HP EliteBook 855 G7 Laptop Review - Stylish office laptop for on the go
The HP EliteBook 855 G7 is a high-quality office laptop from HP's EliteBook 850 series, with '855' identifying the AMD model. Our test device wants to stand out from the Intel competition with a slightly higher graphics and multi-thread performance. The EliteBook 855 G7 makes a great first impression with its elaborate design and the stylish case. The recommended retail price for our configuration is around 1,465 Euros (~$1753). Thus, the laptop plays in a price range in which Dell, Lenovo and Acer also have a lot to offer.
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85.9 % v7 (old) | 11 / 2020 | HP EliteBook 855 G7-23Y52EA R5 PRO 4650U, Vega 6 | 1.7 kg | 19.2 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 84.9 % v7 (old) | 11 / 2020 | Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 R7 PRO 4750U, Vega 7 | 1.9 kg | 21 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 84 % v7 (old) | 10 / 2020 | Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK i5-10310U, UHD Graphics 620 | 1.8 kg | 23 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 82 % v7 (old) | 08 / 2020 | Acer TravelMate P215-52 i7-10510U, UHD Graphics 620 | 1.8 kg | 19.9 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 87.2 % v7 (old) | 07 / 2020 | Lenovo ThinkPad T15 Gen1-20S7S02U00 i7-10510U, GeForce MX330 | 1.8 kg | 19.95 mm | 15.60" | 3840x2160 | |
| 86.8 % v7 (old) | 05 / 2020 | Dell XPS 15 9500 Core i5 i5-10300H, UHD Graphics 630 | 1.8 kg | 18 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1200 |
Case - Slim Business Laptop
The housing is completely made of metal and makes a good first impression. The choice of material also benefits the haptics and case stability. The base unit of the laptop is very difficult to twist and the lid also looks robust. The hinges are also solid and hold the display well at all opening angles. The angular design and certain optical accents, such as the pattern in the volume perforation or the light gray EliteBook lettering, show that this is by no means a budget notebook. Accordingly, there are no material protrusions or unequal gap dimensions. The front edge is not flat, but slightly angled to make it easier for users to open the laptop. However, the hinge is too rigid or the base unit is too light to open the laptop with one hand.
With a width of around 360 mm (~14.2 in), the EliteBook 855 G7 is relatively small and its total weight of only 1.7 kg (~3.8 lb) makes it the lightest laptop in our comparison. The more expensive Dell XPS 15 9500 is even more compact, while the ThinkPad L15 weighs a good 200 g (~7 oz) more at 1.9 kg (~4.2 lb).
Features - No card reader and no LAN connection
Although most connectors are located in the rear area on the left and right side of the laptop, wider connectors should not block adjacent connectors. Like many slim laptops, the EliteBook 855 G7 does not need a LAN port, but thanks to the full-size HDMI 2.0 port and two USB-A and two USB C ports (the latter with DisplayPort and charging function), it is relatively flexible. Furthermore, both USB-C ports of the Intel variants (EliteBook 850 G7) support Thunderbolt.
Despite the USB-C power supply unit included in the delivery, the EliteBook also has a hollow plug connection, which can also be used to charge the notebook. Since most competitors can also accept at least microSD cards, it is strange that there is no card reader at all.
Communication
Intel's widely used AX200 is used as a WLAN module and also offers Bluetooth 5 support. In the test, it usually beats other office laptops, but the built-in AX200 module achieves below-average values both when sending and receiving data via WLAN, which are also relatively far below those of the comparable devices. The performance is still sufficient for everyday use, especially since the transmission performance is very constant. HP also offers models with WAN as an option.
Webcam
Security
Security features include a fingerprint scanner, smart card reader, TPM 2.0, IR camera for Windows Hello and various software security solutions from HP.
Accessories
Except for the notebook itself and some manuals there are no extras included. In its own online store, the manufacturer offers, for example, a WWAN LTE module for retrofitting and a 65 W hollow plug power supply unit, with which you can buy another free USB-C port for around 80 Euros (~$96) in mains operation.
