HP Envy 17 17.3″ Laptop Review

HP Envy 17 powered by Intel Core i5-2430 processor and 17.3 inches screen offers better performance to do multi tasks. It has high resolution for its ‘big’ screens, rich in color and it has good brightness too. For storage media, this device offers an option with 128 GB mSATA SSD or two hard drives up to 1 TB.

HP ENVY 17 Specifiations:

• Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Intel Core i5-2340M
• Radiance display
• AMD Radeon graphics
• 750GB 7200RPM hard drive
• Beats Audio with 6 speakers + subwoofer
• Slot-loading DVD+/-RW
• HP Radiance backlit keyboard + proximity sensor
• 91 WHr, 1000-cycle HP FN04 battery
• 6GB DDR3 SDRAM
• 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi with Bluetooth 4.0 and WI-Di

The Envy 17 is slim enough that you might not think, at first, that it qualifies as a true desktop-replacement machine. At just 1.25 inches thick and 7.5 pounds, this is an impressively sleek machine. The laser-etched lid and the chassis, both in bronze-colored aluminum, scream durability, resist showing fingerprints, and hint at the high-end components lurking underneath. The uncluttered keyboard deck is also aluminum, following the dark bronze motif. As with the lid, it has a dotted texture that comes from an etching method that we’ve seen only on Envy notebooks. The left palm rest gets very warm, however, even during mild usage.

The 3D experience isn't much to write home about, either. Relatively still scenes look good through the included active shutter glasses, but once the action starts, the image quickly gets blurry and fuzzy. Compared to a theatre, or even a decent 3D TV, where 3D suffers partly because of the limitations of the human brain, the experience is pretty pathetic.

Across the board, these bad boys can be configured with quad-core CPUs, and come standard with six speakers, a subwoofer, HP's CoolSense technology and support for HP Wireless Audio. The Envy 17, in particular, can be configured with either a 128GB mSATA SSD or dual 1TB drives. Naturally, like every other in HP's lineup, they all have Beats Audio on-board. No surprise there.

The HP ENVY 17 uses a chiclet style keyboard design. The short throw laptop style keys means that typing is a quiet experience. Surprisingly the tactile feedback on this keyboard is pretty good, with nice clicky response despite the scissor key mechanism. The larger 17in form factor also allows space for a dedicated numpad. Aside from the arrow keys being placed under the right shift key, the keys are positioned just like that of a regular desktop keyboard, making it very intuitive to use. The ENVY 17 keyboard also comes standard with backlighting, which is very well done. The letters are etched on the keys and the light shines through, creating a subtle, attractive, and unobtrusive experience.

The Envy 17 comes with 8GB of RAM, which is enough to either run many programs at once fluidly or run very intensive image and video editing software. The Envy 17 features an unbelievably generous 2,000GB of hard disk drive storage. This can store a vast collection of media content.

Because of its many advanced features and the attention to detail that has been observed in making this product, the Envy 17 is available at a premium price. However, it is possible to purchase the HP Envy 17 charger at a discount. By obtaining HP Envy 17 discount coupons, the savings you could make on the purchase price can be quite substantial. Moreover, reading reviews on this product will help you make an informed decision on what to expect from your laptop.

The large clickpad evokes Apple’s version, with the left and right mouse buttons built right into the clickable surface. The size is decent, but could easily be even larger, and the multitouch functionality can’t hold a candle to Apple’s (which is something that can currently be said of any non-Mac laptop). We especially missed handy Mac gestures such as two-finger right-click tapping and the four-finger swipe for hiding all open windows.

The laptop's 7,200rpm 640GB hard drive should provide plenty of storage space for all of your games and media, but external hard drives will benefit from the speedy USB 3.0 port and USB/eSATA combination port. For other peripherals that may not need the faster data transfer afforded by those connections, there are two additional USB 2.0 ports. A multi-format card reader lets you pull content from a variety of formats (SD, MS/Pro, MMC, XD).

As in the smaller models, HP again relies on a chiclet keyboard with separate keys in the Envy 17. The advantage of a large 17 inch laptop is the vast amount of room. Consequently, the full size keyboard fits easily into the case. The 15x15 millimeter sized keys are on par with desktop keys in regard to size. Due to the large gap in between the keys, you in fact hit the key that you actually intended to hit.

The sound system on this HP model keeps up with the graphics and the performance. Enjoy studio quality sound with the Beats Audio system. Pack up your Blu-Ray DVDs along with your HP ENVY 17 Notebook to watch them on the go. Whether you’re playing HD games, listening to music or watching videos, this laptop will perform either at home or when you’re out.

After removing this protective keyboard cover the keyboard is revealed in its full glory, it’s very spacious and includes a number pad. Also notable is the volume dial on the right side, it has a Beats Audio logo on it and makes for a quick and easy way to adjust volume on your multimedia powerhouse.

Another trick up the Envy 17’s sleeve is Beats Audio—a digital music playback profile developed by HP and Interscope Records. The difference in sound quality with and without Beats enabled is dramatic—although the “without” state is particularly anemic. Still, we’ll admit that Beats Audio makes music sound pretty damn good on a notebook, especially through an external set of speakers or headphones.

There's only one GPU option available, and that's the ATI Radeon HD5850. It's more than fine for mid-to-high-end gaming, even with resolutions cranked up to 1,920x1,080 pixels. Our only real knock is that without Nvidia's Optimus system, the GPU can't turn itself off automatically to save HP Envy 17 battery life. Playing Unreal Tournament 3 at the full 1,920x1,080-pixel resolution, we got 86.2 frames per second.

The Envy 17 features a spacious 4.3 x 2.7-inch Synaptics clickpad that HP calls an Imagepad. Similar to the Envy 15, an HD sensor enables more accurate control than other clickpads on the market. The Imagepad's most notable feature is the slightly raised gray line that demarcates between the touchpad and the mouse buttons.

Those heavy performance parts and the large screen take a serious, and we mean serious, toll on battery life. The six-cell HP FN04 battery lasted only two hours and 10 minutes on our battery rundown test, which loops the same standard definition video. Now, we do assume you won't be moving around with the rig all that often and you can always pick up the nine-cell battery for an extra $75, but we're still disappointed that you won't be able to finish a full movie before having to string the rather massive HP Envy 17 AC adapter across the room.

The strong hardware not only provides movie entertainment in FullHD, but also a lot of fun in gaming. The Envy 17 also looks good in this field. We had a few doubts about the display at first. While a backwards step from a Radiance display to a standard display had been made in the Envy 14, a high quality display with an impressive brightness is used again. However, it can't quite reach the Radiance display. Moreover, the 3D feature is a nice gimmick that will be welcomed by many multimedia fans. You are still left a bit in the dark by HP in terms of games. At least we couldn't find any information in the included documentation about this.

As noted above, the ENVY 17 runs games and Blu-Ray movies smoothly using the discrete HD6850 graphics card. Unfortunately, we have been running into the problem where every so often, the ENVY would automatically switch over to the Intel onboard graphics, even while the game or movie was playing. This results in a few seconds of EXTREMELY slow framerates because the onboard chip cannot cope with the load. This has happened often enough to be a serious nuisance, and we hope that HP fixes this in a future update.

When you buy HP Envy 17, you will benefit from the manufacturer's one-year limited warranty on hardware. Since the company also provides support via email and live chat 24/7, purchasers of their products know they are not alone should the machine develop complications. Moreover, HP has an in-house service through which it sends staff to attend to clients who need repairs or for trouble shooting in the clients' homes.

Dell XPS 15z 15.6" Review

Touted as one of the thinnest laptops money can buy, Dell's XPS 15z is one of the best laptops out there if you don't fancy filling Steve Jobs' pockets with even more greenbacks. Now that the MacBook Pro has been updated with Intel’s speedy Sandy Bridge technology, you might be drawn in by its alluring combination of brains, brawn and sexy silver chassis. But if you’re still on the fence over the steep price, or simply can’t make do without Windows, let us offer this slick new alternative: the Dell XPS 15z.

The XPS 15z impressed us with its battery life too. The battery is non-removable, something we’re seeing more and more of these days, but the system ticked along for 6hrs 13mins in our light-use test, a good hour or two more than we were expecting. That was using Intel’s built-in HD Graphics 3000, though: switching to our heavy-use test caused the Nvidia GPU to automatically kick in, pulling Dell V79YO battery life down to just 1hr 16mins.

Dell claims its latest baby is one of the thinnest laptops 15.4in laptops in the world, and with the exception of the 15in MacBook Pro, we don't know of one that's thinner – certainly not one sporting heavy-duty specifications and an all-metal chassis. Considering these factors, the 15z is quite light, at a mere 2.54kg.

The reason the XPS 15z is still good? It strikes a chord in both design and performance. It’s not meant to be a powerhouse laptop, but rather a well-balanced, all-purpose machine. It can be tricky to find a well-executed machine like this for under $1,000, and the model we tested squeaked under the bar at $999. For the most part, it delivers, with just a couple of quibbles that most users can probably overlook for all that Dell gives in return.

The trouble with most glossy displays, especially those that are geared mostly toward the consumer market, is that they offer far from ideal viewing angles. Unfortunately, the Dell XPS 15z also suffers from this fate, even if it’s not quite as pronounced as the displays on its cheaper Inspiron stablemates.

At this point, a short flashback to the product positioning "heavy business use, light entertainment". This gives hope for a good application performance that even bids a certain amount of reserves for multimedia use in terms of hardware. The XPS 15z's spec sheet appears to have just the right configuration for Dell XPS 15z AC adapter. Dell lists the Intel Core i5-2410M CPU, as well as the higher clocked top chip from the Sandy Bridge dual core range, the Core i7-2620M, as possible processors. Both processors have Intel's Turbo Boost Technology which automatically lifts the processor clock rate up to 2.9, respectively 3.4 GHz when required. Furthermore, two additional threads can be simulated in addition to the two physical processor cores thanks to Hyper Threading. This can supply a decisive speed advantage in multi-core optimized applications.

