Most people don't need super powerful and expensive laptops for daily or office usage. Nowadays, even most of the low-end CPUs are just fine for normal work if the notebook has a decent amount of RAM and an SSD. The HP 250 G10 is a typical workhorse. It can be configured with 13th Gen U and P-series processor options. There are some Celerons and Pentiums in the mix but we advise you to avoid them since they have just four cores. Most devices rely on an iGPU but if you need more power for graphics-heavy software, you can opt for the optional NVIDIA GeForce MX550. The machine has a full-sized keyboard with a NumberPad section that can be great for people who are making tons of calculations during the day (like accountants). Because that's a budget device, the backlight and the fingerprint reader are optional. Display-wise, you have a choice of four panels - three 1080p units and one 768p model. Stay away from the latter, these low-resolution screens should be non-existent in 2023. One of the biggest advantages of this notebook is the compact dimensions and the privacy shutter for the Web camera. For connectivity, you get Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 which should be enough for most users. You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/hp-250-g10/ Specs, Drivers, What's in the box Drivers All drivers and utilities for this notebook can be found here: https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/hp-250-15.6-inch-g10-notebook-pc/2101595274 What's in the box? Inside the package, you will find some manuals and a 45W barrel-style plug adapter. The more powerful devices are bundled with a 65W charger. Design and construction HP doesn't specify what kind of materials they are using for the build. We are almost sure that the lid and bottom plate are made of plastic. The laptop features a two-tone color design - the lid is a bit darker compared to the base. The look of the notebook is stealthy, with rounded edges, and with minimal branding except for the big glossy HP logo. The lid flexes badly and it can't opened with a single hand because the hinges are very stiff. The base bends even while typing, especially the keyboard deck. At least the dimensions are good - 1.52 kg of weight and 18.6 mm profile thickness. The bezels around the panel are thin-ish excluding the bottom one. Above the display, you can see the 720p Web camera with temporal noise reduction. If you want a crisper image during video calls, there is an optional 1080p model. The machine has the so-called elevated design, so the back of the device will be lifted very slightly when the lid almost reaches its maximum angle of opening, The keyboard has big keycaps and a NumPad section. The key travel is long and the feedback is clicky which is pretty comfortable for long typing sessions. The backlight and the spill resistance are optional so if you need these extras, you have to pay more. The touchpad is surprisingly smooth and accurate for this price class. Its only downside is the loud clicking noise during usage. The view of the bottom plate is business as usual - two rubber feet, two speaker cutouts, and a decently-sized ventilation grill. The heat is pushed through a vent on the back of the laptop so part of the hot air is reaching the display when the CPU is loaded at max. Ports On the left, there is a USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) port, an HDMI 1.4b, a USB Type-C 3.2 (Gen. 1) port, and an Audio combo jack. On the right, you get the power plug, and a USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) port. Display quality, Health impact (PWM), Sound HP 250 G10 is equipped with a Full HD IPS panel, model number BOE BOE0A17 (NE156FHM-N4K). It comes with a 60Hz refresh rate. Its diagonal is 15.6" (39.6 cm), and the resolution - 1920 x 1080p. Additionally, the screen ratio is 16:9, the pixel density – 142 ppi, and their pitch – 0.18 x 0.18 mm. The screen can be considered Retina when viewed from at least 60 cm (from this distance, the average human eye can’t see the individual pixels). Viewing angles are good. We offer images at different angles to evaluate the quality. Also, a video with locked focus and exposure. The maximum measured brightness is 288 nits (cd/m2) in the middle of the screen and 267 nits (cd/m2) average across the surface with a maximum deviation of 13%. The Correlated Color Temperature on a white screen and at maximum brightness is 6910K. In the illustration below you can see how the display performs from a uniformity perspective. The illustration below shows how matters are for operational brightness levels (approximately 140 nits) – in this particular case at 65% Brightness (White level = 141 cd/m2, Black level = 0.1 cd/m2). Values of dE2000 over 4.0 should not occur, and this parameter is one of the first you should check if you intend to use the laptop for color-sensitive work (a maximum tolerance of 2.0 ). The contrast ratio is good – 1400:1. To make sure we are on the same page, we would like to give you a little introduction to the sRGB color gamut and the Adobe RGB. To start, there’s the CIE 1976 Uniform Chromaticity Diagram that represents the visible specter of colors by the human eye, giving you a better perception of the color gamut coverage and the color accuracy. Inside