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Review HP Compaq 6735b

The HP 6735b is a variation of the HP 6730b based on the cheaper AMD technology. Therefore this model should be interesting for buyers with smaller budget. First of all it is noteworthy that the HP6735b has the slower CPU, but the better graphics processors, and furthermore it is noisier. The following report covers the details which enable you to decide whether it is worth to spend some more euros on the higher-priced model.

Many thanks to our Polish colleagues from notebookcheck.pl, who ran the tests and provided us with their test report.

Case

The HP Compaq 6735b and the HP Compaq have an identical chassis. So, the test leads to similar results and conclusions.

The closed notebook looks elegant. Upon opening this laptop you'll see the more casual inside. Many different textures and colours give an uneasy experience and do not really meet business standards, a more conservative look, in this aspect.

This model is better in terms of rigidity and weight. It is even with battery rather light. This is especially note-worthy, because the lid is quite massive due to being reinforced with a support structure made of magnesium alloy.
 
Although the lid is thick, it cannot completely protect the screen. If one presses the back panel in any given place, in the upper right area of the screen, there are distortion on the turned-on screen.

The right part of the case bends a little at the bottom and creaks a bit, so the sturdiness isn’t ideal. A particular flaw of our test sample was that the lid seemed to be crooked. If closed, the lid did neither at the left side nor at the right side adjoin to the base unit, but there was considerable gap, and it was possible to clearly bend the lid up and down.   
 
Furthermore, we had some difficulties plugging USB-jacks to the USB ports on the right side.

Front side: Microphone, Headphones,
Front side: Microphone, Headphones,
Left side: Power Socket, Vent Holes, 2x USB, FireWire, ExpressCard
Left side: Power Socket, Vent Holes, 2x USB, FireWire, ExpressCard
Right side: CardReader, 2x USB, Optical drive, COM
Right side: CardReader, 2x USB, Optical drive, COM
Back side: Kensington Lock, LAN, VGA, S-Video
Back side: Kensington Lock, LAN, VGA, S-Video

Input devices

The keyboard belongs to the advantages of the HP 6735b. The layout is very good – the cursor keys are a little bit seperated and framed.
 
A similar keyboard is available in the Asus N50 series, but we liked the one in the HP Compaq notebook even better, because its keys are more rigid and stable. In the Asus notebooks the key resistance is bigger, but, the feedback is  alike.
 
Both HP 6735b and HP 6730b own an identical touchpad. The pad’s width is more than twice its depth, while the overall size is sufficiently user-friendly. Also the according buttons are identical to the ones in the Intel-based model. They are partly made of plastics and rather smooth an work user-friendly.
   
An annoying detail of the HP 6730b is that it needs a while until it indicates that it is actually booting after one has pressed the power button.

Keyboard
Keyboard
Touchpad
Touchpad

Display

HP Compaq 6735b

According to the specifications, the screen should be the same as in the HP 6730b reviewed earlier. However, it turned out that the test sample of HP 6735b was equipped with a different matte 15.4” WSXGA+ screen. Instead of a panel by Samsung, a Chi Mei Optoelectronics one (CMO1520) was used.

196.6
cd/m²
204.2
cd/m²
189.1
cd/m²
209.2
cd/m²
226.6
cd/m²
202.8
cd/m²
174.2
cd/m²
205.3
cd/m²
159.6
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
Maximum: 226.6 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 196.4 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 70 %
Contrast: 453:1 (Black: 0.5 cd/m²)
HP Compaq 6735b
HP Compaq 6735b Outdoor

The screen by CMO seemed to be better than the aforementioned screen by Samsung. The average brightness of the CMO model is 200 cd/m², while it amounts to 180 cd/m² for the HP6730b. Although the later ist still alright, it is clearly lower.

According to our subjective impression, the grey levels are well represented and black is pleasingly deep.

HP Compaq 6735b Viewing Angles
HP Compaq 6735b Viewing Angles
HP Compaq 6735b Viewing Angles
HP Compaq 6735b Viewing Angles
HP Compaq 6735b Viewing Angles
HP Compaq 6735b Viewing Angles
HP Compaq 6735b Viewing Angles
HP Compaq 6735b Viewing Angles
HP Compaq 6735b Viewing Angles

Performance

The AMD Turion Ultra ZM-82 (2.2GHz) processor proved to be ordinary fast in our test. Intel CPUs with 1066 MHZ frontside bus and similar clock frequency outperform this processor in most applications. So, this CPU can only keep up with the less powerful Intel CPUs with slower frontside bus and smaller L2 cache.

Despite the ATI Radeon HD 3200 does not have dedicated memory, the performance of this integrated graphics processor is still comparable with the Mobility Radeon 2400. So, this is an advantage compared to the wide-spread integrated graphics chips by Intel. Nevertheless, the performance is not sufficient for gaming.

