Hp 14` Laptop 4gb Ram 64gb Emmc Reviews
There's no shame in shopping for a budget laptop, so long as you hunt for one with your expectations checked. The HP Stream xiv ($249 every bit tested) is a budget motorcar aimed at students looking for a low-price option that favors affordability over all else. This fourteen-inch laptop (HP as well makes an 11-inch version) tin handle your basic email, discussion processing, and web browsing needs with relative ease, but its sluggish CPU, paltry storage, and washed-out display don't give it strong odds in the low-price-laptop stakes. It's serviceable if you are on the strictest of laptop budgets, but it won't take long before you striking the limits of what the HP Stream 14 is capable of. Chromebooks and a few competing inexpensive models volition be ameliorate alternatives for nearly folks in this toll range.
The Price Is Correct, at Least
The latest in a long line of clay-inexpensive HP laptops, the specific HP Stream 14 model nosotros tested (14-dq0010nr) features 4GB of RAM, 64GB of eMMC flash storage, Intel UHD 600 Graphics equally part of the CPU, and a Celeron N4020 processor. HP offers variations, available from various retailers, that characteristic slightly different prices and component configurations. For instance, in that location is currently a variant of our review model with a touch screen, equally well as an AMD-based configuration available on Amazon for $360.
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(Photo: Molly Flores)
At 0.7 by 12.seven by 8.viii inches (HWD) and 3.24 pounds, the HP Stream fourteen is about the same size equally other 14-inch laptops in its cost range. While it is lightweight, information technology also sports a surprisingly sturdy build. Information technology's a reasonably thin laptop that'south easy on the eyes, and the textured surfaces of both the inside and outside of the motorcar give information technology a rugged façade (though I'd advise confronting dropping the HP Stream 14 if y'all can help it). Ii prophylactic grips underneath the laptop practise a fine job of keeping the laptop steady. It might lack the classier design of slightly more premium budget models like the MSI Modernistic 14, but that probable won't matter too much to shoppers on a very strict spend nutrition.
(Photograph: Molly Flores)
The keyboard is equally sturdy as the rest of the laptop, even if sustained typing is a lilliputian noisy. The keys are also well-spaced, so accidentally pressing the wrong key shouldn't be a problem, at least non attributable to the layout. The touch pad is wide and responsive, though there is no way (such every bit a keyboard shortcut) to disable information technology without going into the organisation settings.
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(Photo: Molly Flores)
The speakers, located at the top of the keyboard and underneath the laptop, concord up confronting scrutiny pretty well. They are loud and articulate, though the bass is lacking, as it ofttimes is in budget machines. When pushing them to max volume, I heard occasional crackling noise that wasn't persistent merely definitely marred the enjoyment of music. Nosotros'd proceed volume levels (and expectations) small-scale.
(Photo: Molly Flores)
Upkeep laptops tend to lack the latest and greatest brandish engineering, merely the HP Stream 14'south 1,366-by-768 pixel LED screen is pretty subpar even by these standards. While the 0.2-inch bezels expect trim effectually plenty of screen space, the screen caught reflections and glare from everything, and I could barely watch a YouTube video without beingness distracted by the reflection of my own face up (and non in a Narcissus kind of way, but more along the lines of, "Oh my gosh, I can barely run across what I'm watching"). When you practise finally discover an bending that works, you'll notice that colors are dull and text looks a piffling smeary, as if the panel were covered with a sparse coat of Vaseline. A 1,366-by-768 native resolution can be passable at screen sizes like xi.6 inches, simply in a console this size, it'due south more than than an inch besides far.
(Photo: Molly Flores)
As far as ports become, the HP Stream 14's right flank is adorned with the panthera leo's share, including a headphone/microphone audio philharmonic jack, two USB ports, a USB-Type C port, the power connector port, and an HDMI port.
(Photo: Molly Flores)
The left side is noticeably more sparse, with just an SD carte reader and two indicator lights—ane for ability, and ane for the SD slot. A 720p webcam, Bluetooth 4.2, and Wi-Fi 5 circular out the rest of the HP Stream 14'due south connectivity complement. Certainly, no surprises here.
A Disappointing Brandish
When you lot see an Intel Celeron chip listed in a laptop's spec list, you're likely to experience basement-level operation. Couple that with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, and you'll discover that the HP Stream 14 won't handle even moderately complex tasks without some amount of hassle. (Here's how to choose the best laptop processor).
Nonetheless, I wait that HP doesn't expect you lot to run demanding apps or games locally, but rather use options similar cloud gaming services to stream them (it is in the name, afterwards all). That would require a stable internet connection wherever y'all go, something that isn't always accessible when yous're on the motility.
(Photo: Molly Flores)
The HP Stream 14 runs Windows 10 S Way, a version of Windows that limits users to the Windows Store for app downloads. It can be hands removed (and elevated to total, unrestricted Windows 10) by inbound the Windows Store and making a few changes, though, which is exactly what nosotros did to go our benchmark tools onto the calculator.
One more fleck of maintenance is recommended, beyond upgrading to total Windows x: bloatware cleaning. Plenty of preinstalled apps accept upward too much of the reckoner's precious 57GB of available space, including Netflix, Dropbox, LastPass, and McAfee Antivirus. HP's preinstalled configuration utility, myHP, also constantly sends notifications reminding you lot to install updates. Thankfully, all of it can and should be uninstalled. On the upside, the HP Stream 14 also comes with a i-twelvemonth subscription to Microsoft 365, giving users access to Microsoft'south suite of programs.
