HP EliteBook 745 G5 Ryzen 5 (4C/8T) 8GB 256GB 14.0" FHD IPS (Refurbished) - £161.49 with code (UK Mainland) @ newandusedlaptops4u / eBay

It seems cheap not normal as EliteBook G5/6 series don’t typically fall below £200 especially not with warranty. I don’t know where else you can get this level of build quality along with a half-decent quad-core CPU and other key specs (8GB RAM, 256GB, full HD IPS display) for £161. It is an uncompromised system that’ll do the job for most people buying on a budget. (edited)

No, that was the Ryzen 3 2300U version - which I referenced in this post. The is the Ryzen 5 2500U. I posted both of them.

These have unibody type cases and corner dents are very noticeable, because they clip into each other, a knock will cause the parts to not fit and stick out or over. It’s worth checking but it shouldn’t be the case for ‘very good refurbs’. I’ve had a lot of these and you have to be quite careless and clumsy to do severe damage to the corners. Likewise if you damage the back corners the lid may catch. If it’s obvious it’s had heavy corner damage and the parts don’t fit properly, get it returned.

However, this is true of any metal alloy system including others like the HP Envy, MacBooks and Dell XPS.

I agree - it is worth doing a full visual inspection when you get, which is the case for any used item imo. You don’t want to find out later on then be at risk of the seller claiming you did it. (edited)

This EliteBook with the Ryzen 5 APU has better integrated graphics than the Yoga X380 (which is probably preferable for Roblox), this can also take more RAM later and has a more durable build - so I would expect it to survive long-term better than the X380. What makes you think the Yoga X380 might be more tempting - unless your daughter would like the touchscreen and folding options?

Good - as long as it is very good used condition like they said, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

This is good value or local CEX:
Crucial RAM 8GB DDR4 3200MHz CL22 (or 2933MHz or 2666MHz) Portable Memory CT8G4SFRA32A amzn.eu/d/4…Jhb

You just need DDR4 SO-DIMMs at 2400 or faster and it’ll be fine. Can’t really get it wrong. 

There are about 9 options for the display. The SureView display is not common and honestly, quite annoying as even when turned off it cripples the viewing angle, it does have better colours and brightness but the viewing angles are as bad as a TN display. You are likely to get the basic full HD IPS 250 nit 45% gamut panel, I'm sure someone will complain but for a laptop at this price, it's more than usable and good enough.

It’s a mistake, presumably they copied the other listing - Ryzen 5 2500U APU has RX Vega 8 onboard.

Nothing.

700/800 series are the same but for some dumb reason HP called the AMD series EliteBook 7x5 (where x is the screen size + 10) until the G7. At the G7, the AMD series became the 845 and the Intel series was the 840 (or 830/850). The AMD 700 series are the same chassis and quality as the 800s and not in any way inferior but the naming made people think it was.

Last digit 0 = Intel, last digit 5 = AMD. Middle digit 3 = 13.3”, 4 = 14.0”, 5=15.6”.

Yes, should be fine.

Thanks - I think so too. The full metal chassis are a cut above the rest and gives you solid foundation for one of the best keyboards around and has a glass touchpad that’s one of the best on any Windows laptop ever made.

Lasted for a good few hours, the Ryzen 3 I posted, HUKDers emptied the stock in a little over an hour.

Yes, that deal was outrageously good value and overshadows this one but I still think this is worth it for anyone who wants a great laptop on a budget.

Is that this one?
hotukdeals.com/dea…500

It’s good spec and will be faster but it’s £120 more, so nearly double the price and the build quality is the opposite end of the spectrum to an EliteBook. So it comes down to specs or the complete package. Also, no OS on the IdeaPad which may or may not be a problem.

You are correct about all of this - CPU isn't officially Windows 11 compatible, though seller preinstalls it, but I still use Windows 10 anyway (personally). The screen is rated at 220 nits which is on the dim side for a modern machine, but that's still brighter than the usual 200 nits on cheap TN displays, it is usable though. And also, the CPU does run hot, the Ryzens do for some reason (but they are still quite efficient) and that does keep the fan running, though I didn't find it that intrusive.

It’s not but seems to work fine. I doubt Microsoft will break updates as it would open a huge can of worms and cause massive PR backlash.

Windows 10 is fine on this and 11 seems ok but lacks unofficial support for no reason other than it can, I use 10 still anyway on all my machines even the latest ones. The drive is an M.2 SSD no mechanical drives in this and yes, it’s easy to get to and replace by design. Nothing stopping you putting 32GB RAM and a 4TB SSD in this afaik.

It’s Vega 8, it’ll do light gaming ok but nothing too serious. Look up the APU to confirm it’s the RX Vega 8.

How you upgrading it? Which SSD and easy to do?