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31 of 33 people found the following review helpful.
Awesome! but with some drawbacks..
By Jayhan
First, this ultrabook is awesome! Starts up fast, thanks to the 128gb SSD. High quality brushed aluminum casing, USB 3.0 connection, HDMI output, WiDi connectivity and backlit keyboard.Now, for the not awesome part (this is for me. for other users, this might be sufficient..), only 4gb of ram, and it's on-board, meaning not upgradable. Ram prices are cheap nowadays and it would be more awesome if the ram is not on-board so you could put an 8gb stick. One more thing, there's no option for a higher resolution screen. 1366x768 is nice for 13 inch, but a 1600x900 would be a nice option. 1 USB 3.0 and 1 USB 2.0, now why not just both 3.0?If you buy this directly from HP, there is an option to upgrade to an i7 proc, and 256gb SSD. But still no option for a higher on-board ram, or higher resolution screen.Pros- Core i5 IVY bridge processor, ULV - The processor is a ULV version (Ultra-Low Voltage). This is slower compared to full-pledged i5 processor. All ultrabooks have the ulv processors. The number one advantage of this is lower TDP (low wattage), which means longer battery life for the notebook. In return, the performance is slower too. The i7 ulv version is only dual core compared to the quad core for regular i7 non-ulv.- HD4000 graphics - This is considerably faster than the older HD3000 found from the sandy bridge processors. You should get 30~40% increase in performance, so you should be able to play even the latest games, but not with high settings. This can even outperform older dedicated gpu like nvidia gt620m- 128gb SSD - Fast reads and writes compared to a regular HDD. Windows bootup and shutdown is quick as well as opening up applications. Upon logging in to windows, you can even click the internet explorer and start browsing. You can't do that with an HDD, you have to wait for a few seconds before you can start browsing.- WiDi connectivity - Note: You'll need a Widi receiver connected to your HDTV in order for you to use this functionality.- Backlit keyboard - Isn't this nice? Now you can use your laptop during night on a dark room or in a low light situation, and you can see your keyboard clearly. No more guessing with the correct key (unless your a very good in typing)Cons- 4gb on-board ram, not upgradable- No option to upgrade the screen
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful.
Great Windows machine
By Brian S. Schatz
Pros: Great design and features. You get full Adobe Elements photo and video editing software, and two full years of Norton. Keyboard is well set up and has decent travel when compared to the samsung series 9 or asus machines (at hundreds of $ less, i might add) and the trackpad is excellent--smooth and responsive.Many blogs and reviewers gripe about the screen, but at 13.3 inch, the resolution works. I briefly had the higher-res Spectre 14 and the higher res screen made things a little too small on this size machine--don't get me wrong, it was a gorgeous screen aside from the defects I experienced on two separate models, but the XT screen does the job well. Build quality is very good for windows based machine. Specs are good too--Ivy Bridge i5, 4 gig of ram and a speedy SSD.Boot up time is minimal and it awakes from sleep almost instantaneously. Battery seems decent too. From what I can tell so far, I get roughly 5-6 hours out of it. Minimal bloatware. This machine feels light and sturdy. I get the feeling it will last me several years. On board speakers are decent, but i probably wont be using them much. I didn't buy this for beats audio, but listening through a pair of good headphones is great.Cons