HP Envy 23 TouchSmart
HP’S TOUCHSMART SERIES has been around for as long as
touchscreen all-in-ones have. We tested the latest Envy 23 TouchSmart, designed
for Windows 8.
The Envy 23 design is very similar to previous TouchSmart
models, but features an edge-to-edge glass screen instead of the recessed
screen those models used. This allows for Windows 8’s edge-swipe gestures and
smartly replaces the rather clunky and outdated thick plastic bezel of the
older model.
A basic wireless
keyboard and mouse are included, both very comfortable and well designed
The stand allows a vertical tilt of around 60-90 degrees
enough to find the optimal viewing angle, but even tilted 60 degrees it’s still
too steep for extended periods of touch gaming, drawing or using touch-enabled
apps. HP’s TouchSmart 610 offered a far greater maximum tilt, which makes the
Envy 23 somewhat disappointing in comparison.
A basic wireless keyboard and mouse are included, both very
comfortable and well designed. The mouse is a comfortable size with a good
palm-rest, and the keyboard has great travel and quiet keystrokes. The included
media remote has useful functions such as volume control, but the layout is a
bit odd and some button labeling is unintuitive.
The 23-inch touchscreen has a 1920 x 1080-pixel (1080p)
resolution, at 96ppi.as with other 1080p displays we tested, it looks sharp
from a normal sharp from a normal screen-viewing distance but you see
individual pixels when close enough for touch. Screen quality was good, scoring
four out of five when tested with the Spyder4Elite calibration tool.
This is very much an entry-level model, and it shows in the
specs. You get an Intel Core i3-3220 dual-core CPU, 4GB of RAM, and an AMD
Radeon HD 7540A graphics solution with 1GB of dedicated memory. Storage is a
500GB hard drive – smaller than the other models we tested in our February
roundup, but a faster 7200RPM drive versus the 5400RPM found in most models.
There’s also a slot-loading DVD writer, but no Blu-ray support.
In our standard suite of benchmarks, performance was
surprising. On one hand, the Envy 23’s graphical performance was just awful-less
than half that of the other all-in-ones we tested, and around 30% lower than
the current generation of Ultrabooks with Intel’s ‘Ivy Bridge’ generation of
integrated graphics.
On the other hand, in CPU-based benchmarks, the Core i3 CPU
averages around 80% of the performance of its higher-powered Core i5 and Core
i7-based siblings, and 10% better than the last crop of Ultrabooks we tested.
In short, the Envy 23 TouchSmart would make a lousy gaming
PC, for all but the simplest tablet-style 2D games. On the other hand, its
processing power is not far behind the mid- to high-end all-in-ones we tested.
For things like basic photo and video editing, web browsing and productivity
apps, you’ll be fine.
Connectivity is fairly limited. You get four USB 2.0 ports
(a fifth hidden inside the rear casing is used for the keyboard and mouse
dongle), two USB 3.0 ports, headphone and microphone sockets, an SD/MS/xD card
reader, TV tuner, and gigabit Ethernet. There’s also 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and
Bluetooth 4.0.
It lacks video input/output, such as HDMI or DisplayPort.
That means you can’t use the envy 23 with a second screen or as a display for
your laptop, game console or Sky decoder. That’s a shame for anyone wanting to
combine TV, PC and game console into a single screen for a small apartment or
bedroom.
Altogether, HP’s Envy 23 TouchSmart is a decent entry-level
all-in-one PC. It lacks the graphics power, large storage and connectivity of
its higher-end siblings, but as a basic ‘family Pc’ with a large screen than a
laptop, it’s a good buy. Computer enthusiasts and gamers, look for a higher-
powered model.
Specifications
·
Price: $1,899
·
Screen size: 23 inches
·
Intel Core i3-3220 dual-core CPU
·
AMD Radeon HD 7450A graphics (1GB)
·
Nvidia GeForce GT 630M
Asus ET2300I
ASUS’S ET2300I REPRESENTS an uncommon approach to
all-in-one PC design, putting the components in the base beneath the 23-inch
touchscreen.
This design has a few advantages over the usual setup, where
the components sit directly behind the screen. All of the connections are at
desk-level and easy to reach on the base – you don’t have to go poking around
behind the screen to plug in a flash drive or memory card.
This design has a
few advantages over the usual setup, where the components sit directly behind
the screen
There’s a bit more room for airflow, because the designers
aren’t worried about making the thinnest screen/PC ever, so the Asus runs cool
under pressure.
Finally, the heavy base and light weight screen allow for a
clever two-part hinge, which gives you 0-80 degrees of adjustment. That’s
right, the ET2300I can lie completely flat, albeit 15cm above the desk surface.
It makes it very easy to find both the right viewing angle and the most comfortable
position to use the touchscreen.
A basic wireless keyboard and mouse are included in the box
both do their jobs. Found the mouse a little too small to be comfortable,
without enough of a palm rest. On the other hand, the compact mouse may be
sufficient if you use the touchscreen most of the time.
The glossy 23-inch screen is 1920 x 1080 pixels (96 pixels
per inch). That’s sharp from a reasonable viewing distance though you can see
individual pixels if you come up close enough to use touch. Contrast and color
accuracy are great, and the screen scored 4.5 out of 5 from the Spyder4Elite
calibration tool.
Inside the ET2300I is a dual-core Intel Core i5-3210M CPU,
8GB of RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce GT 630M graphics card with 1GB of dedicated
memory. Storage is a 1TB hard drive, and a slot-loading DVD writer (no
Blu-ray).
Performance in our standard benchmark suite was outclassed
by the Dell XPS One 27 by a large margin across the board, but this is to be
expected as the XPS One costs $1,100 more. While the Asus was relatively weak
in graphics performance, overall it was closest in performance to the Samsung
Series 7 all-in-one.
The Series 7’s Core i5-3470T CPU has a higher clock speed of
2.9-3.6GHz, compared to the ET2300I’s 2.5-3.1GHz. This showed through in
slightly higher performance in single-threaded tasks, but the ET2300I
unexpectedly proved up to 50% faster in multi-threaded tasks. That means for
multitasking and performance-hungry home applications such as video editing,
the Asus is likely to provide superior performance than most other models
tested.
The ET2300I also has some of the best wired connectivity
options we’ve seen on an all-in-one to date. There’s an SD card reader, four
USB 3.0 ports, one eSATA port that doubles as USB 2.0, two Thunderbolt ports,
an HDMI input and output, headphone and microphone sockets, and gigabit
Ethernet. Unfortunately the USB adapter for the included wireless keyboard and
mouse takes up a USB 3.0 port – it would have been nice to see a dedicated USB
2.0 port for this, but you can always use the eSATA/USB combo port for that, as
you’ve got both USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt for high-speed storage.
Wireless is a bit disappointing: there’s 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi,
but no Bluetooth.
Sound quality from the onboard speakers was a let-down –
though the volume range is good, at low-moderate volume it sounds extremely
muffled. It was the only case in which we noticed poor sound.
Overall, the Asus ET2300I is an excellent all-in-one with a
design that makes it suited to touch or non-touch use. It also has a great
range of high-speed connections and good multithreading performance, making it
suitable for home video, photo and music-editing enthusiasts. It’s not quite as
stylish as the options available from Samsung and Acer, but it’s sure built to
do its job well.
Specifications
·
Price: $2,499
·
Display: Multi Touch (10 fingers touch), 23.0-inch, Full HD 1920
x 1080
·
Weight: 11.6kg
·
Processor: 3.0GHz, 6M Smart Cache; Max turbo Frequency 3.2 GHz
·
Memory: 6GB DDR3 RAM
·
Hard disk drive: 1TB SATA
·
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GT630M 2GB
