If you are on a tighter budget and prioritize longer battery life and portability, the HP EliteBook 845 G9 with its lower price point and lightweight design is a suitable choice. On the other hand, the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 offers a higher resolution OLED touchscreen display, more storage, and better overall performance, particularly in graphics-intensive tasks, making it more appropriate for tasks like 3D rendering and engineering software. Bear in mind, though, that the Lenovo has a higher price tag and is heavier, which could impact its portability. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the HP EliteBook 845 G9
Very good portability
Very good battery life
Advantages of the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Best in class speakers
Excellent keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.7/10
8.6/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
402.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
393.0 nits
12.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
7.0 Hours
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
8.3/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.8/10
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is very good for general use, while the HP EliteBook 845 G9 is good.
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 excels in general use over the HP EliteBook 845 G9 due to its higher-resolution OLED screen, doubled RAM capacity, and more robust CPU, enhancing multitasking and visual tasks. While both are portable, the ThinkPad has a heavier build and shorter battery life, making the EliteBook preferable for those prioritizing lightweight travel and longer usage between charges.
Engineering and Design
7.2/10
8.4/10
6.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is very good for engineering and design, while the HP EliteBook 845 G9 is good.
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 excels in engineering and design due to its more powerful CPU, double the RAM, and a higher-resolution OLED touch screen compared to the HP EliteBook 845 G9, which still performs well but has a less powerful CPU and an IPS screen with lower resolution and no touch capability.
Content Creation
7.6/10
8.5/10
6.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is very good for content creation, while the HP EliteBook 845 G9 is good.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
7.7/10
8.2/10
6.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is very good for software development, while the HP EliteBook 845 G9 is good.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Screen Quality
7.1/10
8.5/10
14.0in
SIZE
16.0in
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
402.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
393.0 nits
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 has a better screen than the HP EliteBook 845 G9 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
If you prioritize vibrant, accurate colors and detail for tasks like document editing or web browsing, the HP EliteBook's good screen characteristics will suffice, whereas the Lenovo ThinkPad's superior display offers even sharper and more vivid visuals for these everyday activities. For engineering and design work where color precision is crucial, the ThinkPad Z16 excels due to its wider color gamut coverage, important for tasks that include photo editing or CAD software. However, for gaming or 3D rendering, neither laptop is ideal as they lack the high refresh rates desired for smooth motion and responsiveness in fast-paced scenes or complex 3D applications.
Battery
12.0 Hours
7.0 Hours
The HP EliteBook 845 G9 has 12 hours of battery life. The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 has 7 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Cost
$740
$1,120
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The HP EliteBook 845 G9 has a price of $740 and the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 costs $1,120.
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 and HP EliteBook 845 G9 are both only fair for gaming and AI.
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 offers a stronger GPU, the AMD RX 6500M, which provides better gaming and 3D graphics performance compared to the HP EliteBook 845 G9's AMD Radeon 660M. Although both laptops have screens with the same refresh rate, the ThinkPad Z16 boasts a higher resolution OLED display, offering sharper visuals and potentially more vibrant colors for a superior gaming and 3D experience.
Portability
Very Good
Good
14.0in
SIZE
16.0in
3.0 lbs
WEIGHT
4.2 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.6in
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers HP EliteBook 845 G9 to have very good portability, while the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
8.0/10
8.0/10
The HP EliteBook 845 G9 and Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 both have very good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
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How the HP EliteBook 845 G9 and the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 compare to other laptops
"The high-end version of the HP EliteBook 845 G9 with a Ryzen 9 PRO 6950HS, 32GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD packs a lot of power, but is still quiet and cool enough to operate in noise-sensitive environments. Quiet, cool and drawing on a massive 40 watts from the APU at the same time, however, is not possible. The 14-incher only has a single-fan solution and it only just manages to keep an near unthrottled Ryzen 9 in check."
"Lenovo’s ThinkPad Z16 tries has some success in its effort to tweak the ThinkPad formula. The laptop is attractive, yet still tame, and material quality is on par with the best Windows competition. I also like the smooth, responsive haptic touchpad and the wide range of modern connectivity. Yet the Z16 doesn’t fix ThinkPad’s typical weakness: value. Starting around $1,550, and more typically near $1,700, the Z16 finds itself facing alternatives that have better performance or an improved display for the same price, or less."
Get a great deal on the HP EliteBook 845 G9 or the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16
About HP
HP, also known as Hewlett-Packard, is an American technology company that develops personal computers and computer peripherals. In the laptop industry, HP is known for its entry level Essential series laptops, its mid-range Pavilion, Envy, and Victus series, and high-end Omen and Spectre series, in addition to its business-oriented EliteBook, ProBook, and Dragonfly series laptops. HP laptops generally undercut other mainstream competitors in terms of price, placing itself as the value-oriented mainstream brand.
About Lenovo
Lenovo is a Chinese technology company, and one of the largest personal computer vendor. They are well known for a variety of technology products, including laptops. Their consumer series include their entry level IdeaPad and LOQ series and mid-to-high-end Yoga and Legion series. On the business-oriented side, their series include their entry-level ThinkBook series and mid-to-high-end ThinkPad series. Lenovo laptops offer strong performance for reasonable prices, and are often on sale.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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