HP 17 CN 2023, Core i5-1334U, 20GB, 1TB SSD, Silver

The HP 17 CN is a big-screen productivity laptop with a 17.3 inch 1080p display, 20GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD for around $747 USD. The CPU is mid-pack and the integrated graphics are weak, so forget gaming. It's best for students and office workers who want screen real estate and memory on a budget. Just don't expect a premium display or easy portability.

The Core i5-1334U is a 10-core chip with a 3.4GHz base clock and boost up to 4.6GHz. In our database, that puts it in the 39th percentile for laptop CPUs, which is honestly a bit underwhelming for a 2024-era processor. It's not slow, but it's not going to impress anyone who regularly pushes their machine. For everyday tasks like document editing, web browsing, and video calls, you'll be fine. The 20GB of RAM helps a lot here, giving you headroom for multitasking that a typical 8GB budget laptop just doesn't have.

The integrated Iris Xe graphics are the real bottleneck. Our GPU score puts this at the 49th percentile, which sounds okay until you realize that's compared against all laptops, including budget Chromebooks and thin-and-lights. Gaming performance lands at 11.4 out of 100, which is rough. You can play older titles or indie games at low settings, but anything modern will chug. The 1TB SSD is a bright spot, sitting in the 80th percentile for storage. That's a lot of fast space for a laptop in this price range, and it means you won't be juggling external drives for a while.

Stacked against the Apple MacBook Pro M5, the HP 17 CN isn't even in the same conversation. The MacBook Pro has a vastly better display, a much faster chip, and build quality that makes the HP feel like a toy. But it also costs significantly more. If you're a student or office worker on a budget, the HP's big screen and 1TB SSD might matter more than Apple's premium everything.

The Lenovo Legion 5i and ASUS ROG Zephyrus are gaming laptops, so they'll crush the HP in graphics performance. But they're heavier, pricier, and overkill if you just need something for essays and email. The MSI Prestige and Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition are closer competitors. Both offer better portability and nicer screens, but you'll likely pay more for similar RAM and storage. The HP's pitch is simple: maximum screen real estate and memory for the least money.

At $747 USD, the HP 17 CN is priced like a mid-range productivity laptop, and that's mostly what you get. The 20GB of RAM and 1TB SSD are the value standouts here. Most laptops in this price bracket ship with 8GB or 16GB of RAM and a 512GB drive, so HP is giving you more headroom for the money. That's a real advantage if you keep a lot of apps open or store large files locally.

The trade-off is that you're paying for screen size and memory, not performance or build quality. The CPU sits below average for its class, the display is mediocre, and the port selection is sparse. If you don't need the 17.3 inch screen, you can find 14 or 15 inch laptops with better CPUs and nicer panels for similar money. But if a big display and lots of RAM are your priorities, this config makes a decent case for itself.

The HP 17 CN is a big-screen workhorse aimed at students and office types who want a lot of laptop without spending MacBook money. You get a 17.3 inch 1080p display, a 10-core Intel Core i5-1334U, 20GB of DDR4 RAM, and a full 1TB NVMe SSD. On paper, that's a solid productivity setup for spreadsheets, research, and the fifty browser tabs you swear you'll close someday.

What makes this interesting is the mismatch between the spec sheet and the reality of the build. HP stuffed a capable mid-range CPU and generous memory into a chassis that clearly prioritizes screen size over portability. At 2.09kg, it's not a backpack killer, but it's also not something you'll forget is in your bag. The 17.3 inch panel is the star here, even if the screen quality itself lands near the bottom of our database.

This is a customized HP config sold through Newegg, which means the exact component mix can vary. The one we're looking at pairs that i5-1334U with integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics. That's fine for everyday tasks, but it tells you right away this isn't a gaming machine or a video editing rig. It's a desk-bound productivity laptop with a big screen and a price tag around $747 USD.

Skip this if you care about screen quality. The display sits in the 21st percentile of our database, which means washed-out colors and mediocre viewing angles. If you edit photos, watch a lot of video, or just appreciate a nice panel, look at the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition or a MacBook Air instead. You'll pay more, but the screen difference is night and day.

Also skip it if you want any kind of gaming or GPU-accelerated work. The integrated Iris Xe graphics are fine for basic tasks but useless for modern games, 3D modeling, or video editing. A Lenovo Legion 5i or ASUS ROG Zephyrus will cost more but actually deliver the performance you need. And if portability matters, the 2.09kg weight and 17.3 inch footprint make this a poor travel companion. A 14 inch laptop with similar specs will be much easier to carry.

If you're a student or office worker who wants a big screen for documents, spreadsheets, and web research, the HP 17 CN is a reasonable choice. The 17.3 inch display gives you plenty of room to work, and the 20GB of RAM means you can keep dozens of tabs open without slowdowns. The 1TB SSD is a genuine bonus at this price.

But if you care about screen quality, portability, or any kind of gaming, look elsewhere. The display is one of the weakest in our database, the integrated graphics are a dead end for modern games, and the 2.09kg weight makes it a chore to carry around. This is a desk laptop, not a travel companion. For the right buyer, it's a solid deal. For everyone else, it's a compromise.