As you can see in the above table, Dell shipped us the fully upgraded version of the XPS 15z, which is good and bad. On the good side, there’s a nice 1080p display, CPU performance will be better, and the GPU gets twice the memory; there’s also 8GB of system RAM and a very large 750GB 7200RPM hard drive. Also note that all the available configurations other than the base model comes standard with a 2-year warranty and include Office 2010 Home/Student; the base model gets you Office 2010 Starter and a 1-year warranty. So what’s the bad news? The price is 50% higher than the base model, and performance definitely won’t be anywhere near 50% higher. Most of the performance gains will come from the CPU upgrade, which amounts to a 17% average increase in CPU-limited applications.

BatteryEater Pro tends to measure worst case scenarios, in that it doesn't really take into consideration power saving features, instead loading up the system until it dies out. It runs a spinning graphic constantly until the Dell XPS 15z battery dies. We keep our test machines with Wi-Fi on, and screen brightness hovering at 50% for the life of the test.

The XPS 15z's performance is about what you'd expect from a laptop with a midlevel dual-core Core i5 or Core i7 processor. Our review unit scored an impressive 134 on WorldBench 6, and its gaming performance was okay; you can play real modern games, but you'll have to run the more strenuous titles at reduced resolution and settings to maintain a smooth frame rate. Our test unit lasted just over 5 hours on one charge in our battery tests--less than Dell claims, but reasonable for a powerful system with a 15.6-inch screen. We would have expected a better graphics card in a $1500 laptop, however, in place of the pointless doubling of graphics RAM. The entry-level model's price/performance ratio is far more appealing. Audio quality from the built-in speakers was among the best we've seen in this class of laptop.

As the name suggests, the 15z has a 15.6in screen; at its native 1,920x1,080 resolution, text can appear very small. Thankfully, Dell sets the default Windows text size to 125% in the factory, so we could easily read file and folder names straight away. Adding to the incredibly sharp picture is a very bright backlight. It's rated at 300cd/m2 compared with the 200cd/m2 of most laptops. Contrast is also great, but it isn't all good news. Colours were much too vibrant at the default settings and the glossy finish is also highly reflective.

The optical drive, however, does not present much room for upgrade because of limited space. The Dell XPS 15z battery can last for up to 5 hours. As with other Dell machines, it also has the PowerShare feature and this allows users to charge mobile gadgets, even when the device is shut down. The machine is also a bit bigger and heavier compared to the 15-inch Macbook Pro. It is about an inch thick and weighs 5.6 pounds.

Inside the Dell XPS 15z, the PC's keyboard sits in the middle of the chassis and looks great, with curved metallic keys. They don't travel far when hit, but they're firmly set and well separated from each other, which makes typing comfortable. Even better, they glow when used in low light so you aren't squinting to see.

The display hinge is strong and doesn't allow the display to wobble when let go abruptly. Additionally, the display can be opened with one hand which is convenient. I'm not a fan of the physical appearance of the hinge; it's not in sync with the rest of the chassis in terms of color or texture. Overall the XPS 15z is one of the most solid feeling notebooks I've tested in some time.

Clean lines, smooth curves, and vast expanses of beautifully textured metal, cool to the touch -- the MacBook Pro has captivated Apple fans for years, and there's no doubt Dell's trying to capture much of the same charm. From the aluminum chassis to the placement of the speakers, DVD drives and majority of ports... heck, even the tiny arrow key bars on the backlit keyboard and feet on the bottom of the chassis are cribbed from Apple's product.

The 15z also has the graphics chops to take on the most intensive 3D games, thanks to the discrete Nvidia GeForce GT 525M. It cranked out above-average 3DMark 06 (8,610) scores and very good frame rates in Lost Planet 2 (36.4 frames per second, or fps), both at 1,024-by-768 resolution and medium detail settings. Though it wasn't as impressive as the XPS 15 (9,787 in 3DMark 06, 38.2fps in Lost Planet 2) and Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch (10,878 in 3DMark 06, 65.7fps in Lost Planet 2), the 15z can hold its own as a gaming laptop. During non-gaming-related tasks, the discrete graphics chip is automatically disabled by an Nvidia feature called Optimus, which lets the Intel integrated graphics take over to optimize battery life.

The new XPS 15z is a fresh start, although it carries over a few touches, such as the inset lid hinges that move the screen slightly closer to the user. Otherwise, this is a sleek metallic box, less than 1 inch thick, and thankfully monochrome, except for some chrome borders around the edge. Yes, it's very thin, but not as thin as the 15-inch MacBook Pro. But honestly, the two are within a hair of each other, so we're willing to call it a tie. Despite the slimness of the body, the Dell Vostro V130 battery still feels sturdy and solid; it's dense, but not too heavy (but it's still heavy enough that you won't want to lug it around every day).

After playing a Hulu video for 15 minutes at full screen, the XPS remained fairly cool. The touchpad registered just 82 degrees Fahrenheit, the space between the G and H keys was 89, and the middle of the underside was 85 degrees. However, after we played World of Warcraft for about 10 minutes, the XPS 15 became noticeably hotter: The bottom near the vents reached 104 degrees, and we could also feel the left side of the keyboard heat up, too.

The USB ports, including one which doubles up as an eSATA port, are all on the left hand side, just like the MacBook Pro. This might not seem like a big issue, but if like this reviewer you should be a left-handed mouse user and have a dongle for the wireless mouse in one of the ports too, you're likely to find yourself knocking into those peripherals on a frequent basis.

The previous XPS might have a slight edge on sound quality; you have to crank the volume closer to full than we prefer to get the full richness of the audio system on the Dell XPS 15z charger but when you do it's impressive. You can hear a huge amount of detail in the mid-range, the treble is clear rather than sharp and there's plenty of bass. The position of the speakers makes for great stereo separation too. We have heard one or two notebooks with even better audio quality (and significantly higher price tags), but you'll really enjoy listening to music on the XPS 15z.

The fast (7200 rpm) hard disk installed in our test device unfortunately has a rather adverse effect on system noise. The HDD's running noise is always present and can even cause a sonorous vibrating on certain surfaces. Our meter never fell below the noise level of 34.6 dB(A), even with a deactivated fan. However, the Dell Vostro 3750 battery would have the potential to be a noiseless device with a silent solid state drive because the fan usually stays completely disabled in idle and office mode. Dell doesn't have an according option available until now, though. Moreover, it seems to be difficult, if not impossible for the user to upgrade it due to the lack of a maintenance cover. In any case, the possible loss of warranty should be clarified in advance.

With its eight-cell Dell V79YO battery, the Dell XPS 15z matched its peers almost exactly on our Battery-Rundown Test. For this test, we loop The Matrix on DVD, with the screen set to 50 percent brightness, until the battery dies. The XPS 15z lasted 3 hours and 47 minutes on our trial, while the Asus K53E-B1 ran 3:45 and the Dell XPS 15 ran 3:38.

The bottom line is that at it's price point, we doubt you'll find a superior 15.6" machine out there right now. Dell has done just about everything right with this one. Plus, it's fast. Really fast in everything save for hardcore gaming. For the vast majority of consumers, it'll do everything they need and more, and look great while doing it. The Dell XPS 15z is great buy, from top to bottom.

HP Envy 15 15-inch Review

HP has been through some rough waters lately, with questions surrounding its commitment in the area of smartphones and rumors swirling about related to its PC business. While all of this is great fodder for the industry pundits and competition, one thing can be said about HP with great conviction: The company knows how to wrap innovation around computer systems.

The upside to the somewhat loud fan is cool operation. During low to moderate use the laptop’s chassis warmed only slightly in the usual spots, such as near the exhaust fan. Extended lap use is definitely an option. You’ll only become uncomfortably warm if you perform tasks that engage the discrete GPU. Doing that is a great way to keep warm in winter.

Despite being a full-size 15-inch laptop, the ports and connections on the Envy 15 are limited. Only two USB ports are offered, along with an SD card slot--no eSATA, as found on previous Envy laptops. The twin headphone jacks are a nice extra, but usually more useful on a smaller laptop, for example to share video playback while flying. Adding a Blu-ray drive, instead of the standard DVD burner is $75 more.

Is the ENVY 15 as good as the 15-inch MacBook Pro? No. But considering that for the hardware that we tested you’d have to spend nearly $2000 on an Apple machine, it doesn’t have to be. If you find yourself spending most of your computer time within the reach of HP Envy 15 power adapter, it’s tough to beat for power and media capabilities. I wish it was a little lighter and lasted a little longer, but as a desktop replacement and media consumption/creation specialist, you’d be hard-pressed to find anything with these kinds of specs, fit and finish in this price range.

The HP Envy 15 is the first redesigned model to hit the streets. Predictably, the internals feature some of the latest hardware you can buy--Intel Core-i processors along with a healthy chunk of memory, a new discrete mobile graphics chip and options for an SSD. This time round, HP is betting even more on audio quality, with more prominent Beats Audio branding that has even been integrated into the design with an analog volume dial.

A slot-loading DVD drive lives on the left side (sorry, no Blu-ray option on this model.) In terms of the layout, Hewlett-Packard did Apple one better, stacking the ports on two sides instead of one, with the two USB 3.0 sockets on the left edge, and the lone 2.0 port on the right. Alongside the Ethernet jack theres a Mini DisplayPort, HDMI and two USB 3 ports although Hewlett-Packard has omitted the suddenly fashionable Thunderbolt port for cost reasons, which seems a little parsimonious on a premium laptop such as this.

The original HP Envy 15 was ahead of its time for performance but it lacked the things most folks want in a powerful 15.6" portable: plenty of ports, an optical drive and a decent size HP Envy 15 battery. We still have the original model and it still beats quite a few current notebooks on benchmarks and plays 3D games nicely. But it's a pain to drag out the external optical drive to install all those games, and we use it like a desktop since it's always connected to AC and a USB hub.

