HP 255 G1 Notebook review

HP 255 G1: the AMD floor of the catalog, honest about it

The HP 255 G1 is the entry point of HP's AMD-flavored budget line, built around an E2 1800 with Radeon HD 7340 graphics. Its record is floor-tier on every axis that matters, and unlike its 250-series cousins it does not even carry a flattering graphics placing — the sheet is simply, consistently bottom.

Where it holds up

No axis clears the low band decisively enough to be claimed as a strength. The kindest honest reading is structural: portability at 26.5 is low-band but not the batch's floor, and the 8 GB memory pool, while 75 percent below the general-class median of 32, at least matches the era's standard configuration. There are no green flags to lean on — this is a sheet without receipts.

Where it falls short

Graphics reads 1.39 against a general-class median of 27.24, 95 percent below the middle of the category, and the flag sheet confirms the number rather than contradicting it: Grand Theft Auto V, The Witcher 3 and Counter-Strike 2 all fail their minimum bars — these are measured refusals, not missing data. Performance reads 2.53 against a median of 43.05, the office index 4.8, the composite score 8 against 53. Every task axis is low-band (gaming 23, modeling 12, engineering CAD 19, photo work 14).

This machine was entry-level silicon when new; a decade later it is a single-light-app device at best.

Price and depreciation

No listing price is recorded for this configuration, and no depreciation curve is modeled — so there is no resale math to quote and no dollar projection to weigh.

Alternatives to consider

The same 255 line climbs steeply in this batch: the G5 at $245 pairs its floor-tier compute with a genuinely high office reading of 73.74, the G8 at $399 adds recommended-level Overwatch and GTA greens, and the G9 at $470 is a high-band value machine. Any of them retires most of this record's compromises for little money.

Bottom line

Fairly priced for the class, the HP 255 G1 is the floor of its line: all-fail game flags, floor-tier performance and office readings, and no strength axis to speak of — a record whose only honest role is the bottom of the ladder.