WEBVTT

00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:06.480
There are so many things to consider when choosing a laptop. Performance and

00:00:04.400 --> 00:00:11.360
battery life, the brightness and clarity of the screen, the durability and the

00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:15.200
feel of the materials. Though, if Amazon's best sellers list is anything

00:00:13.120 --> 00:00:21.160
to go by, the main thing people care about is the price. Meet the topelling

00:00:19.039 --> 00:00:28.720
laptop, the HP14 laptop. a $169 machine that is so

00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:34.200
forgettably mediocre that HP couldn't even be arked to give it a real name. So

00:00:31.359 --> 00:00:39.920
with that in mind, why the shuck is everybody buying this thing?

00:00:37.520 --> 00:00:45.840
Well, maybe because it's not that bad. With a 4.1 star rating, maybe buyers

00:00:42.960 --> 00:00:49.760
know that the 14 laptop will at best be suitably adequate. So, to more

00:00:48.079 --> 00:00:56.000
thoroughly answer our question and find out what it is that you guys care about,

00:00:52.079 --> 00:00:58.879
we also picked up the second and third

00:00:56.000 --> 00:01:03.640
most popular laptops on Amazon. Can we trust the wisdom of the crowd? Or should

00:01:01.359 --> 00:01:08.560
they have watched a bit more LT before hitting buy now? What you definitely

00:01:06.720 --> 00:01:14.720
should buy now is whatever comes after this segue to our sponsor UPDF. Edit,

00:01:12.479 --> 00:01:19.759
sign, combine, and even convert scanned text into an editable format. Manage

00:01:17.360 --> 00:01:24.400
your PDFs, all with one license that you can use on virtually any platform. It's

00:01:22.320 --> 00:01:29.720
already priced super competitively, but you can get 38% off using our link

00:01:26.720 --> 00:01:29.720
today.

00:01:37.119 --> 00:01:45.040
Right out of the gate, my impressions for the HP14 laptop were not terrible,

00:01:42.720 --> 00:01:50.320
which is a big surprise because every other time we've looked at a sub $200

00:01:47.360 --> 00:01:55.119
laptop, it has been comically bad. I mean, yeah, the chassis is plastic and

00:01:52.640 --> 00:01:59.680
it feels the part, but it looks decent enough with a white color scheme and a

00:01:57.280 --> 00:02:05.840
brushed texture on the palm rest. And to HP's credit, the rigidity is okay. I

00:02:03.280 --> 00:02:10.560
mean, yeah, it's a little flexible, but it's no worse than laptops we've seen

00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:16.000
that are three or four times the price. And it even has better IO than many of

00:02:13.200 --> 00:02:22.080
those laptops. And the good news keeps coming. The keyboard on the 14 is

00:02:19.040 --> 00:02:24.480
shockingly usable. I mean, it bounces

00:02:22.080 --> 00:02:29.200
like a trampoline if you push on it, but not in a way that actually impacted use

00:02:26.800 --> 00:02:33.920
much. It took me just seconds to get up to full speed. And if I'm being honest,

00:02:31.599 --> 00:02:38.959
I think I would choose this over the trendier zero lattice keyboard on the

00:02:36.319 --> 00:02:44.239
much more expensive Dell XPS. The trackpad also has excellent tracking and

00:02:41.599 --> 00:02:50.720
click feel, but there are times where size matters more than how you use it,

00:02:46.959 --> 00:02:53.599
and this is one of them. The screen also

00:02:50.720 --> 00:03:00.080
isn't great, but at least it's in ways that align with my expectations for a

00:02:55.879 --> 00:03:02.640
$169 laptop. It's only 768p, which

00:03:00.080 --> 00:03:07.519
leaves text noticeably blocky, and you can adjust the contrast ratio by simply

00:03:05.440 --> 00:03:11.760
tilting the screen. But if all you plan to do is write in Google Docs and watch

00:03:09.360 --> 00:03:17.200
YouTube videos, it really isn't too bad for that. In fact, this video was

00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:19.239
largely written on the HP14 laptop.

