• HP has quietly listed the EliteBoard G2a keyboard PC in the US and UK, from $3,028 to $4,191 for the Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 model with a 32Wh battery
• The underlying AMD Gorgon Point refresh adds just 100MHz over the G1a's Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350, with identical cores, cache, Radeon 860M graphics, and a 50 TOPS NPU
• Entry-level pricing has roughly doubled since the G1a's $1,499 debut as DRAM costs soar and HP's PC shipments fall 30.9% year over year

HP has slipped a second-generation keyboard PC onto its web store with remarkably little fanfare.

The EliteBoard G2a appeared on HP's US and UK sites around nine months after the EliteBoard G1a's CES 2026 unveiling, and we couldn't find a press release to go with it.

The top configuration, listed as the E6FY3UA SKU, pairs AMD's Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 with 32GB of DDR5-5600, a 512GB SSD, a 32Wh battery, and a detachable USB-C cable, and costs $4,191 before discounts, or $4,167 with the cable attached.

A hard-to-resist Commodore comparison for an EliteBoard G1A with slightly better silicon

A Commodore comparison is hard to resist when it comes to the EliteBoard G2a. The C64 also made its debut at CES in Las Vegas in January 1982, packed a whole computer under its keys, and borrowed someone else's screen, usually the family TV. It went on sale that August for $595, roughly $2,000 in today's money, and the Computer History Museum still ranks it as the best-selling computer model of all time.

HP's flagship G2a costs about seven times the C64's launch price, around double its inflation-adjusted price, and carries roughly half a million times its 64KB of RAM and, somewhat unimpressively, on a single stick.

The G2a is essentially the G1a, which TechRadar Pro recently covered, but with one small caveat: it has a slightly faster APU under the hood. The underlying chip is AMD's Gorgon Point silicon, part of the Ryzen AI 400 family AMD launched at CES, and it's a mild upgrade over the G1a's configuration, coming with only a 100 MHz boost.

The chip also supports faster LPDDR5X-8533 memory, but that's moot here, since the EliteBoard uses DDR5-5600 SO-DIMMs in a single-channel configuration.

The keyboard-cum computer also carries over the same fatal memory limitations that the G1a has: a single 32GB SO-DIMM memory stick that limits bandwidth by running in single-channel mode. This would affect on-device AI performance and general compute needs, as the APU's iGPU and NPU use the same memory for localized models.

This hasn't stopped HP from leaning on novelty, however; At CES, the company pitched the G1a as the first complete AI PC ever to live inside a keyboard, with Guayente Sanmartin, president of HP's commercial systems and displays division, promising "next-generation local AI power in a keyboard-sized form factor."

A footnote ironically does the heavy lifting here: the claim covers only keyboard-chassis PCs with an NPU rated at 40 TOPS or more plus enterprise-grade CPU, memory, storage and I/O, a definition that neatly rules out every keyboard computer that came before.

There were plenty of such candidates; beyond the C64 and the Amiga 500, which TechRadar's CES coverage also invoked, Asus announced the Atom-powered Eee Keyboard at CES 2009 and later sold it in the US for $499, a device our coverage once called "one of the most bizarre concepts for a computer we have ever seen."

The G2a also seems to be the victim of a deepening memory crisis that has driven prices up, even as its sibling, the G1a, has a starting price of $1,499 that is no longer in play, with much higher MSRPs being displayed (then cut down by discounts) by HP.

The G2a is a solid computer despite its limitations and eye-watering price tag at the high end. It might, however, see better business discounts than retail pricing that could make it an easier choice for some IT managers.

However, when performance matters and suitable Nvidia RTX Spark, DGX Spark, and AMD Strix Halo alternatives are cheaper and faster for the same money, it may be a hard sell unless the discounts are substantially higher.

In all my years as a tech journalist, I never thought I'd take a second look at this $199 HP laptop available exclusively at Walmart. But we live in strange times. The RAM-pocalypse is real. AI is pushing up component prices to ridiculous levels, two or three times more than they were even six months ago.

So, when I saw the world's cheapest Windows laptop, I had to double-take. I looked almost everywhere to see if I could find one cheaper, and I can't. What you get here is a reasonably fast laptop CPU. The Intel N150 is roughly equivalent to some 10th generation Core i3 CPU, which is to say that it is not bad at all. It is superior to the absolute travesty that is the Athlon Silver 10 which powers (for lack of a better word) so many budget laptops.

Corners have been cut to reach the sticker price. There’s only 4GB of RAM (albeit the faster, more expensive LPDDR5 version), 128GB UFS storage (rather than an SSD), a 14-inch HD display (not full HD, so expect blockier/less sharp graphics) and a HD webcam. These are major pitfalls (especially the first two) but I dare say, acceptable at this price.

There are some noteworthy bits: 1-year subscription to Microsoft 365 (formerly know as Microsoft Office), worth $70 (Personal Classic Edition), more than “11 hours of video playback battery life” according to the marketing literature (no mention of battery size though) and 2x more ports than on the Apple MacBook Neo (power port, HDMI, USB Type-C, audio and two USB Type-A).

I also like that this laptop features Windows 11 Home rather than the inferior 11 Home S version. I never quite understood the appeal of this lockdown version of Windows. Surprisingly, the laptop is available in ‘tranquil pink’ and ‘waterfall blue’ rather than the usual silver or charcoal black. All in all, the laptop looks rather nice, at least on the stock photos. Just remember that this is a $199 laptop and you’re most likely getting a plastic - rather than a metal - chassis.

Nobody has reviewed this laptop yet and the nearest equivalent product from HP is this Chromebook which is more expensive and has less storage. 202 user reviews from Walmart gave it an overall rating of 82%. Critics panned its limited responsiveness (not a surprise here!) and poor sound (can’t expect miracles at this price point).

My take? Honestly, it could have been much worse. I had a look at previous versions that had 64GB eMMC storage and an even slower CPU and they sold for $179. In 2025. Now in 2026, with a far faster CPU, a slightly increased price and twice the storage capacity, I’d stay it is a relatively good bargain. Just don’t expect it to play AAA games at high resolutions.

• See all laptop deals at Walmart

• ComputerBase's full test finds HP's EliteBoard G1a a well-executed keyboard PC whose biggest problem is its €2,149 price tag
• HP promises a spill-resistant, easy-clean keyboard designed to pass MIL-STD-810, but you probably shouldn't submerge it in water
• The 32Wh battery ran an impressive 6h 21m against HP's 3.5-hour claim, though it powered no display in said test

HP's EliteBoard G1a, the Windows PC built into a full-size keyboard that the company first showcased at CES 2026, has now undergone a full lab test at German outlet ComputerBase, and the verdict is broadly favorable.

In its review, ComputerBase concludes that the keyboard PC is not just an interesting idea but a well-executed one.

Its biggest weakness is the very high price, shared with practically all PC hardware that launched this year that could define it as a reach versus a must-have for many consumers and IT departments alike.

Skipping a touchpad by design and a short memory leash in tow

The review unit pairs AMD's Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350, a Kraken Point chip with four Zen 5 and four Zen 5c cores, Radeon 860M graphics, and a 50 TOPS NPU, with a single 32GB DDR5-5600 SO-DIMM and a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD.

All of that sits beneath the keys of a chassis measuring 358 x 119 x 18mm and 670g. Connectivity includes two rear USB-C ports (one USB4 with DisplayPort 2.1b, one 10Gbps), Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, stereo speakers, and two microphones.

The keyboard passes MIL-STD-810 testing per HP, and testing found it overwhelmingly supports its product page claims of a "spill-resistant, easy-clean keyboard."

Its more practical safeguard might be servicability: HP says the top-mounted keyboard module can be replaced in under 10 minutes, and ComputerBase confirms the bottom panel opens quickly, giving access to the RAM, SSD, and Wi-Fi module.

The EliteBoard also skips a touchpad, but it was never meant to have one; HP ships every unit with a pre-paired HP 675M wireless mouse that seems to do the job in spades, and the reviewer had no complaints, though others have been less forgiving of its absence.

The reviewer's gripes, however, lay elsewhere: they considered two USB-C ports potentially too few and recommend budgeting for a USB-C hub with HDMI, Ethernet, and USB-A, which is how it connected to their own test monitor.

They also found that neither HP's update tools nor Windows Update would move the AMD graphics driver past an October 2025 release, though a manual Adrenalin install worked without issue.

The keyboard-cum-computer has respectable performance but has design limitations that hold it back: with only one SO-DIMM installed, the APU runs in single-channel mode, which AMD's chips tend to punish.

More importantly, after an initial turbo burst above 50W, AMD's Skin Temperature Aware Power Management (STAPM) caps the chip at about 75% of its package power target, roughly 25W, to keep the keyboard surface comfortable.

The result is a Cinebench 2024 multi-core score of 794, slightly behind the 841 ComputerBase recorded from the same chip in Sapphire's Edge AI mini PC.

Though it isn't the intended use case, gaming is largely off the table, with Cyberpunk 2077 averaging 14.1fps at 1080p on high settings, indicating that the EliteBoard G1a largely caters to professionals and enterprises and makes no pretenses otherwise, despite its decent iGPU.

HP's "Next Gen AI PC" branding might be another bone of contention because, while the unit is capable of running AI onboard, it is notoriously slow at this task; in LM Studio, Qwen3 14B ran at 3.9 tokens per second on the CPU and 4.2 on the GPU, while the NPU could not be used at all. Local AI does work on the EliteBoard, the review concedes, but only within tight limits and at a lethargic pace at best.

The 32Wh battery is fitted to all three German configurations but is optional, or absent, in other markets. HP claims 3.5 hours of runtime. ComputerBase measured six hours and 21 minutes in the Procyon office test and four hours and 18 minutes streaming 4K YouTube, suggesting HP's numbers may understate what the unit can do in most use cases.

This might not offset the cost, however: ComputerBase's test configuration carries an MSRP of €2,149, and the cheapest German model starts at €1,299 with four cores and half the RAM and storage.

In the US, ComputerBase found that HP's configurator charges an extra $1,900 to go from 16GB and 512GB to 32GB across two modules and up to 2TB of storage, pushing a configured system to $4,632, while the advertised 64GB option is not offered at all.

Given the price tag and the niche it caters to, one can conclude that the EliteBoard will likely have a hard time in its niche, squeezed between classic desktops and mini PCs on one side and genuinely mobile notebooks on the other, even as it offers precious little versus a Mini PC, many of which double as much more capable AI systems for a considerably high price tag and lack of upgrade potential in tow.

It is, however, an intriguing option that can move from one workplace to another without losing progress, but whether that justifies the premium at a time when consumers are increasingly concerned about higher component prices remains to be seen.

HP's OfficeJet Pro line is a fixture in our home office printer coverage, and the 8125 is the wireless all-in-one built for that same desk-clearing, everything-in-one-box crowd.

This inkjet model for the home office handles printing, scanning, and copying with an automatic document feeder and duplex printing built in, plus a 3-month Instant Ink trial and HP's AI-enabled smart features for things like mobile scanning and print management.

And right now, the HP OfficeJet Pro 8125 is down to $100 (was $180) at Amazon. At that price, it's an easy recommendation for anyone looking for a cartridge-based printer for work.

Why we recommend it

The OfficeJet Pro series has a long track record in HP's lineup, and the 8125 carries forward the features that make that line dependable for home office use: an automatic document feeder for multi-page scans, duplex printing that doesn't require manually flipping pages, and wireless setup through the HP Smart app that doesn't demand much troubleshooting.

The three-month Instant Ink trial is a nice inclusion at this price, giving you a low-risk way to see whether HP's subscription ink model saves money for your printing habits before deciding to continue or switch back to cartridges.

Price Context & Historical Value

This is the lowest price I can remember seeing this printer for - back in August, it dropped to $120. It's a meaningful discount for a duplexing all-in-one with wireless support, and the cut here looks like a real markdown rather than an inflated list price. For comparison, it's also down to $100 over at Walmart.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the HP OfficeJet Pro 8125 if...

You want a reliable all-in-one for a home office, you print double-sided documents often and want automatic duplexing, or you like the idea of trying Instant Ink before committing to a subscription.

❌ Skip the HP OfficeJet Pro 8125 if...

You print high volumes of photos and want a dedicated photo printer, you'd rather avoid cartridge-based ink costs long-term, or you're looking for a unit we've already tested hands-on.

• See all printer deals at Amazon.

The HP Color LaserJet Enterprise 4701 is a powerful and expandable A4 office printer able to serve teams of up to ten coworkers. It ships with a reasonable amount of TerraJet toner and HP’s strongest ever security.

The specification sheet is strong too, with more memory and processor speed than your average print-only device and a top speed of 35ppm (pages per minute). It printed well, even on pretty thick card.

However, there’s no touchscreen on this US$730 (£590) device and I found the user interface frustrating, so read this in-depth review before you buy.

HP Color LaserJet Enterprise 4701: Design and build

HP’s Color LaserJet Enterprise 4000/X400 Series printers and multifunction devices replace the outgoing 400 Series and with their blue livery and crisp design, it’s certainly an aesthetic improvement.

The HP Color LaserJet Enterprise 4701dw is the base model in this Letter/A4-size range and it’s also the most compact. It’s reassuringly heavy at 36 pounds, yet small enough to share the desk in my home office without crowding me out. The dw at the end of the model name indicates that the printer I tested can auto-duplex and has Wi-Fi built in, but in other respects, variants on this model are the same, so I’ll dispense with the suffix going forward.

It looks much like the cheaper HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201 and I found the print quality to be comparable. But what the enterprise-level 4701 brings is a higher spec with a faster processor, more memory and security tough enough for big business. It’s more upgradeable because you can add not just one, like the Pro, but two optional paper trays. It also replaces the awkward rotary dial interface with a regular keypad.

The main paper drawer has a standard capacity of 250 sheets, but you can expand this by adding up to two high-capacity 550-sheet paper cassettes which cost around US$370 each. It's the kind of useful future-proofing that you don’t get with cheaper alternatives like the Brother HL-L3230CDW. There’s also a 50-sheet front-loading multi-media tray for envelopes or specialist paper.

HP Color LaserJet Enterprise 4701: Features & specifications

Being an Enterprise model means the HP Color LaserJet Enterprise 4701 has a higher spec than the Pro and a feature set geared toward heavier use. As such, this compact printer has a faster dual-core 1.4GHz processor and four times the RAM at 2GB. That doesn’t make it print any faster as both print engines achieve a rate of 35ppm, but it does enable a higher recommended duty cycle of up to 4,200 pages per month.

It also has stronger Wolf Pro Enterprise security. HP’s new post-quantum cryptography (PQC) protection should shield your printer from attack by quantum computers. It’s also more manageable as part of a fleet. There’s even a USB Host port, which I always find useful for printing without need of a device.

I’m happy to see the quirky rotary dial control of the Pro giving way to a normal push-button keypad for this Enterprise model, although I wouldn’t accuse either interface of being user-friendly.

HP Color LaserJet Enterprise 4701: Setup and operation

In my experience, HP printers are often the easiest to set up thanks to the inclusion of Bluetooth to connect your printer to your smartphone straight out of the box, but that’s not the case here. It took me rather longer to follow the on-printer prompts using the fiddly control panel.

And because of the added security, there is no default administrator password printed discretely on the printer. During setup, users have the option to create an admin password that meets HP‘s security requirements (minimum eight characters, including uppercase, lowercase, number, and special character).

If you skip this step during setup you’ll need to configure the password later through the printer's Embedded Web Server (EWS). It’s the kind of extra legwork you get with an enterprise printer instead of the much simpler home office model.

In daily operation, the HP Color LaserJet Enterprise 4701 is easier to use, thanks to its prompt first page out time and strong software support. The printer’s display is rather small, however, and given the premium price, it’s frustrating that there’s no touchscreen interface, like the one found on the significantly cheaper Xerox C320.

HP Color LaserJet Enterprise 4701: Performance

The HP Color LaserJet Enterprise 4701 prints quickly and consistently, turning out color and mono pages promptly and without any misprints or paper jams during the test. The FPOT (first page out time) is only 5.7 seconds, thanks to the extra onboard processing power and RAM, and the maximum print speed of 35ppm (or 33ppm if using A4 instead of Letter paper) in simplex mode is accurate.

It’s no faster on paper than competitors such as the Xerox C320, but it turns the paper quickly in duplex mode, making it slightly quicker with two-sided documents.

Black and white prints appear crisp and hard to fault. This is what laser printers do best and the HP delivers very professional-looking text on plain paper. Characters printed at the smallest point size remain crisp and legible under a magnifying glass.

When printing in color, I noticed a drop in contrast that can make photos look less detailed than the original. It’s a subtle complaint and the toner is bright enough to achieve vibrant results that look sharp enough when printing at ‘best’ image quality. The HP Color LaserJet Enterprise 4701 can print on a wide range of media, including quite heavy card up to a recommended 200 gm².

I got good results with card of 240gm². Often when you go to select your media type on a laser printer, you’re given four or five choices, but this one offers 33, proving its versatility.

