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MagyarHP 250 G4 T6P08ES Notebook Review
For the original German review, see here.
With the 250 G4, HP introduces the fourth generation of its low-cost laptop lineup. We have previously tested various members of former generations. Braswell, Haswell and Broadwell processors are used within the 250 G4 lineup. Our review sample can be seen as the premium model of the series, and comes with a dedicated Radeon graphics unit as well as a Broadwell CPU. HP's laptop has many rivals. Every manufacturer offers various low-cost laptops within their lineups. We could name Lenovo's B50-80, Lenovo's IdeaPad 305-15, Asus' F555, Toshiba's Satellite C55-C, and Acer's Aspire ES1-521 as examples.
Case
A casing made entirely or partially of metal cannot be expected in view of the laptop's price range. HP relies on a matte, black plastic casing. The lid's back is patterned (small diamond-shaped squares). The wrist rest features stamped-in dots. HP uses glossy surfaces for these cavities, and thus the wrist rest is slightly reflective. The casing has to be opened for accessing the innards, but more about that later. The battery is not fixed.
The laptop does not have any serious flaws in terms of build, and more than justifies the price range. The base unit dents slightly on both sides of the keyboard and below the touchpad under pressure - as in almost every laptop. The base unit could be more robust. It dents a bit too much. This is also true of the lid that also displays image distortions under pressure. The same happens when pressing the lid's back. The hinges keep the lid firmly in position but rock slightly. Opening the lid with one hand is possible.
Connectivity
HP's 250 G4 does not present any surprises in connectivity. The standard selection of interfaces is installed. One of the USB ports operates in the USB 3.0 standard. The laptop also has two video outs. The interface positioning is not ideal. They are situated in the front left and right and therefore, the wrist rest will not remain free of cables.
Communication
A Wi-Fi module with an RTL8723BE chip by Realtek is inside HP's laptop. It supports the 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi standards. We did not experience any connection issues. The connection between the router and laptop was always stable. An Ethernet chip from Realtek's RTL8168/8111 family takes care of cabled network connections. We find these models in a many laptops, and as always, it does an impeccable job.
Webcam
The installed webcam is outdated. It has a resolution of 640x480 pixels and therefore does not produce impressive photos. The laptop's maintenance guide reveals that there are models of HP's 250 G4 with HP's TruVision cameras (1280x720 pixels). Users who value a better webcam quality should look out for this.
Memory Card Reader
The incorporated memory card reader is not the fastest model. A maximum transfer rate of 25.6 MB/s is reached when copying large data blocks. Transferring 250 JPG image files (approx. 5 MB each) is performed at 19.8 MB/s. We test the memory card reader with our Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II reference card.
Security
The laptop's only security feature is TPM 2.0.
Accessories
Apart from a quick start poster and warranty conditions, the laptop does not come with any other accessories.
Maintenance
The laptop does not have a maintenance hatch, making it necessary to open the casing. The optical drive has to be removed before releasing all screws on the underside. Note: Screws are also hidden under the rubber stoppers that first have to be removed. The laptop is then placed on a solid surface and the base tray is levered off using a thumb and putty knife. More information concerning this procedure can be found in the maintenance guide. The laptop is equipped with two working memory banks; only one is filled. Replacing the hard drive would not be a problem and the fan can also be cleaned.
Warranty
HP's 250 G4 includes only a one-year warranty. The duration and scope can be upgraded. A three-year warranty with pick-up service costs approximately 84 Euros (~$95). A three-year on-site warranty costs about 120 Euros (~$136).
Input Devices
Keyboard
The keyboard in HP's 250 G4 does not have a backlight - this was not to be expected in view of the laptop's price range. The flat, lightly roughened keys feature a short drop and clear pressure point. The keyboard yields marginally at most while typing on it. This, however, does not have any negative effects. On the whole, the keyboard makes a very decent impression. It is also suitable for prolonged typing sessions.
Touchpad
The multi-touchpad is part of the wrist rest and is not installed separately. It has a surface area of approximately 11 x 4.6 cm (~4.3 x 1.8 in), and thus offers plenty of room for using gestures. The various gestures can be enabled and disabled individually in the pad's configuration menu. The pad's roughened surface does not stop the fingers from gliding. Both mouse keys feature a short drop and clear pressure point.
