gamma mode. We tested the accuracy of the display with 24 commonly used colors like light and dark human skin, blue sky, green grass, orange, etc. You can check out the results at factory condition and also, with the “Design and Gaming” profile. Below you can compare the scores of the HP EliteBook 865 G10 with the default settings (left), and with the “Gaming and Web design” profile (right). The next figure shows how well the display is able to reproduce really dark parts of an image, which is essential when watching movies or playing games in low ambient light. The left side of the image represents the display with stock settings, while the right one is with the “Gaming and Web Design” profile activated. On the horizontal axis, you will find the grayscale, and on the vertical axis – the luminance of the display. On the two graphs below you can easily check for yourself how your display handles the darkest nuances but keep in mind that this also depends on the settings of your current display, the calibration, the viewing angle, and the surrounding light conditions. Response time (Gaming capabilities) We test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “black-to-white” and “white-to-black” method from 10% to 90% and vice versa. We recorded Fall Time + Rise Time = 16.6 ms. After that, we test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “Gray-to-Gray” method from 50% White to 80% White and vice versa between 10% and 90% of the amplitude. Health Impact: PWM (Screen flickering) Pulse-width modulation (PWM) is an easy way to control monitor brightness. When you lower the brightness, the light intensity of the backlight is not lowered, but instead turned off and on by the electronics with a frequency indistinguishable to the human eye. In these light impulses, the light/no-light time ratio varies, while brightness remains unchanged, which is harmful to your eyes. You can read more about that in our dedicated article on PWM. HP EliteBook 865 G10's display doesn't flicker at any brightness level. This makes the screen pretty comfortable for long periods of use. Health Impact: Blue light emissions Installing our Health-Guard profile not only eliminates PWM but also reduces the harmful Blue Light emissions while keeping the colors of the screen perceptually accurate. If you’re not familiar with the Blue light, the TL;DR version is – emissions that negatively affect your eyes, skin, and your whole body. You can find more information about that in our dedicated article on Blue Light. Health Impact: Gloss-level measurement Glossy-coated displays are sometimes inconvenient in high ambient light conditions. We show the level of reflection on the screen for the respective laptop when the display is turned off and the measurement angle is 60° (in this case, the result is 65.2 GU). Sound HP EliteBook 865 G10's Bang & Olufsen speakers produce a sound of pretty good quality. Its low, mid, and high tones are clear of deviations. Buy our profiles Since our profiles are tailored for each individual display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for HP EliteBook 865 G10 configurations with 16.0" AUO AUO1AA7 (1920 x 1200) IPS. *Should you have problems with downloading the purchased file, try using a different browser to open the link you’ll receive via e-mail. If the download target is a .php file instead of an archive, change the file extension to .zip or contact us at bg.laptopmedia@gmail.com. Read more about the profiles HERE. Performance: CPU, GPU, Gaming Tests All benchmarks and tests were conducted with the "Best performance" preset activated in the Windows “Power & Battery” menu. Also, the "Fan always on while on AC Power" function is enabled in the BIOS. There, the "Video memory size" is set to "Gaming optimized" - this allows the iGPU to use up to 2GB of system memory when needed. CPU options These are the CPU options - AMD Ryzen 3 7440U, Ryzen 5 7540U, Ryzen 7 7840U, Ryzen 5 PRO 7540U, Ryzen 7 PRO 7840U, Ryzen 7 PRO 7840HS, and Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS. GPU options There are no dGPU variants for the series, just iGPUs. Gaming tests CS:GO HD 1080p, Low (Check settings) HD 1080p, Medium (Check settings) HD 1080p, MAX (Check settings) Average FPS 120 fps - - DOTA 2 HD 1080p, Low (Check settings) HD 1080p, Normal (Check settings) HD 1080p, High (Check settings) Average FPS 123 fps 75 fps 48 fps [eBook Guide + Tools] How to MAX OUT your Laptop Temperatures and comfort, Battery Life Max CPU load In this test we use 100% on the CPU cores, monitoring their frequencies and chip temperature. The first column shows a computer’s reaction to a short load (2-10 seconds), the second column simulates a serious task (between 15 and 30 seconds), and the third column is a good indicator of how good the laptop is for long loads such as video rendering. Average core frequency (base frequency + X); CPU temp. AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 7840U (15W TDP) 0:02 - 0:10 sec 0:15 - 0:30 sec 10:00 - 15:00 min HP EliteBook 865 G10 3.76 GHz @ 46°C @ 30W 3.39 GHz @ 56°C @ 25W 3.32 GHz @ 72°C @ 25W HP EliteBook 845 G10 3.76 GHz @ 46°C @ 29.2W 3.41 GHz @ 