The best HP All-in-One 27 2024 review
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Except for Apple’s vibrant 24-inch iMac, All-in-Ones often serve as functional necessities rather than stylish statements or performance powerhouses.
Previous Windows All-in-Ones like Acer’s C24 and MSI’s AM241, while efficient for daily tasks, lacked inspiration and suffered from subpar displays and speakers, relegating them to mundane office use.
However, HP’s latest offering, the All-in-One 27 (officially named the cr0014na), stands out from its predecessors.
While not quite reaching the pinnacle of desirability and performance seen in the iMac, it exudes a level of quality and functionality that feels more like a personal choice rather than an obligatory purchase enforced by the IT department.
Moreover, the pricing of this 27-inch AiO from HP is exceptionally attractive. While typically priced at £899 including VAT, it’s currently available for £820 including VAT or £683 excluding VAT.
While it may not rival the iMac in aesthetics or performance, its affordability at £600 less makes it a compelling option for those seeking a capable All-in-One solution.
HP All-in-One 27: Design
When it comes to Windows All-in-Ones, the HP 27 stands out with its sleek all-white design and silver stand, sporting a flecked finish reminiscent of Philips’ new Evnia gaming monitors.
The aesthetics are pleasing, adding a touch of sophistication to any workspace.
While slightly thicker than the iMac at 32mm in the middle, the HP 27 boasts impressively thin top and side bezels (7mm thick) and a modestly sized bottom chin (24mm). Constructed with solid build quality, it weighs 6.72kg, striking a balance between sturdiness and portability.
The stand attaches to the PC via a custom quick-release bracket, although no VESA mount adapter is included in the box.
The stand offers limited adjustment options, with tilt functionality (-5 to +20°) and 100mm of height adjustment. Additionally, the felt-coated top of the base provides a non-slip surface for placing items like phones.
In terms of connectivity, the HP 27 offers a wide array of ports, including a single Type-C and two Type-A ports supporting 5Gbps data transfer, along with two additional Type-A ports operating at v2.0 speeds. The Type-C port lacks video output capability, requiring users to utilize the HDMI 1.4 output for video connectivity.
Other ports include a 3.5mm audio jack and a Gigabit RJ45 Ethernet port. However, it’s worth noting that all ports are situated at the back toward the bottom, which may prove inconvenient for users who frequently swap out USB dongles or cables, as side or front-mounted ports are absent.
For wireless communications, the HP 27 offers 2.4/5GHz Wi-Fi 6 (though 6GHz Wi-Fi would have been unrealistic at this price point) and Bluetooth 5.3, which is particularly useful for wireless music streaming due to its enhanced support for low latency audio.
The specification sheet indicates two internal expansion slots: one for an SSD and one for a WLAN card. However, as there is no way to access the internals, it’s unclear whether these slots are in addition to the ones occupied by the SK Hynix SSD and Realtek wireless card.
It’s likely that the existing slots are already utilized, and any upgrades to these slots, along with the two SODIMM RAM mounts, need to be determined prior to purchase.
HP All-in-One 27: Included Accessories
The peripherals that accompany Windows all-in-one PCs often leave much to be desired, but HP’s offerings with the HP All-in-One 27 are a welcome exception.
Designed in all-white to complement the main unit, the keyboard and mouse maintain a cohesive, premium look. Both peripherals are wireless, connecting through a single 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi dongle, simplifying the setup process and reducing desktop clutter.
The mouse is a robust, chunky, ambidextrous design featuring a satisfying click action and a well-calibrated scroll wheel. It’s battery-powered, but HP thoughtfully includes a Duracell AA battery for the mouse and two AAA batteries for the keyboard.
Although the keyboard is slightly bulky, it provides a pleasant typing experience with a flawless layout, complete with a numeric keypad and full-sized cursor keys. While it is noisier and lacks backlighting compared to the Cherry keyboard we use, it holds its own as a reliable typing tool.
A standout feature of the HP 27 is its retractable tiltable webcam, hidden within the top of the cabinet. This high-quality 1080p camera delivers sharp and vibrant images even in low light conditions and supports Windows Hello facial recognition.
Mounted on a swivel, the camera’s vertical angle can be adjusted by about 20° below the horizontal, which is particularly useful when the stand is set to its maximum height.
HP All-in-One 27: Performance
The HP 27 is powered by an Intel Core i7-1355U processor, a 10-core, 12-thread component capable of reaching a maximum clock speed of 5GHz. It includes 16GB of dual-channel DDR4-3200MHz RAM, a 512GB SK Hynix SSD, and Intel’s integrated XE graphics solution.
In benchmark tests, the HP 27 scored 5,657 in PCMark10 and 170 in ITPro’s in-house 4K multimedia benchmark, results comparable to a high-end ultra-compact laptop like the Asus Zenbook S 13. Its Cinebench R23 scores were 1,709 for single-core and 6,799 for multi-core performance, also mirroring the Zenbook S 13.
These scores reflect the limitations of the U-series i5 chip, which, with only two performance cores, is sufficient for everyday computing, entertainment, and administrative tasks but falls short for more demanding tasks or gaming.
Despite its modest power, the HP 27 runs quietly even under heavy stress. Using FurMark and Prime 95 to maximize CPU and GPU stress, the cooling fans remained virtually inaudible unless listening very closely to the rear of the cabinet.
This quiet performance is partly due to the CPU utilization dropping to 60% after a few minutes and maintaining that level.
The SK Hynix SSD delivered solid performance with average read and write speeds of 3,820MB/s and 2,415MB/s, respectively. These speeds are more than adequate for general home or office use.
HP All-in-One 27: Display and Audio
The display of the HP 27 is not the sharpest, offering a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution on a 27-inch screen, resulting in a modest 81.6dpi.
This is significantly lower than the iMac’s 218dpi. If you look closely, you can see the pixel structure. While increasing the Windows scale to 125% or 150% improves the viewability, it still isn’t ideal for detailed work with large spreadsheets or small text.
However, the HP 27’s IPS panel shines in other aspects. Our colorimeter measured a maximum brightness of 327 cd/m², though the contrast ratio was a bit low at 1023:1 due to a relatively high black level luminance of 0.32 cd/m². The color gamut is impressive, covering 107.5% sRGB, 74.1% Adobe RGB, and 76.1% DCI-P3.
When measured against the sRGB profile, the Delta E was 2.06, a respectable score for a budget IPS display. A Delta E at or below 2 indicates good color accuracy, suitable for color-critical work as long as wide gamut support isn’t necessary.
Watching our usual test videos on the HP 27, we found the screen to be nicely saturated and impressively colorful, though it does not support HDR content. The standard 60Hz refresh rate results in mediocre motion handling, but this isn’t a concern for non-gaming use.
Straight out of the box, the panel’s gamma was 2.24, and the visual daylight temperature was 6496K, both of which are close to the ideal values of 2.2 and 6500K, respectively.
Surprisingly, the 2 x 2W speaker system exceeded our expectations. It provided ample volume, measuring 73.5 dBA against a pink noise source at a 1m distance, and delivered a detailed, punchy, and melodic sound with plenty of bass.
Evaluating the HP All-in-One 27: Is It Worth the Investment?
When we unboxed the HP All-in-One 27, we anticipated another mundane Windows AiO that could only be justified by sheer practicality. To our surprise, it turned out to be a stylish and practical solution for many home and office users’ computing needs.
The primary drawback is the 27-inch Full HD screen. With an 81.6 dpi resolution, it’s not ideal for viewing small text.
Unfortunately, HP doesn’t offer a QHD version of this model, but there is a 23.8-inch version that is identical in every way except for the screen size, which provides a sharper 92.5 dpi. However, at £779 including VAT, it’s not significantly cheaper.
Despite the resolution issue, the display is good, and the speakers are excellent. Performance is more than adequate for the tasks the HP 27 is likely to handle, and the bundled peripherals are of higher quality than expected.
For the price, the HP 27 offers good value and is an excellent choice for anyone seeking a simple, compact, capable, and stylish one-box solution for their general computing needs at home or work.
Specifications of the HP All-in-One 27
| Processor | Intel Core i5-1335U |
| RAM | 16GB (8GB x 2) DDR4-3200MHz |
| Storage | 512GB SSD |
| Ports | USB-C 5Gpbs x 1, USB-A 5Gpbs x 2, USB-A 2.0 x 2. RJ45 x 1, 3.5mm audio x 1 |
| Video Output | HDMI 1.4 |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Display | 27in 1,920 x 1,080 60Hz ISP non-touch |
| Audio | 2 x 2W speakers |
| Webcam | 1080p supporting Windows Hello |
| Size | 612.5 x 186.3 x 516.8mm |
| Weight | 6.72Kg |
| Accessories | Wireless mouse and keyboard |
| Operating System | Windows 11 Home |
Pros
- +Good value
- +Stylish
- +Decent quality peripherals
- +Solid performance
Cons
- –Rear-mounted I/O ports
- –Zero upgradability
- –No VESA mount
Price : $772.19
