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MagyarHP 355 G2 Notebook Review Update
For the original German review, see here.
We recently tested the identically built HP 350 G1 sister model of the HP 355 now at hand. While the 350 is powered by an Intel processor, an AMD APU clocks inside the 355. Beyond that, both laptops feature a dedicated Radeon graphics core. The models of the 350 and 355 lineup have been conceived for home and office use. The 350 could convince us that it is apt for this application field. Our report reveals whether that is also true for the 355.
Our review sample is available for approximately 370 Euros (~$459), and thus all low-cost office laptops aimed at private and professional users are rivals. For example, Lenovo's ThinkPad E555, Acer's TravelMate Extensa 2510, and Lenovo's B50-45 can be named here.
Since HP's 355 and 350 feature identical builds, we will not go in-depth about casing, connectivity, input devices or speakers. The corresponding information can be found in the review of the HP 350.
Display
HP's 355 sports a matte, 15.6-inch screen with a native resolution of 1366x768 pixels. The screen's brightness (213.2 cd/m²), contrast (174:1) and black level (1.21 cd/m²) are not convincing. Though the brightness would still be acceptable in view of the price level, the contrast and black level should be better.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 78 %
Center on Battery: 211 cd/m²
Contrast: 174:1 (Black: 1.21 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 13.28 | 0.55-29.43 Ø5.2
ΔE Greyscale 13.28 | 0.57-98 Ø5.4
34% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
36.26% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
52.9% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
35.1% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.52
| HP 355 G2 Radeon R5 M240, A8-6410, Toshiba MQ01ABF050 | HP 350 G1 Radeon HD 8670M, 4210U, Seagate Momentus ST750LM022 HN-M750MB | Acer Extensa 2510-34Z4 HD Graphics 4400, 4030U, Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000LPVX | Lenovo Thinkpad E555 Radeon R5 (Kaveri), A8-7100, Seagate ST500LM021-1KJ15 | Lenovo B50-70 Radeon R5 M230, 4210U, Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB | Fujitsu LifeBook A544 HD Graphics 4600, 4200M, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680 | Acer TravelMate P255-M-54204G50Mnss HD Graphics 4400, 4200U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT0 12-9WS142 | Lenovo B50-45 (MCD2GGE) Radeon R2 (Mullins/Beema/Carrizo-L), E1-6010, Seagate Momentus Thin 320 GB ST320LT012 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | -3% | 13% | 16% | 13% | 1% | 18% | 8% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 35.1 | 34.02 -3% | 40.02 14% | 40.57 16% | 39.7 13% | 35.51 1% | 41.5 18% | 37.98 8% |
| sRGB Coverage | 52.9 | 51.3 -3% | 59.3 12% | 61.1 16% | 59.5 12% | 53.4 1% | 61.8 17% | 57.1 8% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 36.26 | 35.15 -3% | 41.5 14% | 41.91 16% | 41.02 13% | 36.68 1% | 42.93 18% | 39.24 8% |
| Screen | -7% | 18% | 22% | 16% | 16% | 22% | 47% | |
| Brightness middle | 211 | 245 16% | 190 -10% | 203 -4% | 205 -3% | 211 0% | 186 -12% | 238 13% |
| Brightness | 213 | 243 14% | 183 -14% | 209 -2% | 190 -11% | 197 -8% | 169 -21% | 230 8% |
| Brightness Distribution | 78 | 89 14% | 89 14% | 85 9% | 83 6% | 85 9% | 85 9% | 93 19% |
| Black Level * | 1.21 | 1.9 -57% | 0.7 42% | 0.65 46% | 0.77 36% | 1.06 12% | 0.7 42% | 0.43 64% |
| Contrast | 174 | 129 -26% | 271 56% | 312 79% | 266 53% | 199 14% | 266 53% | 553 218% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 13.28 | 14.38 -8% | 10.18 23% | 11.01 17% | 10.91 18% | 6.77 49% | 7 47% | 9.96 25% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 13.28 | 14.43 -9% | 10.62 20% | 11.57 13% | 11.1 16% | 6.82 49% | 8.1 39% | 10.33 22% |
| Gamma | 2.52 87% | 2.55 86% | 2.31 95% | 2.09 105% | 2.47 89% | 2.66 83% | 2.27 97% | 2.27 97% |
| CCT | 17759 37% | 20651 31% | 12766 51% | 12849 51% | 13887 47% | 9452 69% | 12201 53% | |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 34 | 33 -3% | 38 12% | 39 15% | 38 12% | 33.9 0% | 36 6% | |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -5% /
-6% | 16% /
17% | 19% /
20% | 15% /
15% | 9% /
12% | 20% /
21% | 28% /
36% |
* ... smaller is better
The screen's poor rates continue in color reproduction. It has an average DeltaE 2000 shift of 13.28 in state of delivery. The target would be a rate less than 3. Furthermore, the screen exhibits an obvious bluish cast.
