HP Chromebook HP Chromebook 11A G8 Education Edition AMD Review

This HP Chromebook is built for one thing: surviving the classroom. It's got a spill-resistant keyboard, a tough chassis, and a price tag that won't make a school administrator faint. But let's be clear, you're not buying this for power. You're buying it because it's cheap and it works for basic web stuff.

The AMD A4-9120C CPU is slow. Like, 2nd percentile slow. It's fine for a dozen Chrome tabs and Google Docs, but that's the limit. The 4GB of RAM is the absolute bare minimum, and the 32GB of storage fills up fast. The AMD Radeon R4 GPU is okay for basic video, but that's about it. This thing is built for endurance, not speed.

At around $63, it's hard to complain too much. You get a functional laptop for web browsing and documents. The value is entirely in its low cost and durability for specific, simple tasks. If your needs grow even a little, you'll outgrow it immediately.

Don't compare this to a MacBook Pro or a gaming laptop. That's silly. For a real comparison, look at other budget Chromebooks like the Lenovo Chromebook 3 or the ASUS Chromebook Flip. Those often have slightly better screens and more RAM for not much more money. This HP wins on pure, rock-bottom price and its school-ready toughness, but loses on every performance metric.

Buy this only if you need the absolute cheapest new laptop possible for a student to do basic schoolwork online. It's perfect for a young kid's first computer or a dedicated kiosk. For anyone else, even most students, saving up for a model with 8GB of RAM is a much better investment.