HP’s built-in software is improving, but still manages to annoy a little. All the custom menus and stuff are thankfully gone, and the included software is pretty good: You get Adobe Photoshop and Premiere Elements 9, CyberLink PowerDVD and YouCam, Skype, and lots of Windows Live items (Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, Messenger, and the like). Unfortunately, you’ll see nag notes from Norton Internet Security, which seems to go out of its way to wreck the user experience on new PCs. You’ll also encounter both the Bing Bar and the Norton Bar when you fire up the Web browser--that's two bars too many. Overall, though, the Envy 15 has a lot less “cruft” than HP’s laptops used to carry, and it's nothing that a couple minutes in the Add/Remove Programs control panel can’t fix.

Speaking of audio, one of the first things we noticed when looking at the new ENVY is a jog dial built into the side of the machine. This dial actually sticks out from the plane of the notebook's edge eeeeever so slightly. It's just enough for you to be able to spin the dial without it actually detracting from the elegant designs. While it may bring to mind Toshibas (et al.) of old, which actually used a potentiometer dial to regulate audio levels, this is strictly a software solution - it won't work outside of Windows (or presumably Linux).

With its 2.4-GHz Intel Core i5-2430M processor with 6GB of RAM, the HP Envy 15 has more than enough power to play high def-movies and handle productivity software without nary a hiccup. Our online playthrough of Plants vs. Zombies ran seamlessly while we streamed music from Spotify in the background and had eight open tabs in both Google Chrome and Internet Explorer.

The HP Envy 15 has AMD Radeon HD 7690M dedicated graphics with 1 gig of DDR5 VRAM. The 7000 series GPU is new, but it's not a significant jump forward from the 6000 series, and the 7690M has much in common with the Radeon 6770M. This is a solid higher end GPU for 15" and even 17" gaming and multimedia notebooks. For gaming, the Envy 15 is a winner. We tested a variety of popular and current demanding 3D titles like Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3 and the older but demanding FEAR 2. All tests were run at 1920 x 1080 resolution to the internal panel. The Envy handled COD 3 and FEAR 2 well on high settings, and Skyrim and Battlefield 3 did fine at medium settings. In our gaming demo video below, you can see some of these games in action, along with the settings we used in each game.

If there's one thing we took away from our jaunt at CES, it's this: consumers' appetites for mainstream laptops haven't waned all that much. Even in the Ultrabook category, Intel expects half of the models to go on sale this year will have 14- and 15-inch screens -- as strong an indicator as any that lots of folks aren't yet ready to give up their slightly larger screens, their discrete graphics, their (gasp!) optical drives. While HP recently announced its first Ultrabook for the consumer market, the Envy 14 Spectre, it's fully fleshed out its premium Envy series to include two additional models for people who crave more oomph.

At the behest of some of the commenters, I investigated the switchable graphics with respect to battery life. This necessitated going into the BIOS and setting the graphics to a manual switch, since the option doesn’t appear in any of the ENVY’s standard settings menus. (it might be possible to set this with a newer version of Catalyst Control Center, but it wasn’t accessible from the stock software.) Under the default Dynamic setting, it’s supposed to automatically switch to the Intel integrated graphics when the high-powered Radeon isn’t necessary - apparently the software wasn’t activating correctly. When the Intel integrated graphics were activated manually, I got 5 hours and 14 minutes out of the ENVY 15 running the same test. That’s not a marathon machine by any means, but it opens up a lot more options for extended portable use.

The Envy 15 also packs plenty of connectivity options and entertainment features. Along either side of the laptop you'll find connections for video and audio alike. First there are DisplayPort and HDMI ports, for connecting to an external monitor or HDTV. Dual headphone jacks let you share the sweet sounds of Beats Audio, and headphone users actually get a further boost thanks to built-in headphone amplification. If you want to enjoy the video and audio without all those cables, the Envy 15 is equipped with Intel's WiDi 2.0—a wireless alternative to HDMI (provided you have the appropriate HP Envy 15 AC adapter, like the $99 Netgear Push2TV)—and HP Wireless Audio, which streams multichannel audio to any compatible sound system or adapter without requiring a dongle for the laptop.

As a fan of the original Envy design, I have to admit I'm not quite as sold on this new look just yet. It certainly isn't ugly, but it also doesn't feel as sophisticated as HP's even newer Envy Spectre laptop, spotted at CES 2012 and coming soon in a 14-inch version. If anything, the new look of the Envy hews much closer to the MacBook Pro than before. While open, it's nearly indistinguishable from a MacBook Pro at first glance. Only the sunken keyboard and red accents give it away.

The HP TrueVision HD webcam captured stills and video in 1280 x 800p using Cyberlink YouCam 6.0 software. Under the fluorescent lights in our office, images were very dark and grainy. We were able to see ourselves better in natural light, but noticed a yellowish pall. The graininess continued during our Skype session.

On the other hand, I wish they could've lost the optical drive on the Envy 15 as they did on the last generation and added more ports, a larger HP QK641AA battery, second internal HDD bay, or even more cooling. There's so much potential for all that wasted space, and I think the first Envy 15 really recognized and addressed that quite well.

The evolution of the HP Envy line has been interesting to watch. It’s obvious that the engineers responsible for this laptop are learning as they go, improving the laptop with each version. With this new Envy 15 we see not only hardware improvements, but also a cleaner designer, a better keyboard and excellent audio. HP Envy 15 battery life is impressive, as well. This laptop is far too large and heavy to be an ultraportable, but it has battery life on par with them.

HP’s built-in software is improving, but still manages to annoy a little. All the custom menus and stuff are thankfully gone, and the included software is pretty good: You get Adobe Photoshop and Premiere Elements 9, CyberLink PowerDVD and YouCam, Skype, and lots of Windows Live items (Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, Messenger, and the like). Unfortunately, you’ll see nag notes from Norton Internet Security, which seems to go out of its way to wreck the user experience on new PCs. You’ll also encounter both the Bing Bar and the Norton Bar when you fire up the Web browser--that's two bars too many. Overall, though, the Envy 15 has a lot less “cruft” than HP’s laptops used to carry, and it's nothing that a couple minutes in the Add/Remove Programs control panel can’t fix.

Although we could press anywhere on the surface, the Imagepad was somewhat stiff toward the center, though not as stiff as the pad on the Folio 13. For right- or left-clicking, we got the best results pressing down on the very bottom. The HP QK641AA battery isn't centered below the G and H keys, which could be an annoyance to touch typists. Overall, we prefer traditional touchpads with discrete mouse buttons on Windows laptops, but the Envy 15 has one of the better clickpads we've used.

Pros:

• 1.6-GHz Intel Core i7-720QM CPU
• ATI Radeon HD 4830
• Brilliant design
• Great build quality
• Excellent performance
• Vivid HD screen
• Lightweight
• Good speakers
• Windows 7 on board

Cons:

• Poor battery performance
• Gets too hot
• Uncomfortable keyboard
• No optical drive
• No VGA-out

Dell Inspiron M101z Laptop Review

Of late, we’ve been seeing quite a few netbooks and at first glance, it looks like the Dell’s M101z also falls in the same category. However, Dell claims it to be the size of the netbook, with the performance of a notebook. The M101z is basically aimed at students and youngsters who are looking for a netbook with good performance and at the same time portable enough to carry around.

The M101z is priced at $569, which is probably one of the cheapest price brackets for a notebook. However, you have better performing notebooks like the IdeaPad Z570 which can score way better in performance and will only cost you a few thousands more. Also there’s a chance that if you like or want the portability that the M101z offers, you should rather go for a netbook like Toshiba’s NB520 which won’t give you as good a performance but at the same time will cost a lot less.

The Dell Inspiron M101z battery life of just over six hours is around 3 hours short of the best netbooks, but it’s still very respectable. The M101z includes a 320GB hard disk rather than the 250GB models in the vast majority of netbooks. There’s still no optical drive, though, so you may need to invest in an external one – though the Dell’s optional drive is a little steep at $85.

Pros:
Very nice keyboard. Excellent navigating components. Fast hard drive. Lightweight. HDMI included. Plays back 1080p HD clips beautifully. Very good speakers for a little laptop.

Cons:
Performance finished in the bottom. Battery life is not as impressive as its CULV counterparts.

Bottom Line:
Though its size is the same as that of a netbook, the Dell Inspiron M101z is more powerful, though it falls short against its CULV counterparts.

Our review sample - Dell's top-end model - features a dual-core Athlon II Neo K325 processor, 4GB of DD3 memory, a quicker 320GB, 7,200rpm hard disk and a premium $499 price tag. That's clearly more than your average Atom or CULV-based machine, and more in line with full-size notebooks such as the Intel Core i3-powered Inspiron 15R.

The 11.6” WLED display is what pushes this notebook out of netbook status, and it certainly does that in a big way. The 1366 x 768 High-Definition screen delivers a great picture with a large spectrum of brightness settings, meaning you can blind yourself or sit in the dark with no strain on your eyes. The one downfall of the screen comes directly from the hinge design of the Dell Inspiron M101z AC adapter, as a result of the hinge position you simply cannot tilt the screen very far back, and it has to be said the viewing angles of the screen are not amazing with some colour distortion if you didn’t get the angle just right.

The Dell Inspiron M101z comes with innards befitting its form factor and target audience. Our review laptop came outfitted with a dual-core AMD Athlon II Neo K325 1.3-GHz processor, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 320GB 7200rpm hard drive, and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4225 graphics. But there are other configurations available at different price points on Dell's website.

