The last time
we reviewed the Envy 14, we concluded, by and large, that HP got it
right. The company succeeded in delivering good performance and graphics
punch, all while correcting a teensy overheating problem and adding an
optical drive and backlit keyboard. Then there was that rock-solid,
engraved metal chassis that made it one of the most attractive notebooks
on the market -- a distinction it still holds to this day. So as you
can imagine, when HP refreshed the Envy 14 this summer, there wasn't
exactly a lot to improve. What we have here is a nearly identical
machine, with the same stunning design -- not to mention, $1,000
starting price. Now, though, HP is selling it with Sandy Bridge
processors and USB 3.0 -- the kind of tweaks laptop makers have been
rolling out for the better part of this year.
Normally, that kind of speed bump wouldn't warrant us re-reviewing a
laptop. In fact, we probably wouldn't be revisiting the Envy 14 if it
weren't for two things. For starters, we've received an unusual number
of emails, tweets and comments from readers, imploring us to weigh in on
the Sandy Bridge version before they pull the trigger. Secondly, in
addition to that processor swap, HP has fine-tuned the touchpad drivers,
and assures us the trackpad isn't the flaky mess it was the last two times around. So how much better is the Envy 14 in the year two thousand and eleven? Let's find out.
Look and feel
With the exception of screen size, the 14's design has barely changed since the first generation of Envy laptops arrived on the scene
two years ago. As always, its tough metal body, black chiclet keyboard
and giant clickable trackpad make it near-impossible to avoid
comparisons with the MacBook Pro
-- a machine HP is surely going after here anyway. Still, the Envy
retains its own personality, thanks to a copper-colored body covered in
divets arranged in a sort of paisley pattern. Like any MacBook Pro, it
has a glowing logo on the lid and a sparse keyboard deck with almost no
buttons, though the Envy does have a band of silver-colored metal
encircling the chassis -- a touch that keeps it from looking
too much like Apple's unibody wares.
A year after the Envy 14 went on sale, we're still seriously impressed
by its build quality. Everything -- the lid, the palm rest -- feels
rigid, and you've got the added benefit of metal surfaces that both
repel fingerprints and aren't likely to get scratched. Over the past
year, though, we've seen more 15-inchers like the Dell XPS 15z, 15-inch VAIO S and Acer Aspire TimelineX AS5830
that measure less than an inch thin, making the Envy 14's
1.16-inch-thick body seem a tad plump by comparison. Still, at 5.69
pounds, it's on par with the 5.6-pound MacBook Pro and the 5.54-pound
15z.
HP's kept pace when it comes to port selection, though. This go 'round, a
USB 3.0 port takes the place of a UBS / eSATA combo port. In addition,
you'll still find two USB 2.0 sockets, Ethernet, HDMI, DisplayPort, a
Kensington lock slot and dual headphone jacks, one of which doubles as a
mic port. As you can imagine, with each year that passes HP is that
much less likely to add a VGA port to its Envys, so it shouldn't
surprise you that this generation lacks one, too. That's a bummer for
the PowerPoint crowd, though if you're dead-set on an Envy, that's a
problem you can easily remedy with an HDMI to VGA adapter (we're seeing
some for less than ten bucks on Amazon).
Keyboard and trackpad
There's really a lot to like about HP's keyboard, but since we have to
start somewhere, let's talk about the sound. Yes, the sound. The panel
feels as sturdy as the chassis itself, and typing produces a deep, quiet
noise that inspires confidence in the machine's build quality -- an
improvement over the bendy keyboards and high-pitched clacks you'll find
on lots of cheaper systems. But more than that, the keys' soft finish
and balanced spacing make them a joy to type on. And while you wouldn't
necessarily look at this keyboard and deem the keys cushier than what
you'd find on a Sony VAIO, they do, indeed, have more travel -- a kind
of tactility that allowed our hands to fly across the keyboard as we
typed. In the end, we chose to write large swaths of our review on this
machine, not so much because we felt obligated to, but because we felt
comfortable where we were.
The trackpad is, to our delight, much improved, though it's still
imperfect. For the most part, it did what we wanted it to, though at
times we noticed a little more friction than we would have liked. The
buttons, too, generally felt tactile -- ever-so slightly stiff, perhaps,
but on the whole, easy to press. Multi-touch gestures -- everything
from two-fingered scrolling to pinching and zooming -- work smoothly...
most of the time. Our main gripe is that to pull off the scrolling bit,
we often found ourselves applying extra pressure with our fingers. We
also wish we had a little more vertical room to stretch our fingers,
particularly when pinching and zooming.