Maintenance
When removing the base plate, our test device turned out to be particularly stubborn, and even after many attempts it could not be removed. So the maintenance options here are not really user-friendly, which for example makes upgrading the RAM or the SSD unnecessarily difficult. In principle however, both RAM slots and the SSD are accessible. A maximum of up to 32 GB DDR4 RAM is supported.
Warranty
HP grants buyers of the EliteBook 855 G7 a three-year warranty. In addition, there is an optional warranty extension for about 98 Euros (~$117), with which you can get hardware support on the next working day in case of problems on site.
Input devices - HP notebook with improved keyboard
Keyboard
The chiclet keyboard in the middle of the base unit contains a number pad and is located in a slightly lowered rectangle. This looks great, but the nice look has its price: The keys of the top row of keys and the arrow keys are only about half as high as the other keys. This doesn't matter much for the less frequently used function keys, but the operation of the arrow keys suffers.
The keyboard of our test device has a two-stage key illumination and indicator LEDs, which among other things signal the current status of the lock key. The key feedback is ok, but partly cheaper laptops, like the ThinkPad L15, which is designed for typing, also offer considerably more comfort when typing. When using the keyboard, the keys produce quiet but audible typing noises. The keyboard surface hardly gives way at all due to the metal construction. According to HP, it also withstands splash water.
Touchpad
The touchpad (12x6.5 cm/~4.7x2.6 in) is located slightly to the left under the keyboard. To encourage the use of the TrackPoint, HP has placed the two separate mouse buttons above the touchpad - this way, you don't have to change position while typing to operate the mouse. Mouse clicks can also be triggered on the ClickPad itself, with the lower right area serving as the right mouse button. The touchpad reacts quickly and precisely to input and the plastic surface has good sliding properties. Common multi-touch gestures are supported, which makes everyday operation easier.
Our model is not equipped with a touchpad, but corresponding models are also available.
Display - HP laptop with average display
The 15.6-inch IPS display has a native resolution of 1920x1080 pixels (Full-HD) and an aspect ratio of 16:9. Thanks to the matte panel, reflections are largely eliminated. HP also offers models with a 250 cd/m² FHD touchscreen, a 1,000 cd/m² FHD display with integrated HP Sure View privacy screen or a 400 cd/m² display with low power consumption. HP's Sure View technology is designed to greatly reduce viewing angles at the touch of a button to protect the screen content from prying eyes. Glossy screens are not currently available. The 1,000-cd/m² display is a particularly interesting option, which is well suited for outdoor use due to its high brightness.
Our configuration is equipped with the basic option and with measured values such as the average brightness of 234 cd/m², it does not trigger any storms of enthusiasm, or at least the use of PWM is avoided.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 83 %
Center on Battery: 270 cd/m²
Contrast: 803:1 (Black: 0.33 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 4.46 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.86, calibrated: 4.12
ΔE Greyscale 1.59 | 0.5-98 Ø5.1
62% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
40% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
43.18% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
62.3% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
41.73% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.27
| HP EliteBook 855 G7-23Y52EA ChiMei CMN1512, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 B156HAN02.1, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK BOE0869, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | Acer TravelMate P215-52 BOE CQ NV156FHM-N48, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | Lenovo ThinkPad T15 Gen1-20S7S02U00 NE156QUM-N66, IPS LED, 3840x2160, 15.6" | Dell XPS 15 9500 Core i5 Sharp LQ156N1, IPS, 1920x1200, 15.6" | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | -9% | -8% | -3% | 90% | 80% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 41.73 | 37.93 -9% | 38.74 -7% | 40.66 -3% | 80.7 93% | 81.5 95% |
| sRGB Coverage | 62.3 | 57 -9% | 56.6 -9% | 60.6 -3% | 98.1 57% | 100 61% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 43.18 | 39.19 -9% | 40.02 -7% | 42.01 -3% | 95.5 121% | 79.6 84% |
| Response Times | -32% | -32% | 5% | -4% | -19% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 36 ? | 48 ? -33% | 44 ? -22% | 24.4 ? 32% | 42 ? -17% | 42 ? -17% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 24 ? | 31.2 ? -30% | 34 ? -42% | 29.2 ? -22% | 21.6 ? 10% | 28.8 ? -20% |
