1. 31/01/2012 04:33
blog.batteryfast.co.uk
HP Envy 15 Reviews (2012)
HP Envy 15 Reviews (2012) on the MacBook Pro. HP has added a few touches
of its own, such as beveling the edges to increase
CloudTags: HP , Envy 15 , 2012 , laptop battery , comfort and utilizing a black lid (on our model; it’s
battery uk , hp batteries , Hp 510 battery life , Hp also available in gray) with a glowing HP logo in one
nc6000 battery replacement corner. The Envy is also just a shade heavier (5.7
pounds versus 5.5 pounds for the MacBook Pro).
The black chiclet-style keyboard is highlighted with
a subtle yet striking red strip that runs around its
recessed inside edge. Each key is individually backlit
with an LED; the letters are brighter but the light
leakage is significantly reduced. It’s also smarter
than other backlights, with a proximity sensor that
activates the backlight when you’re close enough to
the keyboard to need it and turns it off when you
move away. The large clickpad that accompanies
the keyboard continues the Apple-flavored design,
with the right and left buttons integrated into the
surface, though its performance was not on par with
Apple’s model. And though the multitouch worked
smoothly, without any jumpiness or false positives,
The HP Envy 15 (2012) ($1,249.99 direct) is the latest it felt plastic compared to Apple’s glass-surfaced
iteration of HP’s premium line of desktop repla- clickpad.
cement laptops, offering a mix of style, substance,
and price that’s well suited to both work and play.
Though it competes with current top dogs, like our
Editors’ Choice Samsung Series 7 (NP700Z5A-S03)
http://blog.batteryfast.co.uk/hp-envy-15-reviews-2012/
($1,299 list, 4 stars), and bears a strong resemblance
to the Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch (Late 2011) ($1,799
direct, 4 stars), a number of additional features, such
as deep integration of Beats Audio and an impressive
number of wireless options, help set the Envy 15
apart from the pack.
Design
From its bare aluminum chassis to its large touchpad
and black chiclet-style keyboard, the Envy 15 una- The Envy 15 is also the showcase for HP’s Beats
bashedly copies everything that works well for Apple Audio, the same Dr. Dre–approved sound system
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HP Envy 15 Reviews (2012)
backing several models of high-end headphones Beats Audio, and headphone users actually get a
and making its way into smartphones and media further boost thanks to built-in headphone ampli-
players. The Envy 15 is well equipped to show off fication. If you want to enjoy the video and audio
this quality 6.1-channel sound, with two top-firing without all those cables, the Envy 15 is equipped
speakers, four front-firing speakers, and an inte- with Intel’s WiDi 2.0—a wireless alternative to HDMI
grated subwoofer delivering decent bass. The audio (provided you have the appropriate adapter, like
may not top the superb sounds of the Asus N55SF-A1 the $99 Netgear Push2TV)—and HP Wireless Audio,
($1,249.99 list, 4 stars), but it’s still better than what which streams multichannel audio to any compa-
you get with most laptops on the market. Set into tible sound system or adapter without requiring a
the side of the Envy 15s chassis is a volume control dongle for the laptop.
knob displaying a bright red Beats logo; it’s designed
to mimic the look and feel of a control knob from a There are also three USB 2.0 ports, a Gigabit Ethernet
high-end stereo system, and provides digital preci- jack, and a card reader (SD/MMC). Internally, the
sion with the tactile control of analog. Envy 15 offers 802.11n Wi-Fi, a slot-loading dual-
layer DVD drive, and a 500GB 7,200rpm hard drive—
The gorgeous 1,920-by-1,080-resolution display on the same size found in the Apple MacBook Pro and
the Envy 15 looks just as good as the Beats Audio Dell XPS 15z (Microsoft) ($999 direct, 4 stars). A few
sounds. The 15.6-inch widescreen is bright and clear, newer competitors, like the Samsung Series 7 and
with edge-to-edge glass and LED backlighting for Toshiba Satellite P755-S5269 ($979.99 list, 4 stars),
visibility even in bright environments. But you’ll offer larger 750GB drives, but 500GB will still hold
have to watch out for glare off of the glass, which a sizable media collection along with all of your
might make it difficult to work or enjoy a movie programs and files.
outdoors or in certain lighting conditions.
