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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warisz00r - Saturday, August 25, 2012 - link
Can't wait for you guys to review the X1 Carbon.barry spock - Saturday, August 25, 2012 - link
me too. what I've read it seems the best match head to head with the MB air.ananduser - Saturday, August 25, 2012 - link
The MBA "fails"(relatively speaking) under Windows. So the comparison is moot.Braumin - Sunday, August 26, 2012 - link
I second this! I don't know what you need to do in order to get Lenovo laptops, but please add them to your list! The X1 Carbon looks amazing.Dustin Sklavos - Sunday, August 26, 2012 - link
Don't hold your breath.crimson117 - Monday, August 27, 2012 - link
Why - does Lenovo not bother to send out review units?AssBall - Saturday, August 25, 2012 - link
... but the batter life pretty much a joke for the price. Why even bother with ultra-light if you can't carry it everywhere without bringing the cord.ImSpartacus - Saturday, August 25, 2012 - link
I know. If battery life isn't there, literally nothing else matters.Reviews of the X1 kept mentioning that rapid charge battery tech, but I just don't care since the battery life is DOA.
These are mobile devices. Battery life matters.
RamarC - Saturday, August 25, 2012 - link
Yup. Battery life is definitely top 2 factor. Otherwise you'll have to fight a martial arts chick over the plug!mtoma - Saturday, August 25, 2012 - link
According to HP, Wikipedia and Intel specifications, Spectre should be an 14 inch Ultrabook. It has mSata drives, ULV processor, the right dimmensions. I see some Samsung and Lenovo models with 14 inch displays, which are .. a little bit heavier and bulkier, but are classified as Ultrabooks.Because of that, it seems odd for me that Dustin has opted to compare HP Spectre with other regular notebooks.