Costco Wholesale has for its
Members:
HP 14" Laptop (14-dq1033cl) on sale for
$279.99.
Shipping is free. Thanks delz4stelz
Note, non-members are subject to a 5% surcharge making total $299.99
Specs:
- Intel Core i3-1005G1 1.2GHz Processor
- 14" IPS BrightView WLED-Backlit FHD 1920x1080 Display
- 4GB DDR4 2666 SDRAM
- 128GB M.2 Solid State Drive
- Intel UHD Graphics
- 802.11ac (2x2) Wifi + Bluetooth 5.0
- 3-Cell 41WHr Lithium-Ion Battery
- Windows 10 S Mode
- Weight: 3.24 lbs
- Ports:
- 1x USB 3.1 Type-C
- 2x USB 3.1 Type-A
- 1x HDMI 1.4b
- 1x Multi-Format Digital Media Card Reader
- 1x Combination Headphone-Out/Microphone-In Jack
Offer is valid through November 21, 2019. Includes 2-Year warranty. -slickdewmaster
Top Comments
Removing the back cover to do upgrades:
There are 8 Philips-head screws altogether, all on the back cover. 4 of them are underneath the two rubber strips. The rubber strips are attached using double-sided tape with a strong adhesive, so be careful when removing them and try not to separate the tape from the rubber strip. Tip from @msk12: Heat up and loosen the adhesive before removing the rubber feet. I haven't done this before, but maybe a blow dryer or a cloth bag filled with microwaved uncooked rice would work. You don't need to completely remove the rubber strips- just peel back enough to expose the screws. There is an image of all the screw locations in the link below. Also be careful not to pull outward or pull very hard, as you'll stretch the rubber strip that way. Just very slowly but firmly pull it upward, almost as if you are rolling it off. You'll need a pretty thin plastic spudger to detach all the clips holding the bottom cover to the laptop. A credit card may be too thick. Photos of the inside of the laptop, the inside of the back cover, the screw locations, and where to use the spudger to remove the back cover: https://imgur.com/a/zXufcNv
CPU:
The CPU is indeed an i5-1035G4. I got two of them in Los Angeles and both have this CPU. At first I couldn't believe it, but I ran CPU-Z and it's definitely confirmed. On 11/15/19 two people confirmed that they received units with the same model number but with the i3 CPU. The side of the box will say which CPU is in the box- there are some posts in this thread showing a picture of the label on the side of the box. When buying at the warehouse, I recommend going to the merchandise pickup window first and asking to see the side of the box to confirm that it has the i5 CPU. Then ask them nicely to hold that box for a few minutes while you go pay for it at checkout.
One point of concern is that in the pre-installed HP Support Assistant app as well as on the motherboard it says "model number 14-dq1033cl". The spec sheet for that model on the HP website says the CPU is an Intel® Core™ i3-1005G1. https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c06463284 Not sure what would happen if this computer needs a warranty motherboard/CPU replacement. if you check Windows System Information for the model number, it says "HP Laptop 14-dq1xxx".
Intel has had a lot of production problems with these 10nm Ice Lake chips. My theory on why this system has this upgraded CPU is that at the last minute Intel had trouble supplying the lower-end i3 chips so they or HP decided to just use these i5 chips so they can meet Costco's delivery expectations. HP would not normally pair this CPU with such little memory and slow SATA storage.
Integrated Graphics:
The new Ice Lake CPUs come with 3 integrated graphics options, as indicated by the last 2 characters in the CPU's model number:
- G1, basic
- G4, intermediate
- G7, highest level
G4 and G7 are labeled Iris Plus Graphics. This model has G4 graphics.
Storage:
The laptop comes with a M.2 SATA interface SSD, but I replaced it with a HP EX920 1TB NVMe SSD. The new SSD works just fine, so this laptop is compatible with NVMe drives. The easiest way to put Windows on a new SSD drive would be:
1) create a recovery thumb drive from the laptop itself, within Windows. Start menu > Recovery Drive
2) Swap out the SSD
3) Boot up to the USB drive. Just insert the thumb drive and turn on the laptop. It'll boot from the USB drive when it can't find an operating system on your new SSD drive.
