HP ProBook 445 G8
14", AMD Ryzen 7 5800U, 16 GB, 512 GB, CH
Product ratings
Pros
Cons
3 reviews
Probook 445 first impressions
I bought this unit for development, planning to install Debian on it.
The USPs are:
Ryzen 7 5800 (v. cool and v. fast 8 core processor)
Officially 32 GB of RAM (this unit has 16GB, but ALL of it is user upgradeable: none of it is soldered). Unofficially, some RAM manufacturers claim it will support 64 GB.
And the M2 SSD storage is also upgradeable. Prices will come down, so it is easy to imagine in a couple of years time upgrading to 64 GB RAM, 4 TB of M2 SSD. With its 8 cores, it is already capable of supporting a large number of VMs.
The spec is unmatched in terms of raw processing power: the only comparable unit is the Lenovo L14 G2 (also running Ryzen 7 5800) but not available (yet) in CH and will be slightly more expensive, and heavier. Everything else which is "mainstream" has at least some of the RAM soldered, and usually limited access to SSD etc: in short "the alternatives" cannot be upgraded / fixed: and you pay more for the privilege of a less well designed / specced model.
At the time of writing, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 chip is not strictly "new", but availability has been problematic because of chip shortages. As for operating system support, it comes with Windows (ugh !). The mainstream Debian Bullseye kernel does not have full support for this Ryzen chip, but the testing release of the next version (which is pretty stable) does. After modifying some of the BIOS defaults, Debian installed from a bootable USB.
So far, v. impressive: fast, stable. this is a 14" notebook, so quite small (and light !): if you have large hands and do a lot of typing, you may prefer an external keyboard and mouse.
A genuine portable powerhouse, but not a gaming machine.
Pro
- v. powerful (Ryzen 7 5800)
- upgradeable
- light
Contra
- none so far
Devices top, but display brightness
I have such a device in my business and would like to have another one privately. Unfortunately, however, the display is really not that tool. You need a good shady spot outside. The battery life isn't great. But charge it over lunch and it's fine.
Otherwise, it's great for business applications. I once dropped the device about 1m. Now it has a dent in the corner of the case. But it still runs perfectly.
Configuration:
HP ProBook 445 G8 Notebook PC
AMD Ryzen 5 5600U with Radeon Graphics
16GBPro
- Robust
- Performant
Contra
- Display brightness too weak
- Battery life mediocre
Great laptop, small and handy, works easily and quickly
Pro
- Small
- Handy
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