| PWM Frequency | 1000 ? | 1000 ? | ||||
| Screen | -1% | 1% | -24% | 44% | 39% | |
| Brightness middle | 265 | 249 -6% | 258 -3% | 255.9 -3% | 489 85% | 592 123% |
| Brightness | 234 | 240 3% | 229 -2% | 234 0% | 501 114% | 565 141% |
| Brightness Distribution | 83 | 89 7% | 74 -11% | 78 -6% | 91 10% | 85 2% |
| Black Level * | 0.33 | 0.15 55% | 0.16 52% | 0.46 -39% | 0.35 -6% | 0.46 -39% |
| Contrast | 803 | 1660 107% | 1613 101% | 556 -31% | 1397 74% | 1287 60% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 4.46 | 5.9 -32% | 5.61 -26% | 5.02 -13% | 3 33% | 3.19 28% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 18.23 | 21.7 -19% | 19 -4% | 18.26 -0% | 5.1 72% | 5.45 70% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 4.12 | 4.8 -17% | 4.17 -1% | 0.8 81% | 2.03 51% | |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 1.59 | 3 -89% | 2.77 -74% | 4.2 -164% | 4 -152% | 3.9 -145% |
| Gamma | 2.27 97% | 2.32 95% | 2.27 97% | 2.07 106% | 2.24 98% | 2.25 98% |
| CCT | 6496 100% | 6838 95% | 6198 105% | 6975 93% | 7400 88% | 6522 100% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 40 | 36.1 -10% | 36 -10% | 38.6 -3% | 84.7 112% | 71.6 79% |
| Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 62 | 56.8 -8% | 56 -10% | 60.4 -3% | 98.1 58% | 100 61% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -14% /
-6% | -13% /
-5% | -7% /
-16% | 43% /
47% | 33% /
40% |
* ... smaller is better
The contrast ratio of 803:1 is the lowest in the comparison field, apart from that of the Acer TravelMate P2. The black value of 0.33, on the other hand, is in line with the average, which means that dark areas in films and photos can be displayed quite true to the original. The matte panel has no discernible effect on image sharpness.
The color space coverage of 62% (sRGB) and 40% (AdobeRGB) is in the midfield and is thus more than sufficient for everyday use, but the display is not suitable for professional video and image editing.
Outdoors, our configuration of the EliteBook 855 G7 is only of limited use, since the view is often severely restricted by the low brightness of only about 250 cd/m². In the shade, the display is mostly still readable thanks to the matte display. If you want to use the laptop frequently outdoors, you should take a look at the 1,000 cd/m² model, as this can compensate for ambient light even under more difficult conditions.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 24 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 15 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 9 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 51 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (20.7 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 36 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 18 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 18 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 47 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (32.4 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM not detected |  | ||
In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8482 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. | |||
The viewing angles are very good, typical for IPS, and even when viewing from very steep angles, colors and contrast are only minimally distorted.
Performance - Low RAM capacity, high speed
Our configuration of the EliteBook 855 G7 is equipped with the AMD Ryzen 5 Pro 4650U and thus offers more than enough system performance for everyday office use. The Ryzen 5 Pro 4650U also includes AMD's integrated RX-Vega-6 graphics unit, which is way ahead of its Intel counterparts. The EliteBook models with Intel processors are called EliteBook-850-G7 and are equipped with the Intel Core i5-10210U or the more powerful Core i7-10510U. Although our test device is only equipped with 8 GB DDR4-3200 RAM in single channel mode and thus lies at the lower end of the spectrum, the size should still be sufficient for most office tasks due to the high speed. Configurations with 16 GB memory are also available. Dedicated graphics cards are not available within this model series.
Processor
The Ryzen 5 Pro 4650U is an AMD processor from the current Renoir generation. The six-core SoC clocks at 2.1 to 4.0 GHz and as an AMD Pro variant can process two threads per core thanks to SMT. In addition, the "Pro" chip offers some security and management functions compared to the AMD Ryzen 5 4600U.
In our Cinebench loop test, the Ryzen 5 Pro 4650 is far ahead of all Intel competitors. However, as a larger device with a more powerful processor, the ThinkPad L15 is even faster. The performance drops slightly at the beginning and then remains on a constant level.
