You’ve seen the second commercial from Microsoft’s Laptop Hunters series, right? You know, the one where G-diddy picks up the HP HDX 16 over a MacBook Pro. I won’t get into the PC vs Mac argument, but Giampaolo chose poorly because he didn’t know what he actually wanted.
Specs on our review unit are as follows:
• Intel C2D T9600 2.8GHz
• nVidia GeForce 9600M GT w/ 512MB DDR2 dedicated memory
• 16-inch HD HP Ultra BrightView Infinity Display (1920×1080)
• 320GB 5400RPM HDD
• 4GB of DDR2 SDRAM
• Intel Wi-Fi Link 5100 network connection and Bluetooth
• Blu-ray ROM w/ SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer
• 6 cell lithium-ion battery
• HP Webcam
• Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit
Performance
We use Primate Labs Geekbench for benchmarking and the HDX 16 scored 3179 overall. Just to give you a frame of reference, the last-generation MacBook Pro with the same processor scored a 3671 on Geekbench. The complete breakdown can be found in the gallery.
Because of the fancy graphics card from nVidia I used 3DMark03 to see what sort of score we’d get out of it. The GeForce 9600M GT managed to score a 12,847. I played a few minutes of Sega’s Iron Man and it was pretty smooth.
Start up takes approximately 66 seconds while shutting down is about 40 seconds.
Battery Life
This where the HDX 16 underperforms and it’s something that should weigh heavily on your decision making process. Off the charger, the HDX 16 gets roughly 58 minutes during Blu-ray playback. For our “real world” test, I cruised the web for about three minutes, literally, and watched 26 minutes worth of Chuck on Hulu, which amounted to one hour and 27 minutes off of the remaining battery time under HP’s “balanced” power plan.
You’d expect more out of the 6 cell battery compared to others in the market, and we suspect the HD screen is juicing it for all its worth.
Hardware
• Dimensions – 14.9×10.0×1.70 inches and a whopping 7.06 lbs. It’s not portable and hurts my back.
• Speakers – Altec Lansing handles the audio on the HDX 16 and the entire speaker system is laid out across the top section of the bottom panel. They’re certainly loud, but start to crackle when maxed out. However, you can adjust bass and treble with the touch controls above the keyboard. Located on the bottom of the laptop near the power connector is an HP Triple Bass Reflex Subwoofer that you really wouldn’t know was there unless you flipped the laptop over.
• Controls – located just above the keyboard are touch controls for wireless, bass/treble, volume, media playback and MediaSmart. They’re a bit finicky and you’ll need a bit of finesse and patience.
• Ports – located along the left side are the following ports: VGA, expansion port 3 connector, RJ-45, HDMI, eSATA/USB, USB, 1394 FireWire and an ExpressCard/54 slot. Along on the front are the following: 5-in-1 memory card reader (SD, MS/Pro, MMC, xD), IR and a mic/dual headphone port. Located on the right hand side of the laptop is the power connector, Kensington lock slot, USB, optical drive, TV antenna and the fourth USB port.
• Keyboard – Like other HP entertainment notebooks, the HDX 16 comes with a full-size keyboard with numpad. The keys have a nice finish to them and are very grippy.
• Track pad – The main issue with the track pad is it causes a lot of friction, so you’ll need to boost the speed of the cursor to actually get something done.
Screen
HP’s 16-inch HD screen is brilliant, but it’s far too glossy and I spent more time primping my hair than watching Chuck. It handles Blu-ray playback just fine with brilliant colors and sharp lines.
Conclusion
As a multimedia machine, the HDX 16 performs admirably, but the lackluster battery life and size make us long for something leaner and meaner. It can also get quite loud during graphics intensive processes, like, watching videos or playing games. But as a stationary machine (ie: plugged in) with a Blu-ray drive and HD screen it’s more than capable of keeping a multimedia junkie happy.
Photo Gallery by Picturesurf
WTF? Are you guys n00b for reviewing a rig with 32bit version Vista but has 4GB of RAM?
Whoops, my bad. Might have been just what HP sent to you guys. But then that begs the question: is HP n00b for sending a computer in that configuration without x64?
Yeah, it’s a little weird. We’re not really sure what the deal is.
My Dell desktop came with 4GB of RAM as part of a free upgrade promotion but with 32-bit Vista . . . didn’t think to call them a n00b for that, I mean more and free are still good, right?
Mine dv2713 was costlier than that and also in low configuration. Grrrr… thats not fair. I had purchased it in January.
-Mohit
Yeah my DV3500 was also very pricey but equally fiddly ‘touch’ buttons and dodgy trackpad have put me off the entire DV series, not to mention the comical ‘invisible at night’ keyboards.
HP is currently suffering from ‘Macatitis’ …
(’Macatitis’: a deadly illness which causes self destruction due to favouring form over function)
My experiences with my new HP HDX 16 laptop purchased was a disaster. The software that controls the lighted buttons at the top of the keyboard is malfunctioning. So much so, that when you press a soft button it launches Excel or Outlook multiple times – as many as 30 or 40 times. The support specialist said that it was a known problem (which there was not fix for) and suggested that I return the PC for a refund if I could not stop the problems. So I did.
I’ll admit that I was a bit under-whelmed by my HDX 16 when I got it. Vista was sluggish, but games looked nice. I ended putting Ubuntu 9.04 on it and it’s been performing nicely for me ever since. I use it mostly for work (programming, graphics editing), but it works very well for the occasional movie or game. For $1200, I’d say it was a win for me.
32 bit can use up to 4gb ram. 64 bit doesn’t have anything good going for it other than everywhere is trying to sell it. I plan on getting this comp with better graphics card. And since i don’t drop/hit my laptops with anything I won’t have any button problems
My HP HDX 16 is a POS, speaker system sucks, both the hardware and software. The right speaker (near power jack) rattles terribly, speakers aren’t loud enough and the volume software randomly goes into freak out mode. The screen is so glossy that reflection is a huge issue, don’t even think of using it in the sunlight! No battery life to speak of. However the machine is fast and has great graphics in a dark room.
I sent it back to HP service and they fixed the speaker rattle/vibration and reloaded it with updated software which took care of this problem but they wouldn’t do anything about the screen scratching so I padded the screen area so it wouldn’t touch the keyboard when closed. The Band Aid approach!
how about the temperature of the processor and surface while performing intensive graphics or gaming?
i have the hdx 16 and the processor and surface temp while running games and blu-rays stays quite cool to the touch
I just ordered the HDX 16t and I hope I don’t have problems like I’ve read, wish I would have read this before……………
Had my HDX 16 for about three weeks now and I love it. The specs on mine are a tad bit more advanced than the review system (GeForce GT 130M 1GB dedicated memory, Vista x64). The buttons at the top are a bit finicky, but usable. I use it for 3D animation in Maya 2010 x64 and it runs really well. Can’t wait for my free Windows 7 Home Premium x64 upgrade to get here.
My problem with HP is that all there computers or most of them are built in SHANGHAI CN. Just another company that takes a lot of American money but puts nothing back in to U.S. economy. In the mean time we go down the shit-hole……..Thanks HP your one of many……..don’t want to forget thanking our government for helping us go down the shit-hole…………