The installed TN screen can only offer limited viewing angles. However, this was to be expected from a 15.6-inch laptop of this price range. The device can be used outdoors owing to the screen's matte surface.
Performance
HP's 355 lineup provides office laptops for both home and professional use. The devices are powered by AMD APUs. The APU in our review sample is more than sufficient for applications from the office and Internet fields. The model we were provided with is sold for 370 Euros (~$459). The laptop is available for 290 Euros (~$359) when neither operating system is needed.
Processor
An A8-6410 APU (Beema) from AMD clocks inside HP's 355. With a TDP of 15 watts, it is on par with Intel's Haswell ULV processors. The CPU part is comprised of a quad-core processor that operates with a base speed of 2 GHz, which can be boosted to 2.4 GHz via Turbo. The full computing power is usually available in AC mode. The processor performed the single-thread tests of the Cinebench benchmarks with 2.4 GHz. The multi-thread tests ran with 2 to 2.2 GHz. The tests were performed with slightly lower speeds in battery mode (single: 2.2 to 2.4 GHz; multi: 1.6 to 1.8 GHz). All together, the performance of AMD's processor is roughly on a level with a ULV Core i3 processor from Intel.
| Cinebench R10 | |
| Rendering Single 32Bit (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| HP 350 G1 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Lenovo B50-70 | |
| Lenovo B50-45 (MCD2GGE) | |
| Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| HP 350 G1 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Lenovo B50-70 | |
| Lenovo B50-45 (MCD2GGE) | |
| Geekbench 3 | |
| 32 Bit Multi-Core Score (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| HP 350 G1 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Lenovo B50-70 | |
| 32 Bit Single-Core Score (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| HP 350 G1 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Lenovo B50-70 | |
| Sunspider - 1.0 Total Score (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| HP 350 G1 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Lenovo B50-70 | |
| Lenovo B50-45 (MCD2GGE) | |
| Peacekeeper - --- (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Octane V2 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
* ... smaller is better
System Performance
The system runs smoothly, which the good PCMark scores underline. However, HP's 355 cannot match the results of the HP 350 sister model because it sports a weaker processor. Basically, the device is roughly on par with a Core i3 laptop, such as Acer's Extensa 2510. Nevertheless, HP's 355 scores somewhat better owing to its dedicated graphics core.
| PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2 | 2451 points | |
| PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2 | 2409 points | |
| PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2 | 3106 points | |
Help | ||
| PCMark 8 - Home Score Accelerated v2 (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Lenovo B50-45 (MCD2GGE) | |
| Acer Extensa 2510-34Z4 | |
| Lenovo B50-70 | |
| HP 350 G1 | |
Storage Devices
Data is stored on a hard drive from Toshiba. It has a capacity of 500 GB and spins with a speed of 5400 revolutions per minute. The transfer rates were as expected and correspond to what we are used to from modern 5400 rpm hard drives. Unlike HP's 350 that we tested, HP's 355 is not equipped with an mSATA slot. However, one of the solid state drives inserted into this slot can only be used as an SSD cache; the slot is not bootable.