In terms of program-specific performance, our EliteBook 855 G7 often lags behind in the single-threaded benchmarks, but it consistently ranks second in multi-threaded benchmarks, where only the more powerful ThinkPad L15 scores higher thanks to the Ryzen 7 Pro 4750U.
The EliteBook 855 G7 has a small lead over the Ryzen 5 Pro 4650U laptops tested so far, although these models are also 13 and 14 inch devices.
In battery mode the CPU performance is slightly limited.
Cinebench R15: CPU Single 64Bit | CPU Multi 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 -mmt1 | 7z b 4
Geekbench 5.5: Single-Core | Multi-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
| Cinebench R20 / CPU (Single Core) | |
| Average of class Office (229 - 766, n=85, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T15 Gen1-20S7S02U00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 | |
| HP EliteBook 855 G7-23Y52EA | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4650U (453 - 454, n=4) | |
| Dell XPS 15 9500 Core i5 | |
| Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK | |
| Acer TravelMate P215-52 | |
| Cinebench R20 / CPU (Multi Core) | |
| Average of class Office (590 - 8086, n=85, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 | |
| HP EliteBook 855 G7-23Y52EA | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4650U (2561 - 2692, n=4) | |
| Dell XPS 15 9500 Core i5 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T15 Gen1-20S7S02U00 | |
| Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK | |
| Acer TravelMate P215-52 | |
| Cinebench R15 / CPU Single 64Bit | |
| Average of class Office (98 - 294, n=87, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T15 Gen1-20S7S02U00 | |
| Dell XPS 15 9500 Core i5 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4650U (175 - 177, n=4) | |
| HP EliteBook 855 G7-23Y52EA | |
| Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK | |
| Acer TravelMate P215-52 | |
| Cinebench R15 / CPU Multi 64Bit | |
| Average of class Office (246 - 3132, n=89, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 | |
| HP EliteBook 855 G7-23Y52EA | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4650U (1123 - 1168, n=4) | |
| Dell XPS 15 9500 Core i5 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T15 Gen1-20S7S02U00 | |
| Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK | |
| Acer TravelMate P215-52 | |
| Blender / v2.79 BMW27 CPU | |
| Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK | |
| Acer TravelMate P215-52 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T15 Gen1-20S7S02U00 | |
| Dell XPS 15 9500 Core i5 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4650U (415 - 448, n=4) | |
| HP EliteBook 855 G7-23Y52EA | |
| Average of class Office (163 - 1956, n=88, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 | |
| 7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 -mmt1 | |
| Average of class Office (2972 - 6687, n=88, last 2 years) | |
| Dell XPS 15 9500 Core i5 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T15 Gen1-20S7S02U00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 | |
| Acer TravelMate P215-52 | |
| Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4650U (4202 - 4359, n=4) | |
| HP EliteBook 855 G7-23Y52EA | |
| 7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 | |
| Average of class Office (7532 - 76886, n=89, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 | |
| HP EliteBook 855 G7-23Y52EA | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4650U (30895 - 32454, n=4) | |
| Dell XPS 15 9500 Core i5 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T15 Gen1-20S7S02U00 | |
| Acer TravelMate P215-52 | |
| Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK | |
| Geekbench 5.5 / Single-Core | |
| Average of class Office (510 - 2096, n=88, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T15 Gen1-20S7S02U00 | |
| Dell XPS 15 9500 Core i5 | |
| Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 | |
| Acer TravelMate P215-52 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4650U (1065 - 1102, n=4) | |
| HP EliteBook 855 G7-23Y52EA | |
