HP EliteBook 645 G11 test: Secure and fast business notebook

The EliteBook series from HP includes robust, particularly secure and high-quality notebooks in the business segment. The HP EliteBook 645 G11 comes as a handy 14-inch model and scores with high computing power at a low price. Find out more in our test.

Technical data

HP EliteBook 645 G11, Ryzen 5 7535U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, DE (9Y7K1ET#ABD)

HP EliteBook 645 G11, Ryzen 5 7535U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, DE (9Y7K1ET#ABD)

€ 1,099.00

sofort lieferbar, Lieferzeit: 1-2 Werktage

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HP EliteBook 645 G11 test: Robust silver arrow

• high-quality, appealing design
• impeccable workmanship

High-quality and robust. The HP EliteBook 645 G11 conveys this impression at first glance. HP uses a silver-colored aluminum chassis for the laptop, which leaves an absolutely high-quality impression.

It is slightly arrow-shaped towards the front, which is why it is only 11 mm high at the front, but slightly higher at the back at 17 mm. At around 1.39 kg, the weight is pleasantly light, making the 14-incher a strong companion for on the go.

In combination with the anodized housing, the result is an absolutely elegant look that is underlined by the excellent build quality. Even many laptops more than twice as expensive cannot keep up with this.

The base plate is held in place by five Phillips screws, which provide access to the interior. The RAM and system memory can be replaced here. One SO-DIMM and one M.2 slot are available.

Features and connections

• AMD Ryzen 5 7535U with 16 GB RAM
• fast Wi-Fi 6E
• good-sounding speakers; biometric login options

In terms of features, the HP EliteBook 645 G11 is quite well equipped for a business notebook. HP relies on the economical AMD Ryzen 5 7535U processor with six cores, twelve threads and clock speeds of 2.9 GHz to 4.5 GHz.

There is also 16 GB of LPDDR5-4800 RAM, while the graphics are calculated internally on the AMD Radeon 660M. Only the system memory is extremely limited at 512 GB.

Wi-Fi6E and Bluetooth 5.3 are used as wireless standards. The former scores with a strong antenna that enables excellent stability and high data throughput.

The laptop combines this with two good-sounding stereo speakers with a separate amplifier, which also achieve an impressive maximum volume, as well as two decent dual-array microphones.

The 5 MP webcam also offers impressive image quality and allows biometric login via Windows Hello. There is also a hardware-based privacy shutter and HP has equipped the notebook with a fingerprint scanner next to the trackpad.

Good selection of ports in the HP EliteBook 645 G11

• convincing selection of connections
• two USB-C ports with 40 GBps

The selection of ports on the HP EliteBook 645 G11 is also impressive. On the left side, you will find one HDMI 2.1, one USB-A and two USB-C with 40 GBit/s data transfer, PowerDelivery and DisplayPort Alt mode, as well as a combined 3.5 mm jack connection.

On the right is another USB-A port and an RJ45 Gigabit LAN connection. The laptop also has a smart card reader on the left and a microSD card reader on the right.

Weak point: display, great input devices

• 1.920 x 1,200 pixels at 60 Hz
• 300 nits; weak color reproduction and contrasts
• excellent keyboard

Perhaps the biggest weakness of the HP EliteBook 645 G11 is the display. This is despite the fact that it is actually well proportioned for its 14-inch size with an FHD resolution of 1,920 x 1,200 pixels.

It has a peak brightness of up to 300 nits and offers a refresh rate of 60 Hz. However, there is a slight IPS glow and extremely pale colors. In addition, the color reproduction leaves a lot to be desired, which makes the overall picture appear less brilliant.

The display is of course still quite good, but it falls far behind some of its competitors, particularly due to the pale, low-contrast display. The Medion E15443 (our test), for example, which is offered at a comparable price, delivers a significantly better picture quality.

On the other hand, the HP EliteBook 645 G11 scores plus points again with the input devices. As with the previous model generations, the manufacturer uses a very high-quality premium keyboard, which I already liked very much in last year’s EliteBook 845 G9.

The keys offer a pleasantly precise and firm pressure point and score points with an excellent typing feel. They are also pleasantly large, which is noticeable when writing longer texts.

The 8 x 11.7 cm trackpad also scores with excellent gliding properties and clearly defined pressure points. The keyboard also features white backlighting, which makes it easier to work in the dark.

