HP ENVY 13.3" x360 2021, Core i7-1165G7, 8GB, 512GB SSD, Gold

The HP ENVY x360 is a genuinely compact 13.3-inch 2-in-1 at 1.32kg with a touchscreen, Thunderbolt, and a rare three USB-A ports. But the 8GB of RAM is a 7th percentile config that will choke under real multitasking, and the 11th-gen Intel CPU is mediocre by today's standards. Gaming is basically off the table with a 5.8 out of 100 score. Only worth it if you find it cheap and your needs are light.

The Core i7-1165G7 is a 4-core, 8-thread chip from Intel's Tiger Lake family, running at 2.8GHz base. In our database, it sits at the 25th percentile for CPUs in this category, which is mediocre by today's standards. For single-threaded tasks like launching apps, browsing with a bunch of tabs, or working in Office, it's perfectly fine. The NVMe SSD helps here too, at the 52nd percentile for storage, so boot times and file loads feel snappy. But the moment you ask this thing to do sustained multi-core work, like video encoding or running a VM, it's going to show its age.

The bigger bottleneck is the 8GB of DDR4 RAM. At the 7th percentile, it's one of the weakest memory configs we've seen in this category. Windows 10 Pro plus a browser with 15 tabs plus Slack plus a Zoom call will eat through 8GB fast. You'll feel it as stuttering when switching apps or as the system leaning hard on the SSD for virtual memory. The Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics are actually decent for what they are, around the 49th percentile for GPUs, but they share that 8GB of system memory, which makes things worse. Don't expect to edit 4K video or play anything beyond older or very light titles.

The competitors listed in our database are all in a completely different league, and honestly, comparing this ENVY x360 to an Apple MacBook Pro M4 Max or an ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 is almost unfair. Those are performance machines with discrete GPUs and much newer silicon. The MacBook Pro M4 Max will run circles around the i7-1165G7 in every metric, and the Zephyrus G14 is a gaming laptop that can also do work. If you need any kind of GPU power, those are the obvious choices, but they're also much more expensive and heavier.

The more realistic comparison is something like the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition. That machine is also thin and light, but with newer ARM-based silicon and typically 16GB of RAM. You'd get better battery life and smoother multitasking, though you'd lose the 2-in-1 hinge and the USB-A ports. The ENVY x360's real advantage is the convertible form factor and the port selection. If you specifically want a Windows 2-in-1 that's easy to carry and has legacy ports, this HP is a reasonable option. But if you can live without the hinge, the Surface Laptop is the better all-rounder.

Pricing on this specific config isn't listed, which makes value a bit tricky to pin down. But looking at the specs, this is a machine that only makes sense if you can get it at a discount. The 8GB RAM and older 11th-gen Intel CPU put it well behind current mid-range laptops, even budget ones. If you're paying anywhere near what a modern Ryzen or 12th/13th-gen Intel laptop costs, you're overpaying.

That said, the compactness and port selection are real assets. A 1.32kg 2-in-1 with Thunderbolt and three USB-A ports is not common. If portability and connectivity matter more to you than raw performance, and the price is right, this could be a decent buy. Just don't expect it to age gracefully. The RAM ceiling alone means you'll likely want to replace it sooner than a machine with 16GB.

The HP ENVY x360 is one of those laptops that makes you wonder why more machines don't just get the basics right. It's a 13.3-inch 2-in-1 with a 1080p IPS touchscreen, an Intel Core i7-1165G7, 8GB of RAM, and a 512GB NVMe SSD. Nothing flashy on paper, but the whole package comes in at 1.32kg, which is properly light for something you can flip into a tablet. Our database puts its compactness at the 94th percentile for this category, and that's the story here: a small, well-built convertible that's easy to carry around.

Who's this for? Honestly, it's aimed at people who want a portable Windows machine for everyday work, browsing, and media. The 2-in-1 hinge means you can tent it for Netflix or fold it flat for note-taking. The backlit keyboard and Thunderbolt port are nice touches you don't always see at this size. But the 8GB of RAM is a real constraint, landing in the 7th percentile for this product type. That's going to matter more than the CPU or storage for most buyers.

The interesting tension here is between the form factor and the internals. You get a genuinely compact, flexible laptop with a decent screen and fast storage, but the memory situation and integrated graphics mean this is not a machine for heavy multitasking or anything beyond casual gaming. Our gaming score for this config is a 5.8 out of 100, which should tell you everything about its ambitions there. It's a productivity and portability play, not a performance one.

If you're a gamer, skip this without a second thought. A 5.8 out of 100 gaming score means even older titles will struggle, and the integrated graphics share that already-limited 8GB of RAM. Look at something like the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 instead, which has a discrete GPU and much better performance.

Also skip this if you do any kind of creative work, like photo or video editing, or if you're a developer who runs containers or virtual machines. The 8GB RAM ceiling and 25th percentile CPU will frustrate you constantly. A MacBook Pro or a Lenovo Legion Pro with 16GB or more of RAM is the better call. And if you plan to keep your laptop for more than three years, the memory limitation here will only get more painful as apps and websites get heavier.

For students or office workers who mostly live in a browser, use Office, and want something light with a touchscreen, the ENVY x360 can work. The 512GB SSD is enough for documents, photos, and a decent media library. The 2-in-1 design is genuinely useful for reading, presenting, or watching video in tight spaces. And the port situation is better than most modern thin-and-lights, which often force you into dongle life.

But for anyone who multitasks heavily, runs creative software, or wants to keep this laptop for more than a couple of years, the 8GB of RAM is a dealbreaker. It's the kind of spec that feels fine on day one and frustrating by month six. If you can find this config at a steep discount and your needs are light, it's a decent portable companion. Otherwise, look for something with 16GB of RAM, even if it means giving up the 2-in-1 hinge.