HP Color LaserJet Enterprise 4701: Consumables

The HP Color LaserJet Enterprise 4701 prints with the company’s still quite new TerraJet toner formulation. This has the advantage of a lower melting point that reduces the energy needed to print by around 27%. The disadvantage is that it’s a tad more expensive than your average toner, but it’s also brighter so I think the energy saving and vibrant results are worth it.

It ships with a reasonable amount of toner in the four setup cartridges (enough for 2,300 black or 2,000 color pages) and high-capacity carts are available that will give you up to 9,000 black pages and 6,900 color. With HP’s black high-yield carts costing around US$252 (£239) the CPP (cost per page) is around 2.8 cents (2.1p) for mono, which is competitive.

Meanwhile, color pages cost around 5.6 cents (4.2p) per page, which is more expensive than rivals such as the Xerox C320. So, if you print at highest volume in color, this may not be the best solution for you.

HP Color LaserJet Enterprise 4701: Maintenance

Routine maintenance is minimal, with the printer monitoring its own long-life components and alerting the user when consumables or worn parts need replacing. And with the imaging drums incorporated into the disposable toner cartridges, you don’t need to clean or replace them. If you do notice deterioration in print quality, you can go to the printer’s Cleaning Page in the support tools menu and run a calibration or cleaning cycle.

HP Color LaserJet Enterprise 4701: Final verdict

The HP Color LaserJet Enterprise 4701 is a neat solution for a small workgroup in a shared office where security and print quality are key considerations, but I wouldn’t recommended it for home office use.

I had some teething problems setting up my unit and the lack of a touchscreen combined with the increased security makes it somewhat user-unfriendly. However, once networked into your office, it will print quickly, securely and cost effectively, in black and white. HP’s more expensive color TerraJet cartridges mean less competitive color printing.

With it’s quantum-resistant security software, powerful processing and optional upgrade accessories, this enterprise printer is well-aimed at the expanding business, especially one that prints predominantly in black and white.

For more top-performing units, I've tested out the best home printers and the best laser printers.

Our report on laptop price hikes says analysts expect more increases ahead even as PC sales fall, which is why a laptop with plenty of memory and storage is a sensible buy now.

We've had great experiences with HP's OmniBook line in the past - and the HP OmniBook 16 AI is a great example of the sort of 'future-proof' laptop with a configuration that should stay useful for years.

32GB of DDR5 RAM and a 1TB SSD give it headroom that cheaper 16GB configurations lack, and are the parts most likely to get pricier. And the 50 TOPS NPU covers Windows' Copilot+ AI features as they arrive.

• Best for: Remote workers and professionals who want a future-proof laptop now, before prices climb.

• The deal: The HP OmniBook 16 AI laptop is now $1300 (was $2400) at Amazon.

Price Context & Historical Value

At $1,299.99, Amazon shows this as 46% off a $2,399.99 "typical price", but that figure comes from a third-party seller and may not reflect what this laptop usually costs. A better yardstick is the spec sheet: 32GB and 1TB at this price is strong value for a 16-inch touchscreen. Amazon Visa cardholders can also get $50 off on approval.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the HP OmniBook 16 AI laptop if... you want to buy a well-equipped 16-inch laptop now, before analysts' predicted price hikes arrive, and you value 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.

❌ Skip the HP OmniBook 16 AI laptop if... you need a dedicated graphics card for gaming or video editing, want Wi-Fi 7, or prefer buying from HP or Amazon directly rather than a third-party seller, and we haven't tested this model ourselves.

• Check out other laptop deals at Amazon.

HP EliteBook X G2i: 30-second review

The EliteBook X G2i is deceptively lightweight due to the magnesium alloy that’s been used to make the outer casing, and as I’ve seen before with this material when it’s used in laptops, whilst the material itself is exceptionally strong, there is quite a bit of flex to it, which could be mistaken for a cheaper design.

However, the aesthetics back up the premium pricing of this business-focused laptop, and with its 14-inch screen and weight that comes in just below a kilo, it’s the perfect partner for anyone who travels frequently and needs a high-powered laptop to keep up with all their business dealings.

Inside is the latest Intel Core Ultra X7 358H CPU, which is coupled with Intel Arc B390 integrated graphics, and of course there’s also an integrated NPU to enhance all the AI potential from Copilot and other applications.

This laptop is obviously business-focused. However, that B390 GPU packs in some serious power, and whilst it isn’t gaming-focused, if you do want some downtime on a business trip, then this is very capable of playing some of the latest games. Whilst you might have to dial down some of the graphics, you’ll still get decent gameplay backed up with pretty decent audio.

Checking over the body, there’s a select choice of inputs, including the full-size HDMI, so when you arrive at your destination you can plug into larger monitors or displays, including projectors for presentations. There are two Thunderbolt 4 ports that offer up to 40Gbps, so you can plug in larger external drives to expand on the relatively small 1TB internal SSD. On the right-hand side, there are two more ports: standard USB-A and a slower USB Type-C 3.2.

As I ran through the tests, first of all starting off with Microsoft Office, this laptop kept pace with opening Word documents, editing and updating spreadsheets, and creating PowerPoint presentations, and this was all well within the capabilities of this powerful laptop. What was especially relevant here was that 3K-resolution screen, which just gives you that extra bit of real estate so that, when it comes to laying out your work, you’re not struggling to see palettes or the presentation at full size.

As I swapped over to some creative applications, starting in Lightroom then progressing onto Photoshop, again the speed of this laptop really stood out. It handled Photoshop without issue, and Lightroom rendered libraries quickly. As I then progressed onto CapCut and then Premiere Pro for video editing. Whilst I did need to plug in an external SSD to boost the storage, the machine itself was more than capable of handling short 4K edits without missing a frame.

The only time the machine did start to show limitations was as I swapped over to playing games, and whilst it was capable of running Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Hogwarts Legacy, as I started to crank up the graphics, I could start to see the frame rates struggle and the fans kick in. However, that said, using the standard settings set through the installation for these games, the gameplay was exceptionally good.

The power of this small machine is reflected in the price, and this is by no means cheap, especially when you consider it only has a 1TB hard drive and 32GB of RAM. When you go up to the next level, the price does dramatically increase.

However, I'd rate this as one of the best business laptops for those looking for a machine that goes well beyond everyday work. Yes, it supplies far more power than most people will require, but the balance of ability and cost is exceptionally well considered, and when you take into account just how powerful it is and just how lightweight, if you travel frequently, then this is a great option.

HP EliteBook X G2i: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? From £2,445 / $3,599
• When is it out? Available now
• Where can you get it? Directly from HP or Amazon

At present, the HP EliteBook X G2i is available for £2,445.59 including VAT, and in the US, a similar configuration to the one that I’ve looked at here retails for around US$3,599. The laptop is widely available either directly through the HP website or through most major retailers, both on the high street and online.

• Value: 3.5 / 5

HP EliteBook X G2i: Specs

CPU: Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, 16 cores/16 threads, up to 4.8GHz
Graphics: Intel Arc B390 integrated GPU
RAM: 32GB LPDDR5x-9600 onboard
Storage: 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
Display: 14-inch, 2880 x 1800, 120Hz, 500 nits, 100% DCI-P3
Left Ports: 2x Thunderbolt 4/USB-C 40Gbps, HDMI 2.1, 3.5mm audio combo
Right Ports: USB-C 10Gbps, USB-A 5Gbps, nano security-lock slot
Connectivity: Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE211 (2x2), Bluetooth 6
Audio: Poly Studio, four stereo speakers, dual microphones with AI noise reduction
Camera: 5MP IR AI camera with privacy shutter

HP EliteBook X G2i: Design

When it comes to design, the EliteBook X G2i is incredibly understated. It’s finished in a dark blue, which HP has called Atmospheric Blue, which does give it a premium look, although when you first pick up the laptop, the lightweight build and the slight flex that you get with all-magnesium-alloy cases are slightly in contrast to what you expect.

However, having spent a couple of weeks fully testing the EliteBook X G2i and carrying it in my backpack, I’ve been impressed by both its durability and its lightweight design, which is far lighter than my usual MacBook Pro M1 Max, yet the power is easily equal to what the Mac is capable of.

Whilst the overall machine does look relatively small, as you open up the lid it reveals the large 14-inch screen, which is impressive with its 3K resolution, offering 2880 x 1800 resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. As I sat in a café typing up this review with a bright light streaming in behind me, I was also impressed with the 500-nit brightness and the non-reflective screen that made it exceptionally easy to see the applications, where I have found in the past that some other screens are just too reflective.

Through the test, I planned a small video edit and PowerPoint presentations to create, and having to create these on the move seemed like a perfect time to put the laptop to the test. A couple of points that I noticed as I headed out the door were that the 1 TB SSD, which is fine for PowerPoint and most business-focused productivity, is still relatively small.

As I needed to also edit a video shot on the DJI OSMO Pocket 4P, I packed a Thunderbolt 4 portable SSD just to expand on the internal storage. This is where this laptop and its design really start to come into their own. The power is more than adequate for most productivity, but with that CPU and GPU combo, it’s also an ideal option for light to midweight creative applications such as Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop and Premiere Pro.

The only downside is that 1 TB SSD is rather limited. However, with those two USB4/Thunderbolt 4 ports on the side of the machine, I was able to connect a larger Thunderbolt 4 SSD to expand the storage, and this is a far cheaper option than opting for the larger-capacity internal SSD when speccing out the machine. The other point that I really like is that the HDMI on the side is full-sized, so when I arrived at the office or was ready for a lecture, I was able to plug the laptop directly into the existing system without the need for any adapters.

While the laptop is small and lightweight and packs in plenty of power, the one thing that impressed me more than anything else about the laptop was the quality of the keyboard. This is one of the best typing keyboards that I have ever come across on a laptop. The actuation of the keys is precise, and it has just a feeling of absolute quality. The keyboard layout is also well thought out, and whilst the cursor keys in the bottom right are half-sized, it’s just a pleasure to use.

When it comes to design, rather than aesthetics, it has a high-quality premium look, and whilst when you pick it up it is lightweight due to the magnesium casing, which does offer a little bit of flex, it is ultimately also extremely robust, just reinforcing its price point and intended use as a high-powered business machine to be used anywhere.

• Design: 4 / 5

HP EliteBook X G2i: Features

The feature set of this business-focused laptop is impressive, with an Intel Core Ultra X7 358H at the heart of the machine. This offers 16 cores and 16 threads and a boost up to 4.8GHz, which is more than enough for any corporate work but is also good for creative use as well as a bit of light to moderate gaming. Graphics are supplied by an integrated Intel Arc B390 GPU.

This is one up from many that we see in this level and type of laptop, which does give everything a little bit more potential. My review sample was equipped with 32GB of LPDDR5X onboard RAM. This means that it’s soldered to the motherboard and can’t be upgraded, but this is plenty for most productivity and even for light to midweight creative image and video use, although you are starting to hit the limits with video editing, and 64GB is generally the preferred amount.

When it comes to storage capacity, there’s a 1 TB NVMe SSD. This is a decent balance considering the cost of the machine, and if you do need more for video or just to store data, then you can pick up a relatively large and fast portable SSD that can be plugged into the ultrafast Thunderbolt 4 ports on the side.

As I’ve seen with a lot of mini PCs and laptops recently, there’s also an integrated NPU, and this is the Intel AI Boost NPU that provides up to 50 TOPS of performance and essentially helps Copilot and Adobe applications run locally without requiring online services for their AI features. If you’re thinking of running a local LLM then you can, but at 32GB RAM the potential is limited.

Impressively, when it comes to connectivity, there’s Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, so they're the current generations for both wireless connectivity options. When it comes to more traditional wired connectivity, there are two Thunderbolt 4 ports, which really show the premium level of this machine, and these support up to 40Gbps, ideal if you need to do some video editing.

But video and creative content aside, if you have large documents that you need to transfer to the machine or from one portable drive to another, then again that 40Gbps connection will be extremely welcome. Those ports also enable USB charging and DisplayPort 2.1. On the other side of the machine, there’s a further 10Gbps USB-C connection and a USB-A port for older devices if you need to connect them. This is really great to see on this level of machine, especially with its business focus.

Most importantly for business use is the fact that it offers HDMI 2.1, so if you need to connect up to a monitor, display or projector, then the full-size HDMI is pretty standard, so you shouldn’t need any other adapters. Essentially, you’ve got two different forms of connecting to displays: Thunderbolt 4 or the more standard HDMI.

The internal speakers for the laptop are also a bit of a surprise, and they offer really good audio clarity, both when listening back to meeting presentations and for playing games and listening to music. I also found that these were good, clear and loud for video conference calls, and those I was speaking to were able to hear me nice and clearly.

One of the big features of this new HP laptop is the HP business security suite, and as you start up, you get access to the full suite and its features, which include HP Admin, Sure Click, Sure Recover, Sure Sense and Tamper Lock. These all need to be set up by yourself or your IT team, but to have them all featured here just shows once again the focus on security and business of this laptop.

• Features: 4.5 / 5

HP EliteBook X G2i: Performance

Getting started with the HP EliteBook was all straightforward enough, and as I lifted it from the box, the first thing that struck me was just how lightweight this laptop is. With its magnesium-alloy casing, it had a nice, premium feel. There is a little bit of flex on the top of the machine, which you often get with these lightweight metals. That can be a bit deceptive, since you would normally associate that with cheaper units. However, through the two weeks of solid testing of this laptop, it was very obvious just how durable it is despite that slight flex.

Once the laptop is powered on, I ran through the usual Windows 11 Pro setup, which should take between 10 and 20 minutes depending on the options that you select. It also enables Windows Hello, so you can open and access the laptop using your face rather than needing to type in a password. It’s then a case of setting up any applications that you want, and HP has included its security suite here as well, which prompts you at various stages to complete the setup.

The HP security suite essentially offers lots of different features, including malware threat protection, credential protection, a secure browser, OS resiliency, application persistence and other features. You do need to activate it and register, but for the first year it all seems to be free.

As I started out the test, loading Microsoft Office to check out productivity, and as the Windows Experience score of 8.9 highlighted, this laptop just takes all Windows applications in its stride. Opening up Word, PowerPoint and Excel, running all three and quickly switching between each was as fast as any laptop.

But what really stood out here was that 3K-resolution screen, which just gives you far greater real estate for all the panels, and whilst everything is obviously a little bit smaller on screen, you can see an awful lot. There’s really good, high-quality clarity to the visuals.

A quick run of Geekbench 6 and 7 highlighted just how fast the Intel Core Ultra X7 358H is, and really, for all productivity, this machine is right at the top of what you would need. This was once again reinforced by the PCMark score.

As I progressed from productivity to creative applications and looked at Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, again the speed of the processor and GPU working together provided a great balance.

The extra resolution that the screen offers over the lower-resolution screens that you often see on this size of laptop really does make a difference, especially in Photoshop, where navigating panels was just that much easier. Opening multiple images open shot on the Canon EOS R5 C, the clarity of the images was exceptionally good, and I was impressed with the overall colour accuracy of the monitor.

The other point here was that, as I opened up Adobe Bridge to view the thumbnails of the images shot, the machine was able to render the thumbnails quickly. Whilst there was still some render time, it kept up with the pace of the scrolling, and there was no point where I had to wait for minutes for those thumbnails to appear.

Opening up palettes, layers and working on images with enhancements was absolutely no challenge to the CPU or GPU, and even when I utilised Generative Expand on a couple of images to take them from 16:9 to 21:9 aspect ratio, the machine was able to process those locally, and the results were exceptionally good.

My only point through editing was the lack of SSD space for images. However, that Thunderbolt port on the side, with a portable SSD connected, expanded the storage easily and cheaply. This storage was again utilised for video editing, as there’s just not enough space on that internal SSD to store much.

But with the Thunderbolt 4 connection offering 40Gbps, Premiere Pro was able to access the drive with speed for both media and caching, and short five-minute video edits were completed with absolute ease, including transitions and rendering.

The one surprise here was that the performance of the internal SSD was far slower than I expected, with read and write speeds around the 3,500MB/s mark, which, considering the premium price tag and the positioning of this laptop, was slower than I had expected, with most laptops these days offering at least 5,000 to 6,000MB/s.

However, for general productivity this speed is more than sufficient, and even for image editing and most video it will keep up with the speed. It’s only when multiple files are being accessed or transferred that you will start to see a slight slowdown.

To finish off the test, I loaded up Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and was pleased to see that, firstly, it loaded without issue, and the gameplay was pretty solid, with smooth motion and graphics, although some of the more advanced effects were turned down. Likewise, Hogwarts Legacy was equally impressive on speed, and again, whilst some of the effects were turned down, the overall quality of the animation and gameplay was superb.

This is a business-focused laptop, and that’s obvious from the aesthetics, design and weight, coming in at less than a kilo, which makes it a perfect option for travel. Whilst many lightweight laptops sit in the premium bracket they can also be underpowered, however, here the Intel Core Ultra X7 358H packs in far more power than much larger laptops, and from productivity to creative work and even gaming, this laptop was more than powerful enough to run them all.

The other point that really impressed me was the fact that there’s a good selection of ports, with Thunderbolt 4 being supplied over the usual USB4 Type-C, and full-size HDMI and a standard USB Type-A, which enable plenty of flexibility for connectivity wherever you are.

