HP 250 G4 Notebook review

HP 250 G4: the Core i5 step, same greens, slightly better engine

The HP 250 G4 is where HP's budget 250 line gets its first real CPU: a Core i5 6200U behind the same body and the same flattered graphics placing as its Celeron sibling. The result is a small, honest step up — same three minimum-setting flags, a bit more headroom, and the same list of era compromises.

Where it holds up

Graphics is the flagged strength at 45.85 against a business-class median of 3.84 — a top-quarter placing that flatters the hardware, and the flags calibrate it: Grand Theft Auto V, Rainbow Six Siege and Civilization 6 confirm at minimum settings, the same honest receipt set as the G3. The i5 shows itself in the details: performance reads 28.88, the best of the line's pre-2018 records here, and reliability edges up to 9. The artifact-high gaming index of 71 at least points at a machine that can run legacy titles at their floor.

Where it falls short

The flagged weakness is the 8 GB memory pool, 80 percent below the business-class median of 40 — an era ceiling that modern browser workloads feel immediately. The office index reads 10.38, low band, and the task floors hold: modeling 23, engineering CAD 18, photo work 29. Portability at 34 is bottom-band, the value index of 5.1 says capability-per-dollar is spent, and reliability of 9 against a class median of 42.5 keeps the runtime question open.

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 250 G5 in this batch is the same platform a generation later at $468: office floor lifted to 40.19 mid-band, reliability doubled to 19, and the same three min-level greens. The 250 G7 adds 16 GB of memory and a recommended-level Rainbow Six flag for $604. Within the 350 line, the G1 pairs an i3 with a discrete-era card and the same flag set.

Bottom line

Fairly priced for the class, the HP 250 G4 is the first 250 with a real CPU: three honest min-level greens and a performance edge over its Celeron sibling, still capped by an 8 GB pool and spent reliability.