HP ProBook 640 G2 review

A cheap 2015 ProBook for light office work and nothing more

The HP ProBook 640 G2 (2015) pairs a 6th-gen Intel Core i5 6300U with 32 GB of RAM and lands at $145, well below the business-class median of about $297. It is an honest budget office machine with no standout strength: reliability is low at 13, the CPU scores 21.54 against a median near 53, and there is no discrete GPU. The 32 GB of RAM is more than the processor can fully exploit.

A workmanlike config for stationary office use

The i5 6300U is a competent dual-core processor for email, web, and document work, and 32 GB of RAM is generous for that workload. There is no metric on which this laptop clearly leads its peers — it is a balanced, unremarkable configuration at a low price.

Performance and reliability show the age

The CPU score of 21.54 and reliability of 13 are both low for the class, which reflects a decade of platform ageing. Integrated graphics only means gaming and GPU-accelerated tasks are out. This is a machine for genuinely light office duty — anything more demanding will feel slow.

Slow depreciation, near the floor

From a base near $1300, the laptop has settled to $145 at roughly 6.9% per year, with a projected value around $126 in two years. The curve has flattened, which is typical for hardware this far into its life.

Tightly bracketed by budget peers

Slightly pricier options include the HP 250 G6 ($152) and HP 250 G7 ($155); cheaper alternatives include the HP 250 G4 ($127) and HP ProBook 645 G1 ($127), which sit in the same bottom bracket for similar money.

Bottom line

The ProBook 640 G2 is a defensible pick only if your budget is firmly capped around $150 and your workload is genuinely light — email, documents, browsing. Value-for-money is average for the bracket; buyers who can stretch slightly will find newer peers with stronger processors for not much more money.