Images appear bright and vibrant on the 1366-by-768 pixel screen, which is slightly wider than other laptops with 15.6-inch screens. It played a standard DVD smoothly. Playback of high-definition video was very jerky, however, so for HD video and intensive gaming you'll want to shell out for a mid- to high-end laptop with a faster processor and better graphics.

The laptop has some drawbacks. At around 6.5 pounds it is not designed for mobility. It also lacks desirable features like a webcam and fast wireless networking based on the latest 802.11n protocol. The laptop ran for around two-and-a-half hours on a six-cell battery, which could be a concern for some users.

My biggest concern was around the performance of the Sempron SI-42 processor that sits at the heart of the laptop. Chip enthusiasts have given mixed reviews to the Sempron, which sits on the lowest rung of AMD's processor family ladder. Faster processors -- like AMD's Athlon and Turion, or Intel's Core chips -- perform faster but are more expensive.

However, the Sempron SI-42 was good enough for day-to-day activities like word processing, casual gaming and online video, assisted by the generous 3GB of memory.

In the end it comes down to balancing the features you need with price. If you expect screaming performance from a laptop under $300 you'll be disappointed. But for its rock-bottom price, the HP laptop is an acceptable desktop replacement that can perform basic tasks while providing a reasonable gaming experience. Acquiring this laptop filled a need to replace the fleet of aging PCs that litter my home.