HP 255 G10 15.6" Full HD Review

The HP 255 G10 is a budget laptop that tries to be a jack-of-all-trades but ends up being a master of none. The one thing you need to know is that it's a cheap way to get a Ryzen 7 processor and 16GB of RAM, but you're making serious compromises everywhere else to hit that price. It runs FreeDOS, so you'll need to install Windows yourself, which is a hassle most people don't want.

The AMD Ryzen 7 7730U is the star here, landing in the 51st percentile for CPU power. It's decent for everyday tasks and light multitasking. But everything else is a letdown. The integrated Radeon graphics are in the bottom 20% for GPUs, so gaming is a no-go, and the screen quality is just as poor. It feels fast until you try to do anything visually demanding.

At $575, it's a tough sell. You're getting last-gen DDR4 RAM and a mediocre 512GB SSD, and you have to deal with FreeDOS. For the same money, you could find a refurbished business laptop with a proper OS and better build quality. It's only worth it if your absolute top priority is a new Ryzen 7 chip on a tight budget, and you're comfortable being your own tech support.

Forget the flashy gaming laptops on the competitor list. The real comparison is with refurbished models like a Lenovo ThinkPad. A used ThinkPad will likely have a better keyboard, a more reliable build, and come with Windows. If you need something new and cheap with a good screen, the ASUS Zenbook lineup, even an older model, will run circles around this HP's display. This HP loses on polish and finish.

Skip it. The HP 255 G10 feels like a parts bin special. The core specs look okay on paper, but the terrible screen, the hassle of FreeDOS, and the low reliability ranking make it a bad deal. Spend a little more, or buy used, and you'll get a much better overall machine. This isn't the budget champion it wants to be.