For whatever reason, Dell sent us the "Promise Pink" version of the M101z. While it's nice that some of the proceeds of the particular model go to the Susan Komen Foundation for breast cancer research, the almost florescent color and matching swirly pink pattern that finds its way onto the palmrest just wasn't our thing. We tried to call Molly Ringwald and pawn it off on her, but we just couldn't get in touch. We could make pink laptop jokes all day, but more importantly, in usual Dell fashion it's available in three other colors: black, red and blue.

The lovely 1080p video playback also has ATI's Mobility Radeon 4225 graphics to thank. The integrated solution not only performs better than the Lenovo IdeaPad U160's Core i7 / Intel GMA 950 graphics, but also tops some with NVIDIA's last generation Ion platform. Along with those loud speakers, watching Katie Perry and Snoop's "California Gurls" music video was eye-pleasing. It played just as well when we hooked up the laptop to a 40-inch HDTV via HDMI. Even when streaming that HD YouTube video, the chassis remained relatively cool – the left fan was working pretty hard, but at no point did our lap get overly hot.

The key is the dual-core AMD Neo K325 CPU, which offers a much-improved user experience over the single-core Intel Atom found in most 11-inch Netbooks. This $579 configuration of the M101z also includes 4GB of RAM and a 7200rpm hard drive. At the same time, a single-core version, with AMD's Neo K125, is also available for $449--further confusing the Netbook/laptop issue.

As per usual for Dell, the top row inverts the function keys so that you can directly access things such as brightness and volume controls. You can also quickly toggle the Wi-Fi radio, control music playback, check Dell U150P battery life, and output the display when you want to output the picture to a TV or projector.

The Dell Inspiron M101z is one of the noisier ultraportable laptops I’ve tested thanks to the fan noise — but the trade-off is that it offers higher performance than most quieter machines. The laptop measures 11.5″ x 8.1″ x 1.4″ and weighs about 3.4 pounds.

Though our model came with Bluetooth 2.1, according to Dell's UK website new models are now shipping with Bluetooth 3.0. This is a nice bonus, and 802.11n Wi-Fi is included as well. You only get 10/100 Fast Ethernet for wired networking, but this isn’t the kind of machine that will spend much time tethered to a wall socket.

With this configuration, you get a notebook that is approximately twice as fast as a typical netbook. It recorded times of 4min and 3min 48sec in our Blender 3D rendering and MP3 encoding tasks, respectively, and its hard drive delivered a speed of 24.65 megabytes per second, which is an average result. Like a netbook, you won't want to use the Dell Inspiron M101z for many media encoding tasks — it was especially slow in our media transcoding test, where it took over 3hr to convert a DVD file into a 1.5GB Xvid file.

The battery life department is also somewhat disappointing compared with its peers. The M101z ships with a 56WH (6-cell) Dell Inspiron M101z battery, which is roughly the capacity of the one found in the Acer 1830T-3721 (58WH), yet their battery scores were miles apart. Lasting 4 hours 30 minutes may seem adequate for laptop, but the M101z's battery score was fully eclipsed by the Acer 1830T-3721's 8:13. The Asus UL80Vt-A1, with a much bigger battery (84Wh), amassed 10 hours' worth (10:10) in the same test.

The M101z is surprisingly capable of rocking out. The laptop features SRS Premium Sound produced by two 1.5 watt speakers located on the bottom front of the laptop’s chassis. These speakers are not capable of producing much bass, but they are capable of filling a room with sound that won’t make you want to cut off your ears with garden clippers. That’s more than can be said for most laptops of this size.

This was a particular shame since the viewing angles (and the hampering of brightness and contrast this brings) are easily evident away from the sweet spot. That said, this is far from the worst offender we’ve encountered and the definition and colour reproduction is otherwise second to none. Elsewhere, stand-out mentions must go to the chiclet keyboard and the remarkable speakers hiding under the front lip – both a joy to use and well above the usual experience you’d expect in this (or any other) notebook class.

This Dell Inspiron M101z charger was a particular shame since the viewing angles (and the hampering of brightness and contrast this brings) are easily evident away from the sweet spot. That said, this is far from the worst offender we’ve encountered and the definition and colour reproduction is otherwise second to none. Elsewhere, stand-out mentions must go to the chiclet keyboard and the remarkable speakers hiding under the front lip – both a joy to use and well above the usual experience you’d expect in this (or any other) notebook class.

Don't expect to run games that put much pressure on the graphics chip (like just about any first-person shooter), but games that turn more to the CPU for their juice can be played with the graphics dialed down. The Dell Inspiron M101z delivered a WorldBench score of 60 in our labs tests, and an unplayable 13.3 frames per second running our Unreal Tournament 3 at high quality Dell U150P battery levels and 1024x768. 1080p video, however, played fine. On the plus side, the sound from the speakers was surprisingly robust.

What we need to expect, on the other hand, is value, and the M101z delivers. The AMD chipset trumps the Intel Celeron 743 within Dell's own Insipron M11z in terms of performance, and the high-end model on test here still costs less than the top end M11z. Frankly it's rather excellent value.

Original HP Envy 14-1200 Battery 14.8V 59WH Black

This HP Envy 14-1200 laptop computer battery is a rechargeable, removable, replacement li-ion HP Envy 14 battery designed for use with HP laptop computer.Your original charger will charge this battery. The HP Envy 14-1200 is a replacement Li-ion rechargeable battery pack for hp laptop. Keep your replacement HP Envy 14-1200 laptop battery in a cool and dry storage area. The HP Envy 14-1200 AC adapter should be better worked at room temperature about 25° C. It has a power rating of 14.8V, 3600mAh.

 

Description:

• 12 months warranty.
• 30 days money back offer.
• Strict Li-ion battery circuit management.
• 300-500 full charge/discharge times.
• 100% OEM compatible and stable performance.
• Built-in rechargeable laptop battery protection circuit.
• No memory effect and environment friendly with lithium Ion rechargeable HP RM08 battery.
• Certification: ROHS, CE ,ISO9001/ISO9002, UL, CUL, TUV .
• For return of non-defective product within the first 10 days from date of purchase, full refund.
• Unartificial defective laptop batteries returns are accepted for replacement, and we will afford all shipping fee within the whole laptop battery warranty days.

This replacement battery is compatible with the followings:
HP Envy 14, HP Envy 14-1000, HP Envy 14-1002tx, HP Envy 14-1003tx, HP Envy 14-1004tx, HP Envy 14-1006tx, HP Envy 14-1009tx, HP Envy 14-1011tx, HP Envy 14-1012tx, HP Envy 14-1014tx, HP Envy 14-1015tx, HP Envy 14-1050ea, HP Envy 14-1050et, HP Envy 14-1070ez, HP Envy 14-1090ee, HP Envy 14-1090eo, HP Envy 14-1099br, HP Envy 14-1100, HP Envy 14-1100 Beats Edition, HP Envy 14-1100el Beats Edition, HP Envy 14-1101eg, HP Envy 14-1101tx Beats Edition, HP Envy 14-1102tx Beats Edition, HP Envy 14-1105tx Beats Edition, HP Envy 14-1106tx Beats Edition, HP Envy 14-1108tx Beats Edition, HP Envy 14-1110ew, HP Envy 14-1110NR, HP Envy 14-1110tx Beats Edition, HP Envy 14-1111nr, HP Envy 14-1111tx Beats Edition, HP Envy 14-1113tx Beats Edition, HP Envy 14-1114ef Beats Edition, HP Envy 14-1116tx Beats Edition, HP Envy 14-1120er Beats Edition, HP Envy 14-1150ca, HP Envy 14-1154ca Beats Edition, HP Envy 14-1155ca Beats Edition, HP Envy 14-1160se Beats Edition, HP Envy 14-1163SE, HP Envy 14-1163se Beats Edition, HP Envy 14-1190ea, HP Envy 14-1190eg Beats Edition, HP Envy 14-1195ea Beats Edition, HP Envy 14-1199ez Beats Edition, HP Envy 14-1200, HP Envy 14-1200 Beats Edition, HP Envy 14-1200ea, HP Envy 14-1200eg, HP Envy 14-1201ea, HP Envy 14-1204tx Beats Edition, HP Envy 14-1208tx, HP Envy 14-1210nr, HP Envy 14-1211nr, HP Envy 14-1212ef, HP Envy 14-1214tx Beats, HP Envy 14-1260se Beats Edition, HP Envy 14-2000, HP Envy 14-2000 Beats Edition, HP Envy 14-2000ea, HP Envy 14-2000eg, HP Envy 14-2001xx, HP Envy 14-2002ea Beats Edition, HP Envy 14-2002tx Beats, HP Envy 14-2005tx Beats Edition, HP Envy 14-2010tx Beats Edition, HP Envy 14-2020nr, HP Envy 14-2050se Beats Edition, HP Envy 14-2054se Beats Edition, HP Envy 14-2070nr, HP Envy 14-2090ca Beats Edition, HP Envy 14-2090ef, HP Envy 14-2099sf, HP Envy 14 Beats Edition, HP Envy 14t-1100 CTO Beats Edition, HP Envy 14t-1100 CTOm, HP Envy 14t-1200 CTO, HP Envy 14t-1200 CTO Beats Edition, HP Envy 14t-2000 CTO Beats Edition

HP ProBook 4326s Review

HP ProBook 4326s is a entry-level AMD based business laptop, adopts AMD VISION Pro technology, is good at video browse, video conference, 3D multi-media photographic processing and so on. HP Envy 14-1200 battery is one of the most practical devices for ordinary business use.

The HP ProBook 4326s is a business laptop, which use the AMD platform and support for AMD VISION Pro technology. The HP ProBook 4326s has a 1.8GHz processor, a 13-inch LED backlit BrightView display, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 530v graphics, 2GB DDR3-1333 memory, 320GB 7200RPM, and supports 2 megapixels camera, Express card slot, D-Sub, RJ4, HDMI, e-SATA, USB ports as well as it pre-installed with Windows® 7 OS.