4) Restore windows to the new SSD drive from the USB drive.
There are a number of posts in this thread with instructions on how to do a clean installation of Windows, which would install Windows without the bloatware that came with the laptop. It's easy to get stuck in a Catch-22 using this method, where you need to connect to the internet to exit S Mode before you can install the WiFi driver and all the other drivers, but you can't exit S Mode or connect to the internet until you've installed the WiFi driver. If you want to go this route, be sure to read the thread carefully and have a plan for installing the WiFi driver.
There is a space next to the battery where a 2.5" drive would fit, but if you look at the photo I attached of the inside of the back cover you'll see that there's a lattice-like grid on it to give that empty space some rigidity. I haven't tried, but it looks like you cannot put a 2.5" drive there.
Memory:
There are 2 upgradable SODIMM slots. No DRAM is soldered to the motherboard. The laptop comes with a single 4GB SODIMM, and 1 empty slot. I installed Crucial 16GB Kit (8GBx2) DDR4 2666 MT/s (PC4-21300) SR x8 SODIMM 260-Pin Memory - CT2K8G4SFS8266 and it works well. The Crucial website actually recommends DDR4 3200, but the 4GB SODIMM that came with the laptop is DDR4 2666.
WiFi/Bluetooth - Support for WiFi 6:
The laptop comes with a Realtek RTL8822CE 2x2 WiFi AC + BT 5 module. They're used in a lot of laptops, including models that are much more expensive than this one. However, there are definitely more complaints about problems with the Realtek wireless cards compared to the Intel cards on the HP support forums, so I decided to switch to an Intel card since I had the laptop opened up anyway. This laptop will work with an Intel WiFi AX200 WiFi 6 + Bluetooth 5 module. You're gonna need to have the AX200 driver on a thumb drive before you install the WiFi module, as you won't be able to connect to the internet to download the new driver after you replace the Realtek module that came with the laptop. https://downloadcenter.
No USB-C charging or DisplayPort/HDMI output via USB-C:
As per the specs, the USB-C port doesn't have Power Delivery or Extended USB-C capabilities (namely DisplayPort & HDMI output). So essentially the USB-C port functions like a regular USB 3.0 Type-A port. Someone in this thread tested this and confirmed that this model has no charging or video output through the USB-C port.
Fan noise:
I've been using two of these laptops for several days now. I'm pretty sensitive to fan noise because my prior laptop has a very quiet fan, even at its highest speed. The fan on this HP seems to have two or three speeds. The lowest speed I can only hear if I put my ear to the unit. I'm not even sure there is a low fan speed- I may just be hearing the components hum. The medium setting I find noticeable but not a big deal since I usually have music or a podcast on when I'm working. The high setting definitely is distracting. Both of my units have a very faint high-pitched whine when the fan is spinning at high, slightly more noticeable on one unit than the other.
After all the setting up and updating is done, when you're just using it, the fan doesn't ramp up that often. And when it does turn on, it doesn't stay on medium or high speed for very long. It runs quiet 90-95% of the time for me. This is for regular web browsing and office apps, either on my lap or on my desk connected to a DisplayLink device driving two 1920x1200 displays and a bunch of peripherals. When it's on my desk it's on a stand that's open underneath to allow for ventilation.
Loose and rattling touchpad:
One of my units came with a loose touchpad that made a clicking sound when I tapped on it very lightly. Here's how to fix a loose touchpad on this unit: https://imgur.com/a/zXufcNv
Start with the photo that says "Removing the battery"
DisplayLink bug and installing drivers not pre-approved by HP:
If you have one of those popular DisplayLink USB 3.0 docking stations, there's a bug with Chrome's hardware acceleration mode that causes a lot of lag on screens that are driven by the DisplayLink device. To fix it, you need to install the latest Intel graphics driver. HP blocks the usual method of running the downloaded executable, so you will have to download the driver ZIP file and install it in Device Manager.
