HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE Review: A Chromebook for Education

HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE: At First Glance

Modern-day education has shifted towards online learning which has led to an increase in demand for student laptops. In other to meet these demands, laptop manufacturers have increased their design of Chromebooks.

In addition to the increased demand, another factor that contributes to the success of Chromebooks is their inexpensive price tag and portability.

Despite the numerous Chromebooks in the market, this review focuses majorly on the HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE which was released in 2019. Meanwhile, the “EE” in the model name is short for “Education Edition” which further affirms the major purpose for which this Chromebook is built.

However, to discover if the HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE has what it takes to be singled out amidst its competitors, proceed to the remaining sections of this review.

HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE: Design, Dimension, and Weight

Just like most other Chromebooks, the HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE is not stylish instead, it looks rather bland. It comes in a thick plastic chassis with a rubber feel.

Thankfully, the plastic chassis is sturdy enough to withstand rough handling by children. For color options, you will get this Chromebook in gray or green colors.

My favorite color on the HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE is the gray color which blends nicely with the environment. On the other hand, the green-colored model of this Chromebook looks mostly like a children’s toy.

For the lid, HP has added a dot-like rough texture that provides an easy grip. Additionally, at the center of the laptop’s lid, you will find an ”hp” logo which is obvious even from a distance.

Furthermore, the lid is decently firm, thanks to the dual hinges that support it. The hinges are quite sturdy, yet flexible.

Hence, these hinges allow easy opening of the laptop’s lid. Matter of fact, students of any age group can open the laptop’s lid without stress.

Now when you open the lid, the first thing you will notice is its 11.6-inch display surrounded by thick bezels on its four sides.

However, HP has put the bezels to good use by fitting a 720p resolution webcam at the middle of the top bezel. Meanwhile, there is an HP logo at the middle of the bottom bezel.

Speaking of the webcam, it is decent for taking online classes. However, the picture quality is not impressive which is not surprising for an HD resolution camera.

For the HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE’s display, it is available in three options. In the paragraphs below, I will discuss each of the display options and their unique features.

However, before I get to that, I will like to talk about the display features that are common to all the display options. Firstly, all the display options have an HD (1366 x 768 pixels) resolution which is not surprising for a laptop in this category.

Sadly, HD resolution displays do not produce the best image quality. However, because this laptop has a small screen size, the image quality produced by its HD display is decent.

Another common feature between the three display options on the HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE is that they are WLED backlit. This implies that the display uses white LED backlights for image production.

Furthermore, all three display options have a maximum screen brightness of 220 nits. Although the screen gets bright enough for indoor usage, you might struggle to see the display in outdoor environments, especially under direct sunlight.

Having talked about outdoor usage, it is also important to talk about how this laptop handles reflection. This brings us to talk about the unique features of the display options because they handle reflection differently.

The first display option has a BrightView coating which implies that it is glossy and highly reflective. Hence, while using this display option outdoor, you will want to shade it from the sun.

Meanwhile, the second and third display options have an anti-glare coating which is the opposite of BrightView. Hence, these display options have a matte coating which makes them handle reflection excellently.

In addition to their reflection handling abilities, the display options of the HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE also handle touch differently. Speaking of which, the first display option is a touchscreen which means that you can swipe, tap, and type on the display.

In contrast, the second and third display options are not touch-enabled. Hence, they require the keyboard for making screen inputs.

Finally, let’s talk about the panel types of these display options. Regarding that, the first and third display options use an IPS (In-Plane Switching) panel which implies that they have excellent viewing angles.

Hence, when you view these displays from any angle, you will not notice a major color or brightness distortion.

Still, on the panel type, the second display option uses an SVA (super viewing angles) panel instead of IPS. However, just as its name implies, this type of display offers better viewing angles than displays with VA panels.

However, the viewing angles produced by SVA displays are not as wide as that of IPS displays.

Overall, HP has made the HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE available in three display options for you to choose from based on your needs. However, you should not expect to get them at the same price.

Having said so much about the display of this Chromebook, we can now proceed to the laptop’s deck. The laptop’s deck has a smooth and shining surface and it also houses the keyboard.