However, surprisingly, the feature that really stood out to me beyond anything else was the quality of the keyboard. It felt much nicer to type on and higher quality than I’ve seen on far more expensive laptops, and the typing experience was fluid and swift. For me, when you look at the price, specifications, and quality of the screen and keyboard, that makes this laptop an exceptionally good option for business.

• Performance: 4.5 / 5

HP EliteBook X G2i: Final verdict

This ultralight 14-inch business laptop is powered by Intel’s latest Core Ultra X7 358H processor and backed by Arc B390 graphics. Wow, this laptop is ultra-light. The performance has been levelled up, as there is plenty of power beyond simple office tasks, and whilst it’s perfect for all productivity, its abilities will also stretch to some relatively midweight creative use, including editing video and dealing with the latest AI tasks.

The EliteBook X G2i does sit at the premium end of the laptop range, especially when you consider that it just has 32GB of RAM and a one-terabyte internal SSD. However, the lightweight design is backed by some serious processing and graphics potential. When it comes to pure productivity, there are few other laptops at this price that can match it on power.

There are things that are limited, such as that upper limit of RAM and the storage capacity, and whilst the storage can be boosted due to the fact that it features two Thunderbolt 4 ports, the RAM will be a bit of a limitation if you are looking for a laptop that not only enables you to use all the Microsoft Office applications at the top of their performance but is also a very capable 4K video-editing machine.

Whilst it is able to edit 4K video with relative ease, the internal SSD is a limitation, as is the 32GB of RAM. However, for the lightweight use intended, it will be more than sufficient.

Essentially, what you have here is a very powerful laptop that matches the power that you would usually expect from something a lot larger and heavier, which makes this an ideal option for anybody who travels frequently and needs a powerful laptop that they can always carry with them.

Some of my early worries about the robustness of the build due to some slight flex in the casing were gradually dispelled, and it proved that the magnesium material was robust and strong after lasting out the test as I carried it around in my backpack for a couple of weeks. However, I would’ve preferred, for a laptop at this price, for that top casing just to be a little more rigid.

When you look at competitors at this end of the market, and at this price, the HP EliteBook X G2i is exceptionally well priced. But what gives it the edge is not the power but the keyboard, which I can say is one of the nicest keyboards that I’ve ever used.

Should I buy the HP EliteBook X G2i?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

For more professional-grade desktops, we've tested the best business computers.

• Quanta reportedly halted HP notebook production for about a week after price talks stalled
• The dispute centered around ODM-bought parts like PCBs, batteries and power chips, while HP already assumes most memory CPU and GPU costs directly
• Shipments were resumed once HP executives renegotiated a hike

Quanta Computer, the Taiwanese contract manufacturer that builds a large share of HP's laptops, reportedly stopped producing HP notebooks for about a week in September 2026 after the two companies failed to agree on prices.

DigiTimes reports that Quanta cut off supply to press HP into paying more, drawing on a server business that has grown to dwarf its laptop operation.

A fuller account comes from Taiwan People News, which cites supply chain sources saying Quanta co-founder and vice chairman C.C. Leung personally ordered the halt once September negotiations stalled with production resuming only after senior HP executives stepped in with a cost adjustment that Quanta accepted.

AI servers changed the math as buyers continue to pay the price

The story does lack official confirmation, as Quanta told the Taiwan People News that it "does not respond regarding individual customers," and German outlet heise reported that HP has not commented on the issue to date.

Despite this, something that would have been unimaginable only a few years ago, is now entirely plausible, even if one cant find direct evidence for it. The historical improbability has a reason: contract manufacturers rely on scale to spread their fixed costs, and a large order ties up purchasing, capacity and staffing, so even unattractive pricing rarely leads an ODM to switch off a major account.

Heise, which describes HP as Quanta's largest notebook customer, states that HP had refused to share rising production costs and insisted on previously agreed prices, unlike other PC brands, and that HP sent supply chain executives to Taiwan to deal with Leung directly. What it had to give up to get shipments going again has not been make public even as Digitimes states it forced HP to raise prices.

The two companies have some legal history here that seems prudent to highlight: HP won a $438.7 million optical drive price-fixing judgment against Quanta's subsidiary Quanta Storage before settling confidentially in June 2020.

It is important to provide context: most of the more expensive components: GPUs, CPUs and RAM are all sourced directly by HP and it has already pushed price increases back to consumers. The parts Quanta buys on its own account are a different list: printed circuit boards, passive components, lithium batteries, power management chips and Wi-Fi chips, all of which have faced price pressure lately.

When those rise, the cost lands on Quanta unless the contract is reopened or renegotiated, and swapping in cheaper parts brings its own bill for redesign, certification and one-time engineering fees. Quanta seems to be extremely well-fed to want to bother with shouldering additional costs in an industry that is dwarfed by data center servers that make up as much as 80% of its revenue thanks to a surge in AI demand.

There is however a lack of corroborating evidence that this happened: Quanta does not break out shipments by customer, but its totals show no obvious September hole. The company shipped 4.2 million notebooks in September, up 61.5% from August and down 8.7% from a year earlier, according to the same Anue report.

There are reasons a halt might not show up in those totals. Quanta also builds laptops for Apple, including the MacBook Neo, and other customers' volumes could cover an HP gap relatively with ease. Alternatively a one-week production stop also need not become a one-week shipment gap if finished inventory was on hand or output was caught up before the month closed.

Irrespective of whatever happened and whatever was potentially agreed to in Taiwan, the bill flows downstream and consumers are ultimately asked to pay the price. For two decades, PC brands could make their contract manufacturers eat cost increases because those manufacturers had few better places to put their factories.

Quanta now has one if the account holds and other ODMs with fast-growing server businesses will have noticed that a week without HP did not sink Quanta. HP's competitors will have noticed the same too and it might factor into their own negotiations or renegotiations in the future even customers continue pony an increasingly large bill.

Running AI locally is becoming an increasingly attractive option for small businesses that want more control over their data, predictable computing costs, and the ability to experiment with the technology without relying on cloud services. Nvidia's new RTX Spark laptops could make that easier, combining powerful processors, Blackwell graphics, and large amounts of unified memory in portable computers.

Pre-orders are now open, with the first models scheduled to ship on October 16. Prices start at $2,599.99, although more powerful configurations can cost considerably more.

There are models from all of the major manufacturers, including Microsoft, Asus, Lenovo, HP, and Dell, but for small businesses looking to run local AI models and develop applications, these are the three laptops I'd recommend.

• See all RTX Spark laptops at Best Buy

My top 3 RTX Spark laptops for AI

Why RTX Spark makes sense for small businesses

One of the main attractions of running AI locally is the ability to process information without sending every request to a cloud-based service, which could be handy for anyone working with confidential documents, proprietary code, customer information, internal research, and so on.

Nvidia's RTX Spark platform combines a Grace CPU with a Blackwell GPU, with unified memory configurations ranging from 24GB to 128GB. The full chip includes a 20-core CPU and 6,144-core GPU, while the lower-end version has an 18-core CPU and 5,120-core GPU.

The memory configuration is particularly important for local AI, since larger models can require much more memory than conventional business applications. That said, memory capacity alone doesn't guarantee performance. The size of the model, its precision, software compatibility, and available GPU resources all affect how well it runs.

For a small business taking its first steps into local AI, I'd start by looking at the Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra, which is one of the more affordable RTX Spark options.

If your business needs more memory for larger models, HP's OmniBook Ultra 16 is worth considering, particularly in its 64GB and 128GB configurations.

For companies combining AI development with video editing, image generation, and other creative applications, the Asus ProArt P16 offers another option.

The new RTX Spark laptops are scheduled to start shipping on October 16, with pre-orders available through Best Buy and other manufacturers.

• See Windows laptops at Best Buy

HP is behind some of our best-reviewed printers, but of all the early deals over at Amazon right now, the HP Smart Tank 5003 ink tank printer caught my attention. I'm a big fan of ink tanks, and this is one of the best-value models I've seen.

• Best for: Families, students, and remote workers who want affordable cartridge-free printing.

• The deal: The HP Smart Tank 5003 printer is now $150 (was $190) at Amazon.

• Why we like it: This is the lowest ever price for the Smart Tank 5003 - it's part of Amazon's early Big Deal Days sale, designed for general day-to-day printing of text and color documents and photographs. Refillable ink reservoirs mean it's a lot cheaper to run compared to traditional cartridge-based inkjets, and it even comes with three years' free ink in the box.

Why we recommend it

We've had some very good experiences with HP's line of printers - they're reliable and perform well in tests. And I'm always keen to recommend ink tanks for those who don't need a laser unit, since they're more economical to run compared to your usual inkjet models.

Here, you get all the core features of the best home printers we've tested, with three-in-one functionality and wireless printing, alongside free ink bottles, so you can get started right away. HP estimates you'll be able to print up to 6,000 color or black pages using the free ink alone.

While there are some limitations for the price - notably, there's no auto-duplex, fax, or ADF - I don't consider it a deal-breaker for home printing.

Price context & historical value

This is the lowest ever price for this model, which previously dropped to $170. However, the deal is only available to Prime subscribers. You can grab yourself a free 30-day trial by clicking here (just remember to cancel before the trial ends if you're using it to net deals over the next few days).

For more printer discounts and more, I'm live-tracking the best October Prime Day home office deals.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the HP Smart Tank 5003 if...

You and your family need a printer that's cheap to run for occasional use on documents and photos.

❌ Skip the HP Smart Tank 5003 if...

You're printing a lot of documents - it's not particularly speedy and the paper tray is only 100-sheets deep.

Also consider

• See all ink tank printer deals at Amazon

Not all of the best laptops are prohibitively expensive. Take this HP 15 Laptop at Walmart for just $339 (was $589). This budget-friendly laptop was already incredibly affordable at full price, but now with $250 off, it's positively cheap for what's on offer.

In fact, it is the cheapest new 'true' Core i3 laptop in the US right now, just in time for Amazon Prime Day Big Beal Days.

But don't confuse the low price with poor quality. With it, you get dependable performance for everyday computing, get your work finished, hop on video calls, and even stream your favourite shows.

We'd say it's the ideal fit for any student needing a laptop for school or college, or anyone wanting a large screen for those jobs when a phone doesn't quite cut it. Whatever you use it for, you won't be breaking the bank with this purchase.

Today's best affordable laptop deal

We haven't reviewed this HP laptop, but the specs give us a clear feel for what it offers. It begins with a 15-inch display with a 16:9 aspect ratio and full HD resolution. It's also an anti-glare panel, which reduces reflections even in bright environments.

It is the only one in this price range to offer a Core i3 CPU, 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD. The N305 is a decent processor, the fastest CPU in a sub-$400 laptop. I couldn't find anything similar.

The HP 15 also features a full-sized keyboard with an integrated numeric pad and 1.5 mm key travel, designed for comfortable typing and increased productivity.

In terms of connectivity, the HP's entry-level laptop has WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.4 technology that delivers fast speeds, excellent performance, and good reliability.

• AMD's Athlon Silver 10 is a quietly renamed 2022 Athlon Silver 7120U with two Zen 2 cores and no SMT
• Asus, HP, and Lenovo are selling it in laptops now, some with 4 GB of soldered memory to barely meet Windows 11's minimum RAM requirement
• Both the Core 3 100U and Core i5-1334U score over four times the Silver's 95-sample multi-threaded average, making laptops powered by them a no-brainer alternative

AMD's Athlon Silver 10 seems to be a new-generation CPU targeting budget-conscious consumers who want a modern, entry-level laptop with enough processing power for basic tasks.

Nothing could, however, be further from the truth here; Its own specifications page lists what is a very basic mobile chip, offering two Zen 2 cores, skipping simultaneous multithreading (SMT) and a 15W TDP to go with its 3.5 GHz boost clock, essentially establishing itself as a rebadged Athlon Silver 7120U from 2022.

While the current AI-induced memory, storage, and compute shortage continues unabated, buying an entry-level laptop with only 4GB of soldered RAM in 2026, even if it is presented as a 'new' choice by laptop manufacturers, is disingenuous when better Intel-based options exist in the same price range that offer up to four times the multi-threaded performance and twice the RAM as a de facto configuration.

Skipping a rebadged chip from 2022?

AMD's spec page lists the Athlon Silver 10 with a launch date of October 1, 2025, but no launch event accompanied it. The underlying Zen 2 cores are even older than the Athlon Silver 7120U's launch date, with the company first unveiling the architecture in 2019, and the performance numbers show it.

Its PassMark score is a low 3,543 on multithreaded workloads, at a time when Intel's competition in the same price bracket, a Core 3 100U CPU configured with 2 performance and 4 efficient cores, clocks in at nearly four times the speed, with a score of 12,308.

This isn't a new phenomenon either; the similarly positioned Intel Core i5-1334U, a 2023 chip, offers a similar 12,991 score across its 2 performance and 8 efficient-core configuration.

The performance gap hasn't stopped manufacturers such as ASUS, Lenovo, and HP from selling Athlon Silver 10 or 7120U laptops, often with as little as 4GB of soldered memory, which allows for no upgrades whatsoever.

While Windows 11 can technically work on the 4GB it prescribes as its absolute minimum, it idles at anywhere between 2.5 and 3GB of memory, leaving very little headroom for applications even as lightweight as a word processor or a browser.

Better alternatives exist in the same price range

The irony is that better alternatives exist and are being sold in the same $350-500 price range as Athlon Silver 10-based laptops currently. Dell offers at least two alternatives, including a 6-core Core 3 100U option under $500 and another just $100 above that, with 4 more cores under the hood. ASUS also offers a similarly configured and priced option in the same range, though with a smaller SSD than either Dell option.

All of these would be significantly faster than their Athlon Silver 10 alternatives and, perhaps more importantly, offer 8GB of RAM, which should be the absolute minimum, in my opinion, for a laptop, but we do have an in-depth analysis of that question here.

One could argue that calling AMD Athlon Silver 10 laptops e-waste might be a bit too extreme here, but given that more powerful and well-configured alternatives exist that do not slap on CPU cores from 2019 into a rebadged CPU from 2022 that might not even keep up with modern smartphones, it is an easily justifiable position.

These laptops would be short-lived at best and have limited utility at a time when e-waste continues to be an increasingly bigger issue for society: the UN's Global E-waste Monitor 2024 counted 62 million metric tons of e-waste in 2022, with only 22.3% documented as properly collected and recycled, and found the world's e-waste "rising five times faster than documented e-waste recycling."

Buying a laptop that is slower than a modern smartphone when better alternatives exist, despite an AI-led price gouge, and can not be upgraded is simply not only a waste of money but one that is harmful to the environment, even if you can handle the pace of a laptop that offers performance that desktops from over a decade ago would embarrass.

The HP OmniBook 3 is the fastest - and I think the best - laptop you can buy under $500 right now in the US.

You can buy it direct from HP for as little as $449.99, a saving of 50% (or $450) off its SRP of $900. But I believe that the $10 Wi-Fi 7 upgrade (and Bluetooth 6.0) is a no-brainer.

The star of the show is the Intel Core 5 315 CPU. This processor that powers the Omnibook 3 is surprisingly fast according to our go to test site, CPUBenchmark. With a single thread rating of almost 4,000 marks and a multithreaded rating of more than 15,300, it is way faster than the Neo (as a reminder, Apple’s cheapest laptop, costs $699, a staggering 55% more expensive).

The Core 5 315 has a neural processing unit (NPU) that offers up to 15 TOPS, ideal for light AI workloads. None of the comparable chips from Intel in the same price range (Core 5 120U, Core i5-1334) offer this.

The rest of the configuration is fairly standard: 8GB of RAM (soldered and not upgradable), a 256GB SSD (most likely PCIe 3.0, decent for the price tag), a large 16-inch screen (full HD plus optional touchscreen feature).

There are some drawbacks: the battery is a smallish 41Whr model and its sheer size (remember that it’s a 16-inch, 3.61lb device) may not be to everyone’s taste. However, given the plethora of connectors, the not-so-shabby FHD webcam and a dedicated numeric keypad, great for university students and high schoolers, I am ready to forgive all of its shortcomings.

I couldn’t find any reviews of this exact model (16T-BU000) online. Existing reviews like this one from sister publication Windows Central, or that one from PC World, look at a different version that runs a Qualcomm Snapdragon X processor and a completely different configuration. So bear that in mind when doing your research.

Also consider

Want a bigger SSD and don’t care about a slower CPU, then consider the Dell 15 ($489 at Amazon). Not only is it slightly cheaper than the OmniBook, it is also far less expensive than buying direct from Dell where it sells for $700.

Like the HP laptop, it has a large display (albeit with a lower brightness) and a separate numeric keypad. The highlights are the large 512GB SSD and the memory slot. The negatives include a slower processor (20% less powerful), a proprietary adapter (HP’s own uses a Type-C one) and a HDMI port that can’t do 4K.

Want to save a bit more money? The HP 17 has twice the memory compared to its two rivals and cost way less ($419.99 at Newegg). Its CPU is marginally slower than the OmniBook 3 but it has twice the memory and twice the storage (16GB RAM, 512GB SSD).

