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Last update : 17/8/2026

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17/7/2026 (with some updates added in 18/8/2026, 30/8/2026)

Some short notes on the 845G7 I got to replace my T470:

Interfaces (display, keyboard, mouse replacements, sound)

The body is pretty much what I would expect from an ultrabook of 2020. The bottom is flexible and thin, but also relatively solid enough not to feel like a gymbro could easily snap it in half; while the display/top felt nicely rigid. That said, I also appreciated how easy it was to bag the 845G7 whereas the T470 needed some space management before it can be bagged. As for the hinges, it felt loose enough for the laptop to open with one hand but just tight enough to keep things tight under regular use.
My 845G7's display is a NV140FHM‐N4N (which was intended for some other laptop but made its way to my 845G7 from the refurbishing service), which does decent colors (despite the low color gamut claims) to my eyes at the standard 60hz. That said, I think the N4N isn't evenly spreading its brightness, darkening in the right side when doing text.

The keyboard is unnoteworthily decent. The base flexes if pressed hard enough, keyboard types decently fine for a modern membrane laptop keyboard, and it also comes with white backlighting by default. Annoyingly, the fn key and power button (which was fused to the keyboard assembly, to the left of the delete key) has an always on white light (with the fn being noticeably obtrusive alongside the rest of the backlight and power being on all the time but positioned in a less obtrusive way). And the home key being right next to backspace is troublesome as well. Fortunately, there seems to be no missed inputs aside from the times I pressed WASD while my left hand was on the trackpad.
The 845G7 has 2 inbuilt mouse replacements ‐ a trackpoint and a Precision trackpad called the ClickPad. The trackpoint isn't something I would use (though its mouse buttons would); while the touchpad is pretty serviceable, though its clickers are only decent when the touchpad is new. In addition, the trackpad's offcenter (to the left) placement interferes with gaming if it's enabled (mostly with the WASD keys) and editing its setting it in Linux required a reboot to apply and they're all named SYNA30B0:00 06CB:CE08, making any form of adjustment on them a headache. As such, a real mouse (not the pest) would be appreciated here.
The sound coming out of the 845G7's speakers (flanking the keyboard, facing upwards) is tolerable at worst, with it making clear efforts to hide its lack of bass. As for the combo jack (which is located on the left side), it's serviceable for a laptop.
For physical connectivity, the 845G7 has a (mostly pointless) nanoSIM slot (that was replaced by a plastic‐covered stub for non‐WWAN variants, like the one I have), 2 USB‐C 3.1 (with USB PD), HDMI, & HP's barrel plug (giving the 845G7 3 charging ports). The left side has 2 USB‐A 3.0, 3.5mm combo jack, and a Smart Card reader (that is begging to be sealed shut). As it is a Ryzen computer, the 845G7 lacks Thunderbolt 3, preventing use of external GPUs (not that I can confirm it myself). No Ethernet, though I also got an USB hub with Ethernet adapter (which wasn't perfect but it works, though TBH I don't often have ethernet access nowadays so it balances out).
The 845G7 also comes with a fingerprint scanner, though it only works on Windows. As for sleep, I (accidentally) tried out hybrid sleep (by leaving it for however long it took to commit hybrid sleep) and it froze the 845G7 (requiring me to manually shut it down); while suspend worked nicely. I also did not test the webcam out (the bezel provides an inbuilt camera shutter). As for the BIOS settings, HP's running a highly obnoxious white theme on it and does not allow adjusting time by the second.
My 845G7 comes with Ryzen 5 4650U, which is overkill for most daily computer tasks (browsing internet & editing texts) but allows playable framerates (on both XOrg & XLibre) for Mineclonia / Luanti. And it is all done with little fan noise, which is nice.

Repairability

As far as laptop repairability goes, the 845G7 is almost as decent as the T470. Sure, it does have some advantage (like replaceable USB‐A and 3.5mm jack) but for the most part it is average laptop repairability (meaning it is overall less repairable than the T470).

Getting access to most of the 845G7's innards takes 5 PH00 screws (with none of them being under the rubber feet, unlike most of HP's laptops I'm aware of, though that limits things to the Envy & Spectre lines), all of which are held captive in the bottom shell. Afterwards, it's held by plastic clips.
The 1 M.2 NVME SSD & 2 DDR4 SODIMM (up to 3200mhz) slots are each covered by a metal cover, which clips on to the motherboard. After its removal, RAM & storage replacements can be done.
Heatpipe is held by 4 captive PH00 screws and is separate from the fan (which are held by screws), so you won't need to unplug the fan when repasting the CPU (or replacing its thermal paste with some PTM7950). On the other hand, this also means you can skip repasting if you only need to replace the fan.
845G7 features 2 M.2 slots without metal covers, one for Wi‐Fi (with included coaxials) and for WWAN (though mine lacked their coaxial cables, making the nanoSIM ~~slot~~ stub even more pointless).
Aside from its connector, the speakers simply hang onto some poles using their rubber gaskets, with their cable (the part that connects left & right speakers) clipping into the battery.
Battery is held by 4 PH00 screws.
Under the battery, we have the trackpad and extra mouse buttons. Trackpad's stuck with 5 M1.6 x 1.8 (essentially PH000) screws, mouse buttons 4 (and some metal tape).
Speaking of the trackpad (which doubles as a subboard for the mouse buttons & trackpoint; perhaps explaining the whole SYNA30B0:00 06CB:CE08 thingy), it is stuck to its metal bracket by 2 small solder points and adhesive on the top section. If the trackpad ever felt loose & spongey, perhaps refreshing the adhesive (and maybe replacing the bracket) isn't a bad idea compared to replacing the entire trackpad assembly (at least if spare parts are hard to find), though it'll require some precision to ensure proper functionalities. As for whether those solder points serve as grounding for the trackpad, I am not sure, though I noticed my trackpad wasn't soldered to its bracket (but just stuck using tonnes of B7000) and so far I see no issues with it, aside from the aforementioned WASD.
In what can be called a departure from most HP laptops that I am aware of (by the Elitebook G9 HP returned to its roots of onboard charging ports by removing the barrel plug for USB‐C‐only like everyone else), the barrel plug is replaceable. It is held by 1 M2.0 x 4.0 screw, with its cable going under one of the SSD cover's tabs.
As mentioned at the beginning of the repairability section, the left ports (2x USB‐A & 3.5mm combo jack) are on their own sub‐board. On the other hand, the right ports (the 2 USB‐C ports and 1 HDMI port) are directly soldered to mainboard & requires soldering to replace.
The keyboard and trackpoint (and also cover plate) are held by plastic rivets under the palmrest. Replacing them while keeping the palmrest requires breaking those rivets & hoping whatever thing you'd use to replace them (more plastic rivets and/or actual screws, if modded) don't fuck the build up (assuming the rivets were replaceable with actual screws in the first place) and force you to get another palmrest assembly with included keyboard (which would've been the default method). That said, if you yanked the keyboard membrane and cover plate off the palmrest, the trackpoint sticks to said membrane by 3 very small screws.
Display replacement starts with unclipping (and unadhering for either the first time or subsequent detachments if adding adhesive) the plastic bezel. Then the display is unadhered from the display (the first time around it uses those stretch‐pull strips like the ones on iPhones' batteries). Readhering the display also required spacers to ensure their correct position as neither the top case nor the display had brackets to ensure proper positioning. I'm not sure why iFixit (or HP as it's an "OEM guide") recommended tearing the entire thing down.
As for compatible displays (other than the NV140FHM‐N4N I've previously mentioned), the 845G7 wants one without attachment brackets and whose control board are flush with the display's bottom, with its connector somewhere on the bottom‐right section when looked at the display's back. The refurbisher also noted that they can plug in a random LCD with protruding control board (to test out brightness controls because the display it came with before the NV140FHM‐N4N was some knockoff with brightness stuck when using inbuilt system backlight controls, requiring AMD's Windows‐only control center as a kind of workaround), though it didn't fit into the top case.
For hinge (and top case) replacements, that's only possible when the top case is separated from the palmrest, as the hinge cover is unremoveable otherwise (preventing the hinge from being detached off the top case). It all starts by unplugging the camera & display cables (both of which seems to be using those Lego‐like BTB connectors and are easier to pry off than removing with its pulltab), as well as the antenna coaxials. Then 6 (4 on camera side, 2 on display/wifi) screws for hinge to bottom case are removed, allowing the top case and hinge to be finagled to removal. Removing the hinge cover requires unscrewing 1 screw and sliding the cover to the right before rotating it upwards; while removing each hinges from the top case takes 3 screws.

Reflections & stuff

Why change your laptop?

Recently (as of June 2026?) Minecraft (in the form of Mineclonia / Luanti as Microslop's offering has a far‐too‐high barrier of entry for most of us in the Dorms) is becoming a bit of our favorite breaktime games. With me being around at that time (and an active part of it), I cannot keep using the T470 (30/8/2026 Update : I could, had I discarded XLibre at that time. Turns out it was the culprit behind Luanti's fucked framerate there) if I wanted to reliably be there (and I FUCKING DO.).
Cutting out bulk. While the T470 is mostly portable, it is kind of annoying to pack in a bag, especially now that I've somewhat downsized my bag to a 14‐incher (which doesn't always fit my T470 without dedicating space to it) for easier travels.

Wait... What about the G531GD?

On raw performance alone, that's more than good enough. Though it's too bulky for my preferences (as one would expect from a gaming laptop) and I don't like its tendency to force 48hz when running on battery (which never lasts long enough anyway, even factoring in new replacements). Not to mention the G531GD is shared so I can't just monopolize it (and I can no longer keep it if I moved). And that's all before I fuck it up (and myself as well) even more by running any Linux on it.

Was the 845G7 your original target laptop?

Initially, my main target wasn't the 845G7, but rather the 835G7 (or 835G8 had my budget allowed it) (both of which offered everything the 845G7 had under a 13‐incher format and centered trackpad). The only issue was its availability (it couldn't be found in time), so I fell with the crowd for the 845G7.

Before anyone starts recommending Framework, I readily admit their "solution" to onboard USB‐C ports (by turning the still‐onboard USB‐C ports into module ports and making the motherboard easy to replace and/or apply to DIY projects) is notable (that is, before Lenovo made replaceable USB‐C ports on some of their laptops like the T14G7 and Dell's "Pro" lineup introducing their screw‐on USB‐C; finally solving one of my greatest niggles against laptop repairability). And their laptops' build quality seem nice (relatively thin & light aluminium builds combined with easier access to most parts needing repairs). However, their questionable availability (in addition to their cuckflared webpage (and hcaptcha on opening demanding everyone to either cuck up or fuck off) being the only way to purchase their laptops (and also access Framework's service guides because they put QR codes on certain parts for "easy" repair guides as long as one has a smartphone around), if you're physically wherever Framework would ship their laptops to) killed all chances of me (or anyone in the Dorms) ever owning a Framework machine. And that's before we even start discussing their prices (which is still far above my budget even accounting for the refund from the T470).

What do you seek when switching laptops?

As much charging ports as possible, with at least one of them being modular so I have more time to keep my laptop around without having to solder replacements. Also at least 1 USB‐C with charging function so I can use them in situations where I cannot use the standard non‐USB‐C charging port.
Good build quality, running the perfect (failing that, as perfect as possible) balance between durable, featureful, light, repair‐friendly, and thin.
The easier it is for me (or the general user, for that matter) to repair the device, the better. Though it must also not come at the cost of build quality. I forgot adding this until 4/8/2026.
While not required, replaceable RAM and storage is appreciated. That said, they rarely fail on me, I never had the opportunity to own lapotops with soldered RAM for any period of time, and I rarely find enough personal use cases to max out (other than the time we tried compiling our own custom ROM, though ongoing complications in our lives kept us from committing to it), so I rarely make use of them. And if they (RAM and/or storage) fail, ~~FUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!~~ the ongoing RAM & SSD supply issues will ensure I can't get replacements for reasonable prices.
Costs up to US$250 (before T470 refunds) for one working laptop, spare parts not included. Also available at commercial markets (not that I will be the one to deal with them for now).

Between Intel & Ryzen, I've preferred the latter for its better out‐of‐the‐box performance. I am yet to give Nvidia a try with Linux, especially considering there are no Nvidia computers I would (or could, for now) like to fuck up with Linux. That said...

If Intel performance woes aren't an issue I would've rushed into either Dell Latitude 7300 2019 or HP Elitebook 830G(7/8), depending on how cheap I can get away with either and how willing I am to tolerate its flaws.
As for Ryzen machines that do fit my needs... honestly, other than Dell's Inspirons (and their questionable build quality), HP's Elitebook (G7/8) & Probooks (G7 to G9, did not check further) were the only ones to even remotely match them (and even then it came with some asterisks like asymetrical trackpad placement, riveted keyboard membranes with no screw holes, and glued on display). Even Lenovo's Thinkpads (A485 and beyond) are a bust for me, thanks to its all‐onboard charging ports; while its latest T14G7 / T16G5 does have replaceable USB‐C ports but are far too expensive at the moment (and the T16G5's bulk as well).
And that's before we start counting their footguns in (Intel ME / AMD PSP). As a mere end user, I can only hope these don't backfire on me. However, I do welcome machines without these footguns (like Librebooted Intel machines), if I could get them in the first place.

24/7/2026 Update : Forgot to mention the touchscreen ones. Generally, I refuse it at this point. However, if I do want it, I'm adding these terms.

Must comply with all of my previous requirements, with added emphasis towards the build quality because I will interact with it a lot more often than I would most normal laptops.

Is either a tablet‐type or has a 360‐degree hinge that allows the laptop to be a "tablet". Normal laptop forms having touchscreen is pointless to me.
Must not have its display adhered to the body, especially if it is the first removed component in the device's repair procedure.
Preferably 13‐incher or smaller. 14‐inch is already a stretch for me in those states.
≤1.3kg metal build. It also needs to be durable. And as always, I appreciate the added features.

Multi‐touch must work in other environments (including my usual environment ‐ XFCE on XLibre) the way it did in Windows (where multiple inputs are properly recognized). This is the one issue that prevents me from ever wanting a touchscreen laptop on Linux, at least after my little debacle with the Inspiron 5485.

13/5/2026

NixNet Git's back up again. Nice.
Welp, typing capital I and smol l is indistinguishable in Roboto. So I slapped Comic Sans MS in. Now big i and smol l should be distinct, at the very least.

22/4/2026

Welp NixNet Git just went error 500 (24/4/2026 reflection: I think I remembered seeing NixNet Git being flooded with spam when I made my repos) so I moved Git repoes. Again. This time to Disroot, though without the typo that forced me to garryjail so it's GearJail now. Here's hoping things won't go down...

19/4/2026

I moved most of my Git repositories from Codeberg to NixNet Forgejo as garryjail, as one smol typo in the email section (for my git email) caused me to lose access to the GearJail username. Moving forward, I expect to use Codeberg only as a site mirror.

13/3/2026

A new tenant (who could've been a coworker if I weren't appointed Dorms maintainer for this year) attempted to compile ~~crDroid‐Revived~~ LineageOS 18.1 for my newly‐reassembled OP5T. ~~So far, we're not doing well as we kept crashing into various ninja & soong issues~~ 18/4/2026 update : now compiled & running but we have nowhere to upload them. As for my OP5T, I'm running some tests on it, so I should have the review out soon.

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