| Geekbench 5.5 / Multi-Core | |
| Average of class Office (1018 - 14192, n=87, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 | |
| HP EliteBook 855 G7-23Y52EA | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4650U (4581 - 4705, n=4) | |
| Dell XPS 15 9500 Core i5 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T15 Gen1-20S7S02U00 | |
| Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK | |
| Acer TravelMate P215-52 | |
| HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 / 4k Preset | |
| Average of class Office (1.72 - 22.4, n=86, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 | |
| HP EliteBook 855 G7-23Y52EA | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4650U (7.82 - 8.14, n=4) | |
| Dell XPS 15 9500 Core i5 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T15 Gen1-20S7S02U00 | |
| Acer TravelMate P215-52 | |
| Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK | |
| LibreOffice / 20 Documents To PDF | |
| HP EliteBook 855 G7-23Y52EA | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4650U (61.5 - 88.8, n=4) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 | |
| Dell XPS 15 9500 Core i5 | |
| Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK | |
| Average of class Office (31.3 - 129.6, n=86, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T15 Gen1-20S7S02U00 | |
| Acer TravelMate P215-52 | |
| R Benchmark 2.5 / Overall mean | |
| Acer TravelMate P215-52 | |
| Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK | |
| HP EliteBook 855 G7-23Y52EA | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4650U (0.643 - 0.663, n=4) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T15 Gen1-20S7S02U00 | |
| Dell XPS 15 9500 Core i5 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 | |
| Average of class Office (0.4098 - 1.135, n=85, last 2 years) | |
* ... smaller is better
System Performance
In the PCMark benchmarks, the EliteBook 855 G7 is in second place overall, largely due to its clear lead in the digital content creation benchmark. Together with the ThinkPad L15, it is a good 20 to 40% faster than the other comparable devices. This can probably often be explained by the higher graphics performance compared to UHD-based devices. On the ThinkPad T15, which is equipped with the GeForce MX330, the slower DDR4-2666 RAM could be a reason for the lower score. In everyday use, the laptop reacts quickly to input and implements it immediately.
| PCMark 10 Score | 4403 points | |
Help | ||
DPC latencies
In our standardized test we have identified problematic DPC latencies. As a result, the laptop in its current state is rather unsuitable for real-time audio and video processing.
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 | |
| Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK | |
| Acer TravelMate P215-52 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T15 Gen1-20S7S02U00 | |
| Dell XPS 15 9500 Core i5 | |
| HP EliteBook 855 G7-23Y52EA | |
* ... smaller is better
Mass storage - Scarce 256 GB
Buyers of our test configuration have to come to terms with just 256 GB of storage space. The performance of the SK Hynix BC511 is below average in the comparison field. Even the 512 GB variant of the SSD installed here achieves an approximately 26% higher performance in the Dell Latitude 15 5510. Such differences in performance are not uncommon with differently sized SSDs within the same model series. Overall, only the Toshiba SSD in the XPS 15 9500 and the likewise 256 GB BC511 in Acer's TravelMate P2 are even further behind. In everyday life, however, one accepts any disadvantages because the subjective response behavior of the SSD is nevertheless fast.
Further benchmark comparisons can be found in our hard disk and SSD table.
| HP EliteBook 855 G7-23Y52EA SK hynix BC511 HFM256GDJTNI-82A0 | Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 WDC PC SN730 SDBQNTY-1T00 | Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK SK Hynix BC511 HFM512GDJTNI | Acer TravelMate P215-52 SK hynix BC511 HFM256GDJTNI-82A0 | Lenovo ThinkPad T15 Gen1-20S7S02U00 Toshiba XG6 KXG6AZNV1T02 | Dell XPS 15 9500 Core i5 Toshiba KBG40ZNS256G NVMe | Average SK hynix BC511 HFM256GDJTNI-82A0 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6 | 92% | 20% | 27% | 91% | 16% | 14% | |