Display
HP's 250 G4 is equipped with a matte, 15.6-inch panel that has a native resolution of 1366x768 pixels. The screen's brightness of 203.3 cd/m² is not impressive. We expect a rate beyond 250 cd/m² even in the low-cost sector. The contrast of 449:1 is acceptable considering the price range. The screen displays PWM flickering at a frequency of 806 Hz in brightness levels of 90% and lower. However, this high frequency should not lead to problems even in sensitive users.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 83 %
Center on Battery: 181 cd/m²
Contrast: 449:1 (Black: 0.49 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 8.95 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.93
ΔE Greyscale 10.59 | 0.5-98 Ø5.2
65% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
41% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
45.1% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
65.1% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
43.63% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.51
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM detected | 806 Hz | ≤ 90 % brightness setting |  |
The display backlight flickers at 806 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 90 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting. The frequency of 806 Hz is quite high, so most users sensitive to PWM should not notice any flickering. In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8799 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. | |||
The panel presents a DeltaE 2000 color deviation of 8.95 in state of delivery - a normal rate in the low price sector. A rate less than 3 would be desirable. Furthermore, the screen displays a bluish tint. The screen cannot reproduce the AdobeRGB and sRGB color spaces. The coverage rates are 41% (AdobeRGB) and 65% (sRGB).
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 24 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 8 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 16 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 50 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (21 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 42 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 22 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 20 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 64 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (33 ms). | ||
HP has equipped the laptop with a viewing angle dependent TN panel. Thus, the screen is not legible from every position. Changing the vertical viewing angle quickly leads to image distortions. The angle is more generous horizontally, and even several viewers can look at the screen at the same time. HP's 250 G4 is not suitable for outdoor use due to the panel's low brightness.
| HP 250 G4 T6P08ES TN LED, 1366x768 | HP 350 G2 L8B05ES TN LED, 1366x768 | Lenovo IdeaPad 305-15IBD TN LED, 1366x768 | Lenovo B50-80 WLED-TN, 1920x1080 | Toshiba Satellite C55-C-1NE TN, 1366x768 | Acer Aspire ES1-521-87DN TN LED, 1366x768 | HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng TN-Panel, 1920x1080 | Asus F555LJ-XX110H TN LED, 1366x768 | Dell Inspiron 15-5558 IPS, 1920x1080 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 0% | -6% | -9% | -16% | -9% | 2% | 2% | -6% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 43.63 | 43.59 0% | 41.15 -6% | 39.83 -9% | 36.7 -16% | 39.83 -9% | 44.72 2% | 44.34 2% | 41.22 -6% |
| sRGB Coverage | 65.1 | 64.8 0% | 61.9 -5% | 59.6 -8% | 55.3 -15% | 59.5 -9% | 67.3 3% | 66.1 2% | 61.8 -5% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 45.1 | 45.06 0% | 42.52 -6% | 41.17 -9% | 37.92 -16% | 41.19 -9% | 46.21 2% | 45.95 2% | 42.58 -6% |
| Response Times | -13% | -3% | 1% | ||||||
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 42 ? | 49 ? -17% | 22 ? 48% | 47 ? -12% | |||||
| Response Time Black / White * | 24 ? | 26 ? -8% | 20 ? 17% | 26 ? -8% | |||||
| PWM Frequency | 806 ? | 200 ? -75% | 1000 ? 24% | ||||||
| Screen | 6% | -4% | -1% | -14% | 3% | -6% | 23% | 22% | |
| Brightness middle | 220 | 251 14% | 214 -3% | 217 -1% | 251 14% | 245 11% | 202 -8% | 245 11% | 177 -20% |
| Brightness | 203 | 231 14% | 228 12% | 208 2% | 236 16% | 238 17% | 200 -1% | 236 16% | 176 -13% |
| Brightness Distribution | 83 | 86 4% | 84 1% | 88 6% | 85 2% | 88 6% | 86 4% | 86 4% | 78 -6% |
