HP EliteBook 745 G4 review

EliteBook 745 G4 — high mobility on a floor-tier AMD platform

The 2017 EliteBook 745 G4 is HP's 14-inch AMD business machine, built on the Pro A10-8730B APU. At $172 it sits far below the business-class median of $297, and the verdict rates it worth the asking price — on the strength of one axis. Mobility at 73 against a 60 class median is a top-quarter placing; performance index 0 and an overall LB score of 8 tell the rest of the story.

The mobility placing is genuine

A score of 73 (+21.7% versus class median, top quarter) reflects a light chassis with sound battery design — among business 14-inchers this is a genuinely comfortable carrier. The Broadwell-era Pro A10 APU was chosen for exactly this: power draw over pace. For a field worker whose workload is forms, documents and light web, the trade is coherent.

The performance floor is equally genuine

The performance index of 0 against a 41.5 class median places the compute at the absolute floor of the catalog: the A10's slow modules strain under modern web applications, video calls and any parallel load. Graphics reads 0 — the integrated part carries display duties only. The LB score of 8 (−84%) confirms no other axis compensates. This is the catalog's clearest mobility-versus-compute trade.

Price trajectory

From roughly $1,300 new to $172 today at 7.6% per year, projecting to $147 in two years (14.6% lower). The curve has flattened; the residual value is the chassis and the carrying comfort.

Where it sits against peers

Pricier neighbors are the Lenovo ThinkPad L480 ($192) and ProBook 440 G3 ($192) — faster machines for $20 more; cheaper options are the ProBook 450 G1 ($152) and ProBook 430 G5 ($147). The 745 G4's top-quarter mobility is real, but every neighbor outclasses it computationally at similar money.

Bottom line

Worth the asking price only where carrying comfort dominates everything: long days on foot with documents-class workloads. The performance floor is absolute and honest — modern multitasking will frustrate. Most buyers in this band should spend the extra $20 on a faster neighbor and accept a slightly heavier bag.