54°C @ 25W 3.18 GHz @ 72°C @ 25W The Ryzen 7 PRO 7840U inside of the EliteBook 865 G10 can sustain almost the same clocks in short and medium loads as the EliteBook 845 G10 with the same chip. Still, in longer loads, the processor in the 865 G10 is able to achieve a bit higher frequencies than the official base clock of the CPU (3.30 GHz) while the 14-inch iteration is falling a bit behind in this case. Overall, the temperatures are good as well as the power limit. Gaming comfort Because of the lack of power modes in the HP Power Manager app, you have to use the default Windows modes to control the device's performance. The noise under full CPU load is kept as low as possible - ergo, the fan is quiet. On the outside, the keyboard deck feels warm on the left side but not too hot for normal usage. All in all, this HP laptop offers good comfort for work even when the processor is fully stressed. If you untick the “Fan always on while on AC Power” function in the BIOS, the notebook can be dead silent in an idle state. Battery Now, we conduct the battery tests with Windows Better performance setting turned on, screen brightness adjusted to 120 nits and all other programs turned off except for the one we are testing the notebook with. Our configuration is equipped with a 51.3Wh battery pack. It lasts around 11 hours of either Web browsing or video playback. The result is good. To achieve that, you have to select the “HP Optimized (Modern Standby)” power plan that can be found in the Control Panel’s Power Options sub-menu. Also, you have to apply the “Balanced” preset in the Windows “Power & Battery” section. Disassembly, Upgrade options, and Maintenance To open this laptop, you have to undo just 5 captive Phillips-head screws. Then, pry the bottom panel with a lever tool in the zone behind the hinge cover. The last step is to work your way around the sides and the front. There is a decently-sized thermal pad on the inside of the metal bottom plate for cooling the Wi-Fi card. This laptop has the base 51.3Wh battery variant. You can also opt for the optional 76Wh model. To take it out, detach the connector from the mainboard, and undo the four Phillips-head screws, that fix the unit to the chassis. The capacity is enough for around 11 hours of either Web browsing or video playback. The memory section is protected by a metal shroud. According to HP, the two slots fit up to 64GB of DDR5-5600MHz RAM in dual-channel mode. However, since the CPU can support up to 256GB, this laptop likely wouldn’t have issues running a larger amount of memory than the official manufacturer’s specified limit. The WWAN slot on the left is for optional LTE or 5G connectivity. Storage-wise, you get just one M.2 slot for 2280 Gen 4 SSDs. There is a cooling pad on top of the SSD. We found a small thermal pad for additional cooling below the NVMe. The cooling looks simple but it's fine for a laptop without a dedicated GPU. It has one fan, a heat pipe, one top-mounted heat sink, and a heat spreader. Storage performance The SSD of our notebook is the 512GB SAMSUNG MZVL4512HBLU-00BH1. Below you can see some benchmarks of this Gen 4 NVMe which is also cool under max load - 58°C. Verdict The HP EliteBook 865 G10 is a snappy business device thanks to the Zen 4 CPU options. Still, we can advise you to avoid the base Ryzen 3 7440U which isn't suitable for multitasking because it has just four cores. Our laptop has the optional Ryzen 7 PRO 7840U. The chip doesn't dissipate tons of heat and that's why it's well-cooled by the modest-looking thermal system with one fan and a single heat pipe. Also, the CPU can maintain 3.32 GHz during long 100% loads which is good. At the same time, the fan is surprisingly quiet and the keyboard doesn't feel too hot to the touch. The upgradability is decent - two SODIMMs, one M.2 slot for Gen 4 SSDs, and a WWAN for LTE or 5G connectivity. The I/O is modern with its two Thunderbolt 4 / USB4 ports, HDMI 2.1, and optional Smartcard reader. It's nice to see that all devices have a privacy shutter and Wi-Fi 6Е + Bluetooth 5.3. If you need an IR Web Camera for Windows Hello, you have to pay more for this function. The spill-resistant keyboard is comfortable for long typing sessions and the touchpad is smooth and accurate. However, the backlight for the board is another optional feature. The 16:10 IPS display (AUO AUO1AA7) is good for office usage because it lacks PWM usage and the viewing angles are wide. That's all you need for normal work. Still, the color coverage is low. The all-metal build feels premium to the touch thanks to the matte finish that doesn't attract many smudges during usage. Overall, the chassis is solid with a few exceptions here and there. The battery life with the default 51.3Wh unit is long - more than 11 hours of either Web browsing or video playback. Don't forget that you can get a 76Wh battery for even longer autonomous work away from the charger. The HP EliteBook 865 G10 is a solid offer in its class thanks to the quiet fan, the snappy performance, the long battery life, and the comfortable input devices. You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/hp-elitebook-865-g10/