| Black Level * | 0.49 | 0.53 -8% | 0.42 14% | 0.39 20% | 0.44 10% | 0.42 14% | 0.66 -35% | 0.31 37% | 0.15 69% |
| Contrast | 449 | 474 6% | 510 14% | 556 24% | 570 27% | 583 30% | 306 -32% | 790 76% | 1180 163% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 8.95 | 7.92 12% | 12.18 -36% | 11.61 -30% | 14.58 -63% | 10.49 -17% | 8.72 3% | 6.6 26% | 8.52 5% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 15.89 | 24.59 -55% | 16.84 -6% | ||||||
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 10.59 | 8.9 16% | 13.53 -28% | 12.47 -18% | 16.8 -59% | 11.47 -8% | 9.22 13% | 6.96 34% | 9.72 8% |
| Gamma | 2.51 88% | 2.18 101% | 2.26 97% | 2.41 91% | 2.33 94% | 2.52 87% | 2.17 101% | 2.35 94% | 1.85 119% |
| CCT | 12049 54% | 9917 66% | 15817 41% | 15458 42% | 27039 24% | 13286 49% | 10298 63% | 8450 77% | 5036 129% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 41 | 41 0% | 39 -5% | 38 -7% | 35 -15% | 38 -7% | 42.4 3% | 43 5% | 39 -5% |
| Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 65 | 65 0% | 62 -5% | 60 -8% | 56 -14% | 60 -8% | 66.8 3% | 66 2% | 61 -6% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | 3% /
5% | -8% /
-6% | -5% /
-3% | -11% /
-12% | -2% /
1% | -2% /
-4% | 13% /
18% | 8% /
15% |
* ... smaller is better
Performance
HP's 250 G4 is a basic, 15.6-inch office laptop. It has enough computing power for all common applications. Our review sample costs approximately 500 Euros (~$565). Other configurations are available. Currently, the lowest priced configuration (Celeron N3050) of the lineup carries a price tag of around 240 Euros (~$271).
Processor
Intel's Skylake processors have been available for quite some time now. Nevertheless, HP's 250 G4 does not come with any of Intel's latest CPU generation. A Core i5-5200U (Broadwell) dual-core processor, which is a frugal ULV model (TDP: 15 watts) from the mid-range, is installed here. It has enough computing power for all common applications. The processor clocks at a base speed of 2.2 GHZ, which can be boosted to 2.5 GHz (both cores) or 2.7 GHz (one core) via Turbo. The processor performed our CPU test at full speed in both AC and battery mode.
The direct Skylake successor (Core i5-6200U) of the processor installed here delivered up to 15% better results in our CPU tests. This is due to the somewhat higher clock speeds and improved Skylake architecture.
| JetStream 1.1 - Total Score | |
| HP ProBook 450 G3 | |
| Toshiba Satellite L50-C-275 | |
| HP 250 G4 T6P08ES | |
| HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 305-15IBD | |
| Acer Aspire ES1-521-87DN | |
* ... smaller is better
System Performance
The system runs smoothly; we did not encounter any problems. The PCMark benchmark scores are very good. The 250 G4 scores better than comparable laptops equipped with GeForce 920M graphic units. This is due to the installed Radeon graphics unit. The PCMark 8 benchmark in particular benefits from AMD graphic units. It is possible to increase the laptop's system performance. For example, a second working memory could be installed. Beyond that, replacing the HDD for an SSD seems opportune. This would increase the system's responsiveness and shorten loading times.
| PCMark 7 Score | 2742 points | |
| PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2 | 3237 points | |
| PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2 | 3735 points | |
| PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2 | 4249 points | |
Help | ||
| PCMark 7 - Score | |
| HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng | |
| HP 250 G4 T6P08ES | |
| Dell Inspiron 15-5558 | |
| Lenovo B50-80 | |
| Asus F555LJ-XX110H | |
| Toshiba Satellite C55-C-1NE | |
| HP 350 G2 L8B05ES | |
| Lenovo E50-80 | |
Storage Device
A 2.5-inch hard drive by HGST is installed as the system drive. It spins at 5400 revolutions per minute and has a capacity of 1 TB. The transfer rates are on a normal level for a 5400 RPM model.
Graphics Card
A member of the lower GPU mid-range in form of AMD's Radeon R5 M330 is on board HP's laptop. The graphics unit clocks at AMD's specified 1030 MHz. We note this explicitly since we have seen the GPU clocked at a lower maximum speed in other laptops. The graphics unit supports DirectX 12. Overall, the GPU scores marginally better than Intel's counterpart – the GeForce 920M graphics unit - in the 3DMark benchmarks.
