HP Laptop 15 2025, Core i3-N305, 16GB, 1TB SSD, Silver

16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD can't save a 2022 processor. Fine for basic tasks, but you're paying too much for old silicon.

The 16GB of RAM is the real surprise here. Most budget laptops in this range ship with 8GB, so having double that means you can keep a pile of browser tabs open without the thing grinding to a halt. But the Pentium N5030 is a weak spot. It's a 4-core chip from 2022 with a 1.1GHz base clock, and it lands in the bottom third of CPUs we've tested. The 1TB SSD helps with boot times and app launches, but the overall experience is still held back by that processor. For basic tasks it's fine. For anything more, it's going to struggle.

The MacBook Air M4 is in a completely different league, but it's also triple the price, so that's not a fair fight. The more relevant comparison is against other budget Windows laptops. The Lenovo Legion 5i and ASUS ProArt PX13 are both far more powerful, but they're also gaming and creator machines that cost significantly more. If you're shopping in this price range, the real question is whether you can find something with a newer Intel Core i3 or Ryzen 3 for similar money. The answer is usually yes, and that's the problem for this HP.

At $580, this is a tough sell. The RAM and storage are nice, but you're paying for a processor that was mid-range two years ago. If you can find this on sale for under $450, it becomes a more reasonable buy for basic use. At full price, you're better off looking at something with a newer chip.

The HP Laptop 15 is a budget machine that gets the basics right, mostly. You're getting 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, which is honestly more than you'd expect at this price point, but the Pentium N5030 processor is a 2022 chip that's already showing its age. The one thing to know: this is a fine laptop for web browsing, streaming, and light schoolwork, but don't expect it to do anything heavy.

If you're looking for a laptop that can handle photo editing, video work, or any kind of gaming, this isn't it. Go get something with a Ryzen 5 or Core i5 instead. Even a used ThinkPad from a couple years ago will run circles around this thing.

The HP Laptop 15 is a decent machine for very light use, but the outdated processor and dim screen make it hard to recommend at full price. If you just need something for email, Netflix, and web browsing, it'll do the job. But if you can stretch your budget even $100 more, you'll get a noticeably better experience elsewhere.