HP Envy 14 Spectre Ultrabook Review: Something More Than Envy
by Dustin Sklavos on August 24, 2012 10:09 PM ESTApplication and Futuremark Performance
The HP Envy 14 Spectre is capable of enjoying the fastest ultra-low voltage processor on the market as well as employing Samsung's very respectable PM830 SATA 6Gbps SSDs, and the results are impressive. It may be heavy in the hand, but the Spectre is capable of being very nimble when stressed.
Between the SSD and fast ultra-low voltage processor, the Envy 14 Spectre ranks among the fastest ultrabooks we've tested and in many cases actually blows by the Sony Vaio Z2 and its full voltage Sandy Bridge processor. Note also that the Z2 employs a pair of SSDs in a RAID 0, so it's not terribly handicapped in this matchup.
When we get to our CPU-limited benchmarks, the full scope of what Intel achieved with Ivy Bridge becomes evident: the i7-3667U is able to do in 17 watts what the last generation top end i7-2620M needed 35 watts to achieve. That's no small feat, and it's clear the Envy 14 Spectre isn't terribly hindered by its ultra-low voltage processor.
Unfortunately the 3DMarks are a bit less kind. Despite enjoying DDR3-1600, the single channel of memory bandwidth seems to noticeably hinder the HP Envy 14 Spectre. It's still baffling why HP went this route with both the Spectre and the Folio 13, but the results speak for themselves.
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sirizak - Saturday, August 25, 2012 - link
Seriously pretty machine...Why plaster bloody stickers on it? Why have we not moved on from this yet?
Honestly even Joe Bloggs (I'm Aussie, ie. John Smith) reads specs, we know its Intel based( 2 intel stickers...), we know it runs Windows. Yes they are an unobtrusive grey, but I think that's worse. If you don't want me to notice them, don't stick them on the bloody thing in the first place...
ImSpartacus - Saturday, August 25, 2012 - link
"Joe Bloggs" is the Australian. "John Smith"?! That's sweet.Dug - Saturday, August 25, 2012 - link
No kidding. But that just shows the typical marketing idiots at work compared to Apple's marketing.The same guys that want stickers on everything, want glossy black bezels and palm rests.
ggathagan - Monday, August 27, 2012 - link
As I recall, those stickers are part of the pricing deal from the respective manufacturers. If they weren't put on the computer, the price would be higher.If that is true, I'm OK with having to peel off stickers.
Beenthere - Saturday, August 25, 2012 - link
If they can sell this crap they can sell sand to the Arabs. You'd have to be braindead to buy an Ultrabook, but if that's what makes you happy, jump in.kyuu - Saturday, August 25, 2012 - link
I'm not a fan of this particular model, but the notion that have a preference for well-designed, thinner & lighter mobile devices and being willing to pay a small premium for it somehow reflects on a person's intellect is ridiculous.'Course, there are plenty of well-designed, thin & light models that don't quite qualify as an Ultrabook to look at as well (I'm looking at the Gigabyte U2442N myself).
Beenthere - Saturday, August 25, 2012 - link
The premise for the "Ultrabook" is a low performance, shiny object that has an inflated price. These toys are for folks lacking in intellect. That is precisely why Intel has not been able to con most folks into buying them even with huge financial incentives to the toy makers.There are tons of better laptop choices at much lower prices that meet the needs on 99.9999999999975316% of consumers. This is why "ultra-Jokes" ain't selling.
For those who chose bling over value and/or performance, then yes their intellect most certainly would be in question.
bji - Saturday, August 25, 2012 - link
The only intellect I question is the one who can't fathom why someone else would want a product that they themselves don't. It's called personal preference. Everyone has one and it's fairly moronic to claim that your judgement about what people need or wants trumps their own.netmann - Saturday, August 25, 2012 - link
Dustin, can the mSATA SSDs be configured in RAID?Penti - Saturday, August 25, 2012 - link
It looks fairly decent when it comes to specs and features, it does have some I think are quite essential once you pass 900-1000 dollars which is DisplayPort, high-res screen and ethernet, but things like having two mSATA SSDs (as it doesn't really give them any space) and fairly small battery gives a lot of minus points. For about the same money you get a Dell XPS 14 with Ivy, 8GB ram, 512GB SSD, 1600x900 14" screen and GT 630M discrete graphics. Only 155 dollar difference to how yours is configured. As this Spectre is 1949 with 8GB ram, i7 processor and 256GB SSD I'm not too tempted.Sure I might would have wanted to see the Dell XPS 14 ultrabook with SSDs in the lower ends and more configurable, but that only adds to the criticism that the HP looks worse despite that. Of course if you just want a high-res screen then you got Asus, Samsung Series 7 14 , Series 9 13.3 with HD+ etc as cheaper options. NP700Z3C-S02US is spec'd at Core i5, 14" 1600x900 display, 6GB ram, HD4000/GT 630M, USB3 and Ethernet plus 750GB hdd for 999 at the "Microsoft store". No DisplayPort but possibly a Ultrabook that should have come with a SSD. Most options aren't really sensible though.
Still finding lots of problems, good I'm not looking for one right now :) Spending 2000 dollars just to get high-res display and SSD seems excessive.