HP ProBook 5310m: A Slender Laptop for Business Users
by Jarred Walton on April 26, 2010 4:52 PM ESTHP ProBook 5310m: Very Thin but Light on Features
The HP ProBook 5310m ends up being representative of the balancing act that occurs when designing laptops. Manufacturers can try to create a smaller, thinner chassis; they can shoot for better performance; or they can try to keep costs down. The catch is that you can only fully get two of those three areas right it seems. The 5310m definitely nails the high-quality build with a slim and light chassis. We think it looks quite good, though fingerprints and smudges are certainly apparent after use. Rather than focusing exclusively on performance (a la the Alienware M11x) or on price (like various other Acer, Dell, HP, etc. consumer laptops), the 5310m delivers a bit of both but also falls short.
The SP9300/SP9400 CPU upgrades certainly trump CULV in terms of performance, which shows up in the application benchmarks. If you're not concerned with price, adding an SSD will improve things even more, particularly with Windows startup and application launch times. However, the lack of a discrete GPU option means graphics performance—gaming and video related tasks—suffers. Gaming is really out of the question, while video playback works well enough but will result in a higher CPU load than on something with a GeForce or Radeon GPU. With the SP9300 CPU, though, even HD Flash video wasn't a problem during testing.
The biggest compromises are in the expansion options, features, and LCD quality. The latter has almost become a mantra in our laptop reviews, but the former consists of things like missing eSATA, FireWire, and ExpressCard support and the single SO-DIMM memory slot. Pitted against the new generation of Core i3/i5/i7 laptops, the 5310m comes up short in the performance department. Balanced against the compromises are a sleek aesthetic with reasonable pricing. The tested system is available for around $760 online, which is a decent price for a nice looking, high-quality build.
So who should buy the HP 5310m? It's really a case of priorities. If you don't want/need a discrete GPU, you like thin and light laptops, and you want more performance than CULV laptops, it's worth a look. The keyboard is great, as is build quality; if we were reviewing the 5310m five months ago it would be a lot easier to recommend. However, five months is a long time in the computer industry, and as such the most likely candidates for the ProBook 5310m are probably going to get one regardless of what we say. We're talking about the corporations that use HP laptops and want to be able to purchase the same hardware for 18 months.
For the rest of us, the ProBook 5310m is a nice looking laptop that's getting a little long in the tooth. Products like ASUS' U30Jc or the Sony VAIO VPCCW22FX will bump the price up to $870, but the extra $120 will get you a discrete GPU and a Core i3 processor. The Sony will have lower battery life (no Optimus or switchable graphics) while the U30Jc has an 8-cell battery and Optimus G310M (plus a DVDRW) that should last up to 8 hours. The Dell Latitude E6410 and the Lenovo T410 are also viable alternatives. Of course, all of the laptops just mentioned also weigh 0.5 to 1.5 pounds more and aren't as slender as the 5310m. And that's summarizes things perfectly: if you're more interested in aesthetics and form factor, the 5310m is still a good choice; you just need to be aware of its limitations before making a decision. We'd also recommend keeping your eyes open for the inevitable Core i3/i5 5310m update, though it might take another six months before that's launched.
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cbutters - Monday, April 26, 2010 - link
This is a sweet laptop, I have had mine for about 2 months. It is light and comparable to a macbook air.I have one of these up on ebay right now, complete with a vertex 60GB SSD if anyone is interested, item no 180499381266
whatthehey - Monday, April 26, 2010 - link
If it's so nice... why are you selling it on eBay? LOLafkrotch - Monday, April 26, 2010 - link
Hookers and blow. Isn't that always the reason?blyndy - Monday, April 26, 2010 - link
If only they put this design and build quality in with optimus graphics I would call it my next notebook.secretanchitman - Monday, April 26, 2010 - link
a better gpu, a few extra ports, and a much better display would make this a great notebook.feelingshorter - Monday, April 26, 2010 - link
Comparing it to the Asus U30J is not a good idea IMO since the U30J comes with a dvd drive and the HP ProBook doesn't. If your looking for thin and slender, its the UL30JT, which is the successor to the UL30VT. Either of which would of been a good comparison to this HP. The UL30JT hasn't come out yet but it is 3.75 pounds with 8 cell 5600mah batter, less than an inch think, but with asus Turbo Boost, intel's UM series CPU for the same ridiculously 10.5 + hour battery life seen on the other VT series, and 4500MHD/310M.Plus, this laptop is already outdated because you can only push the Intel GS45 + ICH9M so far, with all next gen laptops harnessing the HM55. The HM55 platform now has the 4500MHD on die, and with the UM series cpu, has an overall system TDP lower than that of the GS45 + 4500MHD. Not to mention the HM55's 4500MHD has a similar Turbo Boost as the CPU does, so its actually faster than the previous gen 4500MHD. The UL30JT is basically UL30VT but faster CPU and better battery life.
Given an Asus SU7300 + Turbo Boost, it really narrows the CPU lead that this HP ProBook has on the UL30VT, which is comparable since the UL30JT isn't available yet. Regardless, you hit hit the nail on the head when you said the HP ProBook is just aesthetics (although the silver Asus UL30VT-A1 thats available now looks better IMO.
YpoCaramel - Tuesday, April 27, 2010 - link
X201i would be another consideration - Core i3-330M, business oriented but only a 12" screen.KaarlisK - Tuesday, April 27, 2010 - link
As a result, 3dmark06 isn't the best way to compare the 4500MHD in this laptop with the 4500MHD in the other laptops that have dual-channel memory. A game might actually show the laptop with a slower cpu but double the memory bandwidth to have higher Intel IGP performance.And it can play Starcraft 2, you know ;)
davepermen - Tuesday, April 27, 2010 - link
Why should anyone care?And for those who would (artists, power users), for those the Elitebook line exists.
This is for the typical business user: office, windows, sap, web.
obiuquido144 - Wednesday, April 28, 2010 - link
When I was buying a laptop 2 months ago I loved this super-good-looking 5310m when I first saw it.But in the end I went with the heavier 14" Probook 6440b with a 1600x900 matte LCD, optical drive, both audio connectors, 8GB RAM possibility (4GB standard) and i5 for the same price. For $10 bucks I added an eSATA expresscard from dealextreme and for another $10 a Displayport->DVI cable.
I also called to HP support enquiring about how I can burn/get system installation disks when I want to format the whole HD, and they said they'd ship them to me for free through their service partner.
When I was providing the service company with photos of my license labels etc., I asked if it was possible to get 64bit disks while we're at it - and they said sure, no problem, you just won't be able switch back.
Of course I went with that! I live in Europe, not sure if this is possible in the US, or if I just had plain luck. But the license sticker doesn't specify the bit-version of the OS.
The 5310m looks awesome though, I have to admit. The sexiest laptop I've ever seen!