Its biggest flaw is its screen: it is big (17.3-inch) and has a lower resolution. Big screen means bigger (and heavier) laptop while a worse display resolution means less sharp pictures. Two other niggles I found were the small battery, not idea when you have a large screen, and the HDMI 1.4b port, which doesn’t support 4K.

• HP’s new workstation carries 192GB of memory for demanding local AI workloads
• The ZBook Ultra G3a can reportedly handle models reaching 300 billion parameters
• The workstation combines a 96Wh replaceable battery with an 180W adapter

HP has debuted the ZBook Ultra G3a 16, a workstation built around AMD’s Ryzen AI Max+ PRO 495 processor and substantial unified memory.

The laptop combines up to 192GB of LPDDR5X memory with integrated Radeon graphics and support for demanding local AI workloads.

HP says the highest-memory configuration can run large language models with up to 300 billion parameters directly on the laptop.

HP brings a high-memory workstation to market

The ZBook Ultra G3a uses 16 processor cores and 32 threads, with clock speeds reaching 5.2GHz and an integrated neural processor.

Its 192GB memory pool can allocate up to 160GB toward the Radeon 8065S graphics processor, leaving substantial capacity for system tasks, and will allow users to load models that exceed the graphics memory available on many conventional notebooks with discrete GPUs.

AI workloads are handled by a 55 TOPS neural processing unit, adding dedicated hardware alongside its integrated graphics processor.

The storage of this device reaches 8TB through a single PCIe Gen5 x4 slot, although there are other models with lower capacities.

This workstation sustains power up to 100W, nearly twice the 55W figure from its earlier model.

It is equipped with a 96Wh replaceable battery which can last up to 14 hours, and its 180W adapter can reach 50% charge within 30 minutes.

The ZBook Ultra G3a 16 uses a dual-fan cooling system with copper heat pipes, and a shared heat spreader covering the processor and memory components.

Pricing and workstation specifications

The official price of this device has not been released; however, the price estimate using HP's Local AI Value Calculator shows that the Ryzen AI Max+ PRO 495 model with 192GB memory and 512GB storage costs $7,449.

A 128GB version using the same processor costs $5,999, while the Ryzen AI Max PRO 490 configuration with 64GB costs $3,899.

“Professionals need AI experiences that are powerful, reliable, and integrated into the way they work,” said Jim Nottingham, senior vice president at HP.

HP is actually promoting the workstation through its calculator that estimates potential costs when AI workloads move from cloud services onto local hardware.

The company’s calculation assumes roughly 6.3 million tokens daily under its heavy workload profile and models electricity use from continuous operation.

Independent testing remains necessary to establish how the ZBook Ultra G3a performs when handling large models under sustained workloads.

The highest-priced configuration uses an FHD display, despite HP offering higher-resolution IPS, OLED, and DreamColor display choices for buyers.

The workstation measures 17.9mm thick and starts at 4.2 pounds, despite carrying a larger cooling system and 16-inch display.

Display options include a 3840 × 2400 IPS panel, a 2.8K OLED touchscreen, a 2.5K panel, and a lower power WUXGA configuration.

For connectivity, this laptop includes two Thunderbolt 4 ports, USB-C, USB-A, HDMI 2.1, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, and optional 5G networking support.

It supports Windows 11 Pro, Windows 11 Home, FreeDOS, and Ubuntu 26.04 LTS, giving professional users several software environment choices.

Via Videocardz

A desktop PC makes a lot of sense when you want plenty of processing power, storage and connectivity without paying over the top. Best Buy has reduced the price of the HP OmniDesk, a powerful, modern computer that stands out thanks to its distinctive dark wood case.

• Best for: Creatives and professionals who want plenty of processing power and memory for demanding applications without paying for a dedicated graphics card they don't need.

• The deal: The HP OmniDesk is $1,398 (was $1,499) at Best Buy, saving you a solid $101, or around 7%, off the usual price.

• Why it matters: It looks good and inside you get a 20-core Intel Core Ultra 7 265 processor, 32GB of DDR5-5600 memory and a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD with support for up to 64GB of RAM and two M.2 slots for future storage expansion.

Why we recommend it

The OmniDesk looks distinctive and classy with its dark wood finish, but it's definitely not a case of style over substance. Inside, the 20-core Intel Core Ultra 7 265 can boost up to 5.3GHz and has 30MB of L3 cache, providing plenty of processing power for demanding workloads. There's 32GB of DDR5-5600 memory and a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD. You also get 10 USB ports split between eight USB-A and two USB-C connections, as well as HDMI, DisplayPort, Ethernet, Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth.

Price context & historical value

The $101 reduction from $1,499 to $1,398 isn't enormous at around 7%, but it's still a decent saving on a relatively expensive desktop. It isn't the cheapest we've seen it however. The desktop was on sale at Best Buy for $930 earlier in the year.

For further choices, take a look at our round up of the best business computers we've tested.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the HP OmniDesk Desktop if...

You want a desktop with a powerful processor, 32GB of DDR5 memory, and a fast 1TB SSD. The dark wood finish adds warmth and personality, meaning the PC will fit beautifully into home offices or living spaces, blending in with furniture rather than clashing with it.

❌ Skip the HP OmniDesk Desktop if...

You need powerful performance for GPU-intensive rendering and 3D work that will benefit heavily from a dedicated graphics card. This configuration relies on integrated Intel Graphics rather than a discrete GPU.

• Shop all desktop PCs at Best Buy

Ink tank printers are some of our favorites to test thanks to cheaper, easy-to-refill bottled ink. And that's what HP's Smart Tank 5003 offers, swapping pricey ink cartridges for refillable tanks, and it's currently discounted on Amazon with several years of ink already in the box.

• Best for: Families, students, or remote workers that print often and want to cut the long-term cost of ink.

• The deal: The HP Smart Tank 5003 wireless all-in-one ink tank printer is $170 (was $190) at Amazon

• Why we like it: There's a lot to like here. For the price, you get cartridge-free, refillable ink tank printer with up to 3 years' free in inside the box. On top of that, it's a three-in-one model that lets you print, copy, and scan, with wireless connectivity, and AI-capable features that help format and clean up documents printed from the web.

Why we recommend it

HP's Smart Tank line has consistently been one of the more dependable ways into cartridge-free printing, and the pitch is straightforward: pay more upfront for the printer, then spend far less refilling ink over its lifetime than you would replacing cartridges. The bundled multi-year ink supply removes one of the biggest early costs of switching to a tank printer, and having scan and copy built in makes this a genuine all-in-one rather than a print-only device. We haven't tested this exact model ourselves, but it shares its core tank design with other Smart Tank printers we've found reliable for everyday home use.

For more options, see our guide to the best home printers and best ink tank printers we've tested.

Price Context & Historical Value

At $169.99, this is $20 off the $189.99 list price, and it matches the best price we've tracked for this printer at Amazon rather than a temporary dip. It's a solid time to buy if you were already considering a tank printer for the household, home office, or dorm room.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the HP Smart Tank 5003 Wireless All-in-One Printer if...

You print often enough that ink cartridges are getting expensive, and you want scan and copy built into an affordable all-in-one.

❌ Skip the HP Smart Tank 5003 Wireless All-in-One Printer if...

You only print occasionally and cartridge cost isn't a real pain point, you need faster print speeds for high-volume office use.

• See more printer deals at Amazon.

The HP Envy 6165 is one of the cheapest inkjets around right now - and it does everything most home and home office users will need, making it one of the least expensive ways to add print, scan, and copy capability to a desk setup.

• Best for: Families, students, and remote workers who need a capable inkjet for printing, scanning, and copying.

• The deal: The HP Envy 6165 all-in-one printer is now $80 (was $160) at Best Buy.

• Why we like it: It's one of the cheapest inkjets around right now from a brand who performs well in our printer tests. HP has consistently delivered reliable home printing in our reviews. If you need a printer that just works - rather than one aimed at high-speed, high-volume print runs for small business use - this ticks all the boxes.

Why we recommend it

At $79.99, this is a genuinely low entry price for a wireless all-in-one that still covers the basics well: automatic two-sided printing, a 100-sheet tray so you aren't constantly reloading paper, and a touchscreen instead of button-only navigation. For a home office that just needs a printer on standby, that feature set is reasonable for the price.

HP's AI-assisted printing is a small but useful touch. It trims unnecessary content, ads, sidebars, and awkward page breaks from web pages and emails before they print, which cuts down on wasted paper and ink on a printer where every page counts a little more given the low purchase price.

The included 6-month Instant Ink trial is worth factoring into the value here too. It gives you a real window to test whether a subscription model fits how much you actually print before committing to ongoing cost.

For more top picks, see our guides to the best home printers, best inkjet printers, and the best cheap printers.

Price Context & Historical Value

This is a strong price for a printer with this feature set. A $80 drop from $159.99 to $79.99 is a 50 percent discount, and it puts a printer with AI-assisted printing and a touchscreen under $80, a price point usually reserved for far more basic models.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the HP Envy 6165 if... you need a basic, reliable printer for a home office without paying much, you print occasionally rather than in high volume, or you want the flexibility to try Instant Ink for free before deciding whether to keep it.

❌ Skip the HP Envy 6165 if... you print in high volume and need faster speeds than 10 pages per minute in black, you do not want to track an Instant Ink trial that bills automatically once it ends, or you specifically need a laser printer for crisp text at scale.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

Print speeds are modest at 10 pages per minute (ppm) in black and 7ppm in color, so this is not the printer for anyone printing in volume. Instant Ink also bills automatically once the 6-month trial ends unless you cancel, and like most HP printers, dynamic security limits which third-party cartridges will work, so check compatibility before assuming any off-brand ink will work.

• See all printer deals at Best Buy.

While the Labor Day sales are usually a bigger event for appliances, furniture, and outdoor goods to prep for fall, there are actually dozens of tech deals out there as well. And one big category is laptops, where savings of up to $900 are available at Best Buy, Amazon, Dell, HP, and more. I've searched through all of these sales and picked out the 9 best Labor Day laptop deals that are worth buying.

Best Buy is actually one of the strongest retailers when it comes to sales this week, with discounts of up to $900 off a wide selection of Chromebooks, laptops, and gaming laptops.

One of its top offers is this Acer Aspire Go 15 for $499.99 (was $699.99). It may have some older components, but you get a solid AMD Ryzen 7, 16GB of RAM, and a respectable 512GB SSD for storage. That's a set of components you don't always see for under $500, and is powerful enough to keep up with work, college, and just everyday use.

Elsewhere, Dell might not have the biggest sale, but it's going to be tough for anyone else to beat this Dell XPS 13 for $699.99 (was $899.99). Even better still, eligible students can get another $100 off on top, bringing this fantastic all-around device to a frankly ridiculous $599. It's near-unbeatable for a fast, powerful, and stylish machine.

Be sure to check out all of the best laptop deals I've found below, as well as the highlights from the Labor Day sales at various other retailers and manufacturers.

All the best Labor Day laptop sales

• Amazon: big savings on laptops
• Apple: up to $150 gift card
• Best Buy: up to $900 off laptops
• Dell: up to $700 off
• HP: up to 65% off
• Lenovo: laptops & tablets from $599.99
• Walmart: laptops from $219

9 best Labor Day laptop deals

Meet the smallest and cheapest member of HP’s Smart Tank family, lowering the entry point for cartridge-free printing in the home or home office.

It’s a severely stripped-back print-only device with no auto-duplex mode, no ethernet port or paper drawer and a very basic display. but the print engine is the same as that of the more expensive HP Smart Tank 5100, so I’m hoping for decent prints with an unbeatable cost-per-page.

If you can live without the extras, this could be the lowest total cost of ownership of any home printer.

HP Smart Tank 210: Design and build

From its sustainable packaging and neat design, to its seamlessly integrated ink tanks, this is a very well-designed product. As well as being the cheapest ink tank printer I’ve tested, it’s also the smallest.

The footprint is the same as the average Letter/A4 printer, but the height is just 134cm, so no bigger than a cartridge inkjet, and I think it looks pretty smart in HP’s off-white livery.

With no integrated scanner, the lid is just a fixed steel panel, and with no front media tray either, your paper must be loaded via the rear input tray. This will hold up to 100 sheets, while the output tray will take up to 30. The display is a postage stamp-sized affair to let you know when it’s connected to the network and not much else.

The HP Smart Tank 210 weighs just eight pounds, but despite that, it feels well made and it’s using 45% recycled plastic. I’m glad to see the packaging is all cardboard too.

HP Smart Tank 210: Features & specifications

To keep costs down, the HP Smart Tank 210 dispenses with all unnecessary features. There’s no Ethernet port or USB Host port and the display is small and basic. There’s no scanner bed, which is available on the step-up HP Smart Tank 5100.

These are all features I can live without, but limiting it to manual duplex seriously slows down your workflow and encourages wasteful one-sided printing. So, think carefully before springing for this model. I think it’s a step too far.

Printing is for the most part slow at just 5ppm (pages per minute) for color pages and 12ppm for black, but thankfully, there is a draft mode for when speed is more important than quality and that cranks it up to 22ppm for black pages.

HP Smart Tank 210: Setup and operation

HPs printers tend to be the quickest to get up and running thanks to their integrated Bluetooth and I’m glad to see it’s included on this entry-level model. With the HP Smart app on your phone, you can quickly connect it to the printer via Bluetooth, so you can then let the app get your printer onto your local wi-fi network. Dual-band Wi-Fi, AirPrint and Chromebook ensure it’s quick to connect and the app makes it quite easy to print wirelessly.

Things get fiddlier when it comes to installing the two printhead cartridges that distribute the black and tri-color inks to the ink jets. Yes, there are still cartridges, but don’t worry, they’re not the kind that need replacing. The only way to get at them is through the front panel, so you need quite long fingers.

That done, you’re ready to pour in the ink, and that’s much easier. The individually shaped bottle necks means there’s no danger of getting the colors the wrong way around and for three of the tanks, the bottle capacity matches that of the reservoirs. The black bottle holds more, but the tank stops filling automatically when full. I did it quite hurriedly and didn’t spill a drop.

HP Smart Tank 210: Performance

The HP Smart Tank 210 turned out crisp and colorful test pages without any crashes or paper jams throughout the test. It prints slowly, especially in color, but the pages are worth waiting for. HP’s dye-based C/M/Y inks are bold and bright, so the colors are pleasingly vivid.

As with most business inkjet printers, the black ink is pigment based because that tends to give quick drying and robust prints that are good for handouts. Black text on plain paper looks sharp enough and it passed the finger smudge test. However, it began to lose clarity when printing characters as small as point 3 print size.

Print resolution is the standard 600x600dpi resolution, but this is enhanced when printing on photo paper at fine quality to 4800x1200dpi. It means the HP Smart Tank 210 makes a reasonable photo printer. and the results are on par with more expensive printers like the Brother DCP-T580DW.

HP Smart Tank 210: Consumables

The HP Smart Tank 210 ships with three years of ink according to HP. To be precise, that’s three 50ml bottles of colored ink and one 375ml bottle of black ink, which should yield up to 6,000 black or color pages.

Compared with cartridge printers like the HP Envy 6530e which comes with ink for 120 black pages and just 75 color, the advantage of bulk tank printing is clear. The difference in price between cartridge and bottled ink is equally dramatic, with cartridge ink costing around 36 times as much for what’s essentially the exact same stuff.

HP Smart Tank 210: Maintenance

Like any inkjet printer, the printheads are liable to clog if the ink is allowed to dry when left unused for a length of time. It’s easily solved by running a maintenance cycle.

There are three to choose from with the most thorough using the largest amount ink to flush the printheads. If this were a cartridge inkjet, you’d be reluctant to choose that option, but with bottled ink being relatively cheap, it’s not an issue.

If even this doesn’t solve the problem, you can replace the print head cartridges easily, but it’s unlikely you’ll need to do this in the printer’s lifetime.

HP Smart Tank 210: Final verdict

I’m delighted to see the entry point for cartridge-free printing lowered by this innovative budget solution. Admittedly, a lot of features have been cut to get here - there’s no scanner, ethernet port, touchscreen, paper tray or auto-duplex.

However, the print quality is the same as the HP Smart Tank 5100 and comparable with HP’s more expensive HP Smart Tank 7001, which is very good news. Text pages look just as sharp while photos have vivid color and clarity.

It has the same crisp design and easy setup as HP’s other printers too, thanks to its inbuilt Bluetooth and seamlessly integrated ink tanks. There’s plenty of ink in the box and the low cost of HP’s bottled refills means you won’t find another printer with a lower cost of ownership.

For me, auto-duplex is a must-have feature, but if you can live with manual duplex this stripped back ink tank is a bargain.

For more options, I've tested out the best home printers and the best ink tank printers.

We're massive fans of the ink tank printers we've tested, with cartridge-free printing offering much better value for money compared to standard inkjets. So, if you're preparing for back-to-school or a home office upgrade, I've found a great deal on the HP Smart Tank 6001 tank printer for $200 (was $370) at Amazon.

That's almost half-price off an all-in-one that can print, scan and copy. Features here include refillable ink tanks, automatic two-sided output, and wireless connectivity. It also comes with up to two years of ink, which is enough for as many as 8,000 color or 6,000 black pages.

