HP 15t 3LM40AV_1, 4HL43AV_1 (2018) Inexpensive 15.6″ Laptop with Intel Core CPUs, Optional Touch

The HP 15t 3LM40AV_1 and 4HL43AV_1 are 2018 models from the entry-level HP 15t 15.6-inch notebook series. They start at around $450. The 3LM40AV_1 and 4HL43AV_1 are configurable models available on the official HP Store. You can also find the same laptop in form of pre-configured models via various sellers.

All of the 2018 HP 15t series notebooks feature a plastic chassis, with seven color options available. On the base, they have a full-size keyboard with numeric pad and optional backlight.

The main differences between the HP 15t 3LM40AV_1 and 4HL43AV_1 are processor and screen choices. The 3LM40AV_1 comes with the Intel Core i3 and i5 processors, namely the 7th Gen i3-7100U, 8th Gen i3-8130U, and 8th Gen i5-8250U. On the other side, the 4HL43AV_1 comes with either the 7th Gen Intel Core i7-7500U or 8th Gen i7-8550U. As for the screen, the 3LM40AV_1 provides three display choices – a basic HD glossy panel, the same HD screen with touch support, and a sharper Full HD display with matte anti-glare coating. The 4HL43AV_1 variant provides only one screen choice – the HD touch-screen. All of the displays are apparently TN panels with narrower viewing angles than IPS panels, since they are marked as “SVA”. HP’s notebooks with IPS wide viewing angles are usually marked with “UWVA”.

The HP 15t 3LM40AV_1 / 4HL43AV_1 is available with up to 16GB of RAM via two RAM slots. As the basic data storage option, the laptop provides a 1-Terabyte mechanical hard drive with Intel Optane 16GB add-on for faster performance. The second option is a 1TB HDD plus 256GB of fast solid state drive storage. Or, you can select 512GB of SSD-only storage for the best data storage performance.

The notebook has a medium-sized 41 WHr battery. According to HP, the maximal battery life is “up to 10 hours and 15 minutes” on models with HD displays (on Full HD it is shorter). But, that’s probably measured with very low workload and screen brightness.