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The only way to rectify the Stream 11’s dull screen is to use it plugged into an external monitor. That’s not possible if you’re out and about, but if you’re using this laptop at home, the full-size HDMI port makes it a cinch to connect a larger display. As with the SD card slot, the HDMI port is a welcome addition that's rare even on more expensive laptops.
The HP Stream 14 posted on-par numbers (for a budget laptop, that is) in the brightness tests, besting both Lenovo laptops at the 50% brightness setting, while at the 100% setting actually overtaking the HP Laptop 14-dq2020nr and keeping pace with both the Inspiron and the IdeaPad 3. That said, the screen output was underwhelming even at top brightness, put next to a mainstream or business laptop. As for color-coverage testing, the results were quite similar across the whole test group, suggesting these are all screens cut from the same (display) cloth. You shouldn’t expect an enjoyable gaming experience, either. The Stream 11 recorded an average of just 6 frames per second on our Unigine Superposition benchmark, and that’s at the most forgiving 720p Low preset.One more bit of maintenance is recommended, beyond upgrading to full Windows 10: bloatware cleaning. Plenty of preinstalled apps take up too much of the computer’s precious 57GB of available space, including Netflix, Dropbox, LastPass, and McAfee Antivirus. HP’s preinstalled configuration utility, myHP, also constantly sends notifications reminding you to install updates.Thankfully, all of it can and should be uninstalled. On the upside, the HP Stream 14 also comes with a one-year subscription to Microsoft 365, giving users access to Microsoft's suite of programs. Laptops typically need a score of at least 4,000 on this test to be considered excellent, so the Stream 11 is a long way off. Part of the deficiency here may be ascribed to the eMMC storage, whose performance is limited versus the more capable SSDs on more expensive laptops. Before I joined the tech-journalism ranks, I wrote on topics as diverse as Borneo's rain forests, Middle Eastern airlines, and Big Data's role in presidential elections. A graduate of Middlebury College, I also have a master's degree in journalism and French Studies from New York University.
I've appeared on CBS News, in USA Today, and at many other outlets to offer analysis on breaking technology news. Between home, school, and work - your mobile life demands a PC that just doesn't quit. With up to 13 hours and 15 minutes of battery life, the HP Stream does everything your smartphone can't. Post, play, and stay productive all day with the familiarity of a Windows PC that's affordable, portable, and incredibly stylish. EXPRESSIVE DESIGN. Live your best life on-the-go and in style with a slim, expressive design. With its smooth finish and vertical brushed pattern, the HP Stream that perfectly fits your personality. MORE FEATURES. MORE VALUE. With Intel processors and up to 13 hours and 15 minutes of battery life, work all day or binge-watch your favourite shows - all while staying under budget. Plus, stay connected with fast Wi-Fi, plenty of storage options, and all the ports you need. WINDOWS YOU LOVE. OFFICE YOU NEED. Everything you love about Windows and more. Now, you're ready to do what you love confidently with improved performance and a user-friendly interface. Things didn't get better in our next test, Maxon's Cinebench. It's a multi-core benchmark meant to exercise all of a processor's cores and threads—the more powerful the chip, the higher the score. Given that the HP Stream 14 is only equipped with a dual-core Celeron, expectations were low—and rightfully so. The HP Stream 14 didn't even break 550 points. In GFXBench's 1440p Aztec Ruins test, the HP Stream 14 maintained an average of 7 frames per second during the tests. Surprisingly, the 1080p Car Chase test ran at an average of 33 frames per second, so there's some hope for the machine if you decide to play something simple. Really simple. Battery and Display Testing
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What about video encoding? At this point, you might be able to guess, but the HP Stream 14 is not meant for this kind of work. To see how ill-equipped the machine is, we ran HandBrake 1.4, an open-source video transcoder for converting multimedia files to different resolutions and formats. The HP Stream 14 was fighting for its life in this test, taking almost two hours to complete the benchmark. High-end laptops tend to do it in well under 10 minutes. Graphics Tests The Stream 11 lasted for more than 11 hours on our video rundown test, which involves playing a 720p video at 50% screen brightness with Wi-Fi turned off. (Note: Since our video file is too big to fit on the Stream 11’s internal storage drive, we played it from an external SSD.)
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