In the UK, this printer is known as the HP Smart Tank 6005, currently £179 (was £250) at Currys with three years' free ink.

Why we recommend it

Rather than repeatedly replacing expensive ink cartridges, you top up the 6001's built-in tanks using bottled ink, which is a cheaper and more convenient approach. Bottled ink is much cheaper to buy compared to traditional inkjet cartridges, which is one of the reasons why we champion tank printers.

There's plenty of features from this HP model, too, making it suitable for students, home workers, and small business use.

The flatbed scanner handles documents you need to digitize, and the copier is useful for those time when you need another physical copy.

Automatic duplexing is handy for longer assignments and documents because it can output both sides of the page without you manually turning the paper over. Borderless capabilities offer flexibility for photos and other creative projects.

There's also HP's AI-assisted formatting, which can remove unwanted elements when printing web pages and emails.

For more top performers, see our guides to the best home printers and best ink tank printers.

Price context & historical value

The HP Smart Tank 6001 is currently $199.99 at Amazon, down from $369.99. That's a huge $170 saving, or 46% off. The lowest we've previously seen it at Amazon is $195, so this is an excellent price and you likely won't get a better discount any time soon. For comparison, it's also priced at $200 (was $414) at Best Buy. And if you want to other options, check out our guide to the best printer deals we've spotted this week.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the HP Smart Tank 6001 if...

You need to do a lot of printing. Its large supplied ink capacity means you can tackle assignments, revision sheets and projects without worrying about buying ink regularly.

It will also benefit home workers who need physical documents. Automatic duplexing saves some effort with longer jobs, and having scanning and copying built in is also welcome.

❌ Skip the HP Smart Tank 6001 if...

Look elsewhere if you're not one for waiting. A maximum of 12ppm in black and 7ppm in color means it's not fast, particularly if you need to power through large jobs.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

The print speeds for color tasks will be fine for typical household jobs, but they could become frustrating if you routinely need large documents output in a hurry.

There's no automatic document feeder listed here either. If you frequently scan or copy stacks of multi-page documents, having to place each page on the flatbed individually could quickly become tiring. I wouldn't call either a deal-breaker for general printing at home or in the dorm, but it's worth knowing.

Also consider

• See all ink tank printers at Amazon

• HP and Huawei enter patent-sharing deal, with Huawei's Wi-Fi 7 patents central to the deal
• Huawei is still under the microscope by the US Department of Commerce
• The companies have had a previous run-in about Wi-Fi patents

Huawei has confirmed a multi-year global patent cross-licensing agreement with HP in relation to its Wi-Fi technology, ultimately granting the latter permission to use certain Huawei Wi-Fi patents. In return, Huawei will also receive rights to some of HP's patents.

Central to the agreement is Huawei's Wi-Fi portfolio, including Wi-Fi 7 technology, however neither company has actually disclosed the exact patents that are covered. Further details, like the financial terms or the deal's duration, are also under wraps.

The deal is of great geopolitical significance, with California-based HP striking up a deal with Shenzhen-based Huawei – a Chinese company that remains on the US Department of Commerce's Entity List.

HP and Huawei deal

Although US restrictions have severely restricted Huawei's ability to buy American chips, software and other technology, and other international restrictions including in the UK have sought to remove Huawei hardware from critical national infrastructure, this new deal is proof that the company still has major influence outside of China.

Importantly, an HP spokesperson (via Reuters) stressed that this is merely a patent licensing agreement: "It is not new, and does not represent a broader strategic or commercial relationship, partnership, or collaboration with Huawei." The company noted that such licences are normal because manufacturers need access to patented technology for certain standards, like Wi-Fi.

"This milestone agreement not only reflects the companies’ cooperation in the field of intellectual property licensing but also recognizes Huawei's innovation capabilities and core technological strength as well as HP’s position as a global leader in computers and peripheral equipment," Huawei wrote.

Ultimately, being on the Entity List doesn't represent an outright ban for American companies to transact with Huawei, but it does place the company under US scrutiny. Neither does it mean that HP has been given special treatment to bypass US restrictions to open this deal.

A work in progress

Interestingly, the deal didn't just come from nowhere. HP and Huawei have been involved in a dispute over Wi-Fi intellectual property for a while. Huawei accused HP's products of implementing its Wi-Fi 6 patents without a relevant licence in August 2025.

Standard-essential patent owners are generally expected to make their patents available under FRAND terms to grant manufacturers access to the technology, but cross-licence deals like this latest one are often seen as the most efficient and cost-effective way to open up the technology.

Rather than both companies paying full royalties to each other, HP gets Huawei rights and Huawei gets HP rights in return. It's unclear if one of the companies has also made a balancing payment.

In other circumstances, Huawei's current rates for consumer products are $0.50 per device for both Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7.

For Huawei, it's just another opportunity to turn years of R&D into important revenue. "By the end of 2025, Huawei held a total of 165,000 active patents and had signed over 260 patent licensing and cross-license agreements with many of the world’s largest patent holders," the company shared in a 2026 update.

The HP OmniBook X Flip 16 gives you considerably more flexibility than a conventional laptop. Its 16-inch touchscreen can be folded all the way back for tablet use or positioned at different angles for presentations, streaming and creative work. In its 60th Anniversary Sale, the HP OmniBook X Flip 16 is now $750 (was $1200) at Best Buy.

That's a massive $450 saving, equivalent to 37.5% off the regular price. You get plenty of performance for the money too. The Core Ultra 7 256V is paired with 16GB of fast LPDDR5X memory, a spacious 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD and Intel Arc 140V graphics.

Why we recommend it

The Core Ultra 7 256V is a modern Series 2 processor with a 47 TOPS NPU. Intel's Arc 140V integrated graphics add considerably more graphical capability than you'd get from a basic productivity laptop.

It also features a large 2K touchscreen that makes the OmniBook useful for everything from everyday office work and streaming to photo editing and lighter creative workloads.

Thunderbolt 4 provides a 40Gbps connection for high-speed storage, docks and external displays, and HDMI 2.1 and the additional USB-C port make it easier to build a desktop setup around the laptop.

For more top picks, see our guide to the best business laptops we've tested.

Price context & historical value

At $749.99, you're saving exactly $450 against Best Buy's regular $1,199.99 price. That's a hefty 37.5% reduction as part of the retailer's 60th Anniversary sale. This is the cheapest price we've found for a new HP OmniBook X Flip 16 with this specification, so definitely recommended if you've had your eye on it for a while.

The specification is particularly attractive as you're getting a recent Core Ultra 7 processor, 16GB of memory, 1TB of storage, Arc graphics and a large convertible touchscreen for below $750.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the HP OmniBook X Flip 16 if...

You want a big-screen laptop that can handle work during the day and transform into a more convenient machine for entertainment afterwards. The combination of a 16-inch touchscreen and 360-degree hinge gives you considerably more flexibility than a standard clamshell laptop.

The Core Ultra 7 256V and Arc 140V graphics provide plenty of everyday performance, and the 1TB SSD will be enough storage for most people's key needs.

❌ Skip the HP OmniBook X Flip 16 if...

Portability is your priority. At more than four pounds, this isn't the 2-in-1 I'd choose if I wanted something to carry around all day or regularly use as a handheld tablet.

The 16GB of LPDDR5X memory is another consideration for particularly demanding workloads. It's sufficient for most tasks, but buyers tackling heavy video editing or other memory-intensive work may prefer 32GB.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

The OmniBook X Flip 16 is a large convertible, and at 4.15 pounds, it's considerably less convenient to hold in tablet mode than a smaller 13- or 14-inch 2-in-1. The flip design is better suited to occasional tablet use, presentations and watching video than carrying around for extended periods.

As mentioned before, the other limitation is the 16GB of LPDDR5X memory. That's plenty for everyday productivity, multitasking and many creative jobs, but it isn't upgradable, which is worth bearing in mind.

• Shop the full 60th anniversary sale at Best Buy

Businesses of all shapes and sizes are adopting AI to improve productivity and efficiency, but where they should be seeing improvements from this strategy, instead they’re seeing rising token costs, struggles with integrating tools, and more security risks.

As with all new technologies, adoption comes first and the procedures and governance are a few steps behind. Experiments are taking place in almost every industry, and the lessons learned will help guide other businesses into successful adoption and AI maturity.

But employees fear replacement and sometimes spend more time questioning the results of their AI assisted work. In the worst circumstances more work is created in trying to ensure employees trust the technology, and solving the new, unseen challenges that come with adapting an AI strategy.

AI costs and challenges in the road ahead

Rising token costs are one of the biggest challenges businesses face. Without clear ways to measure how token costs reflect performance, it’s very difficult to assess if AI spend is actually offering any performance benefits. This is especially true when new, more powerful models are being released - and staying ahead of the competition means the accompanying, ever-increasing costs is the price of doing business.

But while employees may have just finished their training, or setting up a new workflow for one AI model, introducing the next can increase complexity and harm any new productivity gains. There is therefore a balance to be struck between AI integration, its associated costs, and the productivity gains employees see.

Rampant spending and reckless adoption can turn an AI strategy from a business-boosting asset into a stress-inducing, trust-eroding liability.

Ruth Patterson, Managing Director, HP, UK & Ireland says that the businesses seeing the most success during this technological revolution aren’t necessarily integrating it at every turn. Instead, they’re “applying it to practical workflows in a way that protects data and delivers real results.”

I spoke to Patterson to understand the challenges businesses face in delivering an AI strategy that shows real results, and how organisations can tackle the challenges that come with adoption AI.

• How are enterprise attitudes towards AI token use changing in 2026?

Businesses are waking up to a simple but overlooked truth about AI: the more they use, the more it costs. As AI has become part of everyday work, the financial cost of millions of interactions, charged at a token level, has become much more visible – and not just to the IT department.

Finance leaders are watching token usage fill a sizeable chunk of their balance sheets, rightly prompting much closer scrutiny of where workloads are processed and whether every task needs to be sent to the cloud.

As the conversation moves from AI experimentation to value, leaders must now focus on building an AI strategy that's both commercially sustainable and operationally efficient. That means moving away from AI for AI’s sake to a more tailored approach that balances cost, security and performance.

• What are businesses prioritising as they move beyond initial AI experimentation? Where have businesses seen the greatest gains?

The biggest gains so far have come from AI taking repetitive tasks off people's desks. You will have heard this said a lot, but the benefits are real. Whether it's summarising meetings, drafting documents, searching internal knowledge or helping employees find information more quickly, AI really is giving people back time to focus on work that requires judgement and creativity. Employees increasingly recognise that the future of the workplace is AI-enabled, whereby their own skills augmented by digital solutions. To succeed, organisations must offer access to the right technology and create environments where people feel empowered to experiment with AI.

However, as more organisations begin to move beyond this experimentation phase, they are starting to become much more disciplined. They're asking whether AI is secure, whether employees are using approved tools and whether the technology is genuinely improving productivity rather than simply adding another application to the estate.

The businesses making the fastest progress in this environment aren't necessarily using the most AI. They’re the ones applying it to practical workflows in a way that protects data and delivers real results.

• What are the biggest challenges organisations face when deploying AI at scale?

Organisations must juggle several competing priorities as they scale deployment: how to protect sensitive data, manage operational costs, maintain performance and ensure employees trust the technology they're using.

The trust question is particularly important as AI moves further into everyday use. Employees need confidence that the tools are reliable and approved, while organisations need confidence that data is protected and whether the cost model is right.

Getting IT infrastructure tuned correctly is key to making this work at scale. One of the most important decisions that organisations need to make is which AI workloads belong in the cloud, and which make more sense running on the device. That is ultimately a business decision – as opposed to purely a technology or IT decision – because it affects performance, cost and security.

• How does on-device AI slot into an organisation's overall AI strategy?

I don't see cloud AI and on-device AI as competing approaches - I see them as complementary. Cloud services will remain essential for large-scale models and complex reasoning. But not every AI task needs to leave the device.

For everyday activities like summarisation, transcription or content creation, running AI locally can reduce dependence on cloud infrastructure and give organisations greater control over sensitive information. AI only creates value when it becomes part of everyday workflows. By adopting on-device AI-solutions, employees can reduce latency and increase productivity with the peace of mind that their data is secure. This offers an easy route-in for employees beginning to implement AI into their day-to-day workflows.

The right approach to enterprise AI strategy is pretty simple: place workloads where they make the most sense. Because once the right balance between cloud and local AI is found, organisations will find the sweet spot between cost, performance and security.

• How are business leaders evaluating the success of AI investments around productivity?

The conversation has moved beyond adoption metrics. Now leaders want to understand whether AI is creating measurable improvements in business performance. They're looking at time saved, faster decision-making, improvements to workflow efficiency and whether employees can spend more time on higher-value work.

Technology leaders are also beginning to examine the broader economics of AI. Productivity gains need to be considered alongside operational expenditure, infrastructure requirements and long-term scalability.

Ultimately, AI should reduce friction. If employees can complete work more efficiently while organisations maintain control over cost and governance, that's where the real return on investment begins to emerge.

AI-enabled digital solutions now offer benefits such as persona-based device optimisation or integrated sentiment analysis to measure employee satisfaction with digital tools. These innovations truly redefine experience management and facilitate higher employee satisfaction and productivity. It also enables leaders to stay closer to their employees and gauge whether AI is improving their experience or simply adding another layer of complexity.

• How do you expect enterprise AI infrastructure to evolve over the next few years?

We will continue to see significant investment in AI infrastructure. But the conversation needs to go beyond capacity, because capacity doesn’t create business value alone.

The next phase will be about ensuring infrastructure enables AI workloads to run where they are most effective. That means treating the endpoint as part of the AI infrastructure and using it to process selected tasks locally, alongside cloud services and edge computing. At the same time, we can expect to see greater emphasis put on AI infrastructure that supports governance, security and efficiency alongside raw compute capacity.

Together, these infrastructure shifts will start to deliver the practical value that employees and businesses expect from AI but aren’t currently seeing.

• What trends are you watching most closely in enterprise AI right now?

Three stand out for me:

First, the move towards hybrid AI architectures. Organisations are becoming much more deliberate about deciding which workloads should run in the cloud and which belong on the device.

Second, the growing focus on the economics of AI. As adoption scales, businesses are paying much closer attention to operational expenditure, infrastructure efficiency and the total cost of AI deployment.

Finally, we’re seeing the role of the endpoint evolve. For years, the PC has been framed as an access device only. Today, it has become an intelligent computing platform, capable of running AI workloads securely and efficiently.

Businesses don’t need a big AI budget to get all three right. They just need to spend time working out, task by task, where intelligence really belongs.

The Smart Tank series is HP's answer to the refillable-ink trend we've tracked closely, and for the price, it's worth checking out the HP Smart Tank 5101 all-in-one printer for $170 (was $260) at Amazon.

Based on our experience testing HP printers, this one's an easy recommendation for home offices, as well as the back-to-school prep and dorm rooms. First, the bottled ink refills are much cheaper than traditional inkjet cartridges, saving you money - and it includes two years' of ink in the box. Second, the model features a built-in scanner and copier for work and study.

Why we recommend it

Having tested all the best HP printers, the brand is one of our top-rated in the printing field (our hardware editor has been using his HP printer for almost ten years now).

Refillable ink tank printers have become the more sensible long-term option for anyone who prints regularly, since the upfront ink supply eliminates the recurring cartridge cost that makes budget inkjets expensive over time.

HP, including two years of ink in the box with the Smart Tank 5101, removes a lot of the math you'd otherwise have to do around break-even points.

It also covers the basics well: printing, scanning, and copying are all handled through the HP Smart app, and setup requires nothing beyond connecting to Wi-Fi.

For more top picks, we've tested the best ink tank printers and the best home printers, too.

Price Context & Historical Value

This is the general sale price for the HP 5101, and it's been this price since at least July as part of a series of back-to-school deals. Back in December 2024, it briefly dropped to $140 for an all-time low, but I'd consider that relatively rare and I haven't seen that price since then.

A $90 discount off $259.99 comes out to about 35 percent off, one of the more substantial cuts in this roundup. Given that the ink already included would otherwise cost a meaningful amount on its own, the effective value here is higher than the sticker discount alone suggests.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the HP Smart Tank 5101 if...

You print often enough that cartridge costs add up, you want to avoid replacing ink cartridges every few weeks, or you're comparing refillable-tank printers and want a known brand at a lower price.

❌ Skip the HP Smart Tank 5101 if...

Your router setup relies on 5GHz for reliable wireless printing, you need faster print speeds for high-volume jobs, or you want a unit we've already reviewed hands-on.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

We haven't tested this unit ourselves, so we're going off HP's general reputation and our testing experience with other Smart Tank printers rather than hands-on verification. It's also worth noting the wireless connection is 2.4GHz only, not dual-band, so if your router setup leans on 5GHz for print traffic, you'll want to confirm compatibility before buying.

• See all printer deals at Amazon.

