Standing out in a crowded budget laptop category defined by very light spec variation can be difficult. The HP 14-ep0199nr does a little over competitors, with its low starting price and a well-executed build than you’d ever find at this price point. It features a robust suite of ports, offers solid overall performance, decent battery life, and a comfortable keyboard and touchpad.
There’s very little to fault with this HP laptop, especially if you’re looking for a capable laptop for college or office use. While it isn’t as sleek as HP’s Dragonfly and EliteBook models, and it doesn’t pack the gaming chops of the Omen and Victus line, it still works fine as expected. For anyone in the market for a chic design and good performance for day-to-day tasks, the HP 14-ep0199nr certainly delivers on those fronts.
About the HP 14-ep0199nr
The specs of our review unit are as follows:
- Processor: Intel Core i7-1335U
- Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD
- Memory: 16GB
- Display: 146-inch 1920×1080 IPS Display
- Operating System: Windows 11 Home
- Weight: 3.09 pounds
- Dimensions: 12.74 x 0.70 x 8.46 inches
Design and Features
The HP Laptop is the company’s budget range of laptops designed for day-to-day use, but even with the low asking prices, HP does a fine job in designing these notebooks. The HP 14-ep0199nr sports a silver exterior with black keyboard keys, a design touch that makes it look better than the black budget laptops you’d ordinarily find out there.
Measuring 12.74 x 0.70 x 8.46 inches and weighing 3.09 pounds, it is in the same ballpark as the Acer Aspire 3 and the Asus VivoBook S14, but the latter is much lighter at only 3.07 pounds.
The bezels surrounding the screen are fairly slim (HP claims a 78% scree-to-body ratio), though the top and bottom borders are thicker to accommodate the webcam and HP logo at the bottom. The webcam has a privacy shutter, as you’d find on the Lenovo ThinkPad and a few other laptops released since late last year.
The HP’s right side is plain except for a single USB port and a charging connector. On the left side, there’s another USB 3.1 Type-A port and one USB 3.1 Type-C port, along with an HDMI video output and an audio jack. Wireless connectivity comes via Wi-Fi 5.3 (802.11ac) and Bluetooth, but it is not the newer Wi-Fi 6E.
Display, Keyboard & Touchpad
The HP 14-ep0199nr has a 14-inch IPS display with a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1080 and uses integrated Intel Iris graphics. Most laptops come with 1080p screens lately, so anything below that would feel like a raw deal, but it’s still usable for watching movies and working on tasks, but with a peak brightness of 250 nits, it doesn’t get as bright as HP’s high-end productivity laptops. Yes, there are better screens out there if you want to spend more, especially if you’re keen on 4K content.
The 14-ep0199nr features a great keyboard that is comfortable to use. The keys offer excellent travel — not as good as the Lenovo ThinkPad T490, but still better than most notebooks in this price range. Another exciting feature of this keyboard is that the power switch is situated on the top-right of the keyboard instead of the side of the chassis.
The keycaps are comparable to those on the HP Envy 13; however, there isn’t enough space to accommodate a number pad because of the 14-inch profile. The trackpad is a little difficult to use right out of the box, but once you raise the sensitivity level in the settings, it’s simple to use. After reviewing the Asus ZenBook 14, which has the smoothest trackpad, I believe that all other trackpads are inadequate for my needs.
Performance
With a 13th Gen Intel Core i7-1355U processor, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB SSD storage, the HP 14-ep0199nr is a capable machine that will handle most everyday tasks without a pause – everything from spreadsheets, office documents, movie watching to school work will be handled fine here.
Intel just released its 14th-generation line of CPUs; we’ve reviewed a couple of gaming and mainstream laptops packing the newer silicones, including the Asus ROG Strix G16, and the experience is nothing short of spectacular. But when shopping on a tight budget, sometimes you’re forced to stick to previous-gen chips.
The Core i7-1355U is still a fantastic mobile processor, which (combined with fast SSD storage and RAM) gives this a snappy feel and helps it keep up easily with day-to-day productivity tasks. In all its worthiness, it doesn’t feel like a lesser desktop replacement laptop.
What it doesn’t do, however, is offer much in the way of gaming performance. It relies on integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics, which, while not worse, doesn’t promise much in terms of gaming performance. Again, while it feels perfectly slick on this laptop, you can’t use it as a gaming solution. After all, you’re not buying this HP Laptop for its gaming prowess, so to penalize it based on its lack of a discrete graphics solution doesn’t make much sense.
If you’re looking to buy the HP 14-ep0199nr, you’re most likely not too keen on having a laptop with cutting-edge tech – not at this price point. Still, the idea that this laptop has a premium design and has the power to run most of your daily tasks could supersede any shortcomings it might have.
Talking of day-to-use, the HP 14, in all its worth, performs well. As long as you keep your expectations in check and abstain from attempting to run too intensive tasks – such as 3D rendering or playing modern titles – then you should be reasonably happy with the performance of this laptop, considering its price.
Battery Life
On performance, the HP 14-ep0199nr is a laptop that easily punches above the weight. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for its battery life. With reduced brightness up to 50% and PCMark 10’s benchmark that simulates office work, the HP 15 laptop lasts around eight and a half hours, which is practically an hour less than the figure HP quotes.
Compared to the competition, the 14-ep0199nr doesn’t stack up nicely – the Asus ZenBook 14 lasts well over 12 hours, and our favorite Windows machine, Microsoft Surface Laptop 3, makes it to 8 hours 45 minutes.
HP 14-ep0199nr Review: Verdict
For office or college use, the HP 14-ep0199nr is a great laptop that’s wallet-friendly and free of any major design or feature faults but has plenty to offer. If you can grab it for the sale price projected at the time of writing, the deal gets even better.
It’s become increasingly rare to find a laptop at this price that gets two of the most important things right: value and performance. The HP 14-ep0199nr does that and does it well. In my book, this blend of wins makes it a stellar productivity and light entertainment laptop that won’t break the bank.
Recommended Configuration
HP 14 inch Laptop, FHD Display, 13th Generation Intel Core i7-1355U, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, Intel Iris Xe Graphics, Windows 11 Home, 14-ep0199nr (2024)
$499.98 in stock
6 used from $479.98
The Review
HP 14-ep0199nr
The HP 14-ep0199nr is a 14-inch laptop that certainly impresses with a nice design, affordable price for the hardware, comfortable keyboard, and so much more. It’s an especially great choice for college and office use.
PROS
- Great understated design
- Plenty of power
- Affordable price
CONS
- Subpar webcam
- Not the best screen
Review Breakdown
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ARS SCORE
