Top 5 reasons to BUY or NOT to buy the HP 250 G8

The HP 250 G8 is the third 250 notebook that we have tested. The two previous ones were all disappointing and came with TN panels, for some reason. The new one that we will talk about today repeats that mistake as well, but this time an IPS option is available, so if you have the money, go for it.

However, since this laptop targets the budget and entry-level market, we won’t judge it too harshly. What is good about it, is that it has multiple configurations to choose from. You have the choice between AMD models, as well as Celeron and Pentium options from Intel, or if you really had money to spend, even Ice Lake and Tiger Lake.

Today we are presenting you with LaptopMedia’s top 5 picks about the HP 250 G8.

HP 250 G8: Full Specs / In-depth Review 


3 reasons to BUY the HP 250 G8

1. The Upgradeability

While this is a budget device, upgradability is better than on some 1000$+ laptops, which can only favor the HP 250 G8. There are two RAM SODIMM slots that work in dual-channel and support up to 32GB of DDR4 RAM. For the storage, there is one M.2 PCIe x4 drive for SSD expansion. For the old school people, there is one SATA bay that fits 2.5-inch drives.


2. The Keyboard

While the keyboard doesn’t have a backlight and the base is on the bendy side, its keys have a surprisingly long key travel and very satisfying and clicky feedback, honestly being better than some of its more expensive rivals in the market. The touchpad, however, we were not satisfied with. The gliding and tracking weren’t on par with what we would want and the dedicated buttons have too shallow of key travel and more resistance than they should.


3. The Portability

While the weight is still on the heavier side (1.74 kg) the rest of the dimensions are pretty good and on par for 2021. Somehow HP found a way to reduce the height of the device by 2mm. When you pair that with the thin bezels you get a machine that could be carried around without an issue.


2 reasons NOT to buy the HP 250 G8

1. The Build quality

The whole body is made out of plastic, and it feels like a cheap type of plastic. Other than that, the chassis seems to be decently sturdy and resistant to flexing, but the lid bends like crazy, which results in pretty heavy ghosting on the TN display.


2. The Display

Finally, we want to talk about the display. The configuration that we got had a TN panel, which is pretty weird as we are in 2021, and a person would expect at least an IPS display. There is an IPS option, but it costs extra money, and to be honest having it won’t redeem the rest of the “not-decent” qualities of the laptop. The Full HD TN display has uncomfortable and narrow viewing angles and a mediocre contrast ratio. Furthermore, the screen covers 53% of the sRGB color gamut. The good is that it doesn’t use PWM to adjust its brightness, so it’s good that HP at least focuses on the health and well-being of its consumers.

Moving over to the color accuracy, both with the factory settings and with our “Gaming and web design” profile, the panel didn’t reach a value that was within the standard. Below you can compare the scores of HP 250 G8 with the default settings (left), and with the “Gaming and Web design” profile (right).


Buy our profiles

Since our profiles are tailored for each individual display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for HP 250 G8 configurations with 15.6″ Innolux CMN1526 (FHD, 1920 × 1080) TN.

*Should you have problems with downloading the purchased file, try using a different browser to open the link you’ll receive via e-mail. If the download target is a .php file instead of an archive, change the file extension to .zip or contact us at [email protected].

Read more about the profiles HERE.

In addition to receiving efficient and health-friendly profiles, by buying LaptopMedia's products you also support the development of our labs, where we test devices in order to produce the most objective reviews possible.

Office Work

Office Work should be used mostly by users who spend most of the time looking at pieces of text, tables or just surfing. This profile aims to deliver better distinctness and clarity by keeping a flat gamma curve (2.20), native color temperature and perceptually accurate colors.

Design and Gaming

This profile is aimed at designers who work with colors professionally, and for games and movies as well. Design and Gaming takes display panels to their limits, making them as accurate as possible in the sRGB IEC61966-2-1 standard for Web and HDTV, at white point D65.

Health-Guard

Health-Guard eliminates the harmful Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) and reduces the negative Blue Light which affects our eyes and body. Since it’s custom tailored for every panel, it manages to keep the colors perceptually accurate. Health-Guard simulates paper so the pressure on the eyes is greatly reduced.

Get all 3 profiles with 33% discount


All HP 250 G8 configurations:

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