• HP, Asus, and Acer have qualified and begun shipping CXMT DRAM in small volumes, in a handful of notebook models sold outside the United States
• The restraint is potentially driven less by US policy than by fear of the incumbents: with Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron holding over 90% of the market, buyers say they dare not source too much from CXMT
• CXMT is not a cheaper option either currently, as sources say its DRAM costs no less than Samsung's currently and cannot be booked beyond the current quarter

HP, Asus, and Acer have begun putting DRAM from China's ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) into notebook computers, a report from Nikkei Asia has claimed, reporting several major PC makers completed qualification of CXMT's chips around the middle of this year.

The volumes are small, and the number of affected models is small, but perhaps more importantly, none of those models is sold in the United States.

The reason the volumes are small may have less to do with assemblers not wanting to irk a White House that has taken an increasingly tariff-heavy, America-first approach to manufacturing, but rather with market incumbents that currently account for as much as 90% of the total market's supply.

A tricky situation in a market dictated entirely by supply

PC makers are not being cautious primarily because of Washington, but rather because they do not want to upset agreements with market giants such as Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron.

An executive at one PC company told Nikkei that with the top three holding more than 90% of the global market, buyers have to stay low-key about using CXMT, adding: "We dare not source too much from CXMT at this moment."

That does make for an interesting conundrum: in the middle of the worst memory shortage in the industry's history, the binding constraint on diversification is fear of annoying the people you are already struggling to buy from.

Nikkei's report on the matter only reinforces what many market participants have already hinted at: CXMT is hardly the "cheaper" option.

Its DRAM quotes do not undercut Samsung's, and it reportedly cannot even be booked beyond the current quarter, as competition over who can buy it has continued to ramp up even as it reportedly chooses to prioritize local conglomerate Huawei's AI ambitions.

What PC makers are actually buying, then, is optionality. A supply chain manager who works with HP and Asus put it to Nikkei, saying they don't want to neglect a potentially important source while the market is this tight.

For context, validating a new DRAM supplier takes months of engineering, signal-integrity testing, thermal work, and platform validation, and it does not happen on a whim. HP, Asus, and Acer have now built a switch. Whether they throw it depends on conditions none of them control, but the switch exists, and eighteen months ago it did not.

With Samsung stating that the RAM crisis is here to stay, the underlying conditions have merely exacerbated an AI-driven memory crisis that has directly affected consumer electronics across the board as supply continues to get repurposed.

Spot RAM pricing has risen by 400% or more over the past twelve months. PC makers have responded by prioritizing memory allocation for premium models and lifting prices across their ranges by several hundred dollars. IDC expects the global PC market to contract by more than 11 percent this year, with supply conditions deteriorating further toward the end of it.

Smartphones are equally affected, with some makers scaling back certain models to memory configurations their predecessors already offered, while others increase pricing to offset higher component costs. Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo have each cut 2026 shipment targets more than once.

The pressure has already reached the components below the memory itself: motherboard makers have absorbed roughly 50 percent increases in PCB costs and trimmed their own shipment targets accordingly.

None of this originates in the PC market. It originates in AI infrastructure, where demand for high-bandwidth memory has pulled wafer capacity away from conventional DRAM at every major supplier.

That is precisely the gap CXMT has been expanding into, which is why a company most Western buyers ignored two years ago is suddenly qualified at three of the largest PC brands in the world.

A short term irritant for Samsung, Micron and SK Hynix?

So what will Samsung, Micron, and SK Hynix think? In the short term, very little, and they have every reason to say so. They are the primary beneficiaries of this shortage, with pricing power they have not enjoyed in a decade and no commercial incentive whatsoever to loosen supply. A few thousand budget laptops in Europe and Asia that carry Chinese DRAM do not register against that.

The longer view might be less comfortable. Oligopolies are usually broken not by a competitor arriving with a better product but by customers becoming willing to qualify an alternative, and customers become willing when the incumbents make life sufficiently unpleasant. That threshold has now seemingly been crossed at three of the five largest PC vendors, during a period when the incumbents were charging whatever they liked.

The alternative parts are more expensive than expected and hard to get, so nobody has switched in any meaningful volume. But the certification work is done and dusted, CXMT is building capacity at multiples of its current base, and the moment supply loosens or Washington's posture shifts, the cost of moving volume across is dramatically lower than it was.

For now, the best example of how the industry is treating this news is visible in Acer's response to Nikkei: It declined to identify suppliers, said it maintains close contact with multiple global manufacturers, and described the goal as supply chain resilience. HP also declined to comment, and Asus did not respond at all to inquiries at the time of writing. That is not the language of companies making a bet but rather those that would like to keep as many options open as possible.

HP Omen 16 Slim: Two-minute review

In these strange times where PC memory prices seemingly double by the day, an affordable gaming laptop is a tantalising prospect. But is it actually realistic? Enter the HP Omen 16 Slim, HP's latest mainstream gaming portable.

There are two core variants of the Omen 16, a standard-sized model and this so-called "Slim". Long story short, this Slim model is a little skinnier but still isn't exactly super compact for a 16-inch laptop, thanks to not only a fairly hefty lower screen bezel, but also a chassis that sticks out beyond the base of the display. At least the slightly tanky proportions translate into a tanky chassis with a solid feeling keyboard bed.

Anyway, it's the value proposition that matters and that means getting into the specs. CPU-wise, we're talking Intel Core Ultra 7 255H, which is a pretty modern 16-core chip from Intel's Arrow Lake generation. Here it's configured with 24GB of DDR5 in dual 12GB SoDIMMs. But various configs are available, including 16GB and 24GB.

There's also 1TB Gen 4 SSD, but with any gaming laptop surely the most important single component is the GPU and it's no surprise to find an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 8GB doing the pixel pumping duties.

It's one up from the bottom of Nvidia's RTX 50 Series laptop GPUs, but it gets the full feature set, including all the latest DLSS upscaling bells and whistles. It outputs to a 165Hz 16-inch LCD display with a native resolution of 1,920 by 1,200 pixels, making it a 16:10 aspect panel rather than the usual 16:9 ratio.

The battery is a pretty generous 70Wh item, meanwhile, and networking includes WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.4 and Ethernet. Slightly less impressive is the physical connectivity. Not only are you limited to just one USB-C port (plus three USB-A), it can only do a measly 10Gbps. So, the only video out is the single HDMI 2.1 port.

Of course, gaming performance is the key metric here, and the results are pretty good, albeit with one major caveat. This skinnier Omen 16 Slim makes do with 110W of Total Platform Power (TPP) and 80W maximum for the GPU, where the full-sized Omen 16 cranks that up significantly to 170W TPP. Given premium gaming laptops can supply as much as 175W and more just for the GPU, you can see how 110W for everything, including CPU, RAM and storage, can be a limiting factor.

That said, the RTX 5060 GPU is pretty efficient and well matched with the 1200p (near-enough 1080p) 165Hz display. You'll need to use DLSS upscaling to get slick frame rates in the most demanding games. But, broadly, you'll get fairly smooth results at very high detail settings. What's more, the chassis doesn't get too hot and the fan noise is moderate.

All of which means HP has done a nice job with the HP Omen 16 Slim. It's well built, mostly well specified and delivers a pretty sweet gaming experience. Whether it makes sense as a buy comes down to pricing. As configured here with 24GB of RAM, it's a little spendy. But there's an otherwise identical 16GB model that we just spotted for a whisker under $1,200. Right here in 2026, that's a very decent deal.

HP Omen 16 Slim review: Price & availability

• Available for £1,499 in the UK with 24GB of DDR5
• The closest US config rocks 16GB of DDR5 for $1,599
• Looks out for deals on sites like Newegg

In this precise configuration with 24GB of DDR5 RAM, the HP Omen 16 Slim weighs in at £1,399 in the UK. That's actually very good given current memory prices, right now. Indeed, you could argue it would make sense to knock that back to 16GB, keep everything else the same, and save some money.

Indeed, in the US, just that configuration is available, while the 24GB option is not. With 16GB, you're currently looking at $1,599, which is a fair bit less appealing. Currently, an otherwise identical version but with an RTX 5050 instead of the RTX 5060 can be had for $1,198 on Newegg, which implies you might be able to bag one with the 5060 and 16GB for around $1,400 at some point if you hang around and wait for a deal. At that price point, the HP Omen 16 Slim would start making a lot of sense.

HP Omen 16 Slim review: Specs

HP Omen 16 Slim review: Design

• Not actually that "Slim"
• Solid, well-built chassis
• Connectivity is only OK
• Cooling is well executed

The HP Omen 16 Slim is mostly plastic, just the bottom cover is metal. But it still feels very solid and durable. The Keyboard is nice and stable, with only a touch of flex when pushed hard. The keyboard, while we're on the subject, has four configurable RGB lighting zones, but at this price point, you're not going to get per-key lighting.

HP has done a nice job with the cooling, too. The twin fans draw air from the bottom cover and push it out the back and do so without making too much noise. However, despite the "Slim" branding, this is not a super compact laptop.

Coming in at 1.99cm to 2.27cm thick, where the standard Omen 16 measures between 2.39cm and 2.54cm, the 16 Slim is thinner than its sibling. But it's still not that compact.

Thanks to a rather large chine bezel and the way the rear of the chassis sticks out beyond the screen hinge, the Omen 16 Slim actually has a larger footprint than many laptops that trade on pure performance rather than portability and also tips the scales at 2.42kg. So, it's no featherweight.

In that context, the somewhat limited connectivity is a touch disappointing. You get three USB-A ports, but just one USB-C and even the latter is limited to 10Gbps, though it does at least support video out and charging the laptop itself.

HP Omen 16 Slim review: Performance

• Decent frame rates at 1200p with DLSS
• Seriously quick SSD
• Fan noise is reasonable

Intel's Core Ultra 7 255H is very much a known quantity, what with its eight Performance and eight Efficient CPU cores. It's all you need for gaming in CPU terms, so the HP Omen 16 Slim's critical gaming component compared with the competition among the best gaming laptops is that Nvidia RTX 5060 GPU and how well it's been implemented.

This thinner HP Omen 16 Slim model does suffer slightly in the wattage department, with the Total Platform Power shared across the GPU, CPU, memory and more capped at 110W. But that doesn't absolutely hobble gaming performance.

For instance, running at the 16-inch display's native 1,920 by 1,200 resolution, you can crank Cyberpunk 2077 right up, with Ultra RT settings and Quality DLSS scaling and still get 44fps average frame rate.

OK, that's not spectacular. But it is acceptable for a single-player title. Switch off the ray tracing and you'll be looking at frame rates nearer 100. Moreover, in less demanding games, let's say something a little older like Shadow of the Tomb Raider, you can hit over 130fps even without DLSS upscaling and really make the most of the 165Hz refresh rate of the 16-inch display.

Speaking of the screen, the 16:10 aspect is a little odd and adds a little GPU load versus a vanilla 1080p panel. But it's reasonably vibrant, with nice-ish colours and contrast and decent 3ms response times. It's nothing special, but probably what you'd expect at this price point.

Just note the panel reviewed here is the upgrade 400 nit option. The base display is only 300 nits, runs at 144Hz and has much less colour fidelity. Avoid that if at all possible.

The 16 Slim's thermal performance is pretty impressive, too. It doesn't get too hot under load and the fan noise is reasonable. Well, it is unless you enable "Unleashed Mode" in the Omen Gaming Hub app. That cranks up the fans, but doesn't do much for frame rates.

Elsewhere, the SSD is particularly nippy, clocking over 7GB/s for reads and nearly 6GB/s for writes. For what is pitched as a value-orientated system, that's impressive. As for other elements, the sound quality from the speakers is tolerable at this price point, but the volume could be a little higher, and the webcam quality is OK.

In terms of physical performance, the chassis feels robust, even though only the bottom cover is made of metal, and the keyboard base is nice and solid with minimal flex. As for the trackpad, it's mechanical and doesn't have niceties like a glass cover. But it's large and works well enough. It's also worth noting that the memory, storage and Wi-Fi cards are all upgradeable, which is welcome in an age where too many laptops have everything soldered on.

HP Omen 16 Slim review: Battery life

• Surprisingly good for a budget gaming laptop
• USB-C charging is supported
• Not actually all that portable

Undoubtedly one of the HP Omen 16 Slim's more impressive aspects is battery life. OK, you're not going to get more than a couple of hours of light gaming off the mains, but for watching video, this laptop has some real legs.

Our local video playback test netted over 12 and a half hours with the screen at half brightness. That's a realistic setting for use on, say, a plane, albeit you might want to wind the screen up a little in bright daylight.

Whatever, that's a very impressive result for a gaming laptop and makes this portable much more plausible as an all-round computing device to take with you on trips and outings. The caveat to that is that the fairly large proportions and relatively hefty 2.4kg kerb weight mean this isn't a laptop you're going to sling into a small shoulder bag and forget about.

Should I buy the HP Omen 16 Slim?

HP Omen 16 Slim: Scorecard

Buy the HP Omen 16 Slim if…

Don't buy it if…

HP Omen 16 Slim review: Also consider

How I tested the HP Omen 16 Slim HX

• Used as my daily rig for two weeks
• Threw my Steam library at
• Got forensic with the screen and build quality

I've been round the block when it comes to gaming laptops. My first portable ran a GeForce 2 Go, if you can remember back that far. My current lappie runs an RTX 4080, and there have been plenty more in between. ANd those are just my personal machines. I've long since lost count of how many gaming laptops I've reviewed. There are always a few knocking around.

Over the years, I've learned a lot about what makes a good gaming laptop and I applied that to the HP Omen 16 Slim over a couple of weeks. That means throwing everything in my Steam Library at it, from classic strategy titles like Total War to graphics fests including Cyberpunk 2077. All round performance, including the SSD, is also important, as is battery life for what is, ultimately, meant to be a portable machine.

I'm also very picky when it comes to screen quality and keyboard feel and have something of a forensic obsession with laptop build quality. You have to be realistic at this price point, but build quality is particularly important to gaming laptop longevity. Bendy chassis usually end up in flakey performance, eventually.

• First reviewed: July 2026
• Read more about how we test

If you're tired of buying ink cartridges every few months, this is a good time to switch to a cartridge-free tank printer. Right now, the HP Smart Tank 5101 is $170 (was $260) at Amazon, and comes with 2 years of ink already included in the box.

For home, dorm room, home office, and small businesses printing a mix of monochrome and color documents and photos, it's an ideal pick. Particularly as HP's ink tank printers tend to have larger tank reservoirs compared to rivals like Epson's EcoTank range.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy it if...

You want to save on running costs because bottled ink is much cheaper than inkjet cartridges and you get four bottles free in the box. We recommend ink tank printers if you're chiefly printing documents and photos.

❌ Skip it if...

You're mostly printing text documents - a high-volume laser printer is a much better option for sharper, bolder on-page text.

Today's top HP printer deal

Why we recommend it

Having tested HP’s Smart Tank line alongside the Epson EcoTank, Canon MegaTank, and Brother INKvestment range, we strongly recommend ink tank printers over traditional inkjet models that use cartridges.

The pitch for tank printers like the HP Smart Tank 5101 is straightforward: instead of buying ink cartridges that run out every few hundred pages, you refill four visible ink tanks from bottles, and each bottle lasts dramatically longer. HP estimates the included set of ink bottles is good for roughly 6000 pages.

Setup leans on HP's Smart app, which walks through Wi-Fi connection and initial configuration with guided, step-by-step prompts rather than dropping you into a printer's typically clunky onboard menu system. Once connected, illuminated smart buttons on the printer itself are meant to guide you through common tasks like printing, scanning, and copying.

Print speed is modest rather than fast — HP rates this around 12 pages per minute for black-and-white and 5 pages per minute for color in normal mode, with the higher-quality "best" setting slower still. That's typical for tank printers in this price range, and fine for everyday home printing, but not the machine to reach for if you regularly print large batches of documents quickly.

Price Context & Historical Value

This isn't the cheapest the 5101 has ever been - back in 2024, it dropped to an all-time low of $140 direct from Amazon. However, it's cheaper now than any third-party seller has sold it before brand-new ($180 was the price back in April 2025). Typically, we see it selling at around the $190 to $250 mark when not on sale. The highest price it's been sold for is $280. Right now, it's also available for $170 at Best Buy, too.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

A few honest caveats worth flagging: some reviewers have reported software quirks and occasional paper jams with this model, and if you print only occasionally rather than regularly, the ink in an inkjet's print head can dry out and clog between uses. This is best suited to households or small offices that print often enough to make the low cost-per-page actually pay off.

For more options, see our guides to the best home printers and best ink tank printers we've personally tested.

• See all printer deals at Best Buy.

If you're looking for an affordable laptop that offers dedicated graphics and solid all-round performance, I've found a great deal on the HP Victus, one of our favorite budget laptops for content creators.

As part of Best Buy's 'Black Friday in July' sale, the HP Victus 15.6in laptop has dropped to $700 (was $1250), saving you a chunky $550. The Victus is powered by an AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS processor with six cores and 12 threads, paired with Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 graphics featuring 6GB of GDDR6 memory.

As you might expect at the discounted price, there is a bit of a caveat, and that's the laptop only comes with 8GB of DDR5 RAM, which is far from generous in 2026. On the plus side, it is backed with a fast 512GB PCIe 4.0 SSD, which will be enough for everyday productivity, photo editing, and content creation.