Practical test of the HP EliteBook 645 G11

• efficient and powerful cooling
• low operating volume
• strong security features

HP has tuned the EliteBook 645 G11 well and equipped it with a powerful cooling system that keeps the case comparatively cool even under continuous load in the benchmark test.

The keyboard in particular hardly heats up at all. Only in the area in the middle below the display does it get warm to the touch at around 40°C, while the air outlets on the underside dissipate the warm air well. The CPU and GPU also remain within normal limits.

The notebook remains pleasantly quiet even under constant load and barely exceeds the 35 dB(A) mark. This makes the EliteBook perfect for working in quiet environments.

Otherwise, as always with the model series, the manufacturer attaches great importance to security functions. This model also features the well-known HP Wolf Security suite, which offers additional protection against websites, read-only Microsoft Office and PDF attachments, malware, ransomware and viruses and much more. A self-healing function in the BIOS also promises to iron out the damage caused by firmware attacks.

Benchmark: Productivity, system, SSD and graphics

As always, I took a closer look at the EliteBook 645 G11 in the various benchmark tests. I measure the productivity and system performance with PCMark 10 and Cinebench R23. PCMark 10 simulates different workflows when running the benchmark, which include word processing, surfing the Internet and spreadsheets. Cinebench, on the other hand, measures the speed of the CPU cores individually and in multi-core mode.

Geekbench 6, which measures the performance of the CPU in single and multi-core mode, as well as the power of the GPU, is now also new to our benchmark test track. In addition, Cinebench 2024 is now also available, which offers better comparison options with a new engine and a more uniform benchmark scene since September 2023.

SSD benchmark: AS SSD

When it comes to the SSD, it is clear that HP has made some savings, even if it still achieves good values of over 3,000 MB/s, which is of course more than sufficient, especially in the business segment. Nevertheless, it’s a shame, because the PCIe 4.0 SSD from the EliteBook 845 G99 from 2023 worked much faster.

However, the write performance in particular leaves a lot to be desired. Just 1,138 MB/s are recorded, combined with a high latency of 0.109 ms, these are below-average values, which is also confirmed by the 3DMark Storage test. In addition, performance drops sharply under continuous load. Here, the latency even increases to over 1 ms when writing.

Productivity, system and graphics performance

In terms of system and CPU performance, the HP EliteBook 645 G11 is well positioned. It is clearly above an Intel Core i7-1355U and performs well in both the CPU tests and the overall system benchmarks.

Although it cannot compete with current Intel and AMD processors in terms of performance, it leaves the Acer Aspire Vero 15 and comparable devices, which are similarly priced, far behind.

PCMark 10 in particular shows that AMD’s chip has sufficient reserves for more demanding image and video editing tasks. The current Intel Core Ultra 7 155H can also be beaten in the PCMark 10 test.

No question: The HP EliteBook 645 G11 is not suitable for gaming. At least if you want to play more than simple and old titles. The notebook barely manages the 3DMark tests, Final Fantasy XV in 1080p is barely playable smoothly.

HP EliteBook 645 G11 test: Battery

• almost 9 hours runtime
• handy 65-watt power supply

HP provides the HP EliteBook 645 G11 with a 56 Wh battery, which achieves very good runtimes despite its small size. Of course, this is mainly thanks to the efficient AMD chip.

In the PCMark battery benchmark, the notebook achieves a runtime of 8 hours and 51 minutes with maximum display brightness, which means it can easily survive a long working day. A really very good value.

The battery is charged using a compact 65-watt power supply unit. The battery is charged to 50 percent within 30 minutes and a full charge takes around 90 minutes.

HP EliteBook 645 G11 test: Conclusion

Anyone looking for a high-quality business notebook with good features and a long battery life at an attractive price will undoubtedly find what they are looking for in the HP EliteBook 645 G11.

The laptop scores with a robust design and impeccable workmanship. The keyboard and trackpad are excellent and the system performance provides sufficient reserves for more demanding tasks, while the battery lasts for around 9 hours.

Only the slow SSD and the low-contrast, low-color, somewhat dark display can be criticized. Other notebooks in this price range offer more for the money. On the other hand, there are security features for small and medium-sized companies that no competitor offers in this form.

HP EliteBook 645 G11, Ryzen 5 7535U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, DE (9Y7K1ET#ABD)

HP EliteBook 645 G11, Ryzen 5 7535U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, DE (9Y7K1ET#ABD)

€ 1,099.00

sofort lieferbar, Lieferzeit: 1-2 Werktage

Buy now* galaxus