Graphics Card
Although two AMD graphics chips in the forms of the Radeon R5 (Beema) and a dedicated Radeon R5 M240 GPU are installed in HP's laptop, they do not operate in dual-graphics mode. AMD does not provide this in its Beema APUs. Thus, a graphics-switching solution (Enduro) has been implemented. The integrated GPU is enabled in routine and battery mode. The dedicated graphics core takes care of performance-devouring applications like computer games. Switching is normally performed automatically, but the user sometimes has to intervene manually. Nvidia's graphics switching solution (Optimus) functions more smoothly.
The dedicated AMD GPU is a member of the entry-level graphics cores. It supports DirectX 11.2 and clocks with speeds of up to 1030 MHz. The graphics core's performance is virtually on the same level as the Radeon HD 8670M core in HP's 350. However, the Radeon R5 240 core operates with a slightly higher speed. The 3DMark benchmark scores show that the core is located between Nvidia's GeForce 820M and 825M graphics cores.
| 3DMark 06 Standard Score | 5556 points | |
| 3DMark Vantage P Result | 5066 points | |
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 1640 points | |
| 3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score | 39458 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 4032 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 843 points | |
Help | ||
| 3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| HP 350 G1 | |
| Acer Extensa 2510-34Z4 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Lenovo B50-70 | |
| Acer TravelMate P255-M-54204G50Mnss | |
| Lenovo B50-45 (MCD2GGE) | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 3542-2293 | |
| Medion Akoya P6647 (MD98571) | |
| 3DMark | |
| 1920x1080 Fire Strike Score (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| HP 350 G1 | |
| Acer Extensa 2510-34Z4 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Lenovo B50-70 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 3542-2293 | |
| Medion Akoya P6647 (MD98571) | |
| 1280x720 Sky Diver Score (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| HP 350 G1 | |
| Acer Extensa 2510-34Z4 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Lenovo B50-70 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 3542-2293 | |
| 1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Score (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| HP 350 G1 | |
| Acer Extensa 2510-34Z4 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Lenovo B50-70 | |
| Fujitsu LifeBook A544 | |
| Acer TravelMate P255-M-54204G50Mnss | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 3542-2293 | |
| Medion Akoya P6647 (MD98571) | |
| 1280x720 Ice Storm Standard Score (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| HP 350 G1 | |
| Acer Extensa 2510-34Z4 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Lenovo B50-70 | |
| Fujitsu LifeBook A544 | |
| Lenovo B50-45 (MCD2GGE) | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 3542-2293 | |
| Medion Akoya P6647 (MD98571) | |
| 3DMark 06 - 1280x1024 Standard Score AA:0x AF:0x (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Lenovo B50-45 (MCD2GGE) | |
| Medion Akoya P6647 (MD98571) | |
| 3DMark Vantage - 1280x1024 P Result (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Lenovo B50-45 (MCD2GGE) | |
| Medion Akoya P6647 (MD98571) | |
Gaming Performance
Like HP's 350, the 355 is not a gaming laptop. Nevertheless, an occasional game is possible because the laptop can smoothly render many titles even if only in a low resolution and low to sometimes medium quality settings. Hardware-devouring games, such as Ryse: Son of Rome and Thief, do not achieve a playable frame rate. Generally, the gaming power of HP's 355 is on par with HP's 350. The 350 has the lead in CPU-heavy games due to its stronger processor. Although HP's 355 could still place itself between the GeForce 820M and GeForce 825M cores in the 3DMark benchmarks, it usually lags behind laptops that feature a GeForce 820M GPU in gaming practice.