Today's best budget HP laptop deal

The 15.6-inch IPS display delivers a Full HD resolution with a smooth 144Hz refresh rate and AMD FreeSync Premium support, helping reduce screen tearing while making everything feel more responsive.

An anti-glare finish and 300-nit brightness also make the display comfortable to use in a variety of environments.

Connectivity includes HDMI 2.1, USB-C, two USB-A ports, Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth, a headphone jack, and a backlit keyboard with a numeric keypad.

Windows 11 Home comes pre-installed alongside Microsoft Copilot and HP's Omen software.

Although 8GB of memory is only just enough to get started, the combination of a Ryzen 5 processor, dedicated RTX graphics, and a high refresh rate display makes this a capable laptop for work, study, creative projects, and entertainment.

In his review of the 2024 HP Victus, Matt, our Managing Editor, Core Tech, said, "given its excellent price, this is definitely one you’ll want to consider."

At $699.99, it's one of the more attractive value-focused laptop deals I've spotted in Best Buy's 'Black Friday in July' promotion.

For more top choices, we've also tested the best student laptops, best business laptops and the best laptops for engineering students.

• Shop Best Buy's 'Black Friday in July' sale

Best Buy is currently running a "Black Friday in July" sale. There are a number of great deals to choose from, but if you're looking for a new laptop, HP's OmniBook X Flip for $750 (was $1200) definitely stands out for me.

You're getting a solid $450 saving on a premium 2-in-1 Copilot+ PC that mixes strong everyday performance with plenty of flexibility.

Powered by an Intel Core Ultra 7 256V processor, the laptop pairs 16GB of fast LPDDR5X memory with a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD.

Today's best HP laptop deal

Intel Arc 140V graphics provide a welcome boost for creative software and light content creation.

The 16-inch IPS touchscreen has a 1920 x 1200 resolution, reaches 400 nits of brightness, and folds through 360 degrees, allowing you to use it as a traditional laptop, tablet, presentation device, or in tent mode for watching videos.

The aluminum chassis keeps everything feeling premium while remaining reasonably portable, weighing a little over four pounds.

As a Copilot+ PC, it includes a dedicated neural processing unit capable of up to 47 TOPS, helping accelerate supported AI features while reducing the load on the CPU.

You also get up to 23 hours of battery life, a 5MP webcam, Poly Studio speakers with DTS:X Ultra audio, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth, Thunderbolt 4, HDMI 2.1, USB-C, and two USB-A ports.

The privacy camera, backlit keyboard, and Windows 11 Home round out a well-balanced package that's well suited to working from home, studying, traveling, or relaxing.

At $749.99, the HP OmniBook X Flip promises premium features, a modern Intel processor, a large touchscreen, generous memory and storage, and excellent battery life for a bargain price.

For more top choices, we've also tested the best student laptops, best business laptops and the best laptops for engineering students.

• Shop Best Buy's 'Black Friday in July' sale

If you're looking for a powerful new desktop, Best Buy's Black Friday in July sale has dropped a fantastic offer you can snap up right now.

If you buy a qualifying system from a range of brands including HP, Acer, MSI, and iBUYPOWER, you can add the $180 GTPlayer Ergonomic Gaming Chair to your order for just $50.

There are a number of desktops to choose from, but the HP Omen 35L for $2140 (was $2700) stands out for me, saving you $560, before you even factor in the discounted chair.

Today's top HP Omen deal

The HP Omen 35L is powered by the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor with an AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT graphics card with 16GB of GDDR6 memory.

The system comes with 32GB of DDR5 RAM running at 6000MHz and a fast 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, which means the system can tackle demanding creative software, AI workloads, video editing, multitasking, and even modern games with ease.

An LCD liquid cooler keeps temperatures under control, while the Ceramic White chassis offers plenty of room for potential future upgrades.

There are four memory slots supporting up to 128GB of DDR5 RAM, three M.2 slots for additional SSDs, an 850W power supply, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth, and a number of USB-A, USB-C, HDMI 2.1, and DisplayPort 2.1 connections for monitors and peripherals.

The desktop comes with Windows 11 Home, a wired keyboard and mouse, HP's Omen utilities, and a one-year warranty, making it ready to use straight out of the box.

Whether you're editing photos, producing videos, working with large datasets, creating 3D content, or simply want a fast, capable PC that will last for years, the HP Omen 35L is an easy recommendation from me.

If you could do with a new chair as well, being able to snap up an $180 ergonomic model for only $50 is the cherry on top.

Other desktops in Best Buy's Office Builder offer include the Acer Nitro 65, MSI Codex R2, iBUYPOWER Element, and CyberPowerPC Desktop.

For further desktop choices, take a look at our round up of the best desktop PCs and the best business desktops.

• Shop the full Black Friday in July sale at Best Buy

I've spotted a top deal on a business-grade desktop replacement with genuine multi-core power and an upgrade path built in, with the the HP Elite Mini 800 G9 Business Desktop Computer PC is down to $1100(was $1799) at Amazon.

Now, I will say, this isn't the right mini PC if you're looking for a comfortable home office pick that'll power through Word, Excel, and a bunch of Chrome tabs.

As part of HP's line, this is a desktop-class mini computer that's going to better suited for businesses, IT management, running multiple virtual machines, or more demanding office workloads.

Today's top mini desktop PC deal

The i7-14700 is the real headline here. Unlike the mobile or low-power "T-series" chips that populate most mini PCs, this is a full 65W desktop-class processor with 20 cores and 28 threads — a genuinely different tier of multi-core performance without the usual mini PC compromises.

That desktop-class CPU inside such a small chassis (HP quotes roughly 7 x 7 x 1.3 inches) does mean cooling has to work harder than in a full-size tower, so expect the fans to spin up audibly under sustained heavy load — a reasonable trade-off for the processing power packed into this footprint, but worth knowing if you need near-silent operation at your desk.

Both the RAM and storage are genuinely upgradeable here, which isn't a given at this size: two SO-DIMM slots support up to 64GB of DDR5, and dual M.2 slots mean you can add a second drive rather than being stuck with what shipped in the box. That upgrade path is a meaningful point in this machine's favor over sealed or single-slot mini PC competitors.

Being an HP Elite-series business machine also brings enterprise features that consumer mini PCs typically skip: HP Wolf Security, BitLocker and Windows Defender support baked into Windows 11 Pro, remote management tooling, and vPro-adjacent manageability features that make this a sensible pick for IT departments doing fleet deployments, not just individual buyers.

One note: Intel UHD 770 integrated graphics are fine for office work, multiple displays, and light creative tasks, but this isn't a machine for gaming or GPU-accelerated workloads — HP does offer higher-end Elite Mini configurations with discrete graphics if that's a requirement, but this configuration isn't one of them.

For a business-grade desktop replacement with genuine multi-core power and an upgrade path built in, the Elite Mini 800 G9 at $1,099.99 is a strong buy.

More mini PC deals

• See all computers & accessories at Amazon

• HP India has been fined 1.42 billion rupees ($14.7 million) for two separate cases
• Self-reporting ultimately landed it with lighter fines
• Both cases relate to government tender manipulation between 2017 and 2020

India's Competition Commission (CCI) has accused HP India and some related resellers of coordinating bids for Indian government contracts on the Government e-Marketplace.

According to the CCI, the company and certain partners manipulated government tenders by predetermined or communicated bid prices, submitting deliberately uncompetitive bids to create the appearance of competition and controlling discounts.

The regulator revealed two separate cases for investigation – one relating to PCs, and the other relating to printing consumables like ink and toner.

HP accused of manufacturing bids to win Indian government contracts

In the printing case, the CCI uncovered emails, witness statements, WhatsApp group conversations and even a 2019 video from a reseller meeting. Discussions around which companies would submit supporting bids, prices and discounts, and which reseller should win particular contracts were found.

The CCI declared that a total of 16 Tier-2 resellers had violated its Competition Act through bid rigging, with HP India fined 119.8 million rupees and its resellers fined a combined total of 23 million rupees.

A separate case revealed similar conduct covering laptops, desktops, workstations, POS systems, peripherals and more. Similarly, five additional resellers were highlighted on top of HP India's core businesses, bringing this case's fines total to 1.3 billion rupees and 12.2 million rupees respectively.

The CCI's final orders bring HP India's total fines to around 1.42 billion rupees, or $14.7 million, excluding the fines imposed on its partners.

But the fine could have been a lot worse had HP India not come forward and admitted to its wrongdoing between 2017 and 2020, having submitted a lesser-penalty application to buy itself a discount on the fines.

TechRadar Pro has asked HP for a comment, but we did not receive an immediate response.

If you're anything like me, one of the biggest frustrations with printing is the cost of ink. Over time, it can easily cost more than the printer itself, making refillable ink tank models an increasingly popular choice. They're built to keep running costs down while reducing the hassle of replacing ink cartridges on a regular basis.

So this deal immediately stood out to me. The HP Smart Tank 5101 all-in-one printer is down to $190 (was $260) at Amazon, saving you $70.10. In the UK, it's known as the HP Smart Tank 5107, and it's discounted to £150 (was £210) at Amazon.

Instead of relying on traditional cartridges, this model uses ink tanks that hold enough ink to print thousands of pages before needing a refill. Best of all, it comes with up to two years of ink in the box, so it will be ages before you need to spend out.

Today's top HP Smart Tank printer deal

Refilling the ink is easy because the bottles slot directly into the tanks and empty automatically without needing a squeeze or creating a mess, removing one of the biggest frustrations people have with refillable printers.

Printing speeds reach up to 12ppm in black and 5ppm in color, while the built-in scanner and copier mean it can handle far more than simple printing tasks. Wireless connectivity over 2.4GHz Wi-Fi lets everyone in the house or small office send jobs without plugging into a computer.

HP also says the Smart Tank 5101 continues producing sharp text and rich colors without the complicated maintenance routines often associated with ink tank printers.

Auto Power On helps reduce waiting around by waking the printer the moment a job is received, while borderless printing adds extra flexibility for photos, invitations, and creative projects.

Another useful addition is HP AI formatting, which automatically cleans up web pages and emails before printing, removing unnecessary content and awkward page breaks, stopping you wasting paper on unwanted content.

For the price, the Smart Tank 5101 is not only much cheaper than normal, it also comes with enough ink to keep many households printing for a very long time.

If your current printer burns through ink far too quickly, or you're thinking of buying your first all-in-one model, this is a terrific choice to get you started.

For more options, check out our round up of the best ink tank printers you can buy, as well as the best home printers.

Also consider

• Shop ink tank printers at Amazon

Whether you're an office worker or a student, I always find now is a great time to pick up a laptop for work and study that's actually worth the money.

MacBooks might be expensive, Chromebooks can be underpowered, but there are plenty of big-brand Windows 11 machines under $600 right now that can handle productivity tasks, schoolwork, creative projects, and everyday use without issue, and will stay useful well beyond the next school year.

These are the three deals that stood out to me right now.

Today's best laptop deals

My top pick overall here is HP's OmniBook 3, which is currently $599.99 (was $949.99) at Best Buy. It runs on Qualcomm's Snapdragon X processor with up to 32.25 hours of battery life, making it an excellent choice for office professionals and students planning to spend many hours away from a power outlet.

It comes with 16GB of memory alongside a 512GB SSD, making it far better equipped for multitasking and running Microsoft's growing collection of AI features. The laptop also features a 14-inch 1920 x 1200 touchscreen, Wi-Fi 6E, and HDMI 2.1 for hooking up an external monitor.

Another great choice is Asus' Vivobook 14. Also on sale at Best Buy, the model is priced at an even more affordable $548.

It combines the same Snapdragon X processor as the OmniBook 3 with 16GB of memory, a 512GB PCIe 4.0 SSD, and a 14-inch 1920 x 1200 IPS display.

Although it skips the touchscreen, it does keep the Copilot+ PC AI features, 45 TOPS NPU, WiFi 6E, HDMI 2.1, USB4, and impressive 29-hour battery life.

At 3.28lb, it's also the lightest laptop here, making it a great fit for students carrying it between classes. If you don't need touch support, I'd say this is the best all-round buy of the three.

Finally, there's the Dell 15 Laptop for $550 (was $750) at Dell. Powered by a 13th Generation Intel Core i7-1355U processor, it comes with a 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD, and 15.6-inch Full HD 120Hz IPS display which will make it useful for recording notes, writing essays, multitasking, and so on.

The laptop includes Wi-Fi 6, USB-A, USB-C and HDMI ports, as well as an SD card reader, and a headphone jack. My biggest reservation is that it only comes with 8GB of DDR5 memory, which really isn't enough in 2026. You can upgrade the laptop to 16GB of RAM if you want, but that will cause the price to skyrocket to $949.99.

For more top choices, we've also tested the best student laptops, best business laptops and the best laptops for engineering students.

If your home office or small business is crying out for a faster, more capable printer, I've found a great, money-saving deal for you. The HP LaserJet Pro 4001dn is currently just $289 (was $449) at HP - a solid $160 saving for a laser printer built to handle demanding workloads.

In the UK, the wireless version with the exact same specs, the HP LaserJet Pro 4002dw has dropped to £164 (was £421) at HP.

Print speeds can reach up to 42 pages per minute, with the first page arriving in as little as 6.1 seconds, making it a terrific choice for anyone printing lengthy reports, invoices, shipping labels, or business documents. It’s also rated for a monthly duty cycle of up to 80,000 pages, with a recommended monthly volume of between 750 and 4,000 pages for the best balance of performance, reliability, and longevity.

Today's top HP printer deal

Paper handling is nicely practical, thanks to a 100-sheet multipurpose tray, a 250-sheet input tray, and a 150-sheet output bin.

If your workload grows, you can expand the printer with an optional third paper tray, giving you greater flexibility without constantly refilling paper.

Print quality reaches 1200 x 1200 dpi, producing crisp text and fine lines that are ideal for contracts, presentations, spreadsheets, and professional correspondence.

Automatic duplex printing also helps reduce paper use while making larger print jobs easier to manage.

The printer connects via Gigabit Ethernet for dependable wired networking and it also supports Apple AirPrint, Mopria, and the HP app, making it simple to print from Windows, macOS, ChromeOS, iOS, and Android devices.

A 256MB memory and 1200MHz processor ensure documents output quickly, even during heavier workloads.

Security features include SSL/TLS, SNMP support, WPA3, and 802.1x authentication, making it a sensible choice for shared office environment. HP also includes a one-year onsite repair warranty for added peace of mind.

In his four star review, our Senior Printer Editor, Jim said: "I found the HP LaserJet Pro 4001dn to be an easy printer to use, with the right features to meet a heavy print load and print quality that’s good enough for most purposes." He also declared it "One of the fastest laser printers in its price category."

Although it isn't the cheapest laser printer available, this is a great price for a dependable HP business model that balances speed, print quality, and everyday practicality.

For more options, check out our round up of the best HP printers, best home printers and fastest printers we've tested and reviewed.

Also consider

• US: Shop all printer deals at HP
• UK: See all printers at HP

UK tech retailer Currys has cut the price on a number of big name laptops, including models from HP, Asus and Microsoft.

The Surface Laptop 13.8", Copilot+ PC, powered by a Snapdragon X Elite processor and backed by 16GB of DDR5 memory and a 512GB SSD, sees the biggest discount. Usually priced at £1599, it's currently available for just £999, a solid £600 saving.

If that's not a big enough incentive for you, the laptop also features a Quad HD+ touchscreen and up to 20 hours of battery life, so you won't have to spend ages looking for someone to plug it in.

My top 4 business laptop deals at Currys

Also on sale at Currys are two Asus laptops. The Zenbook 14 OLED 14" model is powered by an Intel Core Ultra 9 285H Processor and comes with 32GB of DDR5 RAM and a 1TB SSD.

It also comes with a 2K touchscreen and promises up to 15 hours of battery life, which will be more than enough to get you through a full working day

That model usually sells for £1399 but you can snap it up for £999 at Currys right now, a solid £400 saving.

If you need a larger laptop, the Vivobook S16 OLED S3607CA 16" model is powered by an Intel Core Ultra 5 225H Processor with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. It also comes with a Full HD+ OLED screen and up to 20 hours of battery life.

That model usually costs £999 but Currys has slashed the cost down to £599, which means you'll also save £400 with that one.

If you're after a laptop with a bigger-than-normal display, then HP's OmniBook 7 AI is the model you want. It features a 17-inch, Full HD touchscreen and is powered by an Intel Core Ultra 5 226V chip, backed up by 16GB of DDR5 RAM and a 512GB SSD.

That model promises up to 12 hours of battery life. It should be enough to get you through a full working day, but depending on what you're using it for, it might require a top up when you're out and about.

While the OmniBook 7 AI usually retails for £999, you can save £699 right now at Currys, which is a welcome £300 off.

For more top picks like this, these are the best business laptops we've tested and reviewed.

• Shop all laptops at Currys

A printer is an absolute staple of the student set-up. The trick is finding one that a) doesn't take years to print a single page and b) offers good value for money. And this is why I always recommend ink tank printers for college and university students.

