HP 350 G1 (2015) Notebook Review

Our test device is equipped with a matte 15.6-inch display, which works with a native resolution of 1366x768 pixels. The monitor's brightness (234.4 cd/m²) and contrast (333:1) are not overwhelming, but acceptable at this price range.

The HP 350 G1 offers an affordable office notebook in 15.6-inch format. It offers enough processing power for office and internet related applications. Our test model can be purchased for about 290 Euros (~$320). HP also offers a number of other differently equipped variants in its product line.

Unlike other low-priced notebooks equipped with Intel processors, there is no low-performance Bay Trail processor in this HP machine; instead, it has a Haswell processor, the Pentium 3558U. The CPU runs at a speed of 1.7 GHz. There is no Turbo. Technically, it is similar to the Core i3-4010U processor. However, the Pentium is missing the Core i3's Hyperthreading function and therefore lags noticeably behind the Core i3 CPU. The Pentium outperforms the dual-core Bay Trail processors quite easily. Quad-core Bay Trail CPUs can at least keep up thanks to Multithread performance.

With the Pentium 3556U processor, we have already tested an identical sister model of the Pentium 3558U processor. There is a small but important difference between them: Only the 3558U processor supports Intel's Quick-Sync function, which allows for a hardware-accelerated conversion of video data.

The System works well and smoothly. There were no problems. The results in the PCMark Benchmarks come out well. Here the HP Notebook sits at the same level as Haswell Core i3 notebooks. This is not a surprise, since Pentium and the Core i3 processors add nothing extra for single thread performance, which is more important for daily use. An increase in system performance of the HP 350 G1 is possible: Graphics performance can be improved with the addition of a second RAM module. The storage would then work in dual-channel mode, through which the GPU would be better exploited. One further measure would be swapping the hard drive for a solid-state disk. Both can be achieved quickly and easily, since the notebook is equipped with a maintenance hatch.

Data storage is provided by a hard drive from Toshiba. This has a capacity of 500 GB and runs at 5400 revolutions per minute. The drive's transfer rates are at a normal level for a 5400 module. The Core i5 sister model of the HP 350 G1 that we have already tested, is equipped with an additional mSATA slot. Our current test machine does not have this extra slot. 

Intel's HD Graphics GPU is responsible for the graphics. It supports DirectX 11.1 and runs at speeds between 200 MHz and 1000 MHz. The results in the 3DMark Benchmarks are at a normal level for this graphics core. A comparable graphics core from AMD, like the R4 (Beema) GPU, has more performance at its disposal. As previously stated, the graphics performance of the HP 350 can be further improved with the addition of a second RAM module (= dual-channel mode active). In this case, the results of the 3DMark 2011 for our test machine improves to 624 points, reflecting an improvement of just about 9%.

Clearly, the HP 350 G1 is not a notebook for gamers. However, a few games can be played at low resolution and quality settings. A few more frames can be squeezed out of the hardware with the addition of a second RAM module (dual-channel mode active). However, for top-of-the-line games like “The Witcher 3” or “Battlefield Hardline”, it is not enough by a long shot.

The HP machine's noise production stays within limits throughout the entire load range. While idling, the fan runs permanently at low speed. This can be turned off, though; the function "Fan always on" must be deactivated in the notebook's BIOS. Then the fan often stays silent. Under load, the fan spins up. During our stress test, we measured a decibel level of 38.9 dB - a good result.

While idling, the machine's power consumption was below 10 watts - a normal level for Haswell notebooks. During the stress test, the power consumption rose to 27.8 watts. After about 10 minutes, the value decreased, since the CPU was slowed down.

In our practical WLAN test, web sites are loaded automatically in 40-second intervals. The "balanced" profile is active, and display brightness is set at about 150 cd/m². The HP 350 G1 managed a run time of 4:50 hours, placing it on par with both sister models.