First off, I loved the size of the computer. I have ordered 3 total, so I have some experience with the variety of product that are shipping.
TL;DR version - all SSDs aren't created equal. They installed a 2.5" SSD made by King Fast. It is beyond slow. While it may be an upgrade for some, this hinders the performance of this computer. 1 out of 3 power adapters were defective.
Long version:
Power supply variations and quality control: First one I got came with a power adapter, + an adapter to make it fit the computer. Unfortunately, it wouldn't even power on. I tested with another HP power adapter and it worked, fine. So it was either the power adapter or the converter plug that was included. The next two were fine, although they range in size considerably. At least the 2nd and 3rd ones worked. So, while the computer technically worked, it didn't work out of the box with what was included 1 out of 3 times for me.
Next point: the included "SSD" drive is a 2.5" SSD made by King Fast. It's very VERY slow. Not as slow as a traditional hard drive, but it is inconsistent in its performance and hugely slower than other quality SSDs. I generally use Samsung SSDs and they are worth the price premium, to me. The King Fast is the 2.5" SATA variety. This computer supports M.2, so that's the option. Comparable size M.2 vs SATA are currently cheaper, so it's a easy decision. If you're expecting this to be a decent computer, spend a bit more and upgrade the junk drive they included.
wifi: I had issues with the cheap wifi USB dongle included. It doesn't have built in wifi, so they throw in a usb wifi adapter. If you do use this, do yourself a favor and actually go download the driver instead of using the built in M$ one. That seemed to work more consistently for me. Regardless, I tossed it and ordered a slightly better wifi dongle for it since they were going into an office and I didn't want to deal with random disconnects.
Lastly, this is more of an annoyance, but the keyboard included is a non standard layout and both the keyboard and mouse is complete junk. But, that's typical on these refurbs, so I always order a Logitech wireless KB/Mouse bundle by default.
This computer COULD be pretty decent, but they killed the performance with the cheap SSD included. The power adapter mess was a bit of a joke, but after ordering 3, I ended up with 2 working ones. I didn't benchmark the memory, but that's probably fine. As shipped, this may be a nice upgrade for you, but it really fell short for me. The price point (low $200s) is attractive, but with a few extra, this performs quite well.
Nathaniel Mitchell
Sonya
