HP Envy 14-3015tu Spectre

Specifications

Price comparison

Reviews for the HP Envy 14-3015tu Spectre

80% HP Envy 14 Spectre Ultrabook
Source: Reg Hardware Archive.org version
Despite my concern that the HP Envy 14 Spectre is perhaps a little chunky compared with other Ultrabooks on the market, it compares very favourably with the competition in terms of what you get within those two centimetres: connectivity, performance, battery life, display quality and, not least, classy product design. If I forget for an instant that certain other Ultrabooks are as thin as a blade, the Spectre stands out as a fabulously slim notebook that (apart from lacking an internal optical drive) does everything I'd want from a supposedly full-size notebook - and it looks absolutely gorgeous.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 05/15/2012
Rating: Total score: 80%

Comment

Series:

With everything getting slimmer, HP's Envy 14 Spectre is one of the reincarnations of ultrabooks by HP. Previous laptops which fell into Intel’s specification for ultrabooks were enclosed in either a 11” or 13” inch body. Only recently, we’ve been seeing new variations of these premium laptops.

The unique touch to this 14” HP envy Spectre would be its tough glass-covered design, which makes it not only stylish but also stays cool. Whilst Dell has used the Corning's scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass for the display of its XPS 13z and 14 ultrabooks, HP has goon a step further by covering the entire display, lid and arm rest with this glass. It feels durable and sleek at the same time. However, all this comes with a price, which is the slightly heavier feel to it but still remains lighter than many other laptops.

For a slim 14-inch ultrabook body, it comes with most requirements that are expected for a regular 14 “laptop. The available ports and the Beats powered audio system is certainly sufficient to cater for a regular mainstream use. Another major feature which sets it apart from the rest is it’s built in NFC chip. The near feel communication technology has already made its way through smart phones and it could potentially facilitate laptop users as well for wireless data transfer purposes. The multitouch touchpad also feels very responsive for a Windows laptop by far. The only downside to this ultrabook would be the asking price. A similarly equipped Dell XPS 14 ultrabook would cost at least €200 lesser.

Intel HD Graphics 3000: Integrated graphics card in the Intel Sandy Bridge processors (Core ix-2xxx). The HD 3000 is the faster (internally GT2 called) version with 12 Execution Units (EUs).

Only some 3D games with very low demands are playable with these cards.

» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.

Intel Core i7: The Intel Core i7 for laptops is based on the LG1156 Core i5/i7 CPU for desktops. The base clock speed of the CPUs is relatively low, but because of a huge Turbo mode, the cores can dynamically overclock to up to 3.2 GHz (920XM). Therefore, the CPU can be as fast as high clocked dual-core CPUs (using single threaded applications) but still offer the advantage of 4 cores. Because of the large TDP of 45 W / 55 W, the CPU is only intended for large laptops.  

2677M: Power saving ULV processor clocked at 1.8-2.9 GHz due to Turbo Boost. Offers an integrated HD 3000 clocked at slow 350 / 1200 MHz and a DDR3-1333 memory controller.» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.

14.00":

There are hardly any tablets in this display size range anymore. For subnotebooks, on the other hand, it is the standard format.

The advantage of subnotebooks is that the entire laptop can be small and therefore easily portable. The smaller display also has the advantage of requiring less power, which further improves battery life and thus mobility. The disadvantage is that reading texts is more strenuous on the eyes. High resolutions are more likely to be found in standard laptops.

HP: Founded in 1939, the US company is a major server and printer manufacturer and one of the leading IT companies in the world. Until 2015, the company was called Hewlett-Packard Company. After a split, the computer division was renamed HP Inc.

In 2023, HP had an approximate market share of 22% of global PC sales, making it number 2 after Lenovo.

80%: This rating is not earth-shattering. This rating must actually be seen as average, since there are about as many devices with worse ratings as better ones. A purchase recommendation can only be seen with a lot of goodwill, unless it is about websites that generally rate strictly.

» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.

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