HP 15-ay011nr / HP 15-ay013nr 15.6″ Laptop (Full HD, Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, HDD or SSD)

The HP 15-ay011nr / HP 15-ay013nr 15.6″ laptop doesn’t feature any groundbreaking technology nor premium design, but with pricing of around $450 is a very compelling inexpensive personal computer. For the price, the HP 15-ay011nr / HP 15-ay013nr offers a Full HD display, which is a rarity on its price point, as well as excellent internal components, all packed in a plastic chassis with brushed-metal-like finish. The Windows 10-based 4.7-pound notebook sports the 6th Generation Intel Core i5-6200U dual-core processor with the HD 520 integrated graphics, 8GB of RAM memory, and either hard drive or solid state drive storage. That’s the only difference between the 15-ay011nr and 15-ay013nr configurations. The former includes a very spacious 1-Terabyte mechanical hard drive, while the latter features a solid state drive, which performs much better during system boot-ups, program loading, and similar storage-stressing tasks. However, the SSD with its 128GB capacity is almost eight times smaller than the offered 1TB HDD.

As for overall performance, the laptop will satisfy the vast majority of home and office PC users. The i5-6200U CPU (review) and HD 520 graphics coupled with 8GB RAM are capable of providing very smooth Windows experience and easy handling of the daily computing chores like web surfing, email, Word, Excel, and other productivity apps, casual gaming as described in this review of the HD 520, and effortless media playback including high resolution Ultra HD (4K) videos. However, the screen of the HP 15-ay011nr / HP 15-ay013nr supports up to Full HD 1920×1080-pixel resolution. Still, you will be able to watch 4K videos on the display or output native 4K resolution to an external display via provided HDMI video out. Besides picture sharpness greater than on standard HD 1366×768 screens, the FHD resolution of the HP laptop offers more room on your Windows desktop for programs. Very useful for side-by-side app use. As a downside, the display relies on TN panel technology, meaning noticeable narrower viewing angles than on IPS screens. But, IPS tech is very uncommon on sub-500-dollar notebooks. Touchscreen and keyboard backlight are not included, either. On the positive side, many users will appreciate inclusion of physical trackpad “click” buttons, which feel more intuitive than integrated ones.

As the majority of notebooks on the market, the 15-ay011nr / HP 15-ay013nr features a built-in DVD burner, stereo speakers, a HD-quality web camera, 802.11 Wi-Fi wireless and wired Ethernet LAN connections, three USB ports, a media card reader, and a combo headphones / microphone audio port besides the already mentioned HDMI video out. Bluetooth is included, too.

As you can see, there are no gimmicks on the feature set list. This machine is apparently designed to get the job done. Combined with overall very good performance, a long estimated battery life of “up to 7 hours and 15 minutes”, and affordable price, both the 15-ay011nr and HP 15-ay013nr are currently among the best buying choices in the sub-$500 full-size laptop category.