HP Stream 13 Notebook Review
For the original German review, see here.
With its Stream 13, HP has a 13.3-inch laptop in its lineup that is to compete with Google's Chromebook. The main advantage of a Windows laptop compared with a Chromebook is quickly found: A permanent Internet connection is not needed. Our report reveals whether the Stream 13 impresses in other aspects.
Inexpensive 13.3 and 14-inch laptops are rivals of the Stream 13. For example, Acer's Aspire E13 ES1-311, Lenovo's M30-70, and Acer's Aspire V3-371 could be mentioned. Naturally, a Chromebook like Acer's Chromebook 13 CB5-311-T0B2 should not be left out.
Case & Connectivity
HP has given our review sample a somewhat unusual color, which it calls "Orchid Magenta". Most of the casing is covered in this color. On the upper side, the magenta transitions into pink. Furthermore, the base unit's upper side features a printed dotted pattern. The laptop is also available in blue. Neither the stability nor the build give any reason for complaint. Everything matches to the price level.
The most important interfaces are installed. One of the three USB ports supports the USB 3.0 standard. The Stream 13 has been equipped with a MicroSD memory card slot, and therefore full-sized SD cards cannot be inserted. Positive: the interfaces are positioned at the back of both sides. Consequently, cables will not clutter the areas beside the wrist rest.
The 64-bit version of Windows 8.1 powers the laptop (standard version, not the Bing version). Along with the laptop, the buyer also receives a one-year license for MS Office 365 Personal. Microsoft also includes 1 TB of Cloud storage free of charge for one year.
Input Devices
HP installs an unlit chiclet keyboard in its laptop. The even, roughened keys feature a short drop and clear pressure point. In our opinion, the resistance could be slightly crisper. The keyboard yielded slightly while typing, but it was not annoying. Overall, HP delivers a decent keyboard. The multi-touch ClickPad has a surface area of approximately 9.5 x 6.5 cm (~3.7 x ~2.6 in). Thus, there is enough room for using gestures. The sleek surface does not prevent the fingers from gliding. The pad features a short drop and clear pressure point.
Display
The Stream has been equipped with a 13.3-inch screen with a native resolution of 1366x768 pixels. The screen's contrast (488:1) is satisfactory. However, it could have a higher brightness (205.4 cd/m²). After all, it must be presumed that a 13.3-inch laptop will be used in a variety of environments and different light conditions.
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Brightness Distribution: 92 %
Center on Battery: 169 cd/m²
Contrast: 488:1 (Black: 0.43 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 11.95 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 1.42 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
53% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
34% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
36.21% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
52.8% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
35.05% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.31
The color reproduction rates are rather surprising. The screen has an average DeltaE 2000 deviation of 11.95 in the state of delivery - a common rate in the low-cost sector. A rate less than 3 would be desirable. However, the screen's grayscale level reproduction is very balanced. A shift of just 1.42 from the target is achieved here. The screen does not exhibit any bluish cast.
HP has equipped the Stream 13 with a viewing angle dependent TN screen. Consequently, the screen cannot be read from every position. Outdoor use is possible when the sunlight is not too bright.
Performance
HP's Stream 13 is a 13.3-inch laptop. It is, so to speak, a Windows-based rival of Google's Chromebook. Our review sample is priced at 250 Euros (~$272). There are no other configurations available. Only an identically equipped, blue model exists.
Processor
A dual-core Celeron N2840 (Bay Trail), one of the weaker CPUs from Intel's latest processor, is installed in the Stream 13. Since the CPU has only two cores, it naturally lags far behind the quad-core Bay Trail processors in multi-thread applications. However, there are hardly any differences in single thread performance, which is more significant for routine use. The performance is definitely sufficient for office and Internet applications. The processor's maximum speed of 2.58 GHz is available in both AC and battery mode.
Sunspider - 1.0 Total Score (sort by value) | |
HP Stream 13-c002ng | |
Acer Aspire E13 ES1-311-P87D | |
HP Pavilion 13-a093na x360 | |
HP Stream 14-z050ng | |
HP Stream 14-z050ng | |
Acer Chromebook 13 CB5-311-T0B2 | |
HP 14-r003ng |
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total (sort by value) | |
HP Stream 13-c002ng | |
Acer Aspire E13 ES1-311-P87D | |
HP Pavilion 13-a093na x360 | |
HP Stream 14-z050ng | |
HP Stream 14-z050ng | |
Acer Chromebook 13 CB5-311-T0B2 |
Octane V2 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
HP Stream 13-c002ng | |
Acer Aspire E13 ES1-311-P87D | |
HP Pavilion 13-a093na x360 | |
HP Stream 14-z050ng | |
HP Stream 14-z050ng | |
Acer Chromebook 13 CB5-311-T0B2 |
Peacekeeper - --- (sort by value) | |
HP Stream 13-c002ng | |
Acer Aspire E13 ES1-311-P87D | |
HP Pavilion 13-a093na x360 | |
HP Stream 14-z050ng | |
HP Stream 14-z050ng | |
Acer Chromebook 13 CB5-311-T0B2 |
* ... smaller is better
System Performance
The small laptop runs smoothly, and we did not experience any problems. The PCMark benchmark scores do not present any surprises, and correspond to the performance of the installed hardware. Overall, the scores are at the lower end of the performance scale. Laptops that are based on Haswell or Broadwell processors have a clear edge. Owners of the Stream 13 cannot tweak the system performance because the working memory and eMMC storage are soldered.