3DMark 2001SE Standard
9561 points
3DMark 03 Standard
3310 points
3DMark 05 Standard
2763 points
3DMark 06 Standard Score
1290 points
Help
PCMark 05 Standard
3690 points
Help
Cinebench R10
 SettingsValue
 Shading 32Bit1650 Points
 Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit3234 Points
Quake 3 Arena - Timedemo
 ResolutionSettingsValue
 1024x768highest, 0xAA, 0xAF169.3 fps
F.E.A.R.
 ResolutionSettingsValue
 1024x768GPU: max, CPU: max, 0xAA, 0xAF8 fps
 800x600GPU medium, CPU medium, 0xAA, 0xAF36 fps
 640x480GPU min, CPU min, 0xAA, 0xAF148 fps
250 GB - 5400 rpm
Transfer Rate Minimum: 20.7 MB/s
Transfer Rate Maximum: 47.6 MB/s
Transfer Rate Average: 39.7 MB/s
Access Time: 18.1 ms
Burst Rate: 53.1 MB/s
CPU Usage: 21.5 %

Emissions

System Noise

After turning the notebook on for the first time, the user may feel really disappointed with the behavior of HP 6735b. During the boot-up procedure the cooling system is thundering, blowing the air out of the case almost like a jet-engine, whereas the noise level amounts to 46.3dB. This is independent on whether the computer is driven by AC power or by battery. So it is better to bring it  into quiet environments after the boot process has finished in order to avoid drawing the attention of everybody else to yourself.

Once this nasty noise, which lasts for several seconds, is over the HP 5735b is moderately quiet with usual office load and the noise level is about 33 dB. Although it seems that only a persistent hum of the hard drive is audible, it is enough to put a hand or ear near the vent holes to find out that the fan is blowing without interruption if the "Fan-Always-On"-option is activated in the BIOS. This also holds true with the "Maximum Energy-Saving" profile.

If you select the "High-Performance"-profile the fan runs often and more or less without interruption at even higher speed and causes a noise of 37dB.
 
With the profiles "Maximum-Energy-Saving" or "Balanced" the fan turns repeatedly off and only the humming of the hard drive is audible with 32.7dB.

Noise Level

Idle
32.7 / 33.6 / 46.3 dB(A)
HDD
33.3 dB(A)
DVD
35 / 39.7 dB(A)
Load
37.4 / 46.3 dB(A)
  red to green bar
 
 
30 dB
silent
40 dB(A)
audible
50 dB(A)
loud
 
min: dark, med: mid, max: light    (15 cm distance)

Temperature.

Also this aspect is not one of the HP 6735b's advantages. In fact the temperature increase is similar as in the HP 6730b. Fortunately, the top side of the case does not get too hot in environments with usual room temperature - even not if under load for a longer period of time. But, we measured high temperatures at the bottom side, whereas a maximum of nearly 42°C was reached.

Max. Load
 35.5 °C
96 F
30.4 °C
87 F
25.3 °C
78 F
 
 31.1 °C
88 F
30.5 °C
87 F
25.8 °C
78 F
 
 27 °C
81 F
28 °C
82 F
24.3 °C
76 F
 
Maximum: 35.5 °C = 96 F
Average: 28.7 °C = 84 F
23.9 °C
75 F
32.9 °C
91 F
40.1 °C
104 F
25.2 °C
77 F
40.2 °C
104 F
39.2 °C
103 F
27.2 °C
81 F
41.6 °C
107 F
37.5 °C
100 F
Maximum: 41.6 °C = 107 F
Average: 34.2 °C = 94 F
Room Temperature 20.5 °C = 69 F
(+) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 28.7 °C / 84 F, compared to the average of 29.5 °C / 85 F for the devices in the class Office.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 35.5 °C / 96 F, compared to the average of 34.2 °C / 94 F, ranging from 21.2 to 62.5 °C for the class Office.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 41.6 °C / 107 F, compared to the average of 36.7 °C / 98 F
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 28 °C / 82.4 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(±) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 27.7 °C / 81.9 F (-0.3 °C / -0.5 F).

Loudspeakers

We were pleasantly surprised by the decent sound of the built-in loudspeakers, even more because this is a business notebook. The quality of the sound is comparable with the Altec Lansing speakers in the latest Asus notebooks and might even be a tad clearer. Also in regards of maximum volume they are similar.

Battery Life

We suspected that the battery life of the HP 6735b would be considerably lower than of the HP 6730b, as the former utilizes AMD technology whereas the later is based on the Intel’s platform. In reality it was not that bad. The relative difference is of 9-30% less is note-worthy, but in absolute time, the HP 6730b can only run a couple of minutes up to half an hour longer on battery. Accordingly, the battery life of the HP 6735b is satisfactory.

