An HP unit recently underwent initial configuration with me. The HP 14-R040TU reminded me most of the budget Compaq line that had permeated plenty of households during its time in circulation… This particular model looks to be targeting the same with a bit more flair and a considerable amount of power.
What should have been a pretty straightforward install quickly elevated when it dawned on me that the unit was expecting a 64-bit configuration from the get-go and a Windows 8 at that. All was well until the display drivers were the ones going to be out in, and those come pretty early in the sequence. None of the drivers on the site was being accepted by the unit – it kept on telling me a message on how the computer didn’t meet the requirements for the dinner when it were drivers coming from HP support already. It was especially annoying because there were a number of Intel display drivers on the site (around five I think) and these downloads weren’t particularly small! I eventually found a way directly through the Intel site and proceeded on my merry way… Some of the drivers had to be pulled from the windows 8 drivers are which i thought as weird but I finally was able to completely clear up the device manager tree of all unknown devices.
The design of the laptop itself is pretty straightforward, there were three USB ports in total – one of them a super speed USB3 which wasn’t colored blue.
It had a DVD drive, LAN port, headphone jack, HDMI out as well as RGB, a multi-card reader right smack at the center front,with a generous part of the left side was dedicated to the fans which is a very welcome feature especially to computers residing in our tropical climate. Bluetooth and WLAN are pretty much standards nowadays hence it is also naturally present.
What makes it stand out, more than the oversized HP logo on the cover, is the criss-cross pattern on all non-black areas giving it a very sleek aesthetic. The package, while relatively simple, with its 500GB, Corei3 1.9Ghz, and 2Gb memory configuration, can definitely deliver on the average user requirements with a little bit extra if required. This package is slim, stylish, and certainly looks to mean business. All the key elements that make HP the company that it is.
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