HP HP Portable Laptop, Student and Business, 14" HD Review

Look, this HP laptop is cheap. That's the one thing to know. For $240, you get a Windows 11 machine with 16GB of RAM, which sounds okay on paper. But here's the catch: everything else is a compromise. The screen is dim and low-res, the storage is tiny, and the processor is from the bargain bin. It's a machine built to hit a price point, not to be good.

Honestly, nothing surprised me in a good way. The Intel Celeron N4120 is slow, landing in the 23rd percentile for CPU power. It'll handle basic web browsing and document editing, but that's about it. The 64GB of eMMC storage is a joke; Windows 11 alone will eat half of that. You'll be managing storage space before you even install a second app.

It's not worth it. Saving $200 over a better budget laptop isn't worth the frustration of dealing with 64GB of storage and a terrible screen. You'll outgrow its limitations in a month.

Forget the MacBook Pros and gaming laptops on the competitor list; they're in a different universe. A real comparison is something like a used Lenovo IdeaPad or a Chromebook. Even a $350 Chromebook would offer a better screen, faster performance for web tasks, and less storage headache. If you absolutely need Windows on a shoestring budget, this exists. But almost any other option at a slightly higher price will be a dramatically better experience.

Don't buy this. It's a trap. The specs look slightly okay on the surface, but the crippling storage and awful screen make it a miserable device to use daily. Save up another $100-$150 and get a proper entry-level laptop with a 256GB SSD and a 1080p screen. Your patience will be rewarded.