| low | med. | high | ultra | |
| Deus Ex Human Revolution (2011) | 68.1 | 36.3 | ||
| The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011) | 35.5 | 28.9 | 19.6 | |
| Anno 2070 (2011) | 76.1 | 37.3 | 23.4 | |
| Alan Wake (2012) | 22.5 | 12.9 | ||
| Diablo III (2012) | 52 | 41 | 33 | |
| Dishonored (2012) | 40.5 | 32.5 | 29.6 | |
| Hitman: Absolution (2012) | 19 | 16.7 | 10.2 | |
| Dead Space 3 (2013) | 68.5 | 33.4 | 26.8 | |
| Tomb Raider (2013) | 59.6 | 30.4 | 19.7 | |
| StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm (2013) | 90 | 41.3 | 28.1 | |
| BioShock Infinite (2013) | 45.9 | 26.5 | 21.6 | |
| GRID 2 (2013) | 49.7 | 32 | 27.6 | |
| Company of Heroes 2 (2013) | 16.4 | 16.3 | 9.9 | |
| Dota 2 (2013) | 42.6 | 31.7 | ||
| Saints Row IV (2013) | 17.4 | 13.8 | 10.8 | |
| Total War: Rome II (2013) | 40.5 | 31.9 | 28.2 | |
| Battlefield 4 (2013) | 26.8 | 22.4 | 17.7 | |
| X-Plane 10.25 (2013) | 21.2 | 12.9 | 6.4 | |
| Thief (2014) | 13.3 | 11.8 | 10.3 | |
| GRID: Autosport (2014) | 66.1 | 30 | 21.8 | |
| Risen 3: Titan Lords (2014) | 28.2 | 16.7 | 8.7 | |
| Alien: Isolation (2014) | 30.2 | 21 | 12.1 | |
| Ryse: Son of Rome (2014) | 24 | 14.8 | 6.8 | |
| F1 2014 (2014) | 38 | 28 | 25 | |
| Civilization: Beyond Earth (2014) | 33.4 | 18.4 | 11.6 | |
| Dragon Age: Inquisition (2014) | 29.6 | 20.2 |
| Tomb Raider | |
| 1024x768 Low Preset (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| HP 350 G1 | |
| Acer Extensa 2510-34Z4 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Lenovo B50-70 | |
| Acer TravelMate P255-M-54204G50Mnss | |
| Lenovo B50-45 (MCD2GGE) | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 3542-2293 | |
| Medion Akoya P6647 (MD98571) | |
| 1366x768 Normal Preset AA:FX AF:4x (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| HP 350 G1 | |
| Acer Extensa 2510-34Z4 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Lenovo B50-70 | |
| Acer TravelMate P255-M-54204G50Mnss | |
| Lenovo B50-45 (MCD2GGE) | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 3542-2293 | |
| Medion Akoya P6647 (MD98571) | |
| 1366x768 High Preset AA:FX AF:8x (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| HP 350 G1 | |
| Acer Extensa 2510-34Z4 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Lenovo B50-70 | |
| Acer TravelMate P255-M-54204G50Mnss | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 3542-2293 | |
| Medion Akoya P6647 (MD98571) | |
| BioShock Infinite | |
| 1280x720 Very Low Preset (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Lenovo B50-45 (MCD2GGE) | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 3542-2293 | |
| Medion Akoya P6647 (MD98571) | |
| 1366x768 Medium Preset (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Lenovo B50-45 (MCD2GGE) | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 3542-2293 | |
| Medion Akoya P6647 (MD98571) | |
| 1366x768 High Preset (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 3542-2293 | |
| Medion Akoya P6647 (MD98571) | |
| GRID 2 | |
| 1024x768 Ultra Low Preset (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| 1366x768 Medium Preset (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Medion Akoya P6647 (MD98571) | |
| 1366x768 High Preset AA:2xMS (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Medion Akoya P6647 (MD98571) | |
| GRID: Autosport | |
| 1024x768 Ultra Low Preset (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| HP 350 G1 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Lenovo B50-45 (MCD2GGE) | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 3542-2293 | |
| 1366x768 Medium Preset (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| HP 350 G1 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 3542-2293 | |
| 1920x1080 High Preset (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| HP 350 G1 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 3542-2293 | |
| StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm | |
| 1024x768 Low (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| 1366x768 Medium (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Medion Akoya P6647 (MD98571) | |
| 1366x768 High AA:on (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Medion Akoya P6647 (MD98571) | |
| Diablo III | |
| 1024x768 Low / off (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Lenovo B50-45 (MCD2GGE) | |
| 1366x768 Medium / low (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| 1366x768 High AA:on (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim | |
| 1280x720 Low Preset (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Medion Akoya P6647 (MD98571) | |
| 1366x768 Medium Preset AA:4x (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Medion Akoya P6647 (MD98571) | |
| 1366x768 High Preset AA:8x AF:8x (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Medion Akoya P6647 (MD98571) | |
| Civilization: Beyond Earth | |
| 1024x768 Minimum Preset (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| HP 350 G1 | |
