A very power full computer featuring fast processor, fast graphics card and 1080p display screen all under one roof, but with great power comes great responsibility. Will the hardware give the expected end result?

Sum and Substance:

Thumbs Up:

Solid construction, 1080p screen.

Thumbs Down:

No internal optical drive, expensive.

Inside the Trunk:

Power cables and bundled software.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

Intel Core i7 720QM / 1.6 GHz, Quad-Core, 64-bit processor, Data bus speed 1333 MHz, L2 cache, 6 MB, RAM 6 (3 X 2)GB DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16 GB, Hard disk – 500 GB SATA 7200 rpm, DVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAM – External, CD / DVD write speed 8x, LightScribe Technology

Card reader type
2 in 1 card reader, Supported flash memory cards – MultiMediaCard , SD Memory Card

Display 15.6 inch TFT LCD active matrix, Resolution 1920 x 1080, LED-backlit, Ultra BrightView dual-lamp technology.

Graphics Processor
ATI Radeon HD 4830, Video Memory 1 GB, Total Available Graphics Memory 3835 MB.

Data link protocol
Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n, Fast Ethernet.

Networking standards
IEEE 802.11a , IEEE 802.11b , IEEE 802.11n,  IEEE 802.11g

Expansion Slots Total (Free) 4(1) x Memory – SO DIMM 204-pin

Interfaces
2 x Hi-Speed USB – 4 pin USB Type A , 1 x Display / video – HDMI, 1 x Network – Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T – RJ-45, 1 x eSATA / Hi-Speed USB – Hi-Speed USB / eSATA, 1 x Audio – Headphones/microphone – Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm

Other Accessories
9-cell lithium ion battery, Power-on password, Security lock slot (cable lock sold separately)

Software
Skype , Adobe Reader , Windows Live Mail, Windows Live Writer, Corel Paint Shop Pro X or later Windows Live Messenger, Norton Internet Security 2009 (60 days trial)

1 year warranty

Razzle Dazzle:

HP Envy 15-1050nr is down right sexy has an aluminum body with a magnesium base, and the anonymous gunmetal gray lid contrasts nicely with semi-random pattern of imprinted dots on the wrist rest. The design looks better than MacBook Pro series. There is a option for secondary slice battery, which is a thin flat battery that clips onto the entire bottom surface and when you add it the entire package gets thicker, and it feels more like a traditional boxy 15-inch laptop.

Inside Dope:

We were delighted to have a gamming notebook in our test centers after a long string of slow notebooks and net books. This is a power full beast 1.6GHz Intel Core i7 720QM, 6GB, 1,066MHz DDR3, ATI Radeon HD 4830 have been brought together to give you a great multi media and gaming experience.

The only other gaming laptop that had landed in our test centers is the Alienware’s m15x and both models go neck and neck in hardware. Alienware has same full HD display. Alienware is definitely not portable but HP Envy is quite light weight as compared to the Dell’s product. Alienware has a faster processor among the two, but RAM is more in HP Envy and it is DDR3 as compared to DDR2 in Alienware. Alienware has got a bigger size and is down right sexy looking, where as HP has got the traditional laptop looks. Alineware has Windows 7 Ultimate (64-bit) and HP has Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit). You got to compare both and decide what is best for you. We would still opt for Alienware.

The display is 15-inch big and is full HD which means it will give a resolution of 1920X1080 (1080p). Watching movies on this machine is great but there is no optical drive in the computer. The big resolution is brilliant when compared to the small 15 inch screen. This resolution usually needs a 17 inch LCD. But we missed was the sharp-looking edge-to-edge glass found on the Envy 13.

There is no optical drive, which means you will have to buy an external DVD burner; HP gives you Blu-Ray drive option if you order directly from them. There were some problems playing Blu-Ray discs and also problems with certain soft wares when we tested them. We were not happy with some of the features that were forced on us. For example, Internet Explorer which is the notebook’s default browser comes with a HP Smart Web Printing sidebar which is useless according to us. This feature can be turned off if you know how to do it, but a new user might not be able to do this.

We also have a lot to complain when it comes to MediaSmart software that organizes and plays video, music, and photo files. Now if you don’t need this software you can always use alternatives like Windows Media Player or iTunes, but we tried the MediaSmart software and it couldn’t run any Blu-ray discs. We used an external Blu-ray player for this and the 1080p display seems waste if it cannot play Blu-ray discs. You can play this media on PowerDVD which you will have to install separately. We don’t know where the problem is because Envy 13 model played Blu-ray discs quite well.

The keyboard of the computer is a lot like Sony Vaio or Apple’s MacBook Air, the keys are segregated from each other quite well to give you a mishit free experience, that is if you are good at typing.  Above the keyboard is a power button there’s also a line of quick-launch buttons on the left side of the keyboard for actions such as launching a Web browser or HP’s MediaSmart software.

Both the 13 and 15-inch models of HP Envy are branded with Beats Audio technology which is found in popular Beats by Dre headphones. The built-in speakers were surprisingly quiet and next to useless, for a cinematic experience, the headphone signal was good, and when we tried the audio paired with a set of Beats by Dre headphones, it gave excellent results, we had to turn the system volume down below 50 percent because the headphone output was too loud.

The computer is portable so the optical drive has been given up to make up for the weight gain due to the heavy duty hardware. Keeping portability and slim body in mind HP has included 3 USB ports and a single video output (HDMI).

Alienware used 1GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 260M, HP has a 1 gig memory card too but it is from the stables of ATI. HP uses 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830 for this notebook which takes high end gamming quite well. It gave us 68.4 frames per second in Unreal Tournament III at 1,440×900-pixel resolution. Alienware on the other hand gave us 128 frames per second. We tried upcoming Avatar PC game and it ran smoothly 1,920×1,080 pixels on the Envy 15.

HP Envy 15 is a power hungry beast and don’t expect it to be powered for long on battery. We tested the battery life and found it was a little less than two hours. The system also comes with a secondary slice battery, if you order the notebook directly from HP, you can add the second battery as an accessory. That battery gave us 2 hours and 21 minutes of life. Carrying an extra battery will be a pain in the neck as it will add to the weight.

Nitty Gritty:

Hp Envy 15 will give direct competition to Alienware m15x. While HP’s product scores in some departments when the two beasts go head to head, we predict that Alienware will still win in the end due to its haphazard shape(but down right sexy looks) and inclusion of optical drive. Dell’s notebook also is better in some departments like keyboard lighting and it is after all a dedicated gaming laptop. If you are a fan of HP products, then get this but if you are not and if you want a gamming notebook get Alienware m15x.

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