The Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 is one of the newest mainstream business notebooks on the market that goes head-to-head with a lot of other great laptops. The new 2022 variants of this notebook are available in both Intel and AMD flavors with a 14-inch 16:10 display. We've already compared the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 with a lot of business notebooks of this year, but it's now time to pit it against HP's new EliteBook 840 G9. The EliteBook 840 G9 is also a great option to consider if you're looking for a business powered by Intel's new 12th gen Alder Lake CPUs. In this article, we're going to take a look at the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 vs HP EliteBook 840 G9 comparison to find out which one's better.

Navigate this article:

• Specifications
• Performance
• Display
• Design & Ports
• Which one should you buy?

Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 vs HP EliteBook 840 G9: Specifications

Before we begin the comparison, let's first take a look at the specifications of each notebook to find out what each of them brings to the table:

Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 vs HP EliteBook 840 G9: Performance

With both the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 and the HP EliteBook 840 G9, you get Intel's new 12th gen Alder Lake mobile CPUs. HP is yet to announce the exact SKUs it's using for the EliteBook 840 G9, but we do know that the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 is available with both Intel's 12th gen P and U-series mobile chips. Notably, you can also buy the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 with AMD's new Ryzen 6000 series PRO processors. So if you're in the market for an AMD-powered notebook, then you already know which one to pick. We'll keep an eye out for more announcements from HP to see which processors they're using for the EliteBook 840 G9 notebook. We expect them to use Intel’s new P-series Alder Lake mobile chips too. These new processors have a default TDP of 28W. The U-series processors, on the other hand, have a default TDP of 15W or 9W. We suggest you check out our Intel P-series vs U-series processor comparison to find out more about the performance difference between these chips.

There's also a slim chance that we may see some models of the EliteBook 840 G9 using Intel's U-series processors. We say that because some of the models of this notebook are packed with a relatively smaller 38Whr battery as opposed to the bigger 51Whr unit. As for the graphics chip, Lenovo is also giving you optional discrete graphics chips with the Intel variants of the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 notebook. You get the option to pick between the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050, in addition to Intel's integrated graphics chips. The EliteBook 840 G9, on the other hand, seems to only have Intel’s integrated graphics chips.

On the memory and storage front, you get up to 48GB DDR4 memory with the Intel variants of the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 notebook. The AMD variants can only be configured with up to 32GB, but you get LPDDR5 memory with up to 6400Mhz frequency, as opposed to DDR4. The HP EliteBook 840 G9, on the other hand, can be configured with up to 64GB of DDR5 memory. So not only are you getting more memory with the EliteBook 840 G9, but you're also getting the latest DDR5 modules. You can also configure the EliteBook 840 G9 with up to 2TB of PCIe NVMe SSD storage, whereas all models of the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 are capped at 1TB.

It's hard to tell which laptop is going to perform better overall based on the just specifications but it's worth mentioning that the ones powered by Intel's P-series chips are bound to perform better than the relatively low-powered U-series. It'll be interesting to see how the Intel and AMD variants of the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 stack up against each other as AMD has also made some improvements to its new Ryzen 6000 series chips.

Before we move on to the next section, it's worth pointing out that we're looking at almost the same capacity batteries inside each notebook. You get the option to choose between a 39.3Whr and a 52.5Whr battery in the case of the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3. You'll get a smaller battery if you pick up the variant without the discrete graphics chip. HP is also giving you an option to choose between a 38Whr and a 51Whr battery for the EliteBook 840 G9. We expect the variants powered by the U-series chips to have a smaller battery, although there's no official confirmation on that just yet.

Display

Moving on to the display, both laptops in this comparison have 14-inch 16:10 panels. In fact, you can choose between several variants of this 14-inch panel. In Lenovo's case, you get the option to choose between both touch and non-touch panels. There's also an Ultra HD+ variant that comes with a touchscreen, up to 500nits brightness, support for HDR400, and more. While the HP EliteBook 840 G9 is also available with a few display options, you only have non-touch options with higher peak brightness. We like how both laptops have a taller 16:10 aspect ratio panel as they're preferred in the case of business notebooks due to more vertical screen real-estate, allowing you to read more of a web page or a document.