00:03:17.200 --> 00:03:25.360
Where things fall apart, though, is performance. We've got 4 GB of RAM at a

00:03:22.720 --> 00:03:33.040
time when 8 really isn't enough anymore. We get 64 gigs of very slow eMMC storage

00:03:29.280 --> 00:03:35.000
to go with our even worse than that dual

00:03:33.040 --> 00:03:39.440
core Intel Celeron N4020. Now, if that model number doesn't

00:03:37.280 --> 00:03:42.640
mean anything to you, I don't blame you. That's on purpose so you won't realize

00:03:41.280 --> 00:03:48.400
that this thing was built using technology from

00:03:44.360 --> 00:03:51.280
2016. Want to open a folder? Hope you're

00:03:48.400 --> 00:03:55.519
ready to wait. Want to watch a video? You get to wait for that, too. There

00:03:53.519 --> 00:03:59.360
were times in our testing where we could write out an entire sentence before the

00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:03.680
first letters would start appearing on the screen. Not always, but catch it

00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:09.280
during a background Windows update or something like that. And it really is

00:04:05.920 --> 00:04:10.959
that slow and forget about any sort of

00:04:09.280 --> 00:04:14.720
gaming. So, with that in mind, what happens if you pony up for the second

00:04:12.799 --> 00:04:21.280
most purchased laptop on Amazon, the Lenovo Idea Pad 1? Well, right out of

00:04:17.919 --> 00:04:23.919
the gate, the $280 Idea Pad fixes some

00:04:21.280 --> 00:04:30.560
of the key failings of the HP. You get 12 GB of RAM and enough storage for more

00:04:27.600 --> 00:04:35.360
than half of one modern video game. And while the description of the TN display

00:04:32.960 --> 00:04:40.720
might border on false advertising, at least it's 1080p now, which helps a lot

00:04:38.400 --> 00:04:45.440
with text readability. Like with the HP, we actually get a very decent assortment

00:04:42.720 --> 00:04:50.240
of ports. And as a cherry on top, we even get Wi-Fi 6, which

00:04:47.800 --> 00:04:55.919
um unfortunately is where the nice things I can say about this hot pile of

00:04:52.720 --> 00:04:59.040
ass end. Unlike the HP, the typing

00:04:55.919 --> 00:05:01.199
experience suffers badly from the flex

00:04:59.040 --> 00:05:05.600
in the all plastic chassis. And while the trackpad itself is quite decent, big

00:05:03.840 --> 00:05:10.000
enough to be usable with adequate tracking and click feel, the second you

00:05:07.840 --> 00:05:14.960
put your palm on the palm rest, you know, the place for resting your palm,

00:05:12.880 --> 00:05:19.360
the trackpad gets noticeably more difficult to click, turning the Idea Pad

00:05:16.880 --> 00:05:23.199
1 into this constant, irritating reminder that you didn't choose a better

00:05:21.360 --> 00:05:30.479
laptop. And you know what the worst part is? It isn't even noticeably faster than

00:05:26.320 --> 00:05:33.199
the HP. Yep. In episode 5, the Celeron

00:05:30.479 --> 00:05:39.039
Strikes Back, we get another dual core 2.8 GHz Abacus emulator. Now, this one's

00:05:36.560 --> 00:05:43.680
a bit more modern at 4 years young, but in practice, it doesn't really matter.

00:05:41.280 --> 00:05:47.039
It's so slow that even the extra RAM can't improve the experience. Here, look

00:05:45.360 --> 00:05:51.479
at this. I'm going to show you how to max out this processor. You start by

00:05:49.360 --> 00:05:55.199
opening task manager

00:05:53.400 --> 00:06:00.960
eventually. Okay, let's go to the performance tab. And

00:05:58.360 --> 00:06:06.720
tada. Okay, in fairness, it's only at 20% right now. But to exceed that, we

00:06:03.840 --> 00:06:12.080
merely need to open an explorer window. Or to generate another spike, just

00:06:09.280 --> 00:06:15.840
rightclick to open a context menu. To really drive home how slow this thing

00:06:13.600 --> 00:06:21.120
is, we need something to compare it to. How about the third most purchased

00:06:18.160 --> 00:06:28.759
laptop on Amazon, the MacBook Air 13-in M3 with 16 gigs of RAM? I immediately

00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:32.160
love this thing by comparison. Watch.

00:06:28.759 --> 00:06:34.280
Finder. No available Windows. Well, yes,

00:06:32.160 --> 00:06:38.160
I know. It's macOS. Here we are side by

00:06:39.400 --> 00:06:45.520
side. Okay. Wait, wait, wait, wait. Web browser. Web browser. Okay.

00:06:48.759 --> 00:06:55.880
Uh, anytime now, buddy. Anytime now, buddy. Okay. Okay, in fairness, this

00:06:53.680 --> 00:07:01.440
didn't actually have to load a page, but uh yeah, I think you get the point. Even

00:06:59.360 --> 00:07:06.319
if it didn't fit perfectly in our off-site laptop bag,

00:07:03.880 --> 00:07:10.800
ltstore.com, using this after those other machines is like drawing your

00:07:08.880 --> 00:07:15.280
first breath of fresh air after smelling nothing but farts for the last 6

00:07:12.800 --> 00:07:20.000
minutes. I mean, sure, the Air might not have a cooling fan for its wimpy 10 watt

