HP - 14" Laptop
This HP 14-inch laptop offers an Intel N150 processor, 4GB RAM, and 128GB UFS storage. Its 1366x768 display is dated, but sufficient for basic tasks. Windows 11 Home is in S mode and has an 11-hour battery life, which are pluses.
If you need a modern PC with Windows 11, and you’re on a super tight budget, this 14-inch HP laptop might be for you. For today only, it’s on sale for just $160 at Best Buy, a $60 discount from the original $220 price tag.
This PC is equipped with anIntel Processor N150, a low-end CPU from this year with four cores, four threads, and a maximum boost clock speed of 3.6 GHz. There’s also 128 GB of internal storage and 4GB of RAM. For connectivity, you get one USB 3.1 Type-C port, two USB 3.0 Type-A connectors, HDMI 1.4, an SD card reader, headphone/microphone jack, Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth 5.4. The screen on this laptop is 14 inches across, with a resolution of 1366x768.
The N150 processor isn’t bad at all for basic tasks, but the 4GB RAM and limited screen resolution are significant limitations. Modern web browsers like Chrome and Edge havememory saver modesthat will come in handy here—background tabs can be put to sleep, so opening lots of tabs shouldn’t noticeably slow down low-memory PCs. That still doesn’t leave much memory available for multitasking, though, so you’ll want to keep your background applications to a minimum. It’s also in ‘S Mode’ by default, which limits you to software from the Microsoft Store, butyou can turn that off.
The main selling points for this PC are that it has a super-low price point, it’s in new condition, and it’s built to run Windows 11 withoutresorting to compatibility hacks. The hardware is limited and the screen resolution is straight out of the netbook era, but that’s to be expected at this super-low price point. If you can spend another $100 or $200, you can get laptops like theASUS Vivobook 14orLenovo IdeaPad 1with much better hardware. You might also be able to find used PCs that provide a better value, though you’ll need to make sure they support Windows 11, becausefree Windows 10 updates are ending later this year.
If you or a family member needs a new Windows PC, and it needs to be as inexpensive as possible, this laptop is a strong contender. Just remember todelete any bloatware after setting it upso you get as much performance as possible.
