HP Mini 5102: This Netbook Means Business
by Jarred Walton on September 22, 2010 12:15 AM ESTSay Hello to the Broadcom Crystal HD
As we mentioned in the introduction, HP allows customers to order the Mini 5102 with a Broadcom Crystal HD decoder. The review sample didn’t include the decoder card (though the software was present, oddly enough), but Anand had one handy and shipped it my way for testing. Having never played with the Crystal HD before, and having read a few reviews online proclaiming it as a worthy upgrade for video fans, I was excited to test it out. First things first, though, you have to install the little bugger in the chassis, which it turns out is easier said than done.
The chassis is also designed well for anyone who wants to upgrade memory. It’s a completely tool-less operation that consists of removing the battery, then pushing in the left battery latch/cover release to pop off the memory cover. If you want to upgrade to 2GB RAM instead of the stock 1GB, things couldn’t be simpler! Getting to the HDD and extra mini-PCIe slot on the other hand requires some work.
If you want to take things to the next level and access the HDD, you’ll need to remove the keyboard first. Thankfully, HP has a detailed service manual available with instructions, but it’s still a bit of a pain and you’ll need to have a really small 2.0mm Phillips screwdriver handy. (Most laptops I’ve used work with my 3mm Phillips bit, so I had to run over to the local hardware store for this disassembly.)
For our purposes, we needed to go all the way and remove the top of the chassis in order to get at the internal mini-PCIe slot. This entails removing the four rubber feet—along with about 20 other screws—before you can pry off the top cover. You’ll also need a T8 Torx bit for the screws under the rubber feet. Annoying? Yes, it is, particularly since the sticky glue for the rubber feet can get a bit messed up in the process. Anyway, it’s not a difficult process, but it will take a bit of time. The final result is a completely “loaded” Mini 5102—and note that you can’t get mobile broadband and the CrystalHD decoder, so you have to choose one or the other.
So, now we’ve got our first Pine Trail system with a Broadcom Crystal HD decoder installed. How’s it work? That’s what we’ll cover next. (And if you want larger images, check out the gallery below.)
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Stuka87 - Wednesday, September 22, 2010 - link
The machine itself looks nice. Very enterprise class looking (event if not performing). And its nice to see a good keyboard and build quality in a netbook.But the Atom is just so bleh. I am really looking forward to Bobcat, in hopes that it leapfrogs the Atom (which should not be too difficult).
marvdmartian - Wednesday, September 22, 2010 - link
Seems a bit outlandishly priced for what is, essentially, the same hardware you'd find in a $300 netbook. For sure, slapping the HP brand on it doesn't add $100 of value to it, any more than slapping a fruit on it would give it a $200+ rise in value.Hey, netbook manufacturers, here's a clue! If you want to charge $400+ for a 10" netbook, it had better come with a dual core atom AND 2GB of memory. Otherwise, there are far too many alternatives out there that will attract my attention first.
Taft12 - Wednesday, September 22, 2010 - link
Gigabit ethernet and 7200RPM hard drive are notable upgrades over almost all netbooks.2GB of memory would be awfully nice though.
CK804 - Wednesday, September 22, 2010 - link
I bought one of these for my girlfriend for her birthday and I'm glad I did. I would have gladly paid more for it. The build quality and keyboard alone are worth the $100 extra. The keyboard is not only very well laid out, but it's spill resistant. The chassis is constructed of metal instead of plastic like on every other netbook. HP also bundles its ProtectTools security suite software which, I think, is a first for a netbook. Combined with a 7200 RPM hard drive and gigabit ethernet, this netbook has all the features I would expect from an HP ProBook but with netbook performance.Chris Peredun - Wednesday, September 22, 2010 - link
Jarred, does this little guy have a hardware TPM module for use with BitLocker?With the increasing number of data-security regulations hitting all facets of business, I'd really like to see a netbook sporting this feature, but I've yet to unearth one. Something cheaper than the typical $1500 "executive class" 12" ultraportable would be nice.
JarredWalton - Wednesday, September 22, 2010 - link
No TPM Module, no. Sorry. As CK804 pointed out, it does have HP's ProtectTools, but that's not the same.lgpOnTheMove - Wednesday, September 22, 2010 - link
"...what would be awesome to see is something with the Mini 5102/5103 chassis (make it 12.1” if you have to), only put in NG-ION and a 66Wh battery and ship it with 2GB RAM and Windows Home Premium. If they can make that and keep the price of the laptop around $500, we’d have an awesome little multimedia device."Jarred, I think that "awesome little multimedia device" already exists:
http://lgponthemove.blogspot.com/2010/09/first-imp...
Beats the N550 for performance, barely bigger/heavier than a 10" netbook and priced around $525. Definitely worth a look IMO.
treyTM - Wednesday, September 22, 2010 - link
I own a 5102 (a red one with the 768p screen) and while I like it very much, I agree with most of the points in this review. I also want to chip in my experiences:The glossy plastics. The review points out it shows fingerprints and smudges, but I found that it also picks up scratches and marks very easily. My 6 month old machine already has marks on the bezel from the keyboard. Both sides of the keyboard deck (where it joins with the alloy base) also picked up a small vertical crack near the enter/caps lock keys - a common problem I later learned.
The soft touch coating. On my 5102, the coating around the edges are coming off - not from any abuse, just from taking it in and out of a case. I guess it's less obvious on a black machine though.
Fan noise. Actually if you are in a quiet room, the fan can get very annoying if you start playing HD video. It spins up even for regular web surfing on battery power (it could be the N470 vs the N450, but I doubt it). There doesn't seem to be quite enough vents on the base.
Hit and miss Flash acceleration. It seems to work when it feels like it, or when driver and Flash versions are in alignment, or whatever. Adobe suggests turning on Aero, which I do (Win 7 Pro), but it still doesn't seem to work any better.
Overall I find the little netbook a good mobile counterpart to my i7 desktop (the 768p screen really helps, as does 2GB of RAM), though if I were buying a 10" netbook now, it would be hard to turn down the cheaper yet similarly specced Asus 1005PR.
7Enigma - Thursday, September 23, 2010 - link
Hi Jarred,Thanks for the great review on this somewhat outdated netbook. I was shocked to see the performance virtually unchanged between the resolutions on the internet video sites. Is there some ram bottleneck that Flash 10.1 is imposing that isn't seen with normal video playback? With only 1 gig on a Win7 OS I could see a HDD caching issue that would cripple the performance like you see and this could also account for the near identical performance between the difference resolutions (as the limitation is the HDD and not the crappy Atom).
I would be extremely interested to see if the numbers change with a simple swap out to 2 gigs of ram. My buddy just upgraded from 1 to 2gig and has said the user experience is vastly better when any type of even simple multitasking is performed (older Atom Eee PC running XP).
One other test I'd like to see (the main reason my buddy upgraded to 2 gigs of ram) was Skype performance. He's Canadian and keeps in touch by Skype but told me it was all but useless on the Netbook due to horrid performance. Something simple (and cheap) like the Crystal HD decoder would be a huge upgrade if it made Skype usable.
Thanks again for the great review!
shanne - Tuesday, October 5, 2010 - link
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