HP EliteBook 840 G7 vs G8: Is the 11th Gen Upgrade Worth It?

Short answer: Buy the HP EliteBook 840 G8 (Core i5, 11th Gen) at ₹34,990. At the same price as the 840 G7 (Core i7, 10th Gen), the G8 gives you Iris Xe graphics instead of basic Intel UHD, Thunderbolt 4, and a newer platform that stays supported longer — and the chassis, screen and keyboard are the same on both. Choose the G7 i7 only if your work is sustained multi-threaded CPU load and never touches graphics.

Prices are live as of 16 August 2026 and move with stock — check the linked product page for today’s exact price.

Stock note: both the 840 G7 and the 840 G8 are listed at ₹34,990 and both are between batches as we publish this, so treat those as listed prices rather than a live add-to-cart. EliteBooks come to us in corporate fleet lots, so availability moves in steps rather than a steady trickle. In-stock alternatives in the same class today are the Dell Latitude 5320 2-in-1 (11th Gen i5) at ₹38,990 and the Dell Latitude 5421 (11th Gen i7 H-series) at ₹44,990.

This is one of the more interesting choices in the refurbished market, because the price is identical and the trade is not obvious. You are choosing between a higher-tier processor from an older generation and a mid-tier processor from a newer one. Marketing instinct says i7 beats i5. That instinct is wrong here, and this post explains why without fudging it.

The two laptops, side by side

RAM and SSD capacity vary by individual unit and are stated on each product page. The exact i7 part in a given G7 also varies — 10th Gen Core i7 U-series shipped in both 4-core and 6-core versions, and that distinction matters for this comparison, so ask us which one a specific unit carries before you buy it for CPU reasons.

What is actually the same on both

Almost everything you touch. HP kept the 840 chassis design across the G7 and G8: the same 14-inch Full HD screen, the same aluminium body at roughly 1.33 kg, the same backlit keyboard that is one of the better ones in business laptops, the same port layout, the same hinge, the same speakers.

This is genuinely useful, because it means the decision is purely about silicon. You are not trading away a better screen or a nicer keyboard in either direction. Whichever you pick, the machine in your hands feels identical.

Where the G7’s i7 actually wins

We are not going to pretend the i7 is pointless. It wins in one specific place: sustained work spread across many threads.

• If the unit is a 6-core i7, it has 50% more cores than the G8’s 4-core i5. For compiling code, exporting a long video from a CPU-based encoder, running two or three virtual machines, or heavy Excel models with large recalculations, more cores finish the job sooner.
• Higher boost clocks. The 10th Gen i7 parts clock higher than a 10th Gen i5, which helps in single-threaded work like older accounting software.
• More cache, which helps in database and spreadsheet workloads.

The honest caveat is thermal. This is a 1.33 kg 14-inch chassis with a 15-watt thermal design. A 6-core U-series chip in that body cannot hold its peak clocks for long — after a minute or two of full load it settles to something much closer to a 4-core part. So the i7 advantage in a long export is real but smaller than the core count suggests, and in a short burst it barely appears at all.

Where the G8’s 11th Gen wins, and why it usually decides this

Iris Xe graphics. This is the single biggest hardware difference between the two machines, and it is much larger than the CPU gap.

Intel UHD on the G7 is a basic display adapter — enough to drive a screen and play video. Iris Xe on the G8 is a genuinely capable integrated GPU, several times stronger. What that changes in real use:

• Video calls with background blur or virtual backgrounds run on the GPU. On the G7 this quietly eats CPU all day; on the G8 it barely registers.
• Photo editing. Lightroom and Photoshop offload a great deal to the GPU. Exports and previews are visibly quicker on the G8.
• Light video editing. Timeline scrubbing in 1080p is workable on the G8 and frustrating on the G7. Modern hardware encoders in 11th Gen also handle newer video formats that the older chip decodes in software.
• Two external monitors. The G8 drives dual displays comfortably. The G7 manages it but works harder.
• Modest gaming, if that matters. Older and lighter titles are playable on Iris Xe at low settings. Not on UHD.

On top of graphics, the G8 brings Thunderbolt 4 (a stricter standard than Thunderbolt 3, so single-cable docking behaves more predictably), a newer platform that will be supported for longer, and better idle power efficiency, which shows up as extra battery life on a healthy cell.

The verdict, without fudging it

Buy the EliteBook 840 G8. At the same ₹34,990, most buyers get more usable machine from newer graphics, newer I/O and a longer support runway than from an older i7 badge that throttles in a thin chassis.

The exception is narrow and we will state it precisely: buy the 840 G7 i7 if you run sustained, multi-threaded, CPU-only workloads — code compilation, virtual machines, CPU-based rendering, large data processing — and your work does not involve photo editing, video, background-blur calls or dual 4K monitors. If that describes you, confirm the specific unit is the 6-core i7 before ordering, because a 4-core i7 removes most of the reason to choose it.

