HP EliteBook 745 G6 review

A 2019 EliteBook 745 G6 with a Ryzen 5 and no real standout strength

The HP EliteBook 745 G6 (2019) pairs an AMD Ryzen 5 3500U with 32 GB of RAM and lands at $281, in line with the business-class median of about $297. It is an honest office machine with no standout strength: reliability is low at 27, the overall performance index is 26.96 against a median near 41, and there is no discrete GPU. The pricing is fair for the class, but no single metric leads the peers.

A balanced Ryzen 5 office config

The Ryzen 5 3500U is a capable Zen+ quad-core processor that handles everyday office multitasking comfortably, and 32 GB of RAM is sufficient for that workload. There is no metric on which this laptop clearly leads its class — it is workmanlike rather than standout, and the fair pricing reflects that.

Reliability and graphics show the age

The weak spot by level is graphics performance (integrated only — no gaming or GPU-accelerated creative work), but reliability (27) and overall performance (26.96) are both below the category median, which reflects a 2019 platform ageing. This is a workable office machine, not a powerhouse.

Depreciation tracking the class

From a base near $1300, the laptop has depreciated to $281 at roughly 8.5% per year, with a projected value around $235 in two years — a typical curve for a 2019 AMD business model.

ThinkPad alternatives bracket it

Slightly pricier options include the Lenovo ThinkPad E15 Gen 2 ($319) and ThinkPad T14 Gen 1 ($302); cheaper alternatives include the Lenovo ThinkPad E495 ($253) and Dell Latitude 5300 ($256), which offer similar business-class hardware for somewhat less.

Bottom line

The EliteBook 745 G6 is a fair but unremarkable pick for stationary office work — email, documents, browsing — where the Ryzen 5 and 32 GB of RAM are the main draws. Buyers who need GPU power, stronger overall performance, or higher reliability can find better peers at similar prices.