00:07:17.919 --> 00:07:24.479
processor, but thanks to the magic of Apple silicon, it completely destroys

00:07:22.800 --> 00:07:29.199
our other two options on the track. Like, by an amount that is not even

00:07:26.800 --> 00:07:35.440
funny and not even proportional to how much more it costs. I am talking about a

00:07:32.680 --> 00:07:41.680
73% increase in speedometer versus the HP, 11 times the speed in Cinebench. Uh,

00:07:39.360 --> 00:07:45.199
Jetream and Web Expert 4 are more enormous leads for Apple. And you might

00:07:43.599 --> 00:07:49.440
be thinking, "Sure, Linus, I I get the point. I get the point." But no, you

00:07:47.039 --> 00:07:55.680
don't. Look at this result for Motion Mark. The MacBook Air, which I remind

00:07:52.720 --> 00:08:02.479
you is not a particularly fast machine, posts a score that is 55 times faster

00:07:59.039 --> 00:08:05.759
than the Celeron. Incredible. Now, we

00:08:02.479 --> 00:08:07.840
paid $850 for this, which is a lot more

00:08:05.759 --> 00:08:13.280
than these other machines, but at that price, it is just an awesome all-around

00:08:10.720 --> 00:08:18.560
experience. You get Apple tier material quality, so exceptional with the

00:08:15.919 --> 00:08:23.840
aluminum chassis exhibiting basically no flex, even when you're pushing hard or

00:08:20.960 --> 00:08:27.759
twisting it. The screen hit 500 nits in our testing while being color accurate

00:08:25.599 --> 00:08:34.080
enough to not only consume content, but even create it. And the keyboard would

00:08:31.120 --> 00:08:38.640
stand out as pretty great if it wasn't next to a giant force touch trackpad

00:08:36.479 --> 00:08:42.159
that is one of the absolute best on the market. I mean, look, I don't need to

00:08:40.240 --> 00:08:45.519
continue praising the MacBook Air. We've already made multiple videos about it.

00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:50.800
So, instead, I want to talk about something else. I want to talk about why

00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:55.600
Apple stands out so much here next to the competition. Looking down the rest

00:08:53.360 --> 00:09:00.560
of the best sellers list, there wasn't a single Windows machine that came even

00:08:57.519 --> 00:09:02.560
close to the $850 price of the MacBook

00:09:00.560 --> 00:09:08.560
until we got all the way down to number 32, the Asus G16. And that might not

00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:13.120
seem like a huge problem, but I think it does a lot to explain the perception

00:09:10.320 --> 00:09:18.720
that many people have that Macs are just plain better than PCs. Like seriously, I

00:09:16.560 --> 00:09:23.480
know so many people in my life that will swear up and down that MacBooks are just

00:09:21.120 --> 00:09:28.160
faster and better quality than Windows laptops. But this often comes from

00:09:25.760 --> 00:09:32.000
people who spend two to four times as much on their MacBooks. Of course

00:09:29.920 --> 00:09:36.880
though, we have to give Apple some of the credit here. By simply refusing

00:09:34.880 --> 00:09:41.600
outright to sell you a laptop that will be shite, they protect the perception of

00:09:39.440 --> 00:09:47.440
their brand in a way that companies like Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Asus could all

00:09:45.200 --> 00:09:52.240
learn from. And they're especially doing this now that all Macs ship with at

00:09:49.440 --> 00:09:56.959
least 16 gigs of RAM. Cuz that's the thing, right? Your brand is judged not

00:09:54.640 --> 00:10:00.880
only on your flagship performance, but also on your entry level. Let's come

00:09:59.200 --> 00:10:05.600
back to the bestselling laptop on Amazon, which isn't this one. and see if

00:10:03.440 --> 00:10:10.800
it has some more redeeming qualities. Maybe it's super repairable. Framework

00:10:07.680 --> 00:10:13.640
investment disclosure. Not really. Oh,

00:10:10.800 --> 00:10:18.760
there are eight screws. No, we have to take off the feet to

00:10:16.560 --> 00:10:23.279
Wait, I don't The screw is only on this side.

00:10:21.360 --> 00:10:27.360
This side doesn't have a screw. Yep. They're not even symmetrical. And then

00:10:25.200 --> 00:10:31.920
what about the back? Is it both sides or is it one side or what are we talking

00:10:28.800 --> 00:10:34.480
about here? Both sides. Oh, no. all the

00:10:31.920 --> 00:10:40.320
way up to the Oh, what? So, there there's one on this side and two on that

00:10:36.720 --> 00:10:43.440
side. Yep. It's very logical. There's

00:10:40.320 --> 00:10:45.839
also Is this three different screws?