| Write 4K | 72 | 156.5 117% | 121 68% | 153.7 113% | 159.1 121% | 93.3 30% | 119.5 ? 66% |
| Read 4K | 34.01 | 48.72 43% | 42.39 25% | 60.4 78% | 55.6 63% | 45.9 35% | 43.9 ? 29% |
| Write Seq | 2147 | 1034 | 431 | 1435 | 1211 | 898 ? | |
| Read Seq | 1809 | 1063 | 1199 | 1435 | 1633 | 1104 ? | |
| Write 4K Q32T1 | 390.2 | 393.8 1% | 351.4 -10% | 374.5 -4% | 512 31% | 273.1 -30% | 380 ? -3% |
| Read 4K Q32T1 | 347.7 | 496.1 43% | 334.3 -4% | 445.5 28% | 541 56% | 356 2% | 432 ? 24% |
| Write Seq Q32T1 | 793 | 3093 290% | 1059 34% | 408.4 -48% | 2682 238% | 1198 51% | 823 ? 4% |
| Read Seq Q32T1 | 2143 | 3394 58% | 2290 7% | 1966 -8% | 2902 35% | 2269 6% | 1998 ? -7% |
| Write 4K Q8T8 | 318.5 | 319 ? 0% | |||||
| Read 4K Q8T8 | 605 | 605 ? 0% | |||||
| AS SSD | 197% | 31% | -32% | 174% | -44% | 28% | |
| Seq Read | 1633 | 2203 35% | 1172 -28% | 1770 8% | 2372 45% | 1423 -13% | 1743 ? 7% |
| Seq Write | 649 | 2253 247% | 678 4% | 354.5 -45% | 2230 244% | 766 18% | 758 ? 17% |
| 4K Read | 39.59 | 45.51 15% | 47.35 20% | 38.18 -4% | 50.2 27% | 42.21 7% | 43.5 ? 10% |
| 4K Write | 101.9 | 140.4 38% | 115.7 14% | 95.9 -6% | 139.8 37% | 74.8 -27% | 114.5 ? 12% |
| 4K-64 Read | 591 | 1672 183% | 786 33% | 423.4 -28% | 1430 142% | 973 65% | 604 ? 2% |
| 4K-64 Write | 342.3 | 2040 496% | 718 110% | 141.1 -59% | 1368 300% | 218.8 -36% | 475 ? 39% |
| Access Time Read * | 0.085 | 0.067 21% | 0.049 42% | 0.071 16% | 0.059 31% | 0.125 -47% | 0.07886 ? 7% |
| Access Time Write * | 0.036 | 0.027 25% | 0.034 6% | 0.117 -225% | 0.03 17% | 0.552 -1433% | 0.04713 ? -31% |
| Score Read | 794 | 1938 144% | 951 20% | 639 -20% | 1718 116% | 1157 46% | 822 ? 4% |
| Score Write | 509 | 2406 373% | 902 77% | 272 -47% | 1731 240% | 370 -27% | 665 ? 31% |
| Score Total | 1671 | 5338 219% | 2326 39% | 1178 -30% | 4325 159% | 2094 25% | 1870 ? 12% |
| Copy ISO MB/s | 1088 | 1055 -3% | 634 -42% | 1540 42% | 1151 6% | 886 ? -19% | |
| Copy Program MB/s | 72.6 | 520 616% | 96.2 33% | 583 703% | 499.4 588% | 253 ? 248% | |
| Copy Game MB/s | 238.4 | 1055 343% | 228.9 -4% | 1046 339% | 733 207% | 365 ? 53% | |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | 145% /
165% | 26% /
27% | -3% /
-15% | 133% /
149% | -14% /
-26% | 21% /
23% |
* ... smaller is better
Continuous reading: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
Graphics card
The integrated AMD Radeon RX Vega 6 serves as the graphics card, and the integrated GPU is one of AMD's biggest advantages over current Intel CPUs. In the 3DMark Time Spy benchmark, it achieves about 42% higher graphics performance in our test device than UHD-Graphics-620- or -630-based laptops, which are not suitable for more than high-resolution videos.
On the other hand, the RX Vega 6 is on average almost 20% faster in other laptops, which is probably due to the fact that it benefits from Dual Channel RAM in some models. Our EliteBook 855 G7 passes the Fire-Strike load test with a frame rate stability of 99.2%.
For more technical information and benchmark comparisons, please visit our Radeon RX Vega 6 page.
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 1947 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 748 points | |
Help | ||
Gaming Performance
Although the EliteBook 855 G7 is clearly not made for games, many current games run relatively smoothly, at least at reduced resolution or quality.
| low | med. | high | ultra | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Witcher 3 (2015) | 34.8 | 21.3 | 10.7 | |
| Dota 2 Reborn (2015) | 82.6 | 63.7 | 32.2 | 30.5 |
| X-Plane 11.11 (2018) | 33.4 | 25.3 | 22.8 | |
| Far Cry 5 (2018) | 26 | |||
| F1 2020 (2020) | 49.7 | 23.4 | 17.7 |
Emissions - EliteBook stays cool and quiet
Noise emissions
When idle, while surfing and during video playback, the fan is almost always turned off, allowing the laptop to operate completely silently. If the fans do need to start up, they are still very quiet at 26.4 dB(A) with a background of 25 dB(A).
