Review verdict for the HP EliteBook 8 G2a 14 AI - AMD business laptop with long battery runtimes and a creaking chassis

The new HP EliteBook 8 G2a is a 14-inch business notebook featuring a modern AMD processor, offering versatile connectivity options and solid system performance. Its excellent keyboard and highly energy-efficient, matte IPS display ensure remarkable efficiency, allowing the device to last nearly 20 hours in our Wi-Fi test. Additionally, the notebook is equipped with modern 5G connectivity.

However, the aluminum chassis - weighing in at over 1.5 kg - exhibits significant quality issues. The base unit flexes easily and creaks alarmingly when twisted - a flaw that should not occur in this price range.

While overall system performance is good and the fans run very quietly, their occasional, slight pulsing can be somewhat distracting. Thanks to excellent speakers, a good camera, and useful software solutions, the device is superbly equipped for everyday office tasks and video conferencing.

However, the standard one-year warranty is quite short for such an expensive business device. In our test unit, the 32 GB of RAM is soldered in place; while this is more than sufficient for most office tasks, other model variants do feature two upgradeable SO-DIMM slots.

The matte Full HD panel delivers highly accurate colors and covers the entire sRGB color space, making it perfect for image editing and productive work, even though the 60 Hz refresh rate is not ideal. For those desiring higher image quality, there is an optional 120 Hz 2.5K IPS panel, but it will affect the battery life.

In addition to the AMD version, the notebook is also available with an Intel processor under the model name EliteBook 8 G2i. This variant is particularly interesting as it features the new Panther Lake processors with the significantly faster integrated Arc B390 graphics, which is ideal if that level of performance is required.