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2 | 1273 points | |
PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2 | 1055 points | |
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2 | 1396 points | |
Help |
PCMark 8 - Home Score Accelerated v2 (sort by value) | |
HP Stream 13-c002ng | |
Acer Aspire E13 ES1-311-P87D | |
HP Pavilion 13-a093na x360 | |
Acer Aspire V3-371-36M2 | |
Acer Aspire V3-331-P982 | |
Lenovo M30-70 |
Storage Device
The installed storage device is an eMMC module with a storage capacity of 32 GB. The laptop's owner will have approximately 17 GB of the 32 GB available for personal use. The rest of the storage is reserved for the Windows installation and recovery partition. The transfer rates are within the normal range for an eMMC storage. The storage capacity can be expanded via a MicroSD card.
Graphics Card
Intel's HD Graphics graphics core takes care of video output. It supports DirectX 11 and clocks at up to 792 MHz. It is the weakest GPU that can be found in laptops today. Various models of the GPU with different maximum speeds exist, and therefore the 3DMark benchmark scores vary on a low level. Comparable AMD graphics cores, such as the Radeon R3 (Mullins/Beema) GPU, are considerably stronger.
3DMark 11 Performance | 236 points | |
3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score | 13399 points | |
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 1102 points | |
Help |
Gaming Performance
The hardware in the Stream 13 has not been designed to cope with modern 3D games. At most, a handful of games will manage a playable frame rate - using a low resolution and low quality settings. Users who want to play games should stick to those from the Windows Store.
low | med. | high | ultra | |
Trackmania Nations Forever (2008) | 90.2 | 23.6 |
Emissions
Temperature
The Stream 13 performed our stress test (Prime95 and FurMark run for at least one hour) in the same manner in both AC and battery mode. The processor clocked at 2.58 GHz, and the graphics core ran at 720 MHz. The hardware was occasionally throttled to 2.16 (CPU) and 620 MHz (GPU) at a later point in the test. Although the laptop operated at full speed, it barely heated up. The temperatures remained well below 40 degrees Celsius (~104 °F) on all measuring points during the stress test.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 36.5 °C / 98 F, compared to the average of 33.1 °C / 92 F, ranging from 21.6 to 53.2 °C for the class Netbook.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 35.7 °C / 96 F, compared to the average of 36.6 °C / 98 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 27.2 °C / 81 F, compared to the device average of 29.8 °C / 86 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 30.6 °C / 87.1 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(±) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 29.3 °C / 84.7 F (-1.3 °C / -2.4 F).
Speakers
The stereo speakers of the Stream 13 have been positioned under the device's front edge. Overall, they produce a decent sound that allows listening over prolonged periods. As expected, they lack bass.
Energy Management
Power Consumption
The Stream does not need much energy since it only features relatively low-performance hardware. The idle power consumption is well below 10 watts. The requirement increased to 13.3 watts during the stress test. On the whole, these are normal rates for the hardware platform installed.
Off / Standby | 0.2 / 0.5 Watt |
Idle | 4.6 / 6.3 / 6.7 Watt |
Load |
11.1 / 13.3 Watt |
Battery Runtime
In the real-life Wi-Fi test, websites are opened automatically every 40 seconds. The energy saving profile is enabled, and the screen's brightness is set to approximately 150 cd/m². The Stream 13 achieved a runtime of 7:26 hours, which is a good rate.
Pros
Cons
Verdict
With its color alone, HP's Stream 13 stands out. However, this would not have been necessary because the laptop can attract attention in other aspects.
Priced at 250 Euros (~$272), the silent 13.3-inch laptop offers enough computing power for office applications and Internet use. It also features decent input devices, which together with the long battery life, make the Stream 13 a portable typewriter and browsing machine. A one-year license for MS Office 365 Personal rounds off the bundle. It is commendable that HP has equipped the Stream 13 with a matte screen that, however, could have been brighter.
HP Stream 13-c002ng
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05/19/2015 v4(old)
Sascha Mölck