HP Chromebook HP Chromebook 14 Laptop, Intel Celeron N4120, 4 GB Review

Let's be straight about the HP Chromebook 14. It's a $222 laptop that's built for one thing: getting you online. With an Intel Celeron N4120 processor and 4GB of RAM, it lands in the 14th and 0th percentiles for CPU and RAM, respectively. That means it's slower and has less memory than almost every other laptop we track. Its 64GB eMMC storage is also in the 6th percentile, so you're not storing much locally. But hey, it's light at 1.47kg and scores a decent 78th percentile for being compact. This is a machine for checking email and browsing the web, period.

Performance is exactly what you'd expect from a budget Chromebook. The Celeron N4120 is a basic 4-core chip, and its 14th percentile ranking means it's near the bottom of the barrel for processing power. It'll handle a few Chrome tabs, but start opening more than five and you'll feel the slowdown. The integrated Intel UHD Graphics sit in the 42nd percentile, which is actually one of its stronger points, but that just means it can handle basic video playback. Don't even think about gaming or photo editing. The 4GB of RAM is the biggest bottleneck, sitting dead last at the 0th percentile. You'll be managing your tabs carefully.

At $222, the value proposition is simple: it's one of the cheapest ways to get a functional laptop. You're paying for the bare minimum hardware to run Chrome OS. The price per performance ratio is low, but so is the absolute cost. Compared to other Chromebooks around this price, the specs are pretty standard. You won't find a better new laptop for less money, but you also won't find a slower one either.

Comparing this to the 'top competitors' listed like a MacBook Pro or a Legion gaming laptop is a joke. They're in a different universe. A real comparison is against other budget Chromebooks. The main trade-off here is cost versus capability. You could spend $100 more and often find a model with 8GB of RAM and a better screen, which is a massive upgrade. Against something like an older used business laptop, you'd get more power and ports but more weight and worse battery life. This HP's only real advantage is its low price and simplicity.

This is a hard recommendation unless your budget is absolutely fixed at $222. The 4GB of RAM is a deal-breaker for any kind of multitasking, and the overall performance is just too low. If you can stretch your budget even a little, a Chromebook with 8GB of RAM will be a dramatically better experience that lasts longer. This HP Chromebook 14 is only for someone who needs the absolute cheapest new laptop possible and understands its severe limitations.