Pros
- Lightweight and portable design
- Enviable battery life
- 14-inch HD Display
- Ample connectivity options
Cons
- No dedicated graphics
- Limited RAM and internal storage
HP has managed to become the leading laptop manufacturer in the world thanks to its ability to truly understand its consumer as well as offer a balanced suite of laptops that cater to every type of user.
Proof of that is the HP 14-fq0020nr, an entry-level laptop built with students and casual users in mind, people who will ultimately use it for tasks such as browsing the internet, streaming movies, and some light productivity work such as editing spreadsheets, learning to program, and the likes.
Today we're going to get to know this model in detail as we uncover everything there is to know in this review of the HP 14-fq0020nr.
Who is it for?
This laptop is a good choice as a first equipment for children or teenagers who will use it for school activities and internet navigation.
It is also suitable for casual users who prefer a laptop to do certain tasks such as typing long-form essays, emails, or crunching numbers. Not necessarily the hardcore users we'd see looking at more expensive and comprehensive laptops but rather the more "average joe" laptop user.
Also, its low ecological footprint and minimal toxic waste components also make it a good choice for those who care about the environment.
Design & Display
Hewlett Packard laptops are recognized for their solid design and robust construction. Although this model is built entirely of plastic, it feels more robust and resistant than other models - as some customers have stated - within its price range.
Its dimensions and weight (just 3.2 pounds) make it very easy to transport. Its textured finish gives it a good grip and it delimits in a very attractive way its keyboard and trackpad. The keys are large and very visible, ideal for users with vision problems, and the trackpad is spacious with good traction.
One aspect to highlight is the design of its screen, framed by a thin bezel, barely visible when the screen is on - as is standard this year -. This ultimately contributes to delivering a more immersive experience.
Spec-wise, the HP 14-fq0020nr features a 14-inch HD panel that will deliver a decent image overall, though far from the Full HD resolution seen in other slightly pricier models.
That said, we do appreciate the inclusion of BrightView technology, which delivers a better color reproduction overall. Though, we'd urge you to consider a model such as the recently reviewed Acer Aspire 5 A515-43-R19L which, whilst similarly priced, delivers a Full HD display as well as better internals overall.
Let's talk about performance
This equipment comes with a dual-core AMD 3020e processor, with a base speed of 1.2 GHz, which can be taken to a maximum of 2.6 GHz. It is a processor that runs well in rather general tasks and can handle a basic level of multitasking ie: streaming a YouTube video whilst searching for something in chrome.
What's performance like?
Its 4GB of high bandwidth RAM are more than enough to take full advantage of Microsoft 365, the pre-installed office software with a one-year license included, as well as for web browsing. Though you shouldn't expect it not to lag if you've got 6-8 chrome tabs open, we're still talking about 4 GB here.
If you have more demanding needs, it is better to look for other models with higher configurations, as the RAM of this model is not scalable, nor is the storage. This is essentially a consumer laptop, made for light office work, surfing the web, and streaming movies but don't expect to edit Scorsese's next film with it.
Storage and Graphics
The HP 14-fq0020nr has 64 GB of storage on eMMC (Embedded Multimedia Card), which is an economical version of flash storage. It is a component that has helped keep the price of this equipment down, but it is its biggest limitation.
Not only does it offer a very limited storage capacity, but it is slower than solid-state disks. That said, it's a faster kind of storage than the HDD drive so if you're coming from a laptop with a hard drive (likely if capacity was above 500 GB & you bought it 3+ years ago) then you're bound to notice an improvement in everyday performance.
That said, and although we are not fans of the storage format, you should know that it is possible to expand the storage through the use of an SD card - where you can typically find 128 GB for roughly 20 dollars -.
Windows allows you to store videos, images, and other files within the external storage unit such as an SD card or a pen drive by simply mounting it and setting it up within the system configurations, it's something that will take you all of 20 seconds and can make a big difference in your day to day.
What about graphics?
Graphically speaking, this laptop has an integrated AMD Radeon graphics card. This is a GPU that's been gaining ground to Intel, which is not all bad for an entry-level laptop, suitable for basic tasks such as streaming video in HD, though obviously, it's not in any way a graphics card suitable for gaming.
Battery life and connectivity options
Battery life on the HP 14-fq0020nr is quite solid, far better than most alternatives at the moment. Specifically, HP teases roughly 10 hours of video playback.
Since we were not born yesterday we are very much aware that the manufacturer's claims in regard to battery life should be taken with a pound - yes I said pound - of salt. Hence, a good rule of thumb is to assume 30% less than what's claimed, leaving you with a, still very impressive, 7 hours worth of juice. Not too shabby.
Connectivity features
This laptop has a variety of basic connectors, which covers the needs of the average user: a USB type C port, 2 USB type A ports, an HDMI interface to send HD audio and video to an external display and the audio combo. There's also the aforementioned SD card reader which will allow you expand internal storage as mentioned previously.
As far as wireless connectivity is concerned, we've got WiFi 5 and Bluetooth support, pretty much average within its price range.
How to disable S Mode on the HP 14-fq0020nr?
Another thing worth pointing out is that this laptop arrives with Windows 10 in S Mode. It's a safer default setting that many Windows laptops are coming with. However, it doesn't let you install third party software (ie: chrome).
If you want to deactivate it - as most people do -, it's rather simple, just set out to install chrome and Windows will automatically show you a pop-up where they say that to do that you need to disable S-Mode, you accept and that's about all there's to it.
Verdict: Is it worth it?
The HP 14-fq0020nris a great laptop for students or casual users, it's also a very suitable option for people who just want a laptop to have around the house to do some light web surfing, type a few emails and get updated on social media and stream movies in Netflix.
If you're not planning on using it to edit images, play games or do some hardcore multitasking (ie: have several tabs and programs open at a time) then it should fit your needs just fine and there's really no need to go beyond.
However, if you're unsure as to the demands you'll be putting onto this laptop and you think you might need a bit more horsepower then you should consider, for example, the ASUS VivoBook 15 F512JA-AS34 reviewed recently, which packs a solid processor, 128 GB of SSD storage unit, an upgradable RAM and a Full HD display at a slightly higher price point, or the aforementioned wildly popular Acer Aspire 5 A515-43-R19L at a more affordable price.