the black triangle, you will see the standard color gamut (sRGB) that is being used by millions of people on HDTV and on the web. As for the Adobe RGB, this is used in professional cameras, monitors, etc for printing. Basically, colors inside the black triangle are used by everyone and this is the essential part of the color quality and color accuracy of a mainstream notebook. Still, we’ve included other color spaces like the famous DCI-P3 standard used by movie studios, as well as the digital UHD Rec.2020 standard. Rec.2020, however, is still a thing of the future and it’s difficult for today’s displays to cover that well. We’ve also included the so-called Michael Pointer gamut, or Pointer’s gamut, which represents the colors that naturally occur around us every day. The yellow dotted line shows HP 250 G10's color gamut coverage. Its display covers 53% of the sRGB/ITU-R BT.709 (web/HDTV standard) in CIE1976 and 41% of DCI-P3. Our “Design and Gaming” profile delivers optimal color temperature (6500K) at 140 cd/m2 luminance and sRGB gamma mode. We tested the accuracy of the display with 24 commonly used colors like light and dark human skin, blue sky, green grass, orange, etc. You can check out the results at factory condition and also, with the “Design and Gaming” profile. Below you can compare the scores of the HP 250 G10 with the default settings (left), and with the “Gaming and Web design” profile (right). The next figure shows how well the display is able to reproduce really dark parts of an image, which is essential when watching movies or playing games in low ambient light. The left side of the image represents the display with stock settings, while the right one is with the “Gaming and Web Design” profile activated. On the horizontal axis, you will find the grayscale, and on the vertical axis – the luminance of the display. On the two graphs below you can easily check for yourself how your display handles the darkest nuances but keep in mind that this also depends on the settings of your current display, the calibration, the viewing angle, and the surrounding light conditions. Response time (Gaming capabilities) We test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “black-to-white” and “white-to-black” method from 10% to 90% and vice versa. We recorded Fall Time + Rise Time = 26.2 ms. Health Impact: PWM (Screen flickering) Pulse-width modulation (PWM) is an easy way to control monitor brightness. When you lower the brightness, the light intensity of the backlight is not lowered, but instead turned off and on by the electronics with a frequency indistinguishable to the human eye. In these light impulses, the light/no-light time ratio varies, while brightness remains unchanged, which is harmful to your eyes. You can read more about that in our dedicated article on PWM. HP 250 G10's display doesn't flicker at any brightness level. This makes the screen pretty comfortable for long periods of use. Health Impact: Blue light emissions Installing our Health-Guard profile not only eliminates PWM but also reduces the harmful Blue Light emissions while keeping the colors of the screen perceptually accurate. If you’re not familiar with the Blue light, the TL;DR version is – emissions that negatively affect your eyes, skin, and your whole body. You can find more information about that in our dedicated article on Blue Light. Health Impact: Gloss-level measurement Glossy-coated displays are sometimes inconvenient in high ambient light conditions. We show the level of reflection on the screen for the respective laptop when the display is turned off and the measurement angle is 60° (in this case, the result is 47.6 GU). Sound HP 250 G10's speakers produce a sound of very good quality. Its low, mid, and high tones are clear of deviations. 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 G10 configurations with 15.6" AUO AUO5799 (A156HAN01.0) (1920 x 1080) IPS. *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 bg.laptopmedia@gmail.com. Read more about the profiles HERE. Performance: CPU, GPU, Gaming Tests All benchmarks and tests were conducted with the Best performance preset activated in the Windows “Power & Battery” menu. Also, the "Fan always on" function is enabled in the BIOS. CPU options Eight CPU options are available - Intel Celeron N100, Pentium N200, Core i3-N305, Core i3-1315U, Core i5-1335U, Core i7-1355U, Core i5-1340P, and Core i7-1360P. GPU options You can rely on the iGPU inside of the CPU or you can get the optional NVIDIA GeForce MX550. Gaming tests CS:GO HD 1080p, Low (Check settings) HD 1080p, Medium (Check settings) HD 1080p, MAX (Check settings) Average FPS 58 fps 56 fps 25 fps DOTA 2 HD 1080p, Low (Check settings) HD 1080p, Normal (Check settings) HD 1080p, High (Check settings) Average FPS 79 fps 42 fps 24 fps The performance of the iGPU isn't impressive because our laptop has just one 8GB memory module that works in single-channel mode. [eBook Guide + Tools] How to MAX OUT your Laptop Temperatures and comfort, Battery Life Max CPU load In this test we use 100% on the CPU cores, monitoring their frequencies and chip temperature. The first column shows a computer’s reaction to a short load (2-10 seconds), the second column simulates a serious task (between 15 and 30 seconds), and the third column