AMD's GPU as well as the existing Intel HD Graphics 5500 graphics unit create a graphics switching solution (Enduro). Intel's GPU is enabled in routine and battery mode. The Radeon unit is responsible for performance-driven applications such as computer games. Switching between the units is normally automatic. The user sometimes has to intervene. AMD's graphics switching solution does not function as smoothly as Nvidia's version (Optimus).
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 1927 points | |
| 3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score | 51260 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 4643 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 915 points | |
Help | ||
Gaming Performance
HP's 250 G4 can be described as partially gaming suitable. The installed hardware manages to render some games in low resolution, and low to medium quality settings smoothly. That applies to games that do not have high hardware requirements. Performance-driven smash hits like "Batman: Arkham Knight" or "Hitman" are not playable at all.
Although the Radeon graphics unit still has a slight edge on Nvidia's GeForce 920M graphics unit in the 3DMark benchmark, it looks different in real world gaming. Laptops with corresponding configurations achieve higher frame rates than HP's laptop. Thus, GeForce 920M laptops are an alternative for HP's 250 G4. Their prices range from 450 to 500 Euros (~$508 to ~$565). Buyer will have to dig deeper into their pockets for more gaming power. GeForce 940M laptops start at approximately 600 Euros (~$678).
| low | med. | high | ultra | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diablo III (2012) | 70.3 | 44.4 | 35.1 | |
| Counter-Strike: GO (2012) | 125 | 73.3 | 50.3 | |
| Tomb Raider (2013) | 63.1 | 31.7 | 23.9 | |
| BioShock Infinite (2013) | 49.2 | 28.1 | 23.3 | |
| Battlefield 4 (2013) | 43.6 | 30.2 | 19.4 | |
| Star Wars Battlefront (2015) | 36.8 | 22.3 | ||
| Rise of the Tomb Raider (2016) | 20.6 | 12.6 | ||
| XCOM 2 (2016) | 17.4 | |||
| The Division (2016) | 19.6 | 13.4 | ||
| Hitman 2016 (2016) | 22.1 | 15.9 | ||
| Need for Speed 2016 (2016) | 22.8 | 19.7 |
| BioShock Infinite - 1280x720 Very Low Preset | |
| HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng | |
| Asus F555LJ-XX110H | |
| Toshiba Satellite C55-C-1NE | |
| HP 250 G4 T6P08ES | |
| Lenovo B50-80 | |
| Battlefield 4 - 1024x768 Low Preset | |
| HP 250 G4 T6P08ES | |
| Lenovo B50-80 | |
| Diablo III - 1366x768 Medium / low | |
| Asus F555LJ-XX110H | |
| HP 250 G4 T6P08ES | |
| Counter-Strike: GO - 1366x768 High AA:2x MS AF:4x | |
| HP 250 G4 T6P08ES | |
| Acer Aspire ES1-521-87DN | |
| Star Wars Battlefront - 1024x768 Low Preset | |
| HP 250 G4 T6P08ES | |
| Acer Aspire ES1-521-87DN | |
Emissions
System Noise
The fan in this HP laptop is always active. Once again, the BIOS option "Fan always on" is responsible for this. The fan is sometimes idle when this option is unchecked. Normally, the hard drive's own noise and accessing sounds are audible. The fan really speeds up during load. We measured a noise level of up to 46.2 dB(A) during the stress test. The fan could certainly slow down when considering the casing temperatures.
