HP EliteBook 820 G2 review

A 2015 EliteBook 820 G2 whose graphics placing flatters it — honest about the vintage iGPU

The HP EliteBook 820 G2 (2015) is an aging 12.5-inch business ultraportable built around a 5th-gen Intel Core i5 5300U with 16 GB of RAM, landing at just $124 — well below the business-class median of about $297. The graphics score of 45.85 places it in mainstream territory, but this reflects how undemanding the typical business laptop is on graphics, not modern gaming capability — the underlying GPU is a vintage Intel HD Graphics 5500 integrated part. The honest weak spot is memory, capped at 16 GB.

At $124, the price is the real virtue

For a buyer whose budget is firmly capped around $124, the EliteBook 820 G2 offers a usable 5th-gen Intel platform in a compact 12.5-inch form factor, with enough capability for everyday office and media duties. Capability data confirms minimum-level fit for older titles like Overwatch, GTA V, and Rainbow Six Siege — fine for casual eSports at low settings, but no more than that.

The graphics placing is honest about its limits

The high graphics score needs context: the HD Graphics 5500 is integrated graphics from 2014, so its mainstream-tier placing reflects how undemanding the typical business laptop is on graphics, not any real dGPU-class power. The 16 GB of RAM is the genuine ceiling for modern multitasking — comfortable for light use, but tight for heavy workloads.

Slow depreciation, near the floor

From a base near $1300, the laptop has settled to $124 at roughly 6.9% per year, with a projected value around $107 in two years. The curve has flattened — most of the value has already been lost.

Vintage peers bracket it tightly

Slightly pricier options include the Lenovo ThinkPad T450 ($142) and HP EliteBook 820 G1 ($137); cheaper alternatives include the HP ProBook 4540s ($117) and Lenovo ThinkPad T530 ($113), which offer similar vintage business hardware for marginally less.

Bottom line

The EliteBook 820 G2 is worth the asking price for a buyer who specifically wants a very cheap, compact 12.5-inch laptop for light office duties and casual older games, and who understands the vintage iGPU and 16 GB RAM ceiling. For anything more demanding, slightly pricier peers with newer processors are the better spend.