I've specifically chosen tank printers like the EcoTank, Smart Tank, and MegaTank lines because almost every one you buy comes with a generous amount of bottled ink in the box that can last for your entire time at college or university (and ink is cheaper to buy if you do need to top up). So, you won't need to blow your student loan on expensive inkjet cartridges like I had to!

Our senior printer editor has extensively tested the best home printers and the best ink tank printers - and based on those reviews, I've hand-picked the 6 top cartridge-free printers for students that performed brilliantly for text and phot printing, as well as offering value for money. For each one, click View details to see our review notes and how they fit into student life.

One quick note: because printers often have different model names in the US and UK, they may appear differently here (I know, it frustrates me too). However, I've made sure the links will take you to the identical unit for your region.

My top back-to-school ink tank printers

How we test printers for student life

All our printers are put through our unique standardized test, which lets us compare the speed, quality, and functionality against the others. This test covers every aspect of a student's printing needs.

To check performance, we use a uniform stack of test cards, text documents, and photos, and a range of paper sizes and types. If the manual says you can print on envelopes, labels, or t-shirts, we put that claim to the test, too. We're looking for crisp fonts and vibrant colors without smudging, smearing, or feathering.

We use a ten-page mixed text and color document to measure print speeds. We never take the manufacturer's word for this, and while they are usually accurate to be fair, we always time it ourselves. So, if you've got a deadline looming, you'll have a pretty good idea if your printer can get the print-outs in time.

Total cost and overall value are a core part of our review process. And this is specifically why we recommend ink tank printers for students. While they're a little more expensive than traditional, cartridge-based inkjets, they deliver better performance and they're cheaper to run for the duration of your course. Bottled ink is a lot more affordable than an inkjet cartridge, and with the amount you get in the box, it can last most of your time at college or university anyway.

Shopping giant Walmart has slashed the price of the HP OmniBook 5 to $749 (was $1,469), knocking a massive $720 off this AI-ready laptop.

If you're shopping for a capable system for work, school, or creative projects, this is one of the biggest and best laptop discounts I've found anywhere.

Power comes from an AMD Ryzen AI 7 445 processor with an NPU capable of up to 50 TOPS, bringing on-device AI features to everyday computing.

Today's top HP laptop deal

HP pairs the AMD chip with 16GB of DDR5 memory and a fast 1TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD, giving the laptop responsive performance and generous storage for applications, large files, photos, and videos.

A 16-inch IPS touchscreen with a 1920 x 1200 resolution and a 16:10 aspect ratio provides extra vertical space for documents and web browsing.

Wide viewing angles and vivid color reproduction make it equally comfortable for productivity, streaming, and creative work.

Windows 11 Home comes preinstalled, complete with Copilot+ experiences that take advantage of the laptop's dedicated AI hardware.

HP also includes a three-month Microsoft 365 Personal subscription, while two months of Xbox Game Pass Premium add extra entertainment once the workday is over.

Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth provide reliable wireless connectivity, while the laptop's slim design and weight of just under 4lb make it practical for transporting between home, the office, or campus.

Battery life is rated for up to 10 hours, helping you stay productive without constantly searching for a power outlet.

The HP OmniBook 5 delivers excellent everyday performance for students, professionals, and creators alike.

For other options, look at our round-up of the best business laptops you can buy.

• Shop all laptops at Walmart

Finding the perfect budget laptop for college or university can be a tricky task. You want something that won't break the bank, but will be a great studying companion that won't let you down. At TechRadar, we've tested hundreds of laptops; this guide runs through our top affordable recommendations for college or university students.

I've focused on options that deliver strong bang for your buck, and can handle an average student's day-to-day typing, research and entertainment needs. Most offer generous battery life, so you can move about without having to worry about staying near a power outlet, and are pleasingly compact and portable too. Note, these are all affordable, relatively basic options and as a result, they're not suitable for demanding tasks — head to our general best laptop or best student laptop guides for a wider range of options for more intensive needs.

Scroll down for our top recommendations. Hit the View Details button to find out more about each one and why it's a great choice for students specifically, or hop to the bottom for a specs comparison table.

College champions

Cheap college laptops: specs compared

I've spotted one of the best desktop PC deals I've seen, with the HP OmniDesk desktop now $790 (was $899) at Amazon. It's a solid pick for a home office setup, a family desktop, or anyone replacing an aging pre-built tower who doesn't want to spend into four figures to do it.

It's built around AMD's 8-core Ryzen 7 8700G with Radeon 780M graphics built in, which means you're getting genuinely capable everyday performance, and even some casual gaming headroom, without needing to budget for a separate graphics card.

This configuration pairs that processor with 32GB of DDR5 memory and a 1TB SSD, giving you a sensible amount of headroom for multitasking and storage without needing an immediate upgrade. Interestingly, Best Buy are selling the 16GB model for $800 right now.

Today's top HP desktop deal

The Ryzen 7 8700G is a strong choice for a desktop in this category. It's an 8-core chip with integrated Radeon 780M graphics, which puts it a step ahead of the entry-level Ryzen 5 and Core i3/i5 desktops that typically populate this price range.

Overall, you get more multitasking headroom and graphics performance that can handle light gaming and creative work like photo editing without a discrete GPU.

32GB of DDR5 RAM is a comfortable starting point for browser-heavy multitasking, office work, and creative software. And the 1TB SSD gives you plenty of room for a full OS install, applications, and files before you'd need to think about expanding storage.

The gray wood finish is a deliberate design choice worth calling out — rather than the black-and-RGB aesthetic most budget towers default to, this one is built to blend into a home office or living space. It's a small thing, but it matters if you don't want your desktop looking like hardware and more like furniture.

It's worth noting that it's well-suited to office work, media, and light gaming. However, if demanding GPU-accelerated creative work is your priority, you'll want to look at a machine with dedicated graphics instead.

But for an understated desktop tower with the power to breeze through day-to-day business and creative tasks, this is one of the best deals I've seen.

• US: See all desktop deals at Amazon

If you've been hunting around for an affordable alternative to the MacBook Air with exceptional battery life, I've found a great deal for you at Best Buy just in time for Amazon Prime Big Deal Days.

The HP OmniBook 3 is now $430 (was $600) at Best Buy, a huge 28% saving. If you're looking for an ultra-portable with all-day battery life for business trips or studying, you'll definitely want to check this out.

Powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon X X1-26-100 processor, the 14-inch HP OmniBook 3 is built for everyday productivity while delivering the impressive battery life that Snapdragon-powered PCs have become known for.

HP rates it for up to 41 hours and 45 minutes of use, helping you work, study, or travel without constantly reaching for a charger.

Today's top HP OmniBook 3 laptop deal

The 14-inch OmniBook 3 has an IPS display with a 1920 x 1200 resolution, giving you more vertical workspace than a traditional Full HD panel. Combined with an anti-glare finish and 300 nits of brightness, it's well suited to working indoors or on the move.

8GB of LPDDR5x memory and a fast 256GB PCIe Gen4 SSD provide plenty of speed for multitasking, office work, web browsing, streaming, and everyday creative projects while the Qualcomm Adreno graphics also help deliver responsive visuals while delivering excellent power efficiency.

The OmniBook 3 includes AI-powered features to help streamline everyday tasks and HP also bundles Otter.ai, which can automatically record meetings, generate transcripts, capture presentation slides, and create summaries.

The laptop also offers two USB-C ports with Power Delivery and DisplayPort support, two USB-A ports, HDMI 2.1, and a headphone jack.

An FHD webcam with HDR auto-switch helps improve video calls by automatically balancing brightness and color in challenging lighting conditions.

Fast charging adds even more convenience, restoring the battery from empty to 50% in around 45 minutes when you need a quick boost before heading out.

A Snapdragon X processor, 8GB of memory, a 256GB SSD, a 2K OLED display, and battery life measured in days rather than hours make this one of the best laptop deals I've seen recently.

With 28% off, it's an excellent option for anyone looking to upgrade without spending close to $500.

For other choices, take a look at our roundup of the best laptops for working from home, as well as our picks for the best business laptops.

• Shop all laptops at Amazon

For a home or back to school printer, the HP Envy 6555e is a surprisingly feature-rich pick - especially now the HP Envy 6555e is $90 (was $180) at Best Buy.

In our own tests, we called out two genuinely unusual features for a printer at this price: it's the first printer we've tested that can auto-duplex coated photo paper, letting you label the back of each photo as you print.

It's also one of the only printers we know of that supports native Display P3 color printing, which produces a closer match to the colors you see on your screen.

Today's top HP printer deal

In our full HP Envy 6555e review, we had no problems printing or scanning — it connected easily to our devices and got through all our test material without issue. Black text comes out crisp and professional-looking thanks to pigment-based black ink, which is also smudge-resistant and long-lasting. Color documents take a bit longer, but the dye-based C/M/Y inks produce bold, vibrant results, and we found the colors bonded particularly well with coated photo paper for genuinely good-looking prints.

The photo printing features are what set this printer apart from typical budget all-in-ones. We especially liked the novelty of the printer flipping a photo over and printing details on the back — a feature that, as far as we've seen, is exclusive to this HP line. With Display P3 color support via the HP Smart app, this printer takes casual photo printing more seriously than most machines in its price bracket.

Now for the honest part. We found the Envy 6555e slow at printing large text documents — if you're in a hurry, this isn't the printer for you. The unusual form factor, with the paper tray sticking out at the front, also takes up more desk space than a typical small all-in-one, and we found the front lip tended to catch dust and crumbs, which then get channeled into the printer.

Still, for casual print-outs at home or in the dormitory, this do-it-all printer with genuinely useful photo features for less than $90 is a sensible pick.

Also consider

• See all printers at Best Buy

HP's 4th of July sale is packed with discounts on the accessories that can make a bigger difference to your working environment than you might expect.

From Thunderbolt docks and webcams to wireless keyboards, mice, chargers, and USB-C hubs, there are plenty of ways to upgrade your desk for less.

Whether you're creating a multi-monitor setup, improving your video calls, or replacing aging peripherals, HP's latest deals cover just about every part of a modern workspace.

Docking stations are among the standout offers, with options supporting multiple external displays, fast USB connectivity, Ethernet, and laptop charging through a single cable.

Top HP 4th of July PC accessories deals

HP accessory highlights

If video meetings are part of your day, HP has Full HD webcams with autofocus, dual noise-reducing microphones, automatic light correction, and built-in privacy features.

Higher-end models even add Windows Hello support, adjustable viewing angles, and zoom controls for a more polished appearance during calls.

Wireless peripherals feature heavily throughout the sale. HP's keyboard and mouse bundles offer programmable shortcuts, dedicated Copilot and dictation keys, quiet typing, multi-device support, and battery life measured in months rather than weeks.

There are also standalone wireless mice with programmable buttons, high-precision tracking, and rechargeable or long-life battery options.

Compact USB-C chargers help keep compatible devices powered wherever you're working, while portable hubs add HDMI, DisplayPort, Ethernet, USB-A, and pass-through charging without taking up much space in your bag.

Many of these products also include recycled materials, broad compatibility with Windows, macOS, ChromeOS, and other operating systems, plus thoughtful features you'll appreciate from the start.

Whether you're working from home, planning on heading back to the office after summer, or preparing for the next semester, there are plenty of worthwhile upgrades available across HP's range or discounted products.

If you're still looking for inspiration, be sure to check out the full July 4 sale.

If you've been thinking about replacing your laptop with a newer, much better model, I've found the perfect deal for you.

Best Buy has slashed the price of the HP Victus 15.6-inch laptop to $950 (was $1475), saving you $525, a huge 36% discount.

It's a terrific choice for students, professionals, and creators who need plenty of performance for everyday work. The AMD Ryzen 7 7445HS processor, 16GB of DDR5 memory, and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics provide more than enough power for demanding applications, multitasking, and creative software.

Today's top HP laptop deal

The 15.6-inch Full HD IPS display runs at 144Hz, delivering smooth scrolling and fluid visuals whether you're editing documents, watching videos, or tackling graphics-intensive projects.

An anti-glare finish and 300 nits of brightness also make it comfortable to use throughout the day.

Storage comes in the form of a fast 512GB PCIe 4.0 SSD, giving you plenty of room for documents, photos, applications, and large projects while ensuring Windows 11 loads and runs quickly.

If you're constantly moving between multiple apps, the speedy SSD helps keep everything responsive.

It comes with USB-A and USB-C ports, HDMI 2.1, Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth, and a headphone jack. There are plenty of options straight out of the box for connecting external displays, accessories, and wired networks.

The laptop includes a backlit keyboard, HyperX dual speakers with DTS Ultra audio, a 720p webcam, and support for Windows Copilot.

Battery life is rated for up to 12 hours, making it a good option for taking between lectures, meetings, or working away from your desk.

If you're preparing for back-to-school or simply want a powerful everyday laptop for work, this Best Buy deal is one of the best I've seen in a while.

For other choices, take a look at our round up of the best business laptops.

• Shop all creative laptops at Best Buy

HP has kicked off its 4th of July sale with a string of discounts on laptops, desktops, all-in-ones, and accessories. But as hardware editor with an eye on upgrading business office tech (and the back-to-school season just around the corner), it's the laptop deals that caught my eye.

The one you won't want to miss is the HP OmniBook 5 for $680 (was $1240). This 16-inch laptop is part of a flash sale with 45% off - but it ends in less than 15 hours. It's equipped with an ultra-efficient Intel Core Ultra 5 325 processor, paired with 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD. For day-to-day computing tasks, this one ticks all the boxes at the right price.

I've rounded up several more, including an ultra-portable 14-inch model that boasts an awesome battery life, and a 2-in-1 that's ideal for working and studying on the go. But for my money, the HP OmniBook 5 is the laptop I'd buy in the sale. It's got the biggest discount by a mile, and the best blend of performance and price.

Today's top HP laptop 4th of July deals

• See the full 4th of July sale at HP

No kidding, Currys is turning out to be a bit of a goldmine for cheap laptops for business and the back to school season. I went through all the deals to find 4 laptops that boast snappy processors and 16GB DDR5 RAM for smoothly tackling work in the office and at school.

My top all-rounder is the Asus Vivobook S16 for £599 (was £999). This lightweight OLED laptop with a 16-inch screen will effortlessly handle day-to-day tasks most professionals and students need. And it won't break the bank doing any of it.

I've been tracking all the best Prime Day home office deals this year. And while there are plenty of discount laptops on Amazon that absolutely aren't worth your time or money, I was pleasantly surprised to see some genuinely good price drops in the Currys summer sale.

One to avoid

Don't buy this Asus Zenbook A14 from Currys. Right now, the exact same model with double the storage is on sale at Amazon for £500 for Prime Day.

• Shop all computing deals at Currys

This HP laptop may be Amazon's best-selling Windows notebook just before Prime Day sales, but I truly cannot recommend it. The HP 250 G10 uses an Intel N100 processor, which is very poor value for money for a laptop that costs just under $500 (and that 37% discount claim seems very dubious).

Yes, it has 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD and a full HD display but that's simply not good enough to change my opinion of this laptop. (And yes, it uses a trick I despise to attract customers).

The N100 is so underpowered that it will struggle with even mundane tasks. Add the small 41Whr battery and you've got the perfect combination for hours of frustration and lost productivity.

So instead, here are five other laptops I'd personally recommend. For the same outlay (or less), they deliver far, far better value for money without the guaranteed irritation. Head over to our live hub for the latest Prime Day deals on a host of tech.

Quick links

• Shop $500 laptops at Amazon
• Check $500 laptops at Best Buy
• Buy $500 laptops at Walmart
• $500 laptops on sale at Newegg

Amazon Prime Day is already delivering some welcome discounts across HP's printer line-up, with savings on everything from refillable ink tank models to home office workhorses and family-friendly all-in-one printers.

Topping the list of printers that grabbed my attention is the HP Smart Tank 5000 for $140 (was $190). Its refillable ink tank system prints thousands of pages without cartridges, while wireless printing, scanning, copying, and AI-enhanced page formatting make everyday use refreshingly simple.

I've selected three other HP printer deals, too, ideal for the home and home office - and they all have very impressive discounts ahead of Prime Day.

Today's top HP printer deals

For families printing homework and photos, the HP Envy 6155e offers automatic two-sided printing, wireless connectivity, borderless photo support, and a three-month Instant Ink trial make it a terrific choice for everyday home printing.

Anyone running a home office should consider the HP OfficeJet Pro 8139e, which handles printing, scanning, copying, and faxing. Elsewhere, it features automatic document feeder, duplex printing, smartphone app support, and full year of Instant Ink provide plenty of convenience for regular workloads.

The HP Envy 6555e is similarly rich with features and a superb all-rounder for the home and home office, thanks to automatic duplex printing, a 35-sheet document feeder, wireless connectivity, and a three-month Instant Ink trial. It offers an excellent balance between family printing and light office tasks without taking over your desk.

Whether you print school projects, business reports, or family photos, these Amazon Prime Day HP deals cover almost every need and budget.

Adding months or even years of included ink makes the savings even sweeter, giving you far more than just a lower price on the printer itself.

For more picks, check out our guides to the best HP printers and best home printers.

• Shop all inkjet printers at Amazon