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 33.2 / 33.2 / 34.6 dB(A) |
| HDD |
| 34.4 dB(A) |
| DVD |
| 37.3 / dB(A) |
| Load |
| 45 / 45.2 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Audix TM1 Arta (15 cm distance) environment noise: 31.2 dB(A) | ||
| HP 250 G4 T6P08ES 5200U, Radeon R5 M330 | HP 350 G2 L8B05ES 5200U, Radeon R5 M240 | Lenovo IdeaPad 305-15IBD 5200U, Radeon R5 M330 | Lenovo B50-80 5200U, Radeon R5 M330 | Toshiba Satellite C55-C-1NE 5005U, GeForce 920M | Acer Aspire ES1-521-87DN A8-6410, Radeon R5 (Beema/Carrizo-L) | HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng A10-8700P, Radeon R8 M365DX | Asus F555LJ-XX110H 5010U, GeForce 920M | Dell Inspiron 15-5558 5200U, GeForce 920M | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noise | 3% | 3% | 3% | 7% | 14% | 8% | 6% | -0% | |
| off / environment * | 31.2 | 31.3 -0% | |||||||
| Idle Minimum * | 33.2 | 32.6 2% | 33.8 -2% | 33.5 -1% | 32.1 3% | 31.7 5% | 30.7 8% | 32 4% | 33.5 -1% |
| Idle Average * | 33.2 | 32.8 1% | 33.8 -2% | 33.5 -1% | 32.1 3% | 31.8 4% | 30.7 8% | 32.4 2% | 33.5 -1% |
| Idle Maximum * | 34.6 | 32.8 5% | 33.8 2% | 33.6 3% | 33.1 4% | 31.8 8% | 30.7 11% | 33.6 3% | 33.5 3% |
| Load Average * | 45 | 41.6 8% | 39.5 12% | 40.4 10% | 37.8 16% | 33.2 26% | 40.1 11% | 38.3 15% | 45.9 -2% |
| Load Maximum * | 45.2 | 44.7 1% | 43.6 4% | 42.9 5% | 37.7 17% | 33.2 27% | 44.3 2% | 41.8 8% | 45.3 -0% |
* ... smaller is better
Temperature
HP's 250 G4 performed our stress test (Prime95 and FurMark run for at least one hour) almost identically in AC and battery mode. The processor always clocked at 2.2 GHz; the graphics unit ran at 400 MHz (battery mode) and 1030 MHz (AC mode). The laptop heated up very moderately. The temperatures remained below 40 degrees Celsius (~104 degrees Fahrenheit) on all measuring points.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 35.2 °C / 95 F, compared to the average of 34.3 °C / 94 F, ranging from 21.2 to 62.5 °C for the class Office.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 38.8 °C / 102 F, compared to the average of 36.8 °C / 98 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 25.9 °C / 79 F, compared to the device average of 29.5 °C / 85 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 30.8 °C / 87.4 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 27.7 °C / 81.9 F (-3.1 °C / -5.5 F).
| HP 250 G4 T6P08ES 5200U, Radeon R5 M330 | HP 350 G2 L8B05ES 5200U, Radeon R5 M240 | Lenovo IdeaPad 305-15IBD 5200U, Radeon R5 M330 | Lenovo B50-80 5200U, Radeon R5 M330 | Toshiba Satellite C55-C-1NE 5005U, GeForce 920M | Acer Aspire ES1-521-87DN A8-6410, Radeon R5 (Beema/Carrizo-L) | HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng A10-8700P, Radeon R8 M365DX | Asus F555LJ-XX110H 5010U, GeForce 920M | Dell Inspiron 15-5558 5200U, GeForce 920M | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat | -3% | -0% | -9% | 0% | -11% | -7% | 9% | 2% | |
| Maximum Upper Side * | 35.2 | 37.6 -7% | 39.4 -12% | 41.2 -17% | 37.3 -6% | 39.1 -11% | 39.1 -11% | 29.2 17% | 35.7 -1% |
| Maximum Bottom * | 38.8 | 40.7 -5% | 36.6 6% | 42.5 -10% | 37.9 2% | 50.2 -29% | 36.8 5% | 37.8 3% | 38.5 1% |
| Idle Upper Side * | 27.3 | 27.1 1% | 27.4 -0% | 28.4 -4% | 26.2 4% | 28 -3% | 30.5 -12% | 25.1 8% | 26 5% |
| Idle Bottom * | 27.7 | 28.3 -2% | 26.3 5% | 28.8 -4% | 27.6 -0% | 28.3 -2% | 30.7 -11% | 25.7 7% | 26.6 4% |
* ... smaller is better
Speakers
The stereo speakers are situated in the device's front underside. They produce a rich sound that tends to sound a bit muffled. Overall, the soundscape is acceptable. We have listened to worse speakers. The sound can be tweaked via the preloaded DTS software. Headphones or external speakers are recommended for a better sound experience.
