HP 15-R018DX 15.6 inch Laptop PC Review

15.6 inch HP 15-R018DX Laptop PC
via Amazon

Black Licorice HP 15-R018DX is a modern 2014 model mid-range 15.6 inch laptop with a lower price, fast Haswell Intel i3 processor, generous amount of storage space- 50% more than competitors, portability, good screen quality, stereo speakers and a good range of connectivity options including a DVD drive. It is not for those that need a computer for heavy demanding tasks or advanced gaming but presents itself as a decent system for everyday use for students, home office workers and home entertainment.

HP 15-R018DX comes with the 4th generation ultra low voltage (TDP of 15 watts) dual core Intel i3-4010U processor (3MB L3 cache) at 1.7GHz speed with no turbo boost but hyper threading to use two cores for four way smart processing power- it scored 2500 in PassMark benchmark scores, 4GB DDR3L SDRAM as adequate amount of memory for efficient multitasking without lags or freezing, 750GB Serial ATA hard drive at 5400rpm rotating speed as quite a large storage space and 25GB of Cloud based storage for life to have access to your more important files from any location, Windows 8.1 64-bit English offering a stable platform for anything you do on the computer.

15.6 inch LED-backlit non-touch HD display with BrightView technology, a native resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels and an integrated Intel HD Graphics 4400 that is better than the HD 4000, offers sharp and clear visuals although not super sharp as on a Full HD screen but you’re not paying a FHD computer price either. You have the HDMI connection if you wish to view your laptop screen on a large screen in HD quality. Two stereo speakers and HD Audio means loud and clear sound for movies, songs and games. A front-facing HP TrueVision high-definition webcam with built-in digital microphone is good for clear fun chats with work colleagues or friends.

There is no Bluetooth on HP 15-R018DX but a Bluetooth USB dongle can cost a few bucks and you may get it at the same time of your purchase of this computer, but you have the 802.11b/g/n WLAN for fast wireless internet access, 10/100Base-T Ethernet LAN - with RJ-45 connector for wired connection, Multiformat DVD±RW/CD-RW Drive to create custom DVDs and CDs, a Multiformat Media Card Reader to read data and multimedia efficiently from your memory cards, 2 x USB 2.0 ports, 1 x USB 3.0 port for up to ten times data transfer, an HDMI port, a VGA port, 3.5mm audio combo jack and a Security lock slot.

Black liquorice HP Pavilion has a stylish but simplistic, rounded and clean design with matte finish and a HP logo on the lid but glossy around the keyboard and touchpad. It weighs 4.9 pounds with measurements of 10.20 x 14.90 x 1 inches- quite portable with also its 15.6 inch screen compact enough to be put in your bag and light enough to be held with one hand. It has an island style non-backlit full keyboard that allows faster and more accurate typing with a 10-key numpad for easier data entry and a good size responsive multitouch trackpad with buttons. 3-cell Lithium Polymer 2800 mAh battery should give you around 4 hours on a single charge in average use. There is not much bloatware on it that needs to be removed and is easy to set-up- takes only a few minutes.

Conclusion: HP 15-R018DX doesn’t have a touchscreen if you prefer touch functionality but it is lighter than many laptop models in 15.6 inch category despite having a DVD drive but only one USB 3.0 port if you are the kind of person that connects many devices to the computer. It stands out more with its portability and large storage space and the low voltage Intel i3-4010u processor performs better than Pentium and Celeron CPUs that you may see at this price level. It appears to be a great modern option for those on a budget and that will use the computer for usual daily tasks and entertainment including some gaming (older titles and some newer titles at lower settings) and not for super demanding stuff and want the most for their money. Cyberlink Media Suite and 1-month trial version Microsoft Office are included in the package and comes with a 1 year limited parts and labor warranty.

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