Horrible. At work I’ve had one (i5 with hybrid drive) for a few years. Keyboard requires a heavier push on left, and isn’t very good anyway. BIOS has been terrible, if you have one with anything but the newest version, upgrade (no room for the whole story). No clicking trackpad, off center trackpad with awkward buttons, pointer sometimes disappears (might be Windows 7), extra buttons in awkward places but I’ve seen worse, driver software limited (Bluetooth software doesn’t set up a headset… fortunately the BT hardware maker’s drivers work), it ain’t thin, the design is awkward…it helps me realize why Macs cost more, it isn’t consistent about realising external video (might be Windows, too), doesn’t always sleep when lid closed, the HP software is awful, the screen doesn’t tilt back far enough, the battery life is bad, etc.
The display is horrid.
It is sturdy, the bottom plate design is good, it has ethernet, the external battery is good if heavy, the dock is very useful.
Basically, the way you communicate with the computer (keyboard, trackpad) is low quality. The way it communicates with you is low quality. Not worth it except as a burner, and who has a burner computer?
I’ve had an 840 G1 with the i5 4200U at work for three years. Well really I’ve had a few, first one’s drive died and the second motherboard was bad. (Rumor was there was a reason HP made a G2 version, the G1 hardware was filled with issues. Notice though G1/G2 didn’t change design- the thing is built to “enterprise/business” class, very sturdy and can a beating. Yes the off set trackpad drives me crazy as well but lots of windows laptops are like this.) The third 840 I got, worked well. Eventually I got 8GB and a Samsung EVO SSD in it. Now it performs great only bottleneck I’ve found is the processor. It can be maxed if you push it but most users will rarely hit that. I’d assume the i7 with higher clock speed and more cache would greatly improve the performance (my 4200U is the lowest class of intel processor offered in 840’s.) However the graphics on mine aren’t great dual screens, virtual calls with screen sharing, and lots of windows moving around can start to push it (this isn’t unbearable though.) while the i7 will help - can’t say it will be much better.
If this has been refurbished I would expect/hope it has all the faulty hardware replaced and you’ll be running smoothly for a long time like I have been.
Touch screen is a nice touch, I’ve never seen an 840 with one in person. However the normal 840 display is… subpar I would say for what was a ~$1000 laptop at release. No idea if the touchscreen is better.
Overall conclusion - I’m considering picking one of these up.
You sound like someone who came from a Mac to the PC world. I’ve done the same, and it is a painful adjustment. Apple’s trackpads are top of the line and Window’s OEMs are just no where close. However, for a windows laptop it isn’t that bad I would go as far as to say it is actually “good”. (excluding the off set trackpad - which drives me insane but lots of Windows laptops are this way. Why? I have no idea.)