Specifications:

• 13.3-inch LED backlit LCD screen
• a fingerprint recognizer on palm rest
• AMD Vision platform
• 2.2GHz AMD Athlon P340 dual-core mobile processor
• 2GB DDR3-1333 memory
• 500GB hard drive,
• DVD burner
• 2MP camera
• ATI Radeon HD5470M graphics card

HP Probook 4326s adhering to all-metal drawing die ProBook series, using a 13.3-inch LED-backlit display. Equipped with the AMD Phenom triple-core processors II P820, in the AMD Danube platform, this CPU located in the entry level HP Envy 14-1200 AC adapter, clocked at 1.8GHz. Meanwhile, with the Radeon HD 530v graphics card. Many friends of this CPU + GPU combinations unfamiliar, never mind, this is for you to uncover the mystery.

HP ProBook 4326S laptop features a 13.3-inch LED backlit LCD screen with an aspect ratio of 16:9 and 1366×768pixels resolution, the display supports the exclusive HP BrightView display technology allows the screen to restore a more full color, the glossy screen has the advantage of high brightness, but the HP RM08 battery is the inevitable light reflection when the light is very strong.

lthough Intel Core i3, i5 dual-core notebook a very large market share, but still recommended today Xiaobian a platform equipped with AMD notebook HP ProBook 4326s, the series was launched with HP for better business performance of the 13.3-inch portable notebooks, today recommended this HP ProBook 4326s (WW409PA), equipped with AMD triple-core processors, with ATI graphics card.

SSD Compatibility - ProBook 4326s with standard voltage Core i5 (520M, 540M) and Core i7 (620M) CPU takes 2.5-inch HDD or SSD in the only 2.5-inch drive bay. 2540p shipped with low voltage Core i7 (640LM) takes 1.8-inch HDD or SSD in the only 1.8-inch drive bay. If 4GB is installed, the recognized memory may be reduced to 3.5GB or less (depending on system configuration and memory allocation). Maximum configurations require a HP Envy 14-1200 battery 64-bit operating system. Systems based on Intel GL40 chipset supports up to 4GB maximum. Per HP documentation, system supports DDR3-1333 (PC3-10600) and 1066 (PC3-8500) modules but memory Bus may run at 1066MHz (PC3-8500 MB/sec) depending on processor.

The HP ProBook 4326s laptop pc ENERGY STAR, Model Number(s) 4326s, is a notebook or tablet computer manufactured by Hewlett-Packard Company. It features a 1.7 GHz AMD processor. It runs on a Windows Vista , Windows XP , Windows 7 operating system. The sleep HP Envy 14-1200 charger default time when the computer is shipped is 15 minutes and the display sleep mode default time when the computer is shipped is 15 minutes.

HP ProBook 4326s is equipped with a 45nm AMD Athlon P340 dual-core processor, AMD K10 architecture, the Athlon P340 processor is the entry-level products of HP RM08 battery AMD Athlon family, in addition, the secondary cache is 2 × 512KB, supports x86, x86-64, MMX, 3DNow!, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4A instruction set.

Aiming at business use, HP ProBook 4326S laptop can meet daily business demand effectively. Featuring compact design, portable body, decent performance and affordable price, HP ProBook 4326S laptop may be a good entry-level device for you.

DELL Inspiron N7110 Laptop Review

Dell Inspiron N7110 laptop may fulfill your need of desktop replacement with large display. Reviewing on Dell Inspiron N7110 specs, it's no doubt why this laptop has good performance. Dell Inspiron N7110 main specs are: it equipped with Intel Core i5-2510M (Sandy Bridge) processor and paired with two graphical chip, integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 and nVidia GeForce GT 525M. Those system supported by 6 GB DDR3 RAM on 17.3-inch large screen. Dell Inspiron N7110 use a big 9-cell 90Wh Dell Inspiron N7110 battery that can run almost up to 8 hours. Dell Inspiron N7110 price on the market is offered start from $1,039.98. But, please be aware, Dell Inspiron N7110 laptop weighs at 7.67 pounds. With that heaviness, it's not suitable for regular treveller.

Dell Inspiron N7110 Specifications:

• Processor: Intel Core i5 2410M 2.3 GHz
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit
• Memory: 4096 MB, 1x 4096 MB DDR3 SDRAM (1333 MHz)
• Graphics adapter: NVIDIA GeForce GT 525M – 1024 MB, Core: 600 MHz, Memory: 900 MHz, shader rate: 1200 MHz, DDR3, ForceWare 265.94
• Display: 17.3 inch 16:9, 1600×900 pixel, AUO139E, HD+ WLED True-Life, glossy: yes
• Harddisk: 500GB 5400rpm
• Connections: 2 USB 2.0, 2 USB 3.0, 1 VGA, 1 HDMI, 1 Kensington Lock, 1 eSata, Audio Connections: headphone, microphone, Card Reader: SD,SDXC,SDHC,MMC,MMC+,MS,MS PRO,XD,
• Networking: Realtek PCIe FE Family Controller (10/100MBit), Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1030 (bgn), 3.0 Bluetooth
• Optical drive: Optiarc DVD RW AD-7717H
• Size: height x width x depth (in mm): 38 x 418 x 287
• Weight: 3.3 kg Power Supply: 0.32 kg
• Battery: 48 Wh Lithium-Ion, 6 cell

The awe-inspiring dell Inspiron series R started showing up well since its release on 15-Dec-2010 with its 14” (14 R), 15” (15R) and specifically with Dell Inspiron N7110 AC adapter which have taken hearts by its marvelous looks and outstanding performance. Dell definitely knew what they wanted for competing in the era of technology, they have sent a brave soldier, the N7110. The dell Inspiron is a landmark of class, higher than the others. Its inspiring architecture and the reliability makes it a perfect replacement for the desktop pc. Dell has stood up yet again with its Inspiron N7110 to challenge the competitors with a greater zeal. Dell N7110 has proven its name, “Inspiron”.

Dell Inspiron N7110 processor relies on Intel Core i5-2510M quad-core processor (clock speed at 2.3GHz) which is full-powered, standard-voltage processor, and based on Sandy Bridge technology. Its system is supported with 6GB of RAM. Nvidia GeForce GT 525M graphics chip with Optimus technology (which support to automatically switch into integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 graphics chip if not used for energy saving) is resulting good performance in 3D gaming and other application. On PCMark Vantage testing, Dell Inspiron N7110 scores at 6,036. Since it supplied with big 9-cell Dell T114C battery, it can run up to 7 hours 51 minutes based on MobileMark 2007 tests. Those long battery life time can be considered top class.

Battery life lasted a whopping 7 hours 51 minutes on our MobileMark 2007 test, thanks to its 9-cell 90Wh battery. The automatic graphics switching technology from Nvidia , known as Optimus, also helped boost its battery life. The Optimus technology switches between the less power consuming integrated graphics for light productivity tasks and switches to the discrete GPU when needed for taxing graphics-intensive tasks, like gaming. In comparison, the Dell XPS 15 (Sandy Bridge), equipped with a 92Wh Dell Inspiron N7110 battery, lasted 6:58, and the Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch (Thunderbolt) lasted a mere 4:40.

The Inspiron N7110's top model is standardly equipped with a 500 GB HDD. The installed Western Digital WDC WD5000BEVT-750RT0 doesn't belong to the fastest representatives with a speed of 5400 rpm. The sequential read and write rates are rather average with 67.75, respectively 63.43 MB/s. Good HDDs easily achieve more than 80 MB/s. State of the art SSDs can even achieve more than 300 MB/s. By the way: Amateurs shouldn't try to change the HDD. The removable (screwed) cover only allows accessing the RAM (two slots).

Displayul de 17.3 inch este excelent pentru jocuri cat si pentru filme. Dar sa nu ne oprim aici, trebuie sa spunem ca combinat cu rezolutia de 1600 x 900 pixeli ofera un spatiu de lucru mare – care iti aduce un plus de productivitate in mediul office. Dimensiunea pixelului este buna, este un display glossy asadar culorile se vad foarte bine, sunt vii, constrastul e ridicat iar unghiul de vizibilitate pe laterale este facut in asa fel incat sa se poata vedea pana la 160 grade.

The basic Inspiron N7110 sports a black muted design (this option won't cost you any extra), but with Dell's innovative new SWITCH by Design Studio lids (exclusive to the Dell Inspiron R Series), you can change up your lid design for $34.99 more. There are numerous lid options, including Peacock Blue, Fire Red, or Lotus Pink (my personal favorite). To switch your lids, you just press a button on the backside of the lid that allows it to pop off. The Dell Inspiron N7110 charger is made of plastic, but the interior and exterior has a brushed look to it, giving it a more dynamic design.

For the storage media, Dell Inspiron N7110 relies on 500 GB (5,400rpm) HDD, although those storege is spacious enough to keeps your digital files, but other laptop is this category, offers larger space. While for optical drive, it equipped with Dual-Layer DVD+/-RW (not a blue ray). Ports given are: two USB 3.0 ports, a USB 2.0, eSATA/ USB 2.0 combo, 3-in-1 card reader (SD, MMC, MS), VGA port, HDMI port and WiDi 2.0. Dell Inspiron N7110 wireless connection features: Ethernet, and Wi-Fi. It also has a 1.0-megapixel HD webcam.

Performance in our 3D gaming tests was good. It scored 52.6 frames per second (fps) on Crysis (DirectX 10) and 36.8fps on Lost Planet 2 (DirectX 9) (both on Medium quality settings). At higher settings the Inspiron N7110 produced slower frame rates on Crysis (14.7fps) and Lost Planet (16.4fps). Its Nvidia GeForce GT 525M graphics chipset will certainly give you some 3D performance, provided you adjust your in-game settings accordingly.

