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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Johnmcl7 - Monday, July 19, 2010 - link
Macbooks at similar prices get entire articles regularly as do top of the range graphics card and computer parts which would also be out of most people's price category so a page or even article on the Z on a site like this doesn't seem too much.John
GTaudiophile - Monday, July 19, 2010 - link
I just bought one...sort of like a cheaper Z...Intel Core i3 330 UM (1.2GHz)
ATI HD 4550 w/ 512MB VRAM
4GB DDR3 RAM
320GB HDD
Webcam/WiFi/Bluetooth
5+ hours battery with WiFi
Less than 4 lbs.
About $800
darunium - Monday, July 19, 2010 - link
The M11x is an impressive notebook, despite the undervolting of the CPU, but why is there no mention of the Asus N82Jq? With a standard clock of the i7-720QM and GT335M, plus a solid screen in a 5lb package, I think that as a gaming portable notebook it really stands strong, even if it isn't specifically marketed in that segment.VivekGowri - Monday, July 19, 2010 - link
Read more carefully, it's there. Try the page with the Envy 14.Shadowmaster625 - Monday, July 19, 2010 - link
What new Puma platform? What the heck are you guys smoking. Puma is 2 years old WWWWTTTTTFFFFF? This whole thing reads like a big stinking pile of intel advertising.VivekGowri - Monday, July 19, 2010 - link
My bad, that was supposed to read Nile, dunno why I said Puma (fixed now). But the rest of that is accurate: the new AMD-based ultraportables still don't have the battery life to touch the Intel portables, simple as that, but performance is starting to catch up, benchmarking similarly to the equivalent Core 2 CULV parts, and the HD 4225 is obviously a ways faster than GMA.Where AMD is really winning right now, both in desktop and mobile, is in environments where power requirements don't matter so much and they can provide tri- and quad-core processors for dirt cheap. Honestly, if you don't care about battery life in a 15" machine, you'd rather have an AMD quad than an Intel dual core, right?
Shadowmaster625 - Monday, July 19, 2010 - link
I had the unfortunate displeasure of using a N450 netbook this weekend. The things are just not usable for anyone with a pulse. Of course AMD cant beat that battery life, because those things dont even do anything except sit there frozen half the time. Everything I've read about the K125 suggests usable performance with respectable battery life.Chloiber - Monday, July 19, 2010 - link
Is it even available in Europe?jtsarnak - Monday, July 19, 2010 - link
As an owner of Sony's Z-series laptop, I want to chime in and discourage anyone seriously considering an ultraportable from looking at Vaio machines.There is a known problem with Sony's newer laptops and battery drain. The battery loses life at an appreciable rate when completely shutdown. The only way to prevent loss is to physically remove the battery. Some have speculated the battery care function, some the hinged design common to the lines experiencing the problem, but Sony has done nothing and in fact call it a "feature".
The Z would be perfect (although expensive) if not for the drain. Now I have to remove the battery whenever I'm not using it or keep it plugged in. The 7+ hours of battery life in a machine this powerful mean nothing if I have to keep it constantly plugged in.
No review site has mentioned this issue which just goes to show you should head to notebookreview's forums before making any decisions on a laptop.
Mr. Gowri, you'd be doing the buying public a great service by looking a little deeper into this problem with Sony's laptops and making the problem more public. Maybe Sony will finally be forced to make a change...
GTaudiophile - Monday, July 19, 2010 - link
I have no such drain issue with my Y-series.