Even under load they are not quite audible at only 28.7 dB(A), but in this case they are a bit more noticeable due to their high-frequency whistling. But even then they are not really loud or disturbing. Overall, the EliteBook 855 G7 is just as quiet as our comparison devices.
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 25 / 25 / 26.4 dB(A) |
| Load |
| 28.7 / 32 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Earthworks M23R, Arta (15 cm distance) environment noise: 25 dB(A) | ||
Temperature
When in use, the laptop stays very cool and can be used on the thighs without any concerns. The maximum temperature is 26.6 °C (~80 °F) in idle mode and rises to only 35.2 °C (~95 °F) under load. In everyday use, the EliteBook 855 G7's palm rests and keyboard always feel pleasantly cool due to the metal construction.
In the stress test, the CPU and GPU clock frequencies are initially 4 GHz and 1,500 MHz (30 watts) respectively. After a few seconds, the performance drops to around 3.6 GHz or 1,300 MHz (25 watts). Then the CPU and GPU slowly level off at 3.5 to 3.6 GHz or 1,250 MHz (25 watts). The waste heat of the six-core CPU seems to be dissipated well, since the CPU clock is still at a good 3.5 GHz even at the end of the stress test. The core temperatures of CPU and GPU are at maximum 79 and 74 °C (~174 and 165 °F) respectively.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 35.2 °C / 95 F, compared to the average of 34.3 °C / 94 F, ranging from 21.2 to 62.5 °C for the class Office.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 34 °C / 93 F, compared to the average of 36.8 °C / 98 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 25.8 °C / 78 F, compared to the device average of 29.5 °C / 85 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 27.5 °C / 81.5 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(±) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 27.6 °C / 81.7 F (+0.1 °C / 0.2 F).
Speakers
The Bang & Olufsen speakers installed above the keyboard actually produce a relatively clear sound, but the overall impression still suffers from the rather thin bass. Thus, the speakers are very well suited for VoIP calls, but for more than just filling small rooms, the relatively low maximum volume is not sufficient. External audio devices can be connected via the 3.5 mm jack or via Bluetooth.
HP EliteBook 855 G7-23Y52EA audio analysis
(-) | not very loud speakers (67.1 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 20.2% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (13.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 2% away from median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (7.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 3.6% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (3.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (17.1% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 22% of all tested devices in this class were better, 7% similar, 71% worse
» The best had a delta of 7%, average was 21%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 29% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 64% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (83.6 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 11.3% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (14.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 2.4% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (5.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (4.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (10.2% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 6% of all tested devices in this class were better, 2% similar, 91% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 19%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 4% of all tested devices were better, 1% similar, 95% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Power management - Hours of surfing
Energy consumption
When idle on the desktop, between 3.6 and 9.5 watts are consumed, depending on brightness level and performance profile. In the stress test, the original consumption of 36.4 watts drops after about one minute and finally stabilizes at 34.4 watts. When running Prime95, the EliteBook 855 G7 reaches a temporary consumption peak of 40 watts, which means that the included 65 W power supply is more than adequate.