Testing the HP Stream 14: A Basement Dweller
It might sound like I'm being tough on the HP Stream 14—after all, it is a budget laptop, and you shouldn't wait a laptop in its price class to deliver high-finish graphics and infrequent audio, or have any other notable features. But we'd in remiss if we didn't put the HP Stream 14 through the wringer. To exercise that, we put information technology upwards against four other upkeep laptops, including the Lenovo Ideapad 1 xiv, the Dell Inspiron xv 3000 Series (3511), the HP Laptop 14-dq2020nr, and the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ADA05, in a budget criterion brawl see how they fare. (Encounter how we test laptops).
Productivity Tests
Budget laptops similar these tend to fall into the hands of college students and frugal shoppers who'll likely appoint in full general computing tasks. To figure out how much the laptop can handle on these relatively forgiving workflows, we use UL'southward PCMark 10. This wide-ranging criterion suite simulates a variety of Windows programs to give an overall functioning score for office workflows—remember spider web browsing, word processing, and the similar. A number between iv,000 and 5,000 is what we expect for here in a solid mainstream machine, but in a budget laptop, numbers tin exist much lower.
In the HP Stream 14's example, much lower, clocking a score of 1,292, almost one,000 points beneath the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 14. Unfortunately, we couldn't run the PCMark 10 Storage Test considering most of the upkeep laptops didn't have the horsepower to do and then. The Stream 14 steadfastly refused.
Things didn't get ameliorate in our side by side test, Maxon's Cinebench. Information technology'due south a multi-core criterion meant to exercise all of a processor's cores and threads—the more powerful the chip, the college the score. Given that the HP Stream 14 is merely equipped with a dual-core Celeron, expectations were low—and rightfully and then. The HP Stream fourteen didn't fifty-fifty break 550 points.
The dreary numbers continued every bit we ran Primate Labs' Geekbench Pro, some other CPU stress exam meant to simulate real-world applications. The HP Stream xiv came in dead final over again, owing its poor performance to its Celeron processor. Forget well-nigh running more than a couple of apps at one time while using information technology.
What nigh video encoding? At this point, you might be able to guess, but the HP Stream 14 is not meant for this kind of piece of work. To see how sick-equipped the machine is, we ran HandBrake 1.four, an open-source video transcoder for converting multimedia files to dissimilar resolutions and formats. The HP Stream 14 was fighting for its life in this exam, taking almost ii hours to consummate the benchmark. High-end laptops tend to do it in well under x minutes.
Graphics Tests
We aren't able to get our 3DMark test to run on some extreme-upkeep laptops, just we were able to get our GFXBench 5.0 benchmark upward and running on the HP Stream 14. The same couldn't be said for the other laptops in our comparing (thus we haven't charted those results hither), only residual assured that the numbers were every bit ho-hum as you lot'd expect. Budget laptops equipped with integrated graphics chips accept come a long style, but yet can't really play games well, and definitely tin can't handle anything besides graphics intensive.
In GFXBench'due south 1440p Aztec Ruins test, the HP Stream 14 maintained an average of 7 frames per 2nd during the tests. Surprisingly, the 1080p Car Hunt test ran at an average of 33 frames per second, so there'due south some hope for the machine if y'all make up one's mind to play something unproblematic. Really uncomplicated.
Battery and Display Testing
Thankfully, the HP Stream 14'south graphic and processor shortcomings didn't completely torpedo our bombardment testing benchmark. To exam laptop batteries, we play a locally stored re-create of the open up-source Blender classicTears of Steel on a loop at 50% brightness and at 100% book (though in the HP Stream 14'due south instance, information technology had to be played off of an external drive considering of the express storage space). We also place the laptop on Airplane mode, disconnecting it from the Wi-Fi entirely.
The HP Stream fourteen's battery came in last once again, dying about five hours before than nearly of the bunch, though it was neck-and-neck with the Dell Inspiron 15 3000 Series (3511). That'south particularly disappointing given the low screen resolution; higher-res 1080p panels take more than pixels to button for a college power draw, all else beingness equal. Yet the Stream 14 could not capitalize on that.
The one examination that didn't cease in defeat for the HP Stream xiv was the display test. Using Datacolor's SpyderX Elite calibrator tools, we exam every laptop's screen-brightness output levels at 50% and 100% brightness. We likewise measure gamut settings for the three nearly relevant color spaces for laptop users: the sRGB, Adobe RGB, and DCI-P3 standards.
The HP Stream 14 posted on-par numbers (for a budget laptop, that is) in the brightness tests, besting both Lenovo laptops at the 50% brightness setting, while at the 100% setting really overtaking the HP Laptop 14-dq2020nr and keeping footstep with both the Inspiron and the IdeaPad 3. That said, the screen output was underwhelming even at height brightness, put adjacent to a mainstream or business laptop. As for color-coverage testing, the results were quite similar across the whole exam group, suggesting these are all screens cut from the same (display) material.
Verdict: You Can Practice Ameliorate
With half of the main system retentivity and a fraction of the storage that we recommend in any budget Windows laptop, the HP Stream 14 does not print. Mayhap information technology doesn't demand to, depending on your reference bespeak. For the cost, you lot're getting a functional laptop with Windows 10, which already places the HP Stream 14 above virtually Chromebooks on that merit lone.
(Photograph: Molly Flores)
Notwithstanding, in this price range, yous can't do much worse, but you can do meliorate. In fact, for just $100 more than, y'all can catch the much superior budget option, the Lenovo IdeaPad i 14.
HP Stream 14 (2021)
The Bottom Line
The HP Stream 14 might be a good match for students on a very strict upkeep, but don't expect to use this laptop for anything outside of bones schoolwork or the least enervating of everyday tasks.
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Source: https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/hp-stream-14-2021