HP Stream 11 Review - Windows 11 on Low End Hardware Needs Work..

VIDEO INDEX:
00:00 - Intro
00:38 - Price
00:43 - Display
01:18 - Processor, RAM, Storage and No Upgradeability
02:02 - Windows S Mode
04:23 - Weight
04:51 - Battery Life
05:10 - Webcam
05:24 - Keyboard & Trackpad
06:04 - Ports
07:41 - Web Browsing & YouTube
08:33 - Speedometer Benchmark Test
08:49 - Microsoft Word
09:15 - Fanless Operation
09:37 - Gaming: Half Life 2 & Doom (1993)
10:20 - Game streaming: Xbox Cloud Gaming & GeForce Now
11:19 - 3DMark Cloudgate Benchmark & Stress Test
13:02 - Linux Test
13:31 - Conclusion

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[brad]

I appreciate that Lon will review these low end system and still test them for normal stuff like games... Instead of just dismissing straight away like a bunch of other tech people do just because it can't run modern stuff.

[michaelcorcoran]

I always love the video of Lon waving at the web camera!

[nguyendang]

Thanks for this information I just installed window 11 home on my old HP steam 11 from 2014 with only 32 gig of storage and 4 gig of ram and it run well enough for my needs

[retro_gamer_uk]

Appreciate your low end reviews as well as the high end.

[michaelcorcoran]

Yeah I really appreciate you doing those live streams because there's nothing more beneficial than seeing something in the wild. Even getting to experience your frustrations with it, was they telling experience about what the consumer of a low end Windows app might need to deal with.

[Patrick]

1 thing i like about the HP Stream series of laptops is a full 8+ hrs of battery life, but when updating Windows, run disk cleanup, you'll probably need to plug in the power adapter. thats from running a 2016, 2019 models. a Dell inspiron the same screen size has great battery life if it has a SSD.

[TheProductCritiques]

The information about the display and its limitations is good to know. It seems like you've had a bit of a rough time with the initial setup due to Windows 11's update process, but it's good to hear that once everything is up to date, the performance becomes more acceptable for basic tasks.

I was particularly interested in the gaming performance. It's not surprising that this laptop isn't a gaming powerhouse, but it's good to know that older games and game streaming seem to be viable options. However, the throttling issues you mentioned during the 3D Mark stress test and the overall lagginess on Windows 11 are definitely concerning.

The fact that Linux runs smoothly on this device is intriguing and might be something I'd consider if I were to get this laptop. Overall, it sounds like the HP Stream 11 has potential, but it's currently held back by Windows 11's performance on low-end hardware.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences with us. Your review has been quite insightful.

[Lastdayone]

Thank you for such a thorough review! I purchased this specifically to complete my certifications online. I didn’t need bells & wistles. I just need something that was compact and can get the job done! I’m coming from a MacBook Pro 16 which was rather cumbersome. I sold it a month ago. I plan to get an Air, but I’m not completely sure. So, I decided I wouldn’t rush this time (I purchased that MacBook randomly while I was in Best Buy and I regret it now) I didn’t want to waste my money again. I’m excited for this little guy to come in the Mail! 😊

[LumiRockets]

THANK YOU for covering so many low end devices in such a thorough and professional manner. I have found myself drifting away from most other tech reviewers on Youtube as they are all gravitating more and more increasingly to devices that are not cheap or affordable at all to people like me on a working class budget.

I consider you one of the few tech reviewers of record. Thank you so very much.

[IcoKirov]

Those kind of laptops should come preinstalled with Linux. Windows would make this unusable very quickly.

[malikon]

I have a couple of these running different distros of Linux and for that reason they're great little machines. For less than $200. having a nice little Linux machine running Fedora or Open SUSE (or whatever your flavor) these are nice little machines.

Hi Lon! Just wanted to let you know theres a new version of this laptop with a quad-core Celeron N4120

[cheungs]

If they had Ryzen 3 (or 5?) version of this, with FHD screen, and 8GB ram in this form factor, I would probably consider this over the Surface Go 3 or Surface Laptop Go

[tommyhallows]

I have ordered the N4120 version. Plan is to experience Windows 11 and see what I can squeeze out of it. I have a i7 2600, 8GB, GTX1650 which I have kept going so hoping the get something out of this little laptop. One idea I have is to by a small laptop fan base. I had one on a old Dell D400 which cooled it down by 10c. Will see what happens.

[dcikaruga]

Just brought the one with a Celeron N4120, just unistall all the bloatware that you don't need, freed up a ton of RAM (less than 2GB in idle and low CPU utlization) and it's pretty fast and responsive now, great for basic stuff like emails and office work now.

[aamirqz]

I have the previous year's version of the HP Stream 11 which looks identical to this one but is running Windows 10. I intended to buy it for occasional use, but there are a few issues that prevent me from using the Stream 11 on a more frequent basis.

1. Maybe it's just my laptop, but I find the trackpad to be awful. Two-finger vertical scrolling and two-finger right-click actions barely register, even if I increase the trackpad's sensitivity. I have to use an mouse with this laptop in order to use the laptop at all.

2. The screen only tilts back maybe 45 degrees. I almost broke it when I first used it.

3. The battery seems to lose its charge when the laptop sits powered off for a few days. If I charge the laptop to 100 percent and I don't turn it on for a week, it'll have maybe 84% battery life remaining when I turn it on. I also encountered this behavior on my previous HP ProBook 430 laptop that was running Windows 7, but none of my other laptops have done this over the years, including my current Acer Windows and ChromeOS laptops.

4. When I bought the Stream 11, I knew that it had a TN display, but over time I've become increasingly dissatisfied with it. I would never buy a computer with a TN display in the future. Contrast and viewing angles leave much to be desired and I have to crank up the brightness to the second highest setting, which kills the battery life. 220 nits is just not enough.

[othinus]

It's a shame that the Stream hasn't changed at all over the past years.

[cliffli]

720p screen in 2022, even it is for a budget laptop, is unreal. Good review though, i love your pacing and commentary.

[Lp-zetg]

Nowadays a new $400 USD laptop already comes with 4 cores CPU 8gb ram and a 128gb ssd. Windows 11 is just a matter of upgrading from Windows 10 for free.

[FamilyBondin]

Yeah this laptop after like a little less than a year got to the point where I literally can’t even run the browser anymore