HP Stream N4120 14", Celeron N4120, 16GB, 128GB SSD + 160GB SSD, Silver

The HP Stream 14 is a $399 budget laptop with a surprising 16GB of RAM and a genuinely bad 1366x768 display. It's fine for basic browsing, writing, and video calls, but the Celeron processor and eMMC storage mean it's slow for anything beyond that. Windows S Mode and pre-installed McAfee are annoying hurdles you'll need to clear. If you need the cheapest new Windows laptop possible, it works. If you can spend a bit more or buy used, you'll get a much better screen and faster performance elsewhere.

Let's talk about that Celeron N4120. It's a 4-core, 4-thread chip running at 1.3GHz, and it sits in the 18th percentile for CPU performance in our database. That's not great. But here's the thing: for basic tasks like web browsing, word processing, and streaming video, it's... fine. Not fast, but fine. The 16GB of RAM helps a lot here. Most laptops at this price point ship with 8GB or less, so having that extra headroom means you can keep more browser tabs open without the whole thing grinding to a halt.

The integrated Intel UHD Graphics are about what you'd expect. They're in the 36th percentile, which means they'll handle video playback and light photo viewing without issue, but don't even think about gaming. The gaming score of 10.2 out of 100 tells you everything you need to know. This is not a machine for anything more demanding than Solitaire or maybe some very light indie games. The 128GB eMMC storage is also worth noting. eMMC is slower than a proper SSD, so boot times and app launches will feel a bit sluggish compared to even a budget machine with an NVMe drive.

The obvious comparison is the Lenovo ThinkPad E14 Gen 7. It's more expensive, but you get a proper 1080p display, a much faster processor, and build quality that will survive being tossed in a backpack for years. The ThinkPad is a tool, while the Stream is more of a stopgap. If you can stretch your budget, the ThinkPad is the better long-term investment.

Then there's the Apple MacBook Air M4. It's in a completely different universe in terms of performance, display quality, and battery life. But it also costs several times more. If you're considering the Stream, you're probably not cross-shopping a MacBook Air. The more realistic alternative is something like a used ThinkPad or a Chromebook. Chromebooks in this price range often have better screens and faster storage, but they're limited to Chrome OS. If you need Windows specifically, the Stream is one of the cheapest ways to get it new.

At $399 USD, the HP Stream 14 is competing in a crowded budget space. You can find refurbished ThinkPads and older MacBook Airs for similar money, but those come with their own risks. What you're getting here is a new machine with a warranty, 16GB of RAM, and a year of Office 365 thrown in. That's not nothing. The docking station set with the extra 160GB of storage is a bit of a gimmick, but it does address the biggest practical limitation of the built-in 128GB eMMC drive.

That said, the value proposition gets murkier when you look at what you're giving up. The screen is genuinely bad. We're talking about a display that ranks in the 4th percentile of all laptops in our database. That's bottom of the barrel. If you spend any significant amount of time looking at this screen, you'll notice the low resolution and washed-out colors. For a machine that's meant to be used for hours of writing or browsing, that's a real problem. The Canadian price of $1,067 CAD is also worth flagging. That's a much harder sell for what you're getting.

The HP Stream 14 is one of those laptops that makes you do a double take. On paper, the specs look like they're from 2015. A 1366x768 display, a Celeron processor, and Windows 11 S Mode. But then you see the price, and suddenly it all makes sense. This is a machine built for a very specific person: someone who needs a cheap, light laptop for writing, browsing, and video calls, and doesn't want to think about specs at all.

And here's the weird part. This particular listing has been opened up and upgraded. The seal is broken, but you get 16GB of DDR4 RAM instead of the usual 4GB or 8GB. That's a genuinely meaningful upgrade for a budget machine. The storage situation is also unusual. You get 128GB of eMMC storage built in, plus a docking station set that adds another 160GB. It's a clunky solution, but it does give you more room than most laptops at this price.

Who is this for? Students on a tight budget, kids who need a first laptop, or anyone who lives in a browser and doesn't care about pixel density. It's not for gamers, not for photo editors, and definitely not for anyone who wants a premium feel. But for the right person, it's a functional tool that costs less than a decent phone.

If you care about screen quality at all, skip this. The 1366x768 display is one of the worst we've seen in our database, and it's the kind of thing that will bother you more over time, not less. Anyone who plans to spend hours reading, writing, or watching video on this machine should look for something with at least a 1080p panel. A used ThinkPad or a Chromebook in the same price range will have a much better screen.

Gamers and anyone who needs to run demanding software should also look elsewhere. The Celeron N4120 and integrated graphics simply can't keep up. If you need Windows and you're on a tight budget, consider a refurbished business laptop with an older Core i5 or i7. You'll get much better performance for similar money, even if the machine is a few years old.

If you need a cheap Windows laptop for basic tasks and you're willing to deal with some software annoyances, the HP Stream 14 is a reasonable choice. The 16GB of RAM is a real advantage, and the battery life is better than you'd expect at this price. Just know that you'll want to switch out of S Mode immediately, uninstall McAfee, and accept that the screen is going to look a bit soft.

For students, the math is a bit different. The compact score of 53 out of 100 and the student score of 46.6 out of 100 suggest this is a mediocre fit for schoolwork. The screen is the biggest issue. If you're going to be reading textbooks, writing papers, and staring at this thing for hours every day, the low resolution will wear on you. A used ThinkPad or a Chromebook with a 1080p display would be a better choice for the same money.