| Lenovo B50-70 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 3542-2293 | |
| 1366x768 Medium Preset (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| HP 350 G1 | |
| Lenovo B50-70 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 3542-2293 | |
| 1920x1080 High Preset (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Lenovo B50-70 | |
| Hitman: Absolution | |
| 1024x768 Lowest Preset (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Medion Akoya P6647 (MD98571) | |
| 1366x768 Medium Preset AF:2x (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Medion Akoya P6647 (MD98571) | |
| 1366x768 High Preset AA:2xMS AF:8x (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Medion Akoya P6647 (MD98571) | |
| Total War: Rome II | |
| 1024x768 Low Preset (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Medion Akoya P6647 (MD98571) | |
| 1366x768 Medium Preset (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| 1366x768 High Preset (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Ryse: Son of Rome | |
| 1024x768 Low Texture Res. + Low Graphics Quality (Rest Off/Disabled) AF:2x (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| HP 350 G1 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Lenovo B50-70 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 3542-2293 | |
| 1366x768 Medium Texture Res. + Normal Graphics Quality (Rest Off/Disabled) AF:4x (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| HP 350 G1 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Lenovo B50-70 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 3542-2293 | |
| 1920x1080 High Texture Res. + High Graphics Quality (Rest Off/Disabled) AF:8x (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Lenovo B50-70 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 3542-2293 | |
| F1 2014 | |
| 1024x768 Ultra Low Preset (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| HP 350 G1 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Lenovo B50-70 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 3542-2293 | |
| 1366x768 Medium Preset (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| HP 350 G1 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Lenovo B50-70 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 3542-2293 | |
| 1920x1080 High Preset (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| HP 350 G1 | |
| Lenovo B50-70 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 3542-2293 | |
| Alien: Isolation | |
| 1024x768 (Very) Low, Off, Shadow Map 512 AF:1x (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| HP 350 G1 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Lenovo B50-70 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 3542-2293 | |
| 1366x768 Medium, On (AA & SSAO Off), Shadow Map 1024 AF:4x (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| HP 350 G1 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Lenovo B50-70 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 3542-2293 | |
| 1920x1080 High, On, Shadow Map 1536, Standard SSAO AA:FX AF:8x (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Lenovo B50-70 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 3542-2293 | |
| X-Plane 10.25 | |
| 1024x768 low (fps_test=1) test_flight_c4 (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Medion Akoya P6647 (MD98571) | |
| 1366x768 med (fps_test=2) test_flight_c4 (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Medion Akoya P6647 (MD98571) | |
| 1366x768 high (fps_test=3) test_flight_c4 (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Medion Akoya P6647 (MD98571) | |
| Risen 3: Titan Lords | |
| 1024x768 Low, Off (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| HP 350 G1 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Lenovo B50-70 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 3542-2293 | |
| 1366x768 Medium, Off (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| HP 350 G1 | |
| Lenovo Thinkpad E555 | |
| Lenovo B50-70 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 3542-2293 | |
| 1920x1080 High, On AF:8x (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| HP 350 G1 | |
| Lenovo B50-70 | |
| Dell Inspiron 15 3542-2293 | |
| Company of Heroes 2 | |
| 1024x768 Minimum / Low / Off AA:Off (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Medion Akoya P6647 (MD98571) | |
| 1366x768 Medium AA:Off (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
| Medion Akoya P6647 (MD98571) | |
| 1366x768 High AA:Medium (sort by value) | |
| HP 355 G2 | |
Emissions
System Noise
Like the fan in HP's 350, the fan in HP's 355 is never idle. The reason for this is also the same: the BIOS option "Fan always on" is enabled. The fan even sometimes stops spinning when the option is disabled. But that only applies to idle mode. The fan increases it speed considerably as soon as the laptop is loaded. We measured a noise level of up to 46.5 dB during the stress test. Consequently, the 355 is on par with the 350.