is a good indicator of how good the laptop is for long loads such as video rendering. Average P-core frequency; Average E-core frequency; CPU temp.; Package Power Intel Core i5-1335U (15W TDP) 0:02 - 0:10 sec 0:15 - 0:30 sec 10:00 - 15:00 min HP 250 G10 3.33 GHz @ 2.46 GHz @ 73°C @ 40W 3.08 GHz @ 2.23 GHz @ 85°C @ 35W 2.11 GHz @ 1.76 GHz @ 76°C @ 22W ASUS Vivobook 17 F1704 (X1704) 3.10 GHz @ 2.14 GHz @ 71°C @ 30W 3.09 GHz @ 2.16 GHz @ 89°C @ 30W 1.97 GHz @ 1.67 GHz @ 70°C @ 18W ASUS Vivobook 15 F1504 (X1504) 2.99 GHz @ 2.07 GHz @ 66°C @ 28W 2.94 GHz @ 2.07 GHz @ 81°C @ 28W 2.02 GHz @ 1.68 GHz @ 75°C @ 18W Acer Aspire 5 (A515-58M) 2.05 GHz @ 2.74 GHz @ 61°C @ 47W 1.81 GHz @ 2.54 GHz @ 64°C @ 40W 1.22 GHz @ 2.23 GHz @ 61°C @ 28W HP ProBook 440 G10 2.39 GHz @ 2.93 GHz @ 93°C @ 50W 1.51 GHz @ 2.29 GHz @ 92°C @ 30W 0.94 GHz @ 1.87 GHz @ 72°C @ 19W HP ProBook 450 G10 3.41 GHz @ 2.79 GHz @ 94°C @ 48W 2.80 GHz @ 2.17 GHz @ 94°C @ 31W 1.87 GHz @ 2.04 GHz @ 81°C @ 23W Acer Swift Go 16 (SFG16-71) 3.29 GHz @ 2.46 GHz @ 65°C @ 45W 3.06 GHz @ 2.37 GHz @ 71°C @ 42W 1.80 GHz @ 1.98 GHz @ 61°C @ 28W Lenovo ThinkBook 14s Yoga Gen 3 1.91 GHz @ 1.20 GHz @ 63°C @ 19W 1.86 GHz @ 0.90 GHz @ 74°C @ 14W 1.83 GHz @ 0.90 GHz @ 60°C @ 13W No matter the modest-looking cooling solution, the CPU can maintain high P and E core clocks in any kind of load. The temperatures are normal. Comfort during full load The cooling fan isn't noisy under heavy processor stress. It's audible but not intrusive. The keyboard becomes a bit warm but not too hot for standard usage. If you disable the "Fan always on" option in the BIOS, the device will be dead silent in light tasks or idle state. Battery Now, we conduct the battery tests with the Windows Better performance setting turned on, screen brightness adjusted to 120 nits and all other programs turned off except for the one we are testing the notebook with. This laptop comes with a 41Wh battery pack. It lasts for 8 hours and 20 minutes of Web browsing or 7 hours and 42 minutes of video playback. To achieve that, you have to apply the Balanced preset in the Windows “Power & Battery” menu and disable the "Fan always on" function in the BIOS. Disassembly, Upgrade options, and Maintenance If you want to open this laptop, you need to undo just four Phillips-head screws. After that, you can start popping the panel starting from the front, then, work your way around the sides and on the back. Here's how the bottom plate looks on the inside. The battery is a 41Wh variant. The connector is built-in and you have to wear gloves to avoid short circuits while taking out the unit. Before that, you have to undo the five Phillips-head screws that are fixing the battery to the base. The last step is to carefully untangle the speaker cables from the battery housing.The capacity is enough for 8 hours and 20 minutes of Web browsing or 7 hours and 42 minutes of video playback. There are two SODIMMs for up to 32GB of DDR4-3200 MHz memory in dual-channel mode. For storage, you get a single M.2 slot compatible with Gen 4 SSDs. There is a thin cooling pad under the preinstalled NVMe. The cooling is simple. It has one fan, a heat pipe, one top-mounted heat sink, and a heat spreader. Storage performance Our laptop is equipped with a 512GB KIOXIA KBG50ZNV512G. Below you can see some benchmarks of this Gen 4 NVMe. It reached just 41°C during our testing which is great. Verdict The HP 250 G10 is a decent budget device that surprises us with its high CPU frequencies under load. Still, our configuration has a Core i5-1335U which doesn't require significant cooling, if choose a 28W P-series processor, maybe the situation with the clocks could be different. If you want to play some casual game after work, a memory in dual-channel is a must because it increases greatly the iGPU performance. The comfort during full CPU load is good - the fan isn't noisy and on the outside, the chassis isn't too hot to the touch for normal work. The keyboard but the overall positive impression is spoiled by the flexible chassis that bends while typing. The touchpad is smooth but its clicking noises can be too loud for some of you. The lid isn't solid - it can't be opened with one hand in feels spongy if you try to twist it a bit. Still, the 1080p IPS display (BOE BOE0A17 (NE156FHM-N4K)) is good enough for everyday tasks or office needs. It has a good contrast ratio of 1400:1 and wide viewing angles. The lack of PWM usage is good news, especially in the budget segment. Well, the sRGB coverage is low but we expected that since the price of the laptop isn't high. The upgradability options are decent - two SODIMMs for up to 32GB DDR4 RAM and one M.2 slot for Gen 4 devices. The I/O is a bit of a letdown because the port selection is limited - just three USB connectors plus an HDMI. The battery capacity may be small but the autonomous life on a single charge is good - 8 hours and 20 minutes of Web browsing or 7 hours and 42 minutes of video playback. That's a nice result considering the small capacity. The HP 250 G10 is an inexpensive notebook that has its flaws but it can also offer good portability, high CPU frequencies under load, an optional PWM-free IPS display, a comfortable keyboard, and long battery life. You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/hp-250-g10/