HP Pavilion x360 , Core 5 120U, 16GB, 1TB SSD, Natural Silver

Big storage, small everything else. The 1TB SSD is the only reason to look twice, and the 90-day warranty is the reason to look away.

The Intel Core 5 120U is a 10-core chip that sits right around the middle of the pack for CPUs in our database, and the integrated Intel Graphics are similarly average. What surprised us is how much the 16GB of single-channel DDR4 holds this thing back. That RAM config lands in the 37th percentile, and single-channel memory on integrated graphics is like putting a speed limiter on an already modest engine. The 1TB SSD is the real star here, and it's the only component that feels like it belongs in a more expensive laptop. For everyday browsing, docs, and streaming, it'll chug along fine. Just don't ask it to do anything creative or game-related, the gaming score of 13.5 out of 100 is one of the lowest we've seen in this category.

Stacked against the Apple MacBook Air M4 or the ASUS Zenbook UX3405CA, this Pavilion gets embarrassed on build quality, battery life, and raw performance. The MacBook Air M4 will run circles around it while sipping power, and the Zenbook offers a far better screen and port setup. Even the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition makes this HP look like a parts-bin special. The only place the Pavilion wins is raw storage capacity per dollar, and that's a narrow victory. If you need a 2-in-1 specifically, the Lenovo Legion 5i is overkill for this use case, but it shows what a real performance laptop costs.

At $548 USD, this is a tough sell unless you specifically need a touchscreen 2-in-1 with a big SSD and don't care about anything else. The storage is the only spec that punches above its weight. For the same money, you can find new laptops with better warranties, better port selection, and dual-channel RAM. The refurb discount isn't deep enough to justify the 90-day warranty gamble.

The HP Pavilion x360 14-ek2055cl is a factory recertified 2-in-1 that tries to be a budget do-everything machine. The headline spec is a 1TB NVMe SSD, which lands in the 80th percentile for storage, and that's genuinely nice to see at this price point. But the rest of the package is a mixed bag, and the 90-day warranty on a refurb tells you HP isn't exactly betting on this thing lasting forever. The one thing to know: you're buying storage and a touchscreen, not performance or longevity.

If you're looking for a laptop that'll last more than a year without warranty anxiety, this isn't it. Go get a new Lenovo IdeaPad or Acer Aspire with a standard 1-year warranty instead. And if you need any kind of gaming or creative performance, this integrated graphics setup will frustrate you daily. Save up for something with a dedicated GPU or at least dual-channel RAM.

Skip this one unless you find it heavily discounted below $450 USD and you only need a basic touchscreen machine for school or light office work. The 1TB SSD is tempting, but the single-channel RAM, weak port selection, and 90-day refurb warranty make this a risky buy. You can do better with a new budget laptop and an external drive.