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 33.2 / 33.2 / 33.8 dB(A) |
| HDD |
| 33.2 dB(A) |
| DVD |
| 37.4 / dB(A) |
| Load |
| 42 / 46.5 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Voltcraft sl-320 (15 cm distance) | ||
Temperature
The graphics core in the 355 processed the stress test (Prime95 and Furmark run for at least one hour) in AC mode and battery mode with full speed (2.4 GHz). The processor operates with 1.6 to 1.8 GHz in battery mode and 2 to 2.2 GHz in AC mode. Like HP's 350, the 355 also barely heated up during the stress test - due to the fan's high speed increase. The casing's temperatures remained clearly below 40 °C on every measured point.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 37.2 °C / 99 F, compared to the average of 34.2 °C / 94 F, ranging from 21.2 to 62.5 °C for the class Office.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 36 °C / 97 F, compared to the average of 36.7 °C / 98 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 23.9 °C / 75 F, compared to the device average of 29.5 °C / 85 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are reaching skin temperature as a maximum (32.9 °C / 91.2 F) and are therefore not hot.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 27.8 °C / 82 F (-5.1 °C / -9.2 F).
Energy Management
Power Consumption
The power consumption of both HP laptops is also identical and is on par over the entire load range. Both devices are satisfied with a power consumption of below 10 watts when idling. The energy requirement increased up to 46 watts during the stress test. These rates are acceptable in view of the hardware configuration.
| Off / Standby | 0 / 0.2 Watt |
| Idle | 3.9 / 6.6 / 7.6 Watt |
| Load |
35.7 / 46.2 Watt |
   
| |
Battery Runtime
Websites are opened automatically every 40 seconds in the real-world Wi-Fi test. The energy-saving profile is enabled, and the screen's brightness is set to approximately 150 cd/m². HP's 355 achieved a runtime of 4:43 hours under these conditions, which is just marginally shorter than its HP 350 sister model. A competition model like Acer's Extensa 2510 (6:31 h) lasts considerably longer than either one of HP's laptops.
Verdict
HP's 355 G2 is overall compelling. HP has added a well-conceived low-cost office laptop to its lineup. It provides a decent application performance and can offer good battery runtimes. The graphics core even allows playing some games. As appropriate for an office device, it also features a good keyboard and matte screen. Like the model installed in HP's 350 device, the latter is not particularly convincing. Its brightness, contrast, and color reproduction could be (considerably) better. In contrast to HP's 350, the 355 model we tested does not have an mSATA slot.
We naturally like the laptop's price the most: 369 Euros (~$458) is due for the laptop that is shipped with two operating systems (290 Euros, ~$359, w/o Windows operating systems). That is over 200 Euros (~$248) less than is demanded for the HP 350. However, a lower CPU performance has to be accepted, which is still absolutely enough for routine use in any event. Buyers who opt for the AMD-based computer can invest the money saved compared to HP's 350 in a solid state drive and/or a warranty upgrade. HP also only includes a 12-month warranty for its 355.