And if the answer is genuinely “I do heavy CPU work”, the more honest recommendation is neither of these thin 15-watt machines. A 45-watt H-series chip like the one in the Latitude 5421 at ₹44,990 holds sustained load in a way no U-series ultrabook can, for ₹7,000 more.

Who should not buy either of these

• Anyone whose work is documents, browsing, Tally and email. You do not need a ₹32,990 laptop for that. A Dell Latitude 5400 at ₹22,990 does the same job and saves you ₹10,000.
• Gamers. Neither has dedicated graphics.
• Anyone needing a 15.6-inch screen or a numeric keypad. This is a 14-inch family.
• Anyone who needs eight hours unplugged. These are refurbished machines with used batteries. We state the measured health band on every listing instead of claiming new-battery runtime.
• Anyone who wants built-in Ethernet without a dock. If a wired port is non-negotiable, look at the Dell Latitude 5000 series, which keeps RJ45 on the body.

Frequently asked questions

Is the HP EliteBook 840 G8 better than the 840 G7?

For most buyers, yes — for ₹2,000 more (₹34,990 against the G7’s ₹32,990), the G8’s Iris Xe graphics are several times stronger than the G7’s Intel UHD, and it adds Thunderbolt 4 and a longer support life. The G7’s Core i7 is faster in sustained multi-threaded CPU work, but that advantage is limited by the thin chassis and only matters for compiling, virtual machines and similar loads.

Is an i7 10th Gen better than an i5 11th Gen?

Not usually, and this is the most common mistake in refurbished laptop buying. The i7 badge describes tier within a generation, not absolute speed. An 11th Gen i5 has better per-core performance and far stronger integrated graphics than a 10th Gen i7 U-series chip. The older i7 only pulls ahead when many cores are loaded for a long time.

What is the difference between Intel UHD and Iris Xe graphics?

Iris Xe, introduced with 11th Gen, is several times more capable than the older Intel UHD. In practice it means smoother video playback, faster photo exports, workable 1080p video editing, better handling of two external monitors, and video calls with background blur that do not slow the machine down. For anyone working with images or video, this is the difference that matters.

Do both EliteBook 840 G7 and G8 support Windows 11?

Yes. Both are comfortably past Microsoft’s 8th Gen Intel requirement, so both run Windows 11 officially with full updates. Both also have TPM as standard, which is a business-laptop feature and part of why corporate machines meet the Windows 11 requirements more easily than consumer laptops of the same age.

How much RAM should I get in an EliteBook 840?

16GB if you can, especially on the G8, because Iris Xe graphics share system memory and benefit from having more of it available. 8GB is workable for documents and browsing but will feel tight with a browser, Teams and Excel open together. RAM configuration is stated on each product page, and these machines accept upgrades later.

Is the EliteBook 840 good for video editing?

The G8 handles light 1080p editing acceptably thanks to Iris Xe and its hardware encoders. Neither model is a serious editing machine — there is no dedicated graphics card and the 14-inch chassis limits sustained power. For real editing work, look at a mobile workstation with dedicated graphics such as the Dell Precision 3551 at ₹54,990.

Are these covered by warranty?

Yes — both are Grade A Certified and carry 6 months of NewAsNew Assured warranty covering motherboard, display, keyboard, ports, hinges and storage. Batteries, physical damage and liquid damage are excluded, as they are under brand warranties. Every unit passes our 50-point quality check and comes with a GST invoice and 7-day returns.

EliteBook 840 or Dell Latitude at this price?

The EliteBook 840 is lighter and has a better keyboard than most rivals; the Dell Latitude 5000 series keeps built-in Ethernet and is usually cheaper for the same generation. Choose on ports and price rather than brand loyalty — our Latitude 5520 vs EliteBook 840 G8 comparison takes that question apart properly.

The honest bottom line

Two machines, same money, same body, same screen, same keyboard. The only real question is which piece of silicon serves you better, and for most people that is the 11th Gen i5 in the G8 — because Iris Xe changes what the laptop can do, while the older i7 only changes how quickly it does one narrow category of work.

If you are choosing between generations more broadly, our Latitude 5400 vs 5410 vs 5420 comparison covers the same question across three Dell generations, and our under ₹40,000 guide shows what else this budget buys in India today.

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Still deciding? Message us on WhatsApp (+91 79822 35917) with your budget and how you will use it, and we will tell you honestly whether this is the right pick for you.

Written by the NewAsNew team — NextG Serve Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi. We have been selling electronics since 2020 and refurbished and unboxed devices since 2022. Read our story.