The Envy 15 does come with some software preins-
talled, but it’s far from bloatware. The Envy includes
full versions of Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 and
Adobe Premiere Elements 9, as well as Microsoft
Office Starter 2010 Starter and a 60-day subscrip-
tion to Norton Internet Security. HP covers the Envy
with a two-year warranty on parts and labor along
with toll-free tech support, available 24/7 via chat
or email.
http://blog.batteryfast.co.uk/hp-envy-15-reviews-2012/
Performance
HP has equipped the Envy 15 with a 2.4GHz Intel
Core i5-2430 dual-core processor and 6GB of RAM.
Features This hardware led to a strong showing in our pro-
The Envy 15 also packs plenty of connectivity options ductivity tests, but the Envy naturally fell behind the
and entertainment features. Along either side of the superior quad-core Core i7–equipped competition
laptop you’ll find connections for video and audio of the MacBook Pro and the Series 7—though not
alike. First there are DisplayPort and HDMI ports, by much. In PCMark 7 the Envy 15 scored 2,218,
for connecting to an external monitor or HDTV. Dual nearly identical to the 2,235 earned by the Apple,
headphone jacks let you share the sweet sounds of but not quite the 2,697 of the Samsung. The biggest
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HP Envy 15 Reviews (2012)
difference we saw was in CineBench R11.5, where Though HP claimed the Envy 15 could produce 9
the Envy 15 scored 2.67, on par with the Dell XPS 15z hours ofbattery life, we were skeptical of the claim—
(2.53) and indicating more than enough horsepower desktop replacements usually average around 5
for the average user, if not as impressive as the re- hours. Testing with MobileMark 2007 confirmed
sults from the MacBook Pro (5.08) and Samsung our suspicions. The Envy 15 lasted 4 hours 1 minute,
Series 7 (4.55). The Envy couldn’t keep up with them one of the shorter times for the category but still
in our Photoshop CS5 or Handbrake tests, either; long enough to enjoy a double feature while stuck
it needed 4 minutes 1 second for the former and in an airport. By comparison, the Toshiba Satellite
1 minute 51 seconds for the latter, compared with P755-S5269 lasted 5:07, the Samsung Series 7 lasted
3:39 and 1:30 for the Apple and 3:39 and 1:37 for 6:41, and the Dell XPS 15z led the category with 7:13.
the Samsung.
Its processing and graphics capabilities make the HP
Envy 15 (2012) a solid alternative to pricier quad-
core systems, and a true HD display and Beats Audio
add polish to its entertainment side. It falters on
batteries life and we would love to see an option
for a Blu-ray configuration, so it won’t replace the
Samsung Series 7 as our current Editors’ Choice.
But on the whole there’s little to complain about, so
you can buy the HP Envy 15 (2012) with confidence.
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The Envy 15 also offers plenty of graphics power
for both work and play, thanks to a discrete AMD
Radeon HD 7690M video processor with manual
switching. When disconnected from a power outlet,
the laptop defaults to lower-powered integrated gra-
phics, but you can switch back to the AMD GPU with
just a few clicks. With discrete graphics enabled,
the Envy 15 produced decent results in our gaming
tests. In Crysis, it managed to crank out 62.7 frames
http://blog.batteryfast.co.uk/hp-envy-15-reviews-2012/
per second (fps) at 1,024-by-768 resolution, with
anti-aliasing turned off. With anti-aliasing turned
up to 4x and the resolution cranked up to 1,920-by-
1,080, the Envy produced an unplayable 9.4fps; this
means you should have no problem playing most
games as long as you go easy on the eye candy. We
saw similar performance in Lost Planet 2, where
the Envy 15 managed 63.9fps at lower resolution
and detail, but 23.2fps at full resolution.
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