Intel graphics driver ZIP file: https://downloadcenter.
Special instructions for installing the driver (regular method won't work): https://www.intel.co.uk/content/w...ivers.html
You can follow those same instructions to install drivers that HP hasn't vetted and approved yet, when the executable driver installation file doesn't work.
Changing from Windows 10 Home S Mode to regular Windows 10 Home:
Instructions here: https://support.microso
Also, the BIOS it came with is F.04, which looks like the most current version. I downloaded the BIOS update from the HP website and installed it anyway for good measure. After I did that, it reverted my Windows installation back to S Mode and I could not get it to switch out of S mode. I had to reset Windows and then I was able to switch it out of S mode again. https://support.microso
One major concern with this issue is that future BIOS updates may have the same bug, and setting up Windows all over again after having used the computer for a while may be a lot of work.
Costco Price Adjustment:
If you bought this laptop at $400 before it went on sale today for $280, Costco won't do a price adjustment for you because this sale is part of their holiday promo book and those items are limited to availability. So you'll have to buy a new one at the lower price and do a return with the previous $400 receipt. You can actually return the new unopened one you just bought using the old receipt.
Chase Freedom Card 5% Cash Back if used via Chase Pay connected to Samsung Pay:
If buying in-store and a) you have a Chase Freedom Card and b) you have Samsung Pay:
1) Activate the Q4 2019 bonus categories, which are a) department stores, b) PayPal, and c) Chase Pay
https://creditcards.cha
2) Connect your Freedom Card to Chase Pay
3) Connect Chase Pay to Samsung Pay
4) Connect your Freedom Card to Samsung Pay through Chase Pay. You can't just enter the card number directly into Samsung Pay.
5) Pay for your purchase using Samsung Pay. Be sure to select your Chase Freedom Card. You'll get 5% cash back.
I'm not going to make assumptions about how much you know about modern processors, so I'll just mention some basics. Ever since the invention of turbo boosting, pretty much all processors "throttle" under load. The CPU uses a complicated algorithm to determine which frequency each core should run at in any given moment. The algorithm takes into account power limits and temperature sensor data and the duration of heavy workloads, among other things.
Intel and to a lesser extent the device manufacturer can set power limits for the processor to make sure the processor can run safely in a given chassis. These are known as PL1 and PL2. The CPU can only run in PL2 for a limited time (we're talking seconds or minutes) before it has to throttle back to PL1 to maintain reasonable temperatures. From my very limited testing, it would appear that PL2 for this laptop is set at around 26W, and PL1 is around 18W. Remember, this is a 15W processor.
The new Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 has the Core i7 version of the same Ice Lake processor found in this HP, only its configured for 25W. This means that the Dell chassis has theoretically been designed to dissipate at least 10W more of heat. It's also an $1,800 laptop with 16GB of memory. It should have a huge advantage. According to notebookcheck's review (https://www.notebookche
I just ran Cinebench R15 about 10 times in a row on my HP 14 and got about 580 consistently (first run was about 600). CPU power held steady at 18W and temperatures hovered around 75 degrees Celsius. That's not throttling--that's working as designed.
Are you really that disappointed that your $280 laptop (with a HUGE RAM disadvantage) only scores within 10-15% of an $1800 Dell?
120 $ can buy more than a 256 gb SSD and 4 gigs og RAM.
Also note that this has a better wifi module...
4,263 Comments
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I Picked this up at Costco for $279.99 + tax .It's i5-1035g4 (1.10GHz) Processor, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD.
Great deal for 279.99 specially with i5 processor.
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I Picked this up at Costco for $279.99 + tax .It's i5-1035g4 (1.10GHz) Processor, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD.
Great deal for 279.99 specially with i5 processor.
Other differences from the 2018 model include 2 brightness settings on backlit keyboard and physical buttons removed on the touchpad.
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