| Off / Standby | 0.36 / 0.52 Watt |
| Idle | 3.6 / 6.6 / 9.5 Watt |
| Load |
27.6 / 36.4 Watt |
   
| |
Key:
min: ,
med: ,
max: Metrahit Energy | |
| HP EliteBook 855 G7-23Y52EA R5 PRO 4650U, Vega 6, SK hynix BC511 HFM256GDJTNI-82A0, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 R7 PRO 4750U, Vega 7, WDC PC SN730 SDBQNTY-1T00, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK i5-10310U, UHD Graphics 620, SK Hynix BC511 HFM512GDJTNI, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | Acer TravelMate P215-52 i7-10510U, UHD Graphics 620, SK hynix BC511 HFM256GDJTNI-82A0, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | Lenovo ThinkPad T15 Gen1-20S7S02U00 i7-10510U, GeForce MX330, Toshiba XG6 KXG6AZNV1T02, IPS LED, 3840x2160, 15.6" | Dell XPS 15 9500 Core i5 i5-10300H, UHD Graphics 630, Toshiba KBG40ZNS256G NVMe, IPS, 1920x1200, 15.6" | Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 4000/5000) | Average of class Office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | -24% | -9% | 1% | -85% | -38% | -14% | -33% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 3.6 | 4.8 -33% | 3.6 -0% | 3.5 3% | 4.3 -19% | 2.9 19% | 3.98 ? -11% | 4.57 ? -27% |
| Idle Average * | 6.6 | 8.9 -35% | 6.9 -5% | 6.2 6% | 13.8 -109% | 7.6 -15% | 6.53 ? 1% | 7.57 ? -15% |
| Idle Maximum * | 9.5 | 10.5 -11% | 9.4 1% | 6.9 27% | 16.2 -71% | 8 16% | 8.65 ? 9% | 9.01 ? 5% |
| Load Average * | 27.6 | 32.9 -19% | 34.7 -26% | 31 -12% | 66 -139% | 41.7 -51% | 35 ? -27% | 42.4 ? -54% |
| Load Maximum * | 36.4 | 45 -24% | 41 -13% | 43.3 -19% | 67.4 -85% | 94.8 -160% | 51.5 ? -41% | 62.7 ? -72% |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 53 |
* ... smaller is better
Battery life
The battery capacity is 56 Wh, which is relatively high for an office laptop. This is also reflected in the very high WLAN runtime (150 cd/m²) of 12:13 h, the highest in the field of comparison. Under load, however, the EliteBook 855 with a runtime of 1:41 h is rather in the midfield. The video runtime in our standardized test (Big Buck Bunny h.264, 150 cd/m², WLAN & Bluetooth deactivated) is 13:23 h.
| HP EliteBook 855 G7-23Y52EA R5 PRO 4650U, Vega 6, 56 Wh | Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 R7 PRO 4750U, Vega 7, 45 Wh | Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK i5-10310U, UHD Graphics 620, 51 Wh | Acer TravelMate P215-52 i7-10510U, UHD Graphics 620, 48 Wh | Lenovo ThinkPad T15 Gen1-20S7S02U00 i7-10510U, GeForce MX330, 57 Wh | Dell XPS 15 9500 Core i5 i5-10300H, UHD Graphics 630, 56 Wh | Average of class Office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | -35% | 33% | -11% | -37% | -16% | -2% | |
| H.264 | 803 | 508 -37% | 483 -40% | 755 ? -6% | |||
| WiFi v1.3 | 734 | 408 -44% | 637 -13% | 476 -35% | 426 -42% | 556 -24% | 646 ? -12% |
| Load | 101 | 78 -23% | 181 79% | 114 13% | 72 -29% | 93 -8% | 114.2 ? 13% |
| Reader / Idle | 1410 | 1506 | 1581 | 1254 ? |
Pros
Cons
Conclusion - EliteBook with potential
The HP EliteBook 855 G7 shines with a stylish look and solid workmanship. HP has obviously placed great value on the design and the weight is also a good deal lower than most of its competitors. As long as you limit yourself to moderately demanding tasks, the performance of the laptop is far above what you actually need. The powerful AMD CPU does its job fast, even offers a bit more graphics performance than its Intel counterparts, and maintains a constant performance level even under load.
The display gets by without PWM, but does not really stand out from the crowd. The other display options, which can offer a brightness of up to 1,000 cd/m² for example, are interesting.
The stylish business notebook from HP offers interesting configuration options, but is not necessarily suitable for every purpose.
There is potential for improvement, for example, in the keyboard, which is only average despite its high price, and the unnecessarily laborious maintenance. The fact that an SD card reader is completely missing probably disqualifies the EliteBook 855 G7 for one or the other potential buyer. Since 8 GB RAM can quickly become scarce in many cases, one should consider before buying whether an added value can be gained from a configuration with 16 GB RAM.
All in all, the EliteBook 855 G7 is a tempting offer for all those who travel a lot, which is made even more attractive by the functional features of certain configurations.
HP EliteBook 855 G7-23Y52EA
- 11/24/2020 v7 (old)
Marius Schell
Price comparison