Furthermore, we were also interesting in how the the HP 6735b performs in this aspect compared to its predecessor model, the HP 6715b: The battery life of the HP 6735b was about 15-30 minutes lower, which is just a little bit worse.

Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
4h 05min
WiFi Surfing
2h 34min
DVD
1h 35min
Load (maximum brightness)
0h 58min
Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0 / 0 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 16 / 31 / 53 Watt
Load midlight 63 / 69 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.

Verdict

The HP Compaq 6735b, which only costs about 700 Euro, can be recommended, because of its price and because of its matte WXGA screen. The integrated graphics processor reaches the performance level of some dedicated graphics cards and is more powerful than integrated graphics chips from Intel. The model with higher resolution, which we would recommend, costs about 200 euro more. If you have got the choice between a screen by CMO or one by Samsung, you should opt for the first, although the later is not bad too.

In terms of case, connectivity, and input devices the HP 6735b and the HP 6730b are nearly identical. So, the question arises, if it is really worse to spend more on a model with Intel hardware, which has a better calculation power, but a weaker GPU.

If you need to work in quiet environments, the answer is "yes" with limitations. The HP 6735b was considerably noisier than its more expensive counterpart. However, the difference in battery life wasn’t as significant as suspected.

HP Compaq 6735b
HP Compaq 6735b
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HP Compaq 6735b
In Review: HP Compaq 6735b

Specifications

HP Compaq 6735b
Graphics adapter
ATI Radeon HD 3200, Core: 500 MHz, Memory: 400 MHz, 8.479.1.4000
Memory
2048 MB 
, DDR2-800, max. 8GB
Display
15.00 inch 16:10, 1680 x 1050 pixel, Chi Mei N154Z1-L01 / CMO1520, glossy: no
Mainboard
AMD M780G
Storage
250 GB - 5400 rpm, 250 GB 
, 5400 rpm, Fujitsu MHZ2250BH G2
Soundcard
Analog Devices AD1984A
Connections
1 Express Card 54mm, 4 USB 2.0, 1 S-Video, Agere Systems HDA Modem, 1 Kensington Lock, 1 Serial Port, Audio Connections: Audio-in, Audio-out, Card Reader: 7-in-1
Networking
Broadcom NetLink Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000MBit/s), Broadcom 4322AG (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/), Bluetooth 2.0
Optical drive
HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-T30L
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 36 x 356 x 265 ( = 1.42 x 14.02 x 10.43 in)
Battery
55 Wh Lithium-Ion
Operating System
Microsoft Windows Vista Business 32 Bit
Additional features
Webcam, Fingerprint reader
Weight
2.79 kg ( = 98.41 oz / 6.15 pounds), Power Supply: 500 g ( = 17.64 oz / 1.1 pounds)
Price
900 Euro

 

The HP 6735b looks the same as the 6730b – the difference lies in the technology used.
The HP 6735b looks the same as the 6730b – the difference lies in the technology used.
The battery life is worse than that of the HP 6730b, but still longer than of many competing notebooks.
The battery life is worse than that of the HP 6730b, but still longer than of many competing notebooks.
The chassis gets considerably warmer, but the biggest disadvantage is that HP 6735b is very noisy.
The chassis gets considerably warmer, but the biggest disadvantage is that HP 6735b is very noisy.
AMD technology means that the HP 6735b has an inferior CPU than the Intel-based HP 6730b, but the GPU by ATI is better than Intel's.
AMD technology means that the HP 6735b has an inferior CPU than the Intel-based HP 6730b, but the GPU by ATI is better than Intel's.
The interfaces are well placed – an important feature in case of a business laptop.
The interfaces are well placed – an important feature in case of a business laptop.
The keyboard is comfortable during typing, which is a considerable advantage.
The keyboard is comfortable during typing, which is a considerable advantage.
The lid is thick, but, nevertheless not capable to fully protect the screen.
The lid is thick, but, nevertheless not capable to fully protect the screen.
The design seems too rich – there are too many different colours and textures for a business notebook.
The design seems too rich – there are too many different colours and textures for a business notebook.
Somewhat unexpected in a business notebook: touch controls.
Somewhat unexpected in a business notebook: touch controls.
The indicator lights are too colourful.
The indicator lights are too colourful.
When closed the notebook looks elegant.
When closed the notebook looks elegant.
The user will certainly appreciate is that this notebook is light.
The user will certainly appreciate is that this notebook is light.

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Compare Prices

HP Compaq 6735b at Ciao

Pricerunner.de

Pros

+Very good matte WSXGA+ screen
+Integrated graphics processor with a reasonable performance
+Keyboard
+Quite solid chassis
+Relatively light
 

Cons

-Loud in operation
-Chassis warms up considerably
Sylwester Cyba, 2008-01-12 (Update: 2012-05-26)