The Inspiron N7110 is a typical multimedia laptop that doesn't allow itself to make many mistakes. At the same time, it doesn't really excel in any relation. Workmanship, keyboard, connectivity, performance and emissions are on about the normal standard. As most other manufacturers, Dell unfortunately uses a run of the mill display that will only suffice less demanding users. However, the smooth and pleasantly large touchpad has to be mentioned positively. Most laptops can only dream of that. The Dell T114C battery life also surpasses numerous opponents. The Inspiron N7110 can be used in many ways.

HP ProBook 4431s 14″ Review

HP business notebooks as the mainstream-class family in the classic, HP ProBook 4431s caused by the introduction of many young business people of great concern. Changing the business community, workplace, how people take the opportunity to flex its muscles, you need a versatile business partner coordination. As all-around choice for the mainstream business, HP ProBook 4431s small and medium enterprises and business to meet the daily needs of white-collar workers who came into being, relying on its strong business performance and customization, as you remove the obstacles the road to success, so that efficient business communication close at hand.

 

This HP ProBook 4431s laptop also equipped with HP Face Recoqnition and fingerprint technology to protect from the data lost. HP Probook 4431s is provided with 6-cell HP ProBook 4431s battery for lighter weight needs or you may add into 9 cell for longer battery life. These feature make it simply useful for those professional who has mobile activities.

 

Appearance, the HP ProBook 4431s (QG641PA) notebook uses a 14-inch LCD backlit display, the screen resolution of 1366 × 768,339 × 235 × 28.1mm size of the model, the whole weight of 2.04Kg, for our business people who travel office provides convenience.

 

In the hardware configuration, this HP ProBook 4431s 32nm process technology with Intel Core i32310M dual-core processor, chipset with Intel HM65, equipped with high-capacity 500GB hard drive, and 2GBDDR31333MHz high-speed memory, in addition, a genuine factory-installed machines Windows7 operating system. In the video, the model uses entry-level 1GBGDDR3 AMDRadeonHD6470M discrete graphics memory, and HP ProBook 4431s AC adapter comes with an Intel processor-based Core HD3000 graphics cards in two graphics capabilities.

 

The keyboard and touchpad on this HP laptop is nothing but fantastic. In fact, they are even better than the HP DM1 E450 netbook that was reviewed few days back. The shortcuts above the keyboard are made of metal, including the power and Wi-Fi toggle buttons. The touchpad’s mouse buttons do not require a lot of effort to register a tap.

 

Configuration, HP HP ProBook 4431s notebook equipped with Intel Core i3-2310M dual-core processor, equipped with Intel HM65 motherboard chipset, 640GB hard drive and configure the 2GB DDR3-1333MHz memory, HP QK646AA battery with entry-level 1GB GDDR5 memory AMD Radeon HD 6470M graphics card . preinstalled Windows 7 Professional (Professional Edition operating system.

 

HP ProBook 4431s also supported with Genuine Windows 7 Professional with Intel® Core™ i3-2330M Processor (2.20 GHz, 3M Cache) onboard completed with cool 14.0 inch screen HD display that would make this gadget looks perfect. Smart combination between style and strength.

 

Interfaces, the HP 4431s (LX002PA) Notebook provides an Express Card expansion card, Six-card reader, four USB2.0, VGA port, HDMI high-definition digital interface, RJ45 network interface, audio input, audio output and DC power interface network, built-1000M Ethernet card, 802.11a/g/n wireless LAN and Bluetooth 3.0 module.

 

Known as the 21st century's new type of environmentally friendly material, TPU’s special molecular structure makes it have excellent physical functions, such as flexibility, wear-resistance, strength, hardness, extension and HP ProBook 4431s battery temperature adaptability and so on. It has been widely used in the aerospace industry. Because of the outstanding non-toxic, water permeability, oil-resistance, water-resistance and mold- resistance, TPU has been widely used in the medical industry.

 

While the HP 4431s notebook is not the most powerful notebook in the market, it is powerful enough for businessmen and college students. Keep in mind that the market of college students is the primary market for HP. The Probook, like the U24e ran very quiet and generated very little heat which is rather intriguing since both of this HP QK646AA battery pack very powerful processors inside. The only thing not to like about this HP notebook is its low resolution 1366 x 768 pixel screen. This resolution is fine for a netbook with 11.6 inch display, but not for a business notebook. If screen resolution does not bothers you, you will love and appreciate its matte display that reflects very little glare back to the user.

 

Hewlett-Packard HP ProBook 4431s remains a restrained business style, rounded edges to deal with the delicate touch the surface of the work highlights the excellent quality of the machine, cover with brushed metal keyboard surface design is quite obvious fit the temperament of HP ProBook 4431s adapter business people In addition, the hardware configuration, powerful and functional, equipped with the new Intel Core Duo processor i3 and AMD Radeon HD 6490M graphics card in the end.

 

Specifications:

• Processor Intel Core i3 2310M (clocked at 2.1GHz, 3 cache 3MB)
• Chipset Intel HM65
• Standard Memory 2GB DDR3
• Capacity of 500GB SATA hard disk interface, 7200
• DVD burner
• Graphics chip ATI Mobility Radeon HD6490M (Memory 1024MB) + Intel HD Graphics 3000
• Screen 14 inches LED 1366 ¡Á 768
• Network / Wireless 100M Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n
• External interface 4 ¡Á USB2.0, 1 ¡Á RJ-45, 1 ¡Á VGA, 1 * HDMI, 1 * ExpressCard, audio output / microphone input, Six-card reader
• Battery 6-cell lithium battery
• Weight 2.18kg
• Operating-system pre-installed Genuine Windows 7 Home Basic
• Expense of $835

Dell XPS L401x 14-inch Review

Dell XPS L401x with Movies, games, music and Web chat come to life with leading-edge graphics, 3D capabilities, high-definition (HD) video chat and sound that can fill a room.

Powerful graphics. Powerfully smart. The XPS™ L401x laptop has what it takes to take you to new levels of performance. Razor-Sharp Graphics Come Standard. The Dell XPS L401x battery comes with standard leading-edge NVIDIA performance graphics3 (available up to 2 GB) for powerful photo and video editing and high-resolution gaming with breathtaking detail.

Specification:

• Processor Type : Intel® Core i7 ™ Processor
• Processor Onboard : Intel® Core i7 ™ Processor 740QM (1.73 Ghz, 6MB smart cache, 2.5GT/s)
• Chipset : Intel®HM57 Chipset
• Standard Memory : 4GB DDR3 1,333MHz
• Max. Memory : 8 GB
• Video Type : nVidia® GeForce® GT425M with 2 GB
• Display Size : 14.1″
• Display Max. Resolution : 1366 × 768
• Display Technology : High Definiton WLED Display with True Life
• Audio Type : JBL 2.0 (Integrated)
• Speakers Type I : Stereo Speaker (ntegrated)
• Floppy Drive : Optional
• Hard Drive Type : 500GB /7200 rpm SATA HDD
• Optical Drive Type : 8x DVD+/- RW (Dual Layer) Drive
• Networking : Modem (Optional) Gigabit Ethernet LAN (Integrated)

It is necessary for a high-end product Dell XPS L401X to feature versatile. XPS L401X uses a backlit keyboard and the user can turn on and off the backlight by hand. There are two options of backlight intensity.

Dell XPS L401X notebook weighs 3.435kg together with its battery and Dell XPS L401x AC adapter. As we all know, Dell XPS series notebook features relatively heavy, but acceptable as a gaming notebook, as a result, Dell XPS L401X notebook is not so convenient to carry for outdoor use.

XPS laptops are designed to be the loudest, clearest and cleanest laptops on the planet with built-in high-fidelity JBL speakers and Waves MaxxAudio technology. Together they produce rich, full sound that delivers booming bass and razor-sharp clarity to your favorite movies, music and games. Treat your ears to peak audio performance with the XPSs 6W JBL speakers. Then, layer in the Waves algorithms designed to deliver better dynamic range, frequency response and imaging with maximum transparency, clarity and natural sound.

The backlit keys aren't of the raised chiclet variety that we typically prefer, but the click action on the XPS L401x's keyboard was surprisingly snappy, rather than mushy like we expected it to be. We're still not fans of typing on notebook keys in general, however this is as good of a mobile keyboard as we've typed on. We were slightly bummed at not being able to change the color of the backlight.

Simply connect your laptop to your 3D-enabled TV and effortlessly project your favorite Blu-ray5 3D movies and 3D photo slideshows for a real-life theater experience. Then, bring your best games6 to life. Using the power of your HP PR08 battery and your 3D TV, you can step into an eye-popping 3D gaming experience right in your living room. All you need to harness the 3D power of your XPS L401x is a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) cable, optional Blu-ray Disc™ drive, approved 3D-enabled TV and 3D media1.

This system is surrounded by two USB 2.0 ports, a USB / eSATA combo jack as well as HDMI, DisplayPort and ethernet sockets .There is also a headphone and headphone / mic port, but you'll definitely prefer listening to music through the speakers as they are mind blowing. It has got a DVD drive and a SD card slot live on the right edge. You can add a Blu-ray drive to the configuration too.

My WiFi enables people to share Internet access function. The reason why this Dell XPS L401X support MyWifi, mainly because the laptop has equipped with built-in Intel wireless card, which most of mainstream Intel wireless cards support MyWifi technology.

There were some good aspects to the design, though. For instance, idle Dell XPS L401x battery life improved 16% and Internet battery life went up 35%. (We noted in the L501x review that our Internet test did quite poorly, and it appears the L401x doesn’t suffer the same fate.) H.264 playback remains nearly the same at just under three hours. For gaming, the 768p resolution is also a better fit for the GT 420M GPU—1080p is simply too much for anything but low detail settings on most games without a faster GPU. The final benefit of course is the size and weight. Personally, 14” laptops are one of my favorite form factors in terms of combining a smaller size with a comfortable keyboard, reasonable display size, and HP PR08 battery life/portability. If the XPS L401x had offered a 1440x900 quality LCD upgrade, it would have been nearly “perfect” for mainstream use.

