HP ProBook 640 G5 review

A 2019 ProBook 640 G5 with a workhorse i5 and no real standout strength

The HP ProBook 640 G5 (2019) pairs an 8th-gen Intel Core i5 8365U with 32 GB of RAM and lands at $182, below the business-class median of about $297. It is an honest budget office machine with no standout strength: the overall performance index is 26.28 (low for the class), there is no discrete GPU, and the pricing is in the ultra-budget bracket.

A workhorse CPU for stationary office use

The i5 8365U is a reliable 8th-gen quad-core processor that handles email, web, documents, and light multitasking without complaint, and 32 GB of RAM is more than most peers at this price offer. There is no single metric on which this laptop clearly leads its class — the value is in the capable CPU at a low price.

Performance and graphics reflect the budget positioning

The weak spot by level is graphics performance (integrated only — no gaming or GPU-accelerated creative work), and overall performance at 26.28 is below the category median. This is a competent machine for genuinely light office duty, but buyers should not expect more than that.

Depreciation tracking the class

From a base near $1300, the laptop has depreciated to $182 at roughly 8.5% per year, with a projected value around $152 in two years — a typical curve for a 2019 budget business model.

Tightly bracketed by budget peers

Slightly pricier options include the HP ProBook 440 G6 ($191) and Lenovo ThinkPad L480 ($192); cheaper alternatives include the HP EliteBook 745 G4 ($172) and HP 250 G7 Grey ($155), which offer similar vintage business hardware for somewhat less.

Bottom line

The ProBook 640 G5 is a defensible pick if your budget is firmly capped around $180 and your workload is genuinely light — email, documents, browsing. Value-for-money is average for the bracket; the i5 8365U is the main redeeming feature, and buyers needing more should look at slightly pricier peers with newer platforms.