HP 15-ay191ms: A Budget Laptop with Surprisingly Good Performance

The recently released HP 15-ay191ms laptop brings perfect combination of low price and good performance. Priced at just around $350, this 15.6-inch laptop features some nice tech specs and provides acceptable performance for day to day usage. If you are looking for a decent laptop under $400, this HP laptop can be a perfect choice for you.

Look and Feel

HP 15-ay191ms isn’t an eye candy for sure. Don’t expect anything special here as this affordable laptop isn’t supposed to carry some crowd-pulling looks. The laptop body is mainly plastic – probably to keep the cost down. The body, however, feels tough and is able to handle regular wear and tear.

Its hinges feel sturdy, too. The trackpad – made of plastic – may not feel great to move your fingers on, but that’s something you can get used to easily.

Tech Specs and Performance

HP 15-ay191ms has some good tech specs to boast about at its price. It carries a 7th generation Intel Core i3 processor (2.40 GHz). This latest Intel processor brings in some really good performance to this affordable laptop.

In addition, 8GB DDR4 RAM is present to provide decent multitasking performance. Running multiple apps together isn’t really tough for this HP laptop.

1TB HDD storage is available to let you store loads of data. For an average user, 1TB storage is more than sufficient. Its 5400 RPM HDD provides enough speed for day to day activities.

The 15.6-inch WLED-backlit display of HP 15-ay191ms provides resolution of 1366 x 768. This resolution may sound generations old but is still enough for the userbase this laptop is aimed towards. Moreover, this 15.6-inch display has 10-finger multi-touch support providing ease of use.

The integrated Intel HD Graphics 620 provides some crisp visuals on this 15.6-inch display. For audio, this laptop features DTS Studio Sound with dual speakers providing some pleasant sound output.

The pre-installed Windows 10 Home operating system works perfectly well – showing no sign of lag during usage.

Ports and Connectivity

HP 15-ay191ms carries 1 USB 3.0 and 2 USB 2.0 ports, 1 HDMI port, a headphone output/microphone input combo, an ethernet port (10/100), a multimedia card reader, and a DVD drive combo.

HP could easily replace at least one more USB 2.0 port with USB 3.0 port. A DVD drive could also be ditched to keep its price even lower and the laptop a little less heavy.

For wireless connectivity, this HP laptop carries 802.11b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0. Its WiFi has no visible sign of connectivity issues and provides some good network performance.

Battery

The 3-cell lithium-ion battery of this HP laptop provides around 5 hours of cordless usage on a full charge. You can’t really expect more than this considering the budget-friendly segment this laptop falls in. 5 hours is still acceptable backup if you’re not going to work on power-hungry tasks.

HP 15-ay191ms: Overall Impressions

This affordable laptop by HP carries some decent tech specs. The latest 7th generation Intel processor is one of the best things about this $350 laptop.

If you are looking for a laptop with good performance without spending too much, HP 15-ay191ms can be one of the best recommendations for you. This 15.6-inch HP laptop is perfect for school/college students, office employees who don’t need too much power, or for those whose primary use is surfing the internet, word processing or enjoying music and movies.

Overall, HP 15-ay191ms is a decent laptop considering its price of around $350.

If you are looking for a laptop at even lower price, you can have a look at HP 15-F222WM 15.6-inch laptop which costs $280.

Also checkout our latest list of best laptops under $500 for more choices.