Speaking of the keyboard, it has enough space between the keys which makes typing quite easy. There is also a dedicated touchpad just below the keyboard.

The touchpad blends nicely with the rest of the laptop’s deck. Hence, you will hardly differentiate them when viewing this laptop from a distance.

Thankfully, the touchpad has no difficulty in registering touches.

At this point, let us move away from the laptop’s deck to the sides where you will find the ports. Unfortunately, the HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE comes with very few of them.

For the few ones available, you will find a USB 3.1 Type-C port, and one USB 3.1 port on the left side. Meanwhile, the right side has one USB 3.1 Type-C port, one USB 3.1 port, an SD card slot, and one headphone/microphone combo jack.

To round up this design review section, let’s talk about the size and weight of this laptop. In that regard, the HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE has a weight of 1330 g.

It also has a dimension of 306 x 208 x 18 mm (W x D x H). From the dimension and weight above, we can deduce that this laptop is light and portable, but not as much as some of its competitors.

Speaking of which, it is bigger and heavier than the Acer R11 Chromebook which weighs just 1250 g. The Acer R11 Chromebook measures 294 x 204 x 19.20 mm (W x D x H).

Likewise, the HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE is also bigger and heavier than the Dell Chromebook 11. The Dell Chromebook has a dimension of 303.3 x 206.0 x 20.7 mm (W x D x H) and a weight of 1270 g.

Based on all I have discussed in this design review section, I will be rating the HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE seven out of ten.

HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE: Processor (CPU) Performance

The Chromebook 11 G7 EE comes with two processor configuration options. Firstly, it comes with a dual-core Intel Celeron N4000 processor.

This processor has a base frequency of 1.10 GHz. Not only that but it also offers a boost frequency of 2.60 GHz with a 4 MB cache memory.

Secondly, the HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE comes with an Intel Celeron N4100 processor. However, unlike the first option, this processor is quad-core.

Nevertheless, it offers the same base frequency and cache memory as the first option. However, it has a smaller boost frequency of 2.40 GHz than the first processor option.

Meanwhile, these processors are mid-range processors that you will mostly find on inexpensive laptops. Therefore, the Chromebook 11 G7 EE is only capable of handling basic computing tasks easily.

For this review, we will discuss the performance of an HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE model with the Intel Celeron N4100 processor. To verify the performance of this processor, we will discuss its Cinebench R15 test result.

Briefly, Cinebench R15 is a benchmark test that evaluates the processor performance of a computer by testing its single-core and multi-core usage.

For more details, the single-core test measures a computer’s processor performance when it uses one of its cores. On the other hand, the multi-core test measures the laptop’s processor performance when using all its cores.

For metric purposes, a high score in these tests denotes better processor performance.

That said, the HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE had a score of 68.1 points in its single-core test. On the other hand, the laptop scored 206 points in the multi-core test.

In comparison, the Lenovo IdeaPad 330-15IGM had a marginally lower score in the single-core test but a significantly lower score in the multi-core test. Specifically, the Lenovo IdeaPad had 68 points in the single-core test and 175 points in the multi-core test.

Based on the performance of the HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE in the test, I will be rating it eight out of ten in this processor review section.

HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE: Memory (RAM) Performance

The HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE comes with LPDDR4-2400 SDRAM memory. This laptop has a single memory slot that ships with a standard memory size of 4 GB.

Thankfully, this Chromebook allows you to upgrade the memory up to 8 GB. Hence, to upgrade the computer’s memory, all you need to do is to remove the 4 GB RAM and insert an 8 GB RAM.

However, this article is focused on an HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE with a 4 GB memory. Thankfully, with the 4 GB memory on this laptop, it should be able to perform light multitasking.

Speaking of multitasking, the laptop should be able to open up to 10 Chrome browsers tabs simultaneously.

In addition to the opened browser tabs, the laptop might also be streaming YouTube videos. Nevertheless, the laptop will still run smoothly despite the multiple tasks.

For more information about the RAM performance of this laptop, I will be sharing its result in the PCMark for Android benchmark. PCMark for Android is a benchmark test for measuring the memory performance of smartphones, tablets, and Chromebooks.

