Laptop Buyer's Guide: 14-inch and Smaller
by Vivek Gowri on July 19, 2010 12:01 AM ESTMobile Powerhouse: HP ENVY 14
Basically, this is the most power you can stuff into a 14” chassis. HP’s new Envy 14 has an optional Core i7 quad core processor and the Radeon HD 5650 graphics card in a slim 5.25lb aluminum enclosure, and somehow manages to still retail for a semi-reasonable base price of $1099 ($1349 with the base i7-720Q quad-core).
This is especially impressive because the Envy 14 is fairly thin as well, at a constant 1.1”. The Envy line in general has been well designed, and the 14 is no exception. They’ve also been consistently accused of being clones of the Apple MacBook Pro line, and the Envy 14 doesn’t do a whole lot to change that perception. The two lines do share quite a few design characteristics, including the flat lid with tapering edges, the rectangular shape with filleted corners, flat contours and even surfacing the whole way around, etc. Even things like the backlit, black chiclet keyboard, slot loading DVD drive, sealed in battery (though still removable), and “floating” screen are similar. What was that line about great artists and stealing?
But once you get under the skin, none of that matters: the Envy 14 is available with the fastest mobile processors on the planet, and the best graphics card available in a 14” notebook. One potential issue: heaaaat. The larger Envy 15 was reputed to have cooling issues, especially with the quad core processor option. With the same amount of power stuffed into a smaller form factor with less area for heat dissipation, this one’s almost a lock for a ton of heat output. It doesn’t help that the aluminum chassis conducts heat, potentially creating an effect similar to the older MacBook Pros, where the outside of the notebook feels much hotter than normal notebooks do, even though the internal temperatures are within normal operating range and the cooling system is working as it should.
So as long as you don’t mind the hot casing, the Envy 14 is the mobile powerhouse to get. Good build quality and a decent amount of portability to go along with it’s quad core processor and midrange performance graphics card makes it an easy pick for raw computing horsepower.
Alternative: ASUS N82Jq
The N82Jq is another powerful 14-incher from ASUS. As with Dustin, I have my fair share of experiences with powerful ASUS portables, and I can definitely vouch for their performance. The N82Jq outdoes all of it’s predecessors (and most of its peers, too), with the same Core i7-720Q quad as the Envy 14, and the same NVIDIA GT 335M graphics card as the Alienware M11x. The HP gets the nod over the N82 for a few reasons: the HD 5650 is a more powerful graphics card than the GT 335M by a fair margin, and the Envy is available with the higher-clocked 740Q and 840Q quad core processors, while the N82Jq is only a single model offering the 720Q only. Also, the Envy 14’s 14.5” screen has a 1600x900 resolution, which is significantly higher than the 1366x768 of the N82’s 14.1” display. However, the N82 still has it’s upsides, being both lighter and $230 cheaper than a comparably specced Envy. So if you want a well rounded quad-core portable for as little money as possible, the N82Jq is a good way to go, but if you’re looking for the absolute maximum amount of power under the hood, the Envy 14 is the best.
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Dustin Sklavos - Monday, July 19, 2010 - link
Really? Because I've owned and reviewed my share of Asus laptops and all of them have done very well. The only one I owned that wound up getting FUBARed was because a friend of mine dropped it on the floor. Thing still works, but the screen is being held together by alligator clips and prayer.Asus makes inexpensive laptops. There's a difference between inexpensive and cheap. If you want to see awful build quality and displays, I'm sure we could recommend a few vendors.
riku0116 - Monday, July 19, 2010 - link
I'm looking to purchase a portable tablet PC (read: NOT iPad) to take notes and record lectures on.I've heard good things about the tm2 and would love to see an AnandTech review of this or other tablet PCs as most of them do fall in the ultraportable range.
Dustin Sklavos - Monday, July 19, 2010 - link
Part of the problem is that, in my experience writing for a few different sites, HP can be incredibly cagey with their review hardware. Asus, Acer, and Dell tend to be much cooler about it (and we have excellent relationships with them, to be fair).seanleeforever - Monday, July 19, 2010 - link
or take a look at X201 Tablet. it is on the pricey side (got my for around 1600 dollar), but well worth it.attila16881 - Monday, July 19, 2010 - link
check out the new TM2-2000, i think it would be added to the article ;)Size and Weight: 326 x 230 x 24/30 mm, 1,89 kg
Display: 12,1 wide (1280x800)
Touchscreen: Wacom digitalizer multitouch
CPU:Intel Core i3-330UM (1.2 GHz, 3 MB, 800 MHz)
Chipset: Intel HM55
GPU: SATI Mobility Radeon HD 5450 plus Intel HD (cpu integrated)
RAM: 4 GB DDR3
HD: 320 GB (2,5"; 7200 gpm)
Battery: 6 cells Li-Ion
Digital fingerprint reader, Trackpad Multi-Touch, USB (3 x 2.0),VGA, HDMI, vga webcam
LAN: Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000
WI-FI: 802.11 b/g/n
Card reader: SD/MMC/MS/MSpro/XD
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
jabber - Monday, July 19, 2010 - link
Fantastic laptop. One of the best devices I've ever bought.Always gets missed here over the bloody 11Z which isnt nearly as good.
Oh and it has trackpad buttons!
Friendly0Fire - Monday, July 19, 2010 - link
Why so little love for the Z? I know it's madly expensive, but after all the complaining about poor screen quality, that thing has an absolutely lavish screen (and a cheap upgrade to 1080p!) on top of a powerful GPU. It also has a DVD drive, backlit keyboard, some pretty powerful non-CULV processors, RAID 0 SSDs and it packages all of that in 3.1 pounds...I know it's expensive, but if price is not a limiting factor, it's probably one of the best ultraportables out there.
Johnmcl7 - Monday, July 19, 2010 - link
It is incredible that Sony have managed to pack more hardware than most 13in machines have but in a chassis that's smaller and lighter. It is an expensive and relatively niche machine but on the other hand this is a technology website and the Z series is an extremely interesting machine from a technological point of view, particularly the quad SSDs.The screen resolution is the main reason I'm considering a Z series, I currently have an XPS M1330 which has been a superb machine but the low 1280x800 screen resolution is irritating and about the only feature I'd really like to change. The Z series is one of the few machines to go much above this, as is one Lenovo I believe but that's it?
John
Friendly0Fire - Monday, July 19, 2010 - link
Not just resolution. From what I gathered (I'm looking into buying one soon), the screen is also matte and extremely high-contrast. Of course, that goes with the fact that Sony also happens to be making HDTVs :)I only wish there was an Optimus option. Despite the hacking some people have done that appears to enable it in part, I'd rather see a fully support solution. Best would be a manual switch with Auto enabling Optimus.
VivekGowri - Monday, July 19, 2010 - link
Mostly because at $1950 it's well out of most people's price category. But I agree, as an overall machine, the Z is pretty awesome. It still got a mention, but at $1950, it wasn't worth a full page.