HP 15.6 HP 2024, Core i7-1255U, 32GB, 2TB SSD, Silver

Big RAM and storage in a budget shell. The upgrades are real, but the corners cut everywhere else will annoy you daily.

The 32GB of DDR4 RAM is the real star here. Our database puts it in the 73rd percentile for memory, which means you can run a stupid number of Chrome tabs and still have room for Excel and Slack. The 2TB SSD is even better, landing in the 90th percentile for storage. Boot times are snappy and you won't be deleting files to make room anytime soon. But the CPU is a letdown. The i7-1255U sits in the 38th percentile, which is mediocre for a chip wearing an i7 badge. It's a low-power U-series part, not a performance chip. And the Iris Xe graphics are dead average, 49th percentile. Fine for video calls, useless for anything beyond light photo editing.

Stack this against the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition and it's not even close. The Surface has a better screen, better build, and modern Wi-Fi. The HP wins on raw RAM and storage capacity, but that's it. The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 is a completely different animal, way better GPU and CPU performance, but it costs more and is aimed at gamers. If you're just doing office work, the Surface is the smarter buy. If you need Windows and tons of local storage on a budget, the HP is a compromise you might accept.

At $1,200 USD, this is a tough sell. You're paying for the RAM and SSD upgrades, but the base machine underneath is a budget HP chassis with a mediocre CPU and old wireless. For that money you could get a MacBook Air M3 or a solid ASUS with better build quality and modern connectivity. The value only works if you absolutely need 32GB of RAM and 2TB of storage in a cheap-feeling package right now.

The HP 15.6 is a weird one. On paper it looks like a productivity monster, 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD in a business laptop. But dig a little and you'll find this is a third-party upgraded machine, not a stock HP config. That's where the trouble starts. The i7-1255U is fine for office work, but the integrated Iris Xe graphics mean this thing has no business pretending to be anything more than a spreadsheet slayer. Buyers seem split, some love the speed, others got burned by quality control issues.

If you want a backlit keyboard, modern Wi-Fi, or a laptop that doesn't feel like a third-party science experiment, this isn't it. Go get a Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition or a stock HP Envy instead. You'll lose some RAM and storage, but you'll keep your sanity.

Skip it unless you find it heavily discounted. The RAM and SSD are impressive, but the outdated Wi-Fi, missing backlit keyboard, and third-party upgrade headaches make this a gamble. There are better ways to spend $1,200.