HP Envy 14
$1,038 (VAT included)
www.hp.com
The Envy laptops of HP are among a few of
Windows-based laptops which make Apple avoid due to its design. The latest
model has the strength to confront with it.
It is equipped with a dual-core Intel Core
i5-2410M processor running at 2.3GHz, enough to accomplish the daily tasks. It
also has its own position with the heavier workload, thanks to Turbo Boost
technology, which can boost the clock speed up to 2.9GHz. Along with 4GB RAM,
its overall scores were 53 in our multi-media benchmarks.
Furthermore, it can face up to games quite
well, owing to the dedicated professional AMD Radeon 6630M graphics card. With
1GB of video memory, it achieved the 34fps speed in the Dirt 3 test.
The dedicated graphics doesn’t mean the
battery life’s expense, because Envy 14 can switch between AMD card and
integrated GPU of Intel. In the light duty test, battery life lasted for more
than 5 hours; therefore, you can complete plenty of work within one single
charge.
Envy 14 is also well equipped for
multi-media playing. The DVD recorder is absolutely ideal for watching on the
14” screen and built-in speakers with Beats by Dr.Dre’s trademark. It doesn’t
make much sense in reality, because basically Beats is such an equalizer
preset. After being activated, bass is much clearer than other laptops but we
still recommend you dedicated speakers.
The display screen has the 1,366x768
resolution which is big enough for you to work on 2 documents side by side. If
you desire more screen space, there are options for you to choose between the HDMI
and Mini DisplayPort output ports to connect with the external screen. The
shiny surface of the screen creates plenty of reflective images, but the wide
viewing angle prevents it to become a real problems. The image quality was
above average with the sharp text and image display, except the colors seemed
to be little bit pale in the default mode.
The big Chiclet-styled keyboards are
absolutely perfect for dim-light typing, thanks to the bright white LCD
backlight, and despite the fact that it doesn’t have the separate numeric
keypad, we didn’t face with any problems in typing comfortably at high speed on
the big-sized keys. Unfortunately, the integrated touchpad made us extremely
disappointed. The buttons are also integrated into the touchpad, and occasionally
we had troubles in identifying where the touchpad ends and buttons begin.
It is such a pity that the touchpad is so
fussy, though Envy is definitely a desirable laptop. Sadly, it is not a real
bargain – Asus N55SF has the more powerful processor and graphics card, more
memory and room for storage, a built-in Blu-ray optical drive and high
resolution display screen with nearly the same amount of money; therefore, it
is absolutely better value.
Summary:
Comments: An amazing premium laptop with a few of weaknesses while some of
its competitors have better value. .
A versatile laptop: Intel Core i5-2410M (2.3GHz), 4GB RAM, 500GB disk drive, AMD Radeon
HD 6630M graphics, DVD+/-RW+/-DL, 14 ½” widescreen LCD, Windows 7 Home Premium
64bit, 28x356x237mm, 2.5kg, 1 year RTB warranty.
Power consumption: 0W standby, 22W idle, 57W active.