When Dell told us of its plans to revive its tried and true XPS laptop line we were pretty darn excited. Without a doubt, the Dell XPS L401X packs some extremely attractive features: the system's JBL speakers are some of the best ever put into a laptop, its Core i5 processor combined with NVIDIA GeForce GT400M provides seriously solid gaming and performance muscle, and its HD webcam captures crisp video and pictures.

The Intel Core i7 740QM processor is one of the high-end processor with advanced 45nm manufacturing process, the default clocked at 1.73GHz that can improved to 2.93GHz by (Turbo Boost) dynamic acceleration technology. Meantime, and be able to adjust 6MB three-level shared cache according to the actual load dynamic, and support Hyper-Threading technology with the maximum thermal design power of 90W Dell XPS L401x adapter.

Dell XPS L401x price in USA : Dell XPS L401x laptop price starts from $629. Dell XPS 14 is expected to be available in United States soon.

HP ProBook 5220m Laptop Review

HP ProBook 5220m has a thin and light design. The laptop has a thickness of 2 cm and weighing only 1.5 kg with HP ProBook 5220m battery installed. 12.1-inch screen sizes with aluminum casing makes this HP Notebook Probook 5220m looks increasingly slim.

The first thing to look for when looking to buy or use a notebook of course design view not bad start we carry or want to just use it when the inner satisfaction. It seems to me, and Yes I like the look of this Pavilion which uses material 5220m sturdy plus elegant design with dent rigid but instead memorable Gallant.Obviously only the HP direct product for high-end users.

So choose between multiple processors, and more on this can be found in the list of technical specifications notebook HP ProBook 5220m, which is presented below:

• Intel Core i3 370(2.4GHZ) processor
• 2 GB DDR3 Memory
• 320 GB Hard Disk Drive
• Windows 7 professional Operating System
• 8X SuperMulti LightScribe Double Layer(8.5GB)
• Wireless
• BlueTooth
• Finger Print Reader
• 2MP WebCamera
• Integrated Higher Definition Graphics

HP Probook 5220 look slimmer with 12.1-inch LED screen with a resolution of 1280 x 800. Features available include: 3 pieces USB slot, Webcam, card reader, Wi-Fi, supports up to 4 GB RAM, 7200rpm hard drive with operating system Windows 7, and use security systems face regocnition.

The ProBook 5320m benefits from a solid and good-looking chassis, with a highly-usable keyboard and trackpad. It also comes with decent core specifications, allowing it to be used for a multitude of business-related tasks. However, its portable nature is let down by its relatively poor HP FE04 battery life, which makes it unsuited to business users who are frequently on the road.

According to him, toughness performance, attractive design, light weight and compact and can be fulfilled through HP ProBook 5220m AC adapter. Parties 5220m series HP claims it has differences with the previous series ProBook. Prominent changes seen in the finishing layer of aluminum and more compact body design. Dimensions, 290x212x24, 3 mm. Weight, 1.5 kilograms.

This is a perfect machine for home, office or mobile, web surfing, facebook, light gaming with its high processor speed, efficient RAM and sufficient huge storage harddisk. With high resolution built-in webcam to video call friends, family, business associates with a clearer image.

The screen size is reached 12, i inches were added to the quality of the LED screen with 1280 x 800 pixels resolution level. Other features are equipped port-port D-Sub, HDMI, webcam that can face recognation, as well as wireless connection Wi-Fi b / g / n. This HP FE04 battery does not include QuickLook 3 feature which is able to access email, calendar, schedule of events in seconds without having to boot-up.

Graphics performance is due here from the respective on-board graphics processor. While the Celeron processor, Intel GMA nor the predecessor model in use, the processors with Intel Core iX HD graphics chips, at least play HD video smoothly.

Setelah sukses dengan seri ProBook S terdahulu, HP kembali merilis notebook ProBook seri M terbaru, HP ProBook 5220m yang berdesain tipis dan ringan dengan performa yang memukau.

HP Probook 5220 terlihat ramping dengan layar LED 12,1 inchi dengan resolusi 1280 x 800. Fitur-fitur yang tersedia antara lain: 3 buah slot USB, Webcam, card reader, Wi-Fi, mendukung RAM hingga 4 GB, Harddisk 7200rpm dengan sistem operasi Windows 7, dan menggunakan sistem keamanan face regocnition.

HP ProBook 5220m is also equipped with security features Face Recognition that recognizes facial bone structure of the user. HP ProBook 5220m adapter is available in a choice of models with the latest Intel Core i3 with a price of U.S. $ 799 and Intel Core i5 for U.S. $ 899 and features an LED display resolution of 1280 × 800 pixels, port-port D-Sub, HDMI, webcam, and wireless connections Wi-Fi b / g / n.

More and more business people are interested in compact notebook. And if coupled with stylish design, I believe no one can resist the temptation of such a product. HP recently updated its comprehensive line of business notebooks; the most attractive notebook is 12-inch HP ProBook 5220m.

This HP ProBook 5220m is made on Intel platform, comes with a 1.06GHz Celeron U3400 processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 250 GB HDD. The HP ProBook 5220m has a 12.1-inch display with resolution of 1280×800 pixels, D-Sub, HDMI, a webcam, card reader, Wi-Fi, and three USB port. Its dimensions are 290x212x24.3-37 mm and weight 1.6 kg (with battery). It is provides up to four hours of HP ProBook 5220m battery life.

HP laptops pre-installed with Windows Vista or Windows 7 OS. Price is the HP ProBook 5220m starts at $ 760, while HP ProBook 4525 is $ 675 off. HP ProBook 4525 has dimensions of 372 × 250×27.7-39 mm and weighs 2.6kg. It allows up to four hours.

HP Pavilion DM1-4010us 11.6" Review

HP Pavilion DM1-4010us notebook with a complete package, solid performance, portability easy, elegant and the price is less than $ 500 will soon be able to you at the end of 2011. DM1-4010us comes with 1366 x 768, 11.6-inch LED-backlit display that delivers vibrant colors and less contrast. while the exterior design of gain instead of a glossy lid, a silver HP logo sits on the right corner of the screen, hinges chrome, matte black color available soft-touch rubber. DM1-4010us have the total size of 11.5 x 8.5 x 0.3-1.3 inches and weighs just about 3.4 pounds. HP Pavilion DM1-4010us battery also provides on-island style keyboard design, but it also has all-in-one clickpad on the touchpad, size 3.3 x 1.6-inch screen that can operate outside the ordinary, even able to respond to the movement of three fingers, zoom, and springy feedback.

The HP Pavilion DM1-4010u 11.6" dm1 Laptop PC gives you the performance of a notebook, the portability of a netbook and a design that looks great from every angle. You can connect in seconds, chat clearly in any light and stay cool, always. You'll get uncompromised computing at a comfortable price. Thin, light and fast, it crushes old ideas about compact laptops; what they can do and how they can rock the way you live.

The new HP Pavilion DM1-4010us AC adapter gives you better listening, faster starting, and more comfort and convenience than you've ever enjoyed in an HP compact notebook. It's a whole new experience. All this with a distinctive new look sets you apart. Loaded with advanced features yet just 3.5 pounds. Ready to go just about everywhere. Featuring breakthrough AMD VISION technology, the HP Pavilion dm1 Entertainment PC offers stunningly smooth HD playback, exceptional graphics, and the best Internet experience available in a compact notebook. Experience super-realistic full-screen HD Video on the High-Definition HP BrightView LED display - 1.5" larger than most netbooks. Stream video or play back DVDs with an Optional external standard or Blu-Ray drive. For the first time ever in an HP compact notebook, the new Pavilion dm1 also comes with Beats Audio for a dynamic listening experience.

It gets 3 people because of the INCREDIBLE number of crapware it came complete of. After I washed it all out (which took hours) I got 20 function of my challenging take a holiday again.There is the choice, in the create function, HP Pavilion dm1-4010us Laptop PC when commencing, to recover to a fresh image with people & operating-system only – BUT it dropping three conditions. What a fun. What a spend of your power and attempt.HP Pavilion dm1-4010us Laptop PC On process, I will not be purchasing ANYTHING that HP pre set up.

It’s support HP QuickWeb and CyberLink YouCam DE software that allow the user to make video calling with your friends or colleagues. The machines will be starting ship in Japan on netx few days with price tag at 39,900 Yen and its also available in several country with HP Pavilion Dm1-4000 QD992UA that has starting price at $480.

The silver-painted hinges have enough tension to hold the screen in place, but the plastics surrounding the hinges “float” around the actual metal hinges themselves. The lid features a plain matte black paint job which keeps the outward appearance clean and professional. Opening up the screen, This was probably done so that the hinges won’t sustain a sharp impact if the laptop is dropped with the screen in the open position. However, the flexing plastics around the hinges don’t inspire the same confidence in build quality as the rest of the laptop.

This thin, lightweight machine combines some great features in an attractive package. One of the biggest problems facing laptop users today is the overheating of their machine. The HP Pavilion dm1-4010us comes complete with HP CoolSense technology. This feature will automatically regulate the temperature of your laptop while you’re using it away from a desk. The heat will be directed away from your lap, meaning that you can use the machine in comfort for longer.

HP Pavilion dm1-4010us takes onboard several hardware such as VISION E2 technology from AMD with AMD dual-core E-450 accelerated processor, the video graphics adopt AMD Radeon HD 6320 Discrete-Class Graphic that provides up to 1973MB total graphic memory. The memory RAM integrated is 4GB DDR3.

On the hardware side, there are very few changes: the previous model featured the AMD Fusion APU E-350, the new dm1-4010us will come in two flavors, one with the AMD E-300 (slower) and the other will run the AMD E-450 (faster). Models with Intel Core 2nd generation processors will launch later. AMD models also include the AMD Radeon HD integrated GPU.