Similar to every other benchmark discussed in this review, the best-performing laptop is determined by the highest score in the test. Hence, according to the PCMark for Android test, the HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE scored 7616 points.

In comparison, the Acer R11 Chromebook scores lower with 7580 points. Although both laptops scored above the 5000 points average score, the HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE performed better.

In conclusion, the HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE performance in the test is outstanding. Based on this, it deserves a rating of nine out of ten in this memory review section.

HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE: Storage Options and Performance

The HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE comes with an eMMC storage with a storage capacity of 64 GB. An eMMC storage is a cheap storage option that comes with inexpensive laptops.

Therefore, you should not be surprised by the meager 64 GB local storage capacity on this Chromebook. This is mainly because Chromebooks save most of their files on cloud storage.

Hence, Chromebooks usually come with a default 15 GB with an additional 100 GB of free Google Drive storage. To activate the free 100 GB storage on your Chromebook, read this guide – How To Activate 100 GB Free Google One Storage.

Thankfully, cloud storages provide secure access to your file from any device at any time.

In addition to the 64 GB local storage on the HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE, it also comes with a micro SD card slot for storage expansion.

At this point, I will have loved to conclude this section by sharing this Chromebook’s performance in benchmarks like the CrystalDiskMark. Unfortunately, this benchmark test does not work on computers with eMMC storage.

Hence, considering all I have said in this review, I will be rating this HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE eight out of ten.

HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE: Graphics Card Performance

Regarding its graphics, the HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE comes with an integrated Intel UHD Graphics 600. This GPU has a base frequency of 200 MHz and a boost frequency of 700 MHz.

As an integrated GPU, the Intel UHD Graphics 600 does not have VRAM. Hence, it will share the 4 GB RAM we discussed in the memory section with the processor.

Consequently, the lack of VRAM on this GPU will limit the HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE’s graphics handling ability. Notwithstanding, the Intel UHD Graphics 600 should be able to handle basic graphics tasks.

For instance, the laptop should be able to play Dirt Rally 2.0 at 17.7 fps on low settings. Also, this laptop should be able to run Shadow of the Tomb Raider at 4 fps on low settings.

For more information about the graphics performance of this laptop, let’s discuss its result in a 3DMark benchmark test. Briefly, a 3DMark test measures how a computer renders 3D graphics.

Just like other benchmark tests discussed in this review, a high score denotes better graphics performance. Therefore, in the benchmark test, the HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE scored 2989 points.

In comparison, the Lenovo Tablet 10-20L3000KGE which has the same GPU scored 3265 points in the same benchmark.

Based on the test result and the ability of this graphics card to play some games at low settings, its performance is commendable. Therefore, I will be rating the HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE seven out of ten in this graphics performance section.

HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE: Battery Life and Performance

The HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE comes with a 2 cell, 47.36 WHr Li-Ion battery. According to HP, the battery on a non-touchscreen model of the HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE can last up to 13 hours.

Meanwhile, for the touchscreen model, HP has claimed battery life of 11 hours. Therefore, based on HP’s claim, you will get a respectable amount of battery life from this Chromebook whether it has a non-touch or touch display.

However, in order to confirm HP’s claim, I will be sharing the performance of this Chromebook in a battery test. For this test, I will focus on a touchscreen model of the HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE.

From the test which involved surfing the web, this Chromebook lasted 9 hours 18 minutes. Although 9 hours is below HP’s claim, it is quite decent and will last through daily school work.

In comparison, the HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE has a better battery life than the Lenovo V130-14IGM. Specifically, the Lenovo V130-14IGM battery lasted 7 hours in the same test.

However, the Lenovo V130-14IGM features a smaller battery capacity of 30 WHr.

Having come to the end of this section’s discussion, I will rate the HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE nine out of ten.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

The HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE is carefully designed and despite being plastic-built, it is respectably sturdy. Furthermore, this Chromebook offers an overall performance that is well-suited for light computing.

Not only that, but this laptop also comes with an outstanding battery life that will serve you all day long.

Therefore, if you need a portable inexpensive computer for light computing tasks either for home, office or school use, the HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE is a great choice to consider.

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