# HP EliteBook

26 Hacker News commenters recommended HP EliteBook and 5 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 8 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 5 years (7 owners). It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Recommended for running Linux reliably, with upgradable RAM and storage, solid build and good repairability. Common caveat: the cheaper screen options are weak and prone to ghosting.

## Why people recommend it

- Runs Linux well out of the box (7 comments): "I've been using exclusively HP EliteBook, including x360 models, laptops recently (past 5 years) and they've all been 100% on Linux." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46740670)) "EliteBooks have pretty great repairability and (unintentionally) great Linux support" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46382044)) "I've never seen an EliteBook that needed any drivers for the common components" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46581310))
- Upgradable RAM, SSD, and repairable (5 comments): "EliteBooks have pretty great repairability and (unintentionally) great Linux support" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46382044)) "The build quality is superb, they're upgradeable, everything is replaceable" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46388980)) "You can do this with EliteBooks, and HP replaced my battery for free." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46380597))
- Holds up for years (3 comments): "I have two 5-year-old 840 G8s (one Intel, one AMD), and they have both held up fine" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46744447)) "Any 2-3 gen old ThinkPad or Elitebook will outlast this and perform lot better." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48351586)) "Literally laptops built to last." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46575660))
- Solid aluminum and magnesium build (3 comments): "I much, much preferred the aluminum of my otherwise cheaper-feeling EliteBooks" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48176811)) "rigidly built body using magnesium/aluminum alloys, good input devices and IO" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47599128)) "The build quality is superb, they're upgradeable, everything is replaceable" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46388980))

## What people warn about

- Poor screens, ghosting and dim quality (4 comments): "The brand-new 2025 models I see people receive have worse screens and trackpads than my 2013 MBP." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46383219)) "The Elitebooks are quite nice, except for the cheap screen options (prone to ghosting)." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46118083)) "the only thing negative I have to say about it is that the screen is pathetic" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46117339))
- Missing drivers and hardware quirks (2 comments): "Half the things on my 5 yo HP Elitebook don't work out of the box and I need to install a bunch of drivers from HP" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46578298)) "The intel one had some kind of new touchpad, which doesn't work during the windows install." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46581567))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Lenovo ThinkPad](https://hackerapproved.com/p/lenovo-thinkpad.md): 332 recommend
- [Dell Latitude 7490](https://hackerapproved.com/p/dell-latitude-7490.md): 5 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=HP+EliteBook+840+G10+laptop&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "HP EliteBook", https://hackerapproved.com/p/hp-elitebook/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).