Energy Management
Power Consumption
We recorded a maximum idle power consumption of 7 watts - a good rate. The requirement did not climb into unforeseen regions during load, either. We measured an energy requirement of 43.6 watts in the stress test - a normal rate for the hardware platform installed here. The power consumption ranged at around 29 watts (+/- 5 watts) in gaming routine. The power supply has a nominal output of 65 watts.
| Off / Standby | 0.19 / 0.46 Watt |
| Idle | 4 / 6.5 / 7 Watt |
| Load |
36 / 43.6 Watt |
   
| |
| HP 250 G4 T6P08ES 5200U, Radeon R5 M330 | HP 350 G2 L8B05ES 5200U, Radeon R5 M240 | Lenovo IdeaPad 305-15IBD 5200U, Radeon R5 M330 | Lenovo B50-80 5200U, Radeon R5 M330 | Toshiba Satellite C55-C-1NE 5005U, GeForce 920M | Acer Aspire ES1-521-87DN A8-6410, Radeon R5 (Beema/Carrizo-L) | HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng A10-8700P, Radeon R8 M365DX | Asus F555LJ-XX110H 5010U, GeForce 920M | Dell Inspiron 15-5558 5200U, GeForce 920M | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | 4% | -11% | -21% | 0% | -9% | -68% | 16% | 2% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 4 | 3.6 10% | 5 -25% | 6.9 -73% | 4.2 -5% | 5.5 -38% | 6.9 -73% | 3.5 12% | 4.3 -8% |
| Idle Average * | 6.5 | 5.9 9% | 7.1 -9% | 8.1 -25% | 6.6 -2% | 8.3 -28% | 11 -69% | 5.5 15% | 6.5 -0% |
| Idle Maximum * | 7 | 5.9 16% | 7.6 -9% | 9.2 -31% | 7.5 -7% | 9.6 -37% | 12.1 -73% | 5.7 19% | 7.4 -6% |
| Load Average * | 36 | 38.2 -6% | 39.5 -10% | 29.7 17% | 36.3 -1% | 27 25% | 61.3 -70% | 31.3 13% | 33.3 7% |
| Load Maximum * | 43.6 | 47.5 -9% | 43.6 -0% | 41.4 5% | 36.5 16% | 29.3 33% | 66.5 -53% | 34.7 20% | 36.3 17% |
* ... smaller is better
Battery Runtime
Overall, the battery life is good. HP's 250 G4 achieved a runtime of 5:42 hours in our practical Wi-Fi test. We simulate the load needed to open websites using the "Balanced" profile, and the screen's brightness is lowered to approximately 150 cd/m² in this test. We test the video playback time by looping the short movie "Big Buck Bunny" (H.264 encoding, 1920x1080 pixels). The wireless modules are disabled, and the screen's brightness is set to approximately 150 cd/m². HP's laptop had to be recharged after 5:53 hours.
| HP 250 G4 T6P08ES 41 Wh | HP 350 G2 L8B05ES 41 Wh | Lenovo IdeaPad 305-15IBD 32 Wh | Lenovo B50-80 32 Wh | Toshiba Satellite C55-C-1NE 44 Wh | Acer Aspire ES1-521-87DN 41 Wh | HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng 41 Wh | Asus F555LJ-XX110H 37 Wh | Dell Inspiron 15-5558 40 Wh | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | -6% | -35% | -41% | 7% | -15% | -55% | 1% | -6% | |
| Reader / Idle | 667 | 687 3% | 288 -57% | 222 -67% | 666 0% | ||||
| H.264 | 353 | 361 2% | 154 -56% | 315 -11% | |||||
| WiFi v1.3 | 342 | 291 -15% | 221 -35% | 213 -38% | 367 7% | 290 -15% | 137 -60% | 345 1% | 337 -1% |
| Load | 115 | 101 -12% | 83 -28% | 75 -35% | 103 -10% |
Pros
Cons
Verdict
The installed Core i5 processor should completely satisfy the needs of most users. The graphics unit allows gaming - at least partially. The laptop runs quietly in routine use and barely heats up. Storage will not get tight that quickly, thanks to the 1 TB hard drive. Swapping the HDD for a higher-capacity model or SSD requires some effort since a maintenance hatch is not present. The laptop's battery life is good. Furthermore, the laptop can serve with a decent keyboard. The screen's only positive quality is its matte surface. It is not compelling otherwise, being too dark, viewing angle dependent and not very high-contrast.
The buyer gets a basic, solid office laptop here.
Our review sample costs almost 500 Euros (~$566), which does not exactly make the laptop a bargain. The competition offers comparable laptops at comparable prices. Users who do not need a dedicated graphics unit will find even cheaper versions of HP's 250 G4.
HP 250 G4 T6P08ES
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04/18/2016 v5.1 (old)
Sascha Mölck
Price comparison