00:10:43.440 --> 00:10:50.640
Yes. What the heck? Who knows? Maybe once we get inside it, we'll be really

00:10:47.600 --> 00:10:52.640
impressed. Uh, not a ton going on here.

00:10:50.640 --> 00:10:59.440
They don't have soldered memory or Wi-Fi, so that's something. Where the

00:10:55.360 --> 00:11:02.000
devil is the SSD, though? Oh, wait. Shut

00:10:59.440 --> 00:11:08.480
up. It's soldered

00:11:03.480 --> 00:11:10.399
eMMC with no M.2 slot. And look at this.

00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:14.880
They've even got a spot where a 2 and 1/2 in drive probably went at some

00:11:12.560 --> 00:11:18.880
point. But there's nowhere to put one of those either.

00:11:17.040 --> 00:11:24.560
But did No. Did you see where the SSD could go? Oh, right here. Yeah, right

00:11:21.279 --> 00:11:26.760
there. Wait, but they have the they have

00:11:24.560 --> 00:11:31.440
the solder pads for it. Yeah.

00:11:28.480 --> 00:11:36.560
I mean, at least we were able to get 6 hours of battery life out of the 41wh

00:11:33.760 --> 00:11:41.600
hour battery. That's way behind the MacBook, but it's a lot better than the

00:11:38.640 --> 00:11:47.040
Lenovo. Oh, no. There's also a spot for Oh, yeah. Look at that. There's a spot

00:11:44.079 --> 00:11:51.839
for a cooler, but instead of actually having a fin stack, it's just got this

00:11:49.519 --> 00:11:57.279
like piece of stamped sheet aluminum. With all of that said, I don't hate the

00:11:54.480 --> 00:12:00.640
HP. If your goal is just to get a laptop for your kids so that they can do

00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:03.720
homework or watch videos in the back seat, it's going to get the job done for

00:12:02.720 --> 00:12:08.000
just $170. But if you're going to spend more

00:12:05.920 --> 00:12:12.480
for something better, I would absolutely skip over the Lenovo and get something

00:12:09.839 --> 00:12:17.240
with at least a Core i3 or a Ryzen 3 processor. I know it's going to cost a

00:12:14.480 --> 00:12:23.760
bit more money, but please, please, if possible, don't get one of these Celeron

00:12:20.079 --> 00:12:27.200
chips. And if possible, please check out

00:12:23.760 --> 00:12:29.360
our sponsor, Rocket Money. Ah, yes,

00:12:27.200 --> 00:12:32.959
bills. We all have them. We all hate them. But what if I told you you're

00:12:31.360 --> 00:12:36.639
probably paying for stuff you don't even use, like that streaming service you

00:12:34.959 --> 00:12:39.760
forgot to cancel that's dinging your bank account every month. With Rocket

00:12:38.079 --> 00:12:43.200
Money, you can round up your recurring subscription in an easy to parse through

00:12:41.519 --> 00:12:47.120
list. And then simply select the ones that you don't want to keep paying for

00:12:45.040 --> 00:12:50.959
and get them cancelled, all with just a few taps in their app. That's right. No

00:12:49.279 --> 00:12:54.240
more staying on hold with customer service just to end up being pressured

00:12:52.880 --> 00:12:57.839
into changing your mind at the last minute. And for those services you do

00:12:56.079 --> 00:13:01.519
want to keep, Rocket Money can help you out there, too. Just upload a photo of

00:12:59.920 --> 00:13:05.760
your bill and they can have one of their agents try to negotiate a better rate on

00:13:03.680 --> 00:13:09.360
your behalf. Really sick. But what are you going to do with all that money you

00:13:06.920 --> 00:13:13.200
saved? Spend it all? You can't be trusted with money? Well, that won't be

00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:17.120
wise. How about setting budgets with Rocket Money instead? They can analyze

00:13:15.279 --> 00:13:20.800
your spending habits. Create a custom budget that works for your lifestyle and

00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:25.279
even send you alerts when you're close to hitting your limits. So start saving

00:13:22.800 --> 00:13:30.160
more and spending less today. Join over 5 million members using RocketMoney

00:13:28.120 --> 00:13:33.680
atrocketmoney.com/LTT to get started for free. If you guys enjoyed this video,

00:13:32.079 --> 00:13:38.800
why don't you check out the one that I'm working on right now, which is

00:13:35.639 --> 00:13:40.480
uh switching to Apple. Wait, is the

00:13:38.800 --> 00:13:44.560
Amazon bestseller one better than what I bought? Yeah. Wait, what? I paid more

00:13:42.639 --> 00:13:50.160
than that. Wow, you got scammed, didn't I? I paid $1,000, didn't I? God. Oh,

00:13:47.279 --> 00:13:50.160
Canadian. Oh, okay.