The dm1's discrete-class AMD Radeon HD 6320 GPU returned a decent score of 2,650 on 3DMark06. While that's 230 points below the ultraportable average, it trounced the IdeaPad S205's ATI Mobility Radeon 6310 GPU (2,269) and the Aspire One's ATI Radeon HD 6250 GPU (1,630). The older dm1z scored 2,217. Those looking for a little gaming action on the go will find the dm1 fairly capable. When we ran a few quests in World of Warcraft with effects set to Good and at 1366 x 768p, the notebook notched a frame rate of 34 fps--nine points shy of the 43 fps average but still playable. The last-gen dm1 mustered 24 fps. On maximum settings, though, the new HP Pavilion DM1-4010us adapter only achieved 13 fps.

The 11.6-inch LED-backlit screen on the HP Pavilion dm1z is like most glossy screens we've seen on 11-inch notebooks and netbook alternatives. The 1366 x 768 resolution is fine for browsing the web, editing photos, or even watching 720p HD movies. Color and contrast are average thanks to the glossy surface and LED backlighting. We recorded a real-world contrast ratio of 216:1 in our lab and a maximum screen brightness of 226 nits; bright enough for indoor use under almost any artificial lights and bright enough for outdoor use (as long as the unfiltered sun isn't shining directly on your screen and creating reflections). If you tilt the screen forward or back, the colors start to look dim or very washed out. Horizontal viewing angles were better; staying visible until roughly 60 degrees.

If you're in the market for an 11-inch laptop that can fit on an airline tray table with room to spare, offers good HP Pavilion DM1-4010us battery life and delivers reasonably impressive performance, then the HP Pavilion dm1-4010us is the notebook for you.

Specifications:

• AMD E-450 with AMD Radeon HD 6320 Graphics (dual-core CPU at 1.65GHz and dual DX-11 SIMDs at 508MHz)
• 11.6-inch 1366 x 768 HD glossy display with LED backlighting
• Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
• 4GB DDR3 memory
• 320GB, 7200 rpm HDD (Hitachi Travelstar Z7K320)
• 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN
• 802.11b/g/n WLAN & Bluetooth
• 6-cell Li-ion battery (55Wh)
• Dimensions: 11.45 (L) x 8.45 (W) x 0.9 - 1.25 (H) inches
• Weight: 3.53 pounds

Dell XPS L502X Overview

The Dell XPS L502X is the 15 inch model of Dell’s new line of “powerhouse” , multimedia laptops. Dell has really worked hard on the overall performance of this laptop and has targeted it to multimedia and gaming enthusiasts.

Dell recently updated its XPS L502X line to include the new Intel 2nd Generation Core i processors. This refresh makes the systems faster with an economical starting price of just $799. Depending on your level of gaming, an upgrade to a FullHD display and more advanced video card may be worth considering. In summary, the Dell XPS L502X is a great 15-inch notebook due to its portability, excellent audio quality, and overall value.

Although Dell also promotes the XPS line for its design, this notebook looks more serviceable than chic. It’s bulky, weighing in at 6.2 pounds, with one of the largest Dell XPS L502x AC adapter bricks I’ve ever seen. Along with the so-so Dell XPS L502x battery life, this makes the Dell XPS 15 L502X a poor candidate for frequent flyers. Its silvery aluminum chassis, including a slab-like lid with black accents, looks fairly generic, and its underside gets quite warm after extended use. The keyboard, while roomy and responsive, has no backlighting, and the touchpad seemed a bit slow to respond. The 1366 by 768 display, which is fine for video, could be a bit sharper and crisper when showing a screenful of text; Dell offers a couple of 1920 by 1080 display alternatives. You can get this same hardware in a sleeker, lighter, and more durable shell if you’re willing to pay a couple hundred dollars more for the Dell XPS 15 L502X.

The XPS L502X (Sandy Bridge)’s feature set is vast and arguably the most impressive in its class. It comes with 3 USB ports (two of which are USB 3.0, the other an eSATA/USB 2.0 combo port), DisplayPort, HDMI, and an HD Webcam. The Webcam, which allows you to shoot video in 720p, was the first for a laptop until the Apple 15-inch (Thunderbolt) included one of its own. Unlike the Apple 15-inch, this one is Skype-certified, which means you can video chat in high definition through Skype (You can only use the MacBook Pros Webcam in standard definition for video chatting on Skype; the HD resolution only works with its own Facetime client software). A Blu-ray drive , which is included in my review configuration, is ideal for watching Blu-ray movies in a full 1080p. You can also find a Blu-ray drive in the HP dv7-4283cl. Not only is the 750GB hard drive spacious, but at 7,200rpm, it also spins as fast as the one found in the Asus N53SV-A1 and HP dv7-4283cl. Alternatively, you can swap it out for a 256GB solid-state drive (SSD), albeit for an obscene amount of money.

Our configuration came with a quad-core 2.0 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU 2630QM, costing $ 175 over the CPU core. This is one of the new Intel processors Sandy Bridge in 2011. In our benchmarks, the performance was excellent and much better than last year’s dual-core i5 – not surprising since it was a generation processor and an option to the lower end of the processor. But even against other laptops in 2011 with Sandy Bridge Intel next-gen, he more than held its own to make a significant jump in speed compared to last year’s Intel CPU. We drove several windows CPU-intensive tasks and experienced almost no slowdown, even slots blowing hot air from time to time.

XPS L502X is good enough for the stereo. Speakers and subwoofer ensure a low-mounted JBL sound incredibly powerful, precise. We were too heavy bass song is like listening RB, Forget-me-not, funk, and classics like Kool and the Gang Summer Madness, or classical music, such as Richard Strauss, Also Sprach Zarathustra, the sound was clear and true, even at the loudest maximum. In fact, listening to these songs, you hear a clear separation of instruments, plucking the bass line, do not forget me, Summer Madness Dell R795X battery.

The software package includes Dell uses a handful of applications that may or may not be useful, including PhotoStage image organizer, Cosi Family Calendar, Roxio Creator Starter (for burning DVDs and CDs), and Skype, and the now ubiquitous Microsoft Office 2010 Starter Edition (with advertising versions of Word and Excel).

It seems that, at least for now, you can't duplicate your desktop to a TV/projector using the HDMI output and the Fn+F1 options - can only extend. You can duplicate using the displayport output though, and so using a DP to HDMI Dell XPS L502x adapter. This may be fixed now, using beta drivers from Nvidia.

All this is due to its use of RGB LED backlights, rather than the white LEDs that most screens use. White LEDs are actually made up of a blue LED with yellow phosphor to make it appear white, but this leaves huge holes in the red and green parts of the spectrum. RGB LEDs make a purer white and render greens and reds far more accurately.

The latop is pretty bulky and heavy too , in my case its due to the 9 cell battery. But i think those who select a 6 cell will be slightly lighter.
The vents for the GPU/CPU is placed on the left side of the laptop , compare it to the old XPS , which are behind the screen and sometimes a fully opened screen can partly block the vents , also there was big fan on the bottom , making the exhaust of hot air pretty complicated. But New XPS overcomes these problems in grand style. The vent is on the left side and there is only one 3.0 USB port , so unless you stick a big wireless device or receiver that sort on the left side ,the exhaust are pretty much open and big to push out chunk of hot air.

The reason I get into the above is two-fold: first, it illustrates a design flaw and the difficulty of upgrading the hard drive/SSD. The other item to note is that the entire top cover is made of somewhat flimsy plastic, which feels more like Inspiron quality than XPS quality. The frame on the XPS line may be solid, but the actual shell around the frame is plastic and definitely not as sturdy as Dell’s Latitude line. I’d really prefer to see the XPS line go slightly more upscale—bump the price up $50 to $100 and give us a consumer chassis that feels like it will last. Or there’s the new Alienware M11x/M14x that might fill that niche, but aesthetics are still a matter of opinion and plenty of people dislike the bling that’s present on Alienware’s offerings.

Although Dell also promotes the XPS L502X line for its design, this notebook looks more serviceable than chic. It's bulky, weighing in at 6.2 pounds, with one of the largest AC adapter bricks I've ever seen. Along with the so-so Dell XPS L502x battery life, this makes the XPS 15 L502X a poor candidate for frequent flyers. Its silvery aluminum chassis, including a slab-like lid with black accents, looks fairly generic, and its underside gets quite warm after extended use. The keyboard, while roomy and responsive, has no backlighting, and the touchpad seemed a bit slow to respond. The 1366 by 768 display, which is fine for video, could be a bit sharper and crisper when showing a screenful of text; Dell offers a couple of 1920 by 1080 display alternatives. You can get this same hardware in a sleeker, lighter, and more durable shell if you're willing to pay a couple hundred dollars more for the XPS 15z.

The new Dell XPS has the same set of ports we saw in the XPS L502X back in November, and that's OK, since those ports already were pretty up-to-date. Though the XPS lacks an ExpressCard slot, it comes with two USB 3.0 ports, an optional TV tuner (included on our config), and HDMI 1.4 with Nvidia 3DTV Play, allowing playback of 3D games or Blu-ray content onto a 3D HDTV via an HMDI cable. You'll need a 3D TV to even take advantage of this feature, of course, and we doubt many people will.

At $1,488, the Dell XPS L502X with Intel's second-generation Core i7 processor offers blistering performance, strong graphics, and stellar video and audio playback. If you don't plan on moving your notebook much, the larger Dell XPS 17 offers a 3D 17-inch display, the same great audio, and similar specs for the slightly lower cost of $1,474. And if you're looking for a more portable machine with longer Dell R795X battery life--and are willing to spend more--get the $1,799 15-inch MacBook Pro. Overall, though, those looking for a powerful 15-inch multimedia machine at a reasonable price should put the XPS 15 at or near the top of their shopping list.