But if we were to pick a winner here for the display options, then we think the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 is superior because of all the options it brings to the table, especially the sharper 2.2K and Ultra HD+ variants. That's not to say the HP EliteBook 840 G9 has a bad display. You do get an option to choose between a brighter panel with additional features including HP Sure View. HP Sure View, for those of you who don't know, allows you to enable a privacy mode, reducing up to 95% of visible light when viewed at an angle. It’s a great privacy feature to have and it adds more value to the notebook in the enterprise space.

As for the webcam, the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 comes with an option to choose between a 720p HD or a 1080p FHD camera. Only the 1080p version comes with an optional IR support, so keep that in mind. It's not necessarily a deal-breaker since you also get a fingerprint scanner that's embedded in the power button. HP is using a 5MP camera with HP Auto Frame, a known feature that ensures you’re always in the frame no matter how you move. The company is using a “new” 5MP camera for the EliteBook 840 G9, so you can expect it to have a slightly better quality compared to its last-gen counterpart. It lacks support for IR, though, but you do get an optional fingerprint reader for authentication.

Design & Ports

If you are leaning towards buying a thinner and lighter laptop then we think the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 notebook is the way to go. It measures 0.70-inches in thickness and weighs less than 1.36Kg. The HP EliteBook 840 G9, on the other hand, is slightly thicker coming in at 0.76-inches and starting at 1.362kgs. As for the aesthetics, the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 sports that classic ThinkPad look and feel to it. It's available in two colorways -- Storm Grey and Thunder Black. The Thunder Black variant is the one that comes with an optional antimicrobial surface treatment. The HP EliteBook 840 G9 appears to be available in just a silver finish. You get more color options with other notebooks in the EliteBook series, but that doesn't seem to be the case here.

Moving on to the ports, we think both laptops offer a decent port selection. The Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 sports two USB-Type C ports (Thunderbolt 4 in case of Intel variants), two USB Type-A ports, an HDMI 2.0b port, an RJ45 Ethernet port, a 3.5mm combo headphone jack, and a SIM card slot. The HP EliteBook 840 G9 features two Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB Type-A ports, a single HDMI 2.0 port, a Nano-SIM slot, and a 3.5mm combo jack. You're essentially missing out on the RJ45 Ethernet port on the EliteBook 840 G9 notebook for wired internet connectivity. Both laptops have SIM slots but the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 only supports 4G LTE whereas the HP EliteBook 840 G9 also comes with 5G connectivity. Other connectivity options on both machines include Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2.

Which one should you buy?

Just like a lot of other comparisons, this one's also a close match. You already know what you're going to get when you buy one of these new business notebooks -- you get the latest generation processor, a relatively thin and light form factor, a good set of ports, decent connectivity options, and more. Both laptops have got you covered with the basics, but there are some aspects in which one is better than the other. The ThinkPad T14 Gen 3, for instance, also comes with AMD processors and discrete graphics chips with the Intel variants. You also get more display options, including an Ultra HD+ touch variant. The ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 also comes with an RJ45 Ethernet port, something that's again missing on the EliteBook 840 G9 notebook.

That's not to say the EliteBook 840 G9 is a bad notebook by any means. This one also comes with Intel's new 12th gen Alder Lake mobile chips, has a 14-inch 16:10 aspect ratio panel, a good set of ports, and 5G connectivity support. HP hasn't announced the pricing and availability details of the EliteBook 840 G9 laptop, but we do know that the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 starts at $1,299 for the AMD variants and $1,399 for the Intel variants.

If you don't find either of these laptops interesting, then be sure to take a look at our some of our other collection articles including the best ThinkPad notebooks and the best HP laptops, to see if you can find some other options out there.