Like the Envy 14 we reviewed last year, the refreshed model has a sensor
tucked in the upper left corner of the trackpad that allows you to
disable it entirely. That works as promised, responding promptly even to
light taps. That's not to say it's
too sensitive, though -- we never once activated it by accident.
Display and sound
Regardless of how much money you sink into it, the Envy 14 has a 1366 x
786 display -- a clear let-down from the 1600 x 900 screen we were
treated to last year (those sold out
and weren't replaced, tragically). If this were a $700 system we
wouldn't be complaining, but on a system that costs northward of a
thousand bucks, we'd expect more. 1366 x 768 is the mark of a budget
machine, not a premium one.
Given the glossy finish, we were pleasantly surprised by the viewing
angles. Which is to say, they weren't terrible. We had the best luck
watching head-on, either with the display sitting at a right angle, or
dipped forward. When we watched from oblique side angles, though, the
contrast became too severe, and a lot of color and detail dropped out.
The Envy 14, like its predecessor and pretty much every other PC that HP
makes, it comes loaded with Beats Audio, promising lower lows and
deeper bass notes. That's the promise, but the reality is that the sound
likely only provides a marginal boost over what you're used to. Even
when listening to "Rapper's Delight" we could hear some tinniness
creeping through. And when we sampled tracks with a higher-pitched
quality ("Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," for example), instrumental music
took on a faintly metallic quality. The sound is loud, but somehow not
enveloping. No worse than what you'll find on most laptops, mind you;
just not worlds better.
Performance and graphics
Our Envy 14 ($1,080 as configured) came loaded with a 2.3GHz Intel Core
i5-2410M CPU, 6GB of RAM, a 750GB 7,200RPM hard drive and dual graphics
cards, including Intel's integrated HD option and AMD's Radeon HD 6630M
with 1GB of video memory on the discrete side. Starting with benchmarks,
it delivered a score of 6,735 in PCMark Vantage, which is on par with
the score we got from HP's Pavilion dv6t with the same processor and 6GB
of RAM. And while its 3DMark06 score of 7,214 falls about a hundred
points short of the Dell XPS 15z (admittedly, a $1,534 machine with a
Core i7 CPU), it's still a healthy improvement over the pricier Sony
VAIO S we recently tested (see the chart below).
Even more than raw numbers, though, we continue to be impressed with how
HP's managed to keep the heat under control. Even after extended active
use, the machine -- meaning, the chassis, the keyboard, the bottom side
-- all felt cool to the touch. If you bothered to put your finger on
the vent on the right side, you'd notice it gets warm, but even then,
it's hardly pants-scorching.
As for anecdotal usage, we were quickly able to settle into a typical
routine of juggling YouTube and Grooveshark streaming, and bouncing
among myriad open tabs in Chrome, including ones for email and GChat,
various news outlets and the service we Engadget editors use to compose
stories. The machine also boots in 40 seconds -- a fast time for any
Windows machine with an HDD, but especially this one, which comes with a
decent amount of software pre-installed.
|
|
PCMarkVantage |
3DMark06
|
Battery Life |
|
2011 HP Envy 14 (2.3GHz Core i5-2410M, Intel HD Graphics 3000 / AMD Radeon HD 6630M) |
6,735 |
7,214 |
3:55 |
|
15-inch Sony VAIO S series (2.40GHz Core i5-2430M, AMD Radeon HD 6630M) |
5,632 |
6,898
|
3:59 (stamina mode) / 8:58 (stamina mode, slice battery) |
|
Acer TimelineX AS5830TG-6402 (2.3GHz Core i5-2410M, NVIDIA GeForce GT 520M) |
6,475 |
5,330 |
6:25 |
|
Dell XPS M15z (2.7GHz Core i7-2620M, NVIDIA GeForce GT525M) |
8,023 |
7,317 |
3:41 (Optimus disabled) / 4:26 (Optimus enabled) |
|
HP Pavilion dv6t (2.3GHz Core i5-2410M, Intel HD Graphics 3000) |
6,563 |
6,563 |
2:42 |
|
Notes: the higher the score the better. For 3DMark06, the first number reflects score with GPU off, the second with it on. |
Battery life
Quite average, really. In our standard battery test, which involves
playing a movie on repeat with WiFi on and the brightness fixed at 65
percent, the Envy 14's eight-cell lasted three hours and 55 minutes.
That's squarely mediocre when you consider the 15-inch VAIO S series
lasted a near-identical three hours and 59 minutes with its integrated
graphics card enabled, while the Dell XPS 15z made it three hours and 41
minutes with Optimus turned off. The one major exception we've seen
lately in this category is the Acer Aspire TimelineX AS5830T, a 15-inch
laptop that squeezed out almost six and a half hours of juice. The point
is, the Envy 14 should be fine for working on your couch for a few
hours, but remember the charger if you're planning on staying out of the
house all day.
Software
Now, as with the last generation of Envys, you're going to stumble
across more pre-installed software than perhaps you're used to seeing on
consumer laptops (and that's saying a lot). The list includes: Adobe
Photoshop and Premiere Elements 9, Bing Bar, CyberLink PowerDVD 10,
Microsoft Office 2010, Power2Go and RoxioNow Player. There's also a
spate of motley HP-branded programs -- everything from Quick Launch to
MovieStore to Power Manager. To be fair, though, HP's utilities
interrupted us less than they have on past systems we've tested, though
we still had to postpone a reboot of the computer (and shoo away a
pop-up dialog box in the system tray) more than once.
Configuration options
The Envy 14 starts at $999.99 with that Core i5-2410M CPU, along with
6GB of RAM, a 500GB 7,200RPM drive, an eight-cell battery and the same
switchable graphics we tested. If you're so inclined, you can step up to
a 2.0GHz Core i7-2630QM or 2.3GHZ Core i7-2828QM processor ($100 /
$500), up to 16GB of RAM ($560). When it comes to storage, you could opt
for larger 640GB or 750GB 7,200RPM HDDs ($40 and $80, respectively),
but HP's also offering a 128GB SSD ($350) as well as drives combining
solid-state storage with an HDD. These have combined capacities ranging
from 580GB to 878GB and add between $175 and $330 to the total cost.
Some things, such as the eight-cell battery and backlit keyboard come
standard. However, US customers, at least, are locked into the glossy
1366 x 768 display and Radeon HD 6630 graphics card we told you about.
Blu-ray still isn't an option either (you'll have to step up to the
7.3-pound Envy 17 for that amenity). And yeah, we know, Apple has made
it crystal clear it won't be adding Blu-ray drives, but we still have
hope for Windows machines. After all, when we see systems like Sony's
15-inch VAIO S, it's easy to cling to this expectation that if you're
paying enough money for a Windows machine (one with a not-that-small
15-inch screen, at that), you can opt for Blu-ray if you darn well
please.
The competition
To keep things simple, if you're considering the Envy 14, we're going to
assume you're in the market for something in the 14- to 15-inch range
-- preferably something with a built-in optical drive. If you're willing
to forfeit that, you could easily find something thinner and lighter.
Not just the MacBook Air (an obvious choice in that category), but any of the emerging Ultrabooks about to hit the market.
So let's say you do want that optical drive. You're probably also
considering the MacBook Pro -- a machine that looks like this, sure, but
is also trying to lure the same performance-minded user. The real
problem is that price. The 15-inch MBP starts at $1,799, and even the
smaller 13-incher costs northward of $1,199. For the money (we're
talking about the 15-inch version here), you get a 2.0GHz quad-core Core
i7 CPU, 4GB of RAM, a 500GB 5,400RPM hard drive (
c'mon,
Apple!) and dual Intel HD / AMD Radeon HD 6490M graphics, along with two
USB 2.0 ports, a Thunderbolt socket and an SDXC slot. The difference in
price should give you pause, and we suggest you think hard about how
much you need that quad-core CPU for whatever it is you'll be doing.
(We'd also suggest considering the MBP's rated seven-hour battery life,
and how much that kind of performance-longevity combo floats your boat.)
We're just saying, depending on your routine, the Envy 14's base specs
could be enough, and for all we know, the battery life will be
acceptable, too. And you know what? Even for those of you dead-set on
Macs, we'll say yet again: think twice whether you need that built-in
optical drive. After all, the Air excels at the everyday stuff at a more
palatable starting price of $1,299 (for the 13-inch model, that is).
Stepping back into the world of Windows, there are more premium 14- and
15-inchers to choose from than you can shake a stick at. Starting with
Dell, there's that XPS 15z we told you about, which also starts at
$999.99. At that base price, it matches what the $1,000 Envy 14 has to
offer with a 2.3GHz Core i5-2410M CPU, 6GB of RAM, eight-cell battery
and a 500GB 7,200RPM hard drive. At that price, the graphics option
isn't switchable cards but rather, NVIDIA's GeForce GT 525M with a
gigabyte of video memory. All things considered, you'll get comparable
battery life, too, though we can't speak for the difference in
performance since the machines we tested weren't well matched in price
or specs. And, finally, both look like Macs in their way, except the
Envy 14 reminds us of he current model, while the 15z takes after a
years-old MacBook Pro or even PowerBook.
We'd also throw Toshiba's Satellite P750-BT4G22 ($899 and up) in the
ring, even though some of you are bound to dismiss its design as safe,
and its 1.4-inch-thick chassis as chunky. Even at that starting price,
you get a quad-core 2.0GHz Core i7-2630QM processor, 6GB of RAM, a 640GB
hard drive (albeit, a 5,400RPM one), NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M graphics
with 1GB of video memory, a USB 3.0 port and a USB 2.0 socket with
Toshiba's sleep-and-charge technology. From there, you can upgrade to a
500GB 7,200RPM HDD, Blu-ray player or burner, a 12-cell battery or a
5,600mAH six-cell (the default battery is 4,400mAh). A promising option
for people who couldn't care less about forfeiting the Envy 14's
engraved aluminum.
Finally, there's the Acer TimelineX AS5830TG-6402, which undercuts 'em
all at $800. For the money, it offers the same processor and 6GB of RAM
as our HP Envy 14, though its 640GB has a slower speed of 5,400RPM. In
our tests, we found it kept pace with the Envy 14 in the benchmark
PCMark Vantage, though its NVIDIA GeForce GT 520M lagged by almost 2,000
points in 3DMark06. The big draw here, as we said, is the battery life.
Although its six-cell would appear to pale against the Envy 14's
eight-cell, it lasted two and a half hours longer in the same rundown
test, and steamrolled pretty much every other 14- and 15-incher we've
handled recently. In short, we'd recommend this for the battery life or
that aggressive price. For design panache and overall performance, the
Envy 14 still wins.
If you wait until next month, you'll also have Sony's 15-inch S series
to think about. Suffice to say, when we tested a $1,230 system we dug
its performance, which comes courtesy of a 2.4GHz Core i5-2430M
processor, 6GB of RAM and a 640GB 5,400RPM hard drive. We can also get
behind its bright 1080p display, though depending on whether you opt for
the $150 battery slice, you might find its longevity to be
disappointing -- to say nothing of its ho-hum design. It's not without
merits, but its price might be a tough pill to swallow when the Envy 14
and XPS 15z offer similar specs for hundreds of dollars less and -- in
the case of the Envy, at least -- are arguably better-looking.
Wrap-up
It's been thirteen months since we first reviewed the Envy 14 and while
that's dog years in the gadget world, we're still pretty pleased with
the thing, though we'd be exaggerating at this point if we said we were
smitten. On the one hand, its well built, beautiful design hasn't
changed and frankly, most competitors haven't delivered anything as
memorable in this size / price class. The performance remains more than
adequate for everyday use and while the battery life isn't anything to
write home about, it at least keeps pace with the competition. This time
around, too, the trackpad is actually usable, even though it's not
without its quirks.
And yet, one of the things we loved most the first time around -- that
stunning display -- just ain't what it used to be. Its resolution is
lower, for one, and the entire screen simply isn't as eye-popping now
that HP has discontinued its 14.5-inch Radiance panels. Also, it's worth
repeating that 2011 has turned out to be the year of the skinny,
surprisingly capable laptop, so if you can do without that built-in
optical drive, you might find the Envy 14 a bit clunky -- not to
mention, lackluster in the battery life department. But who are we to
tell you what you need or don't need in a laptop? If what you want is a
well designed, strong performer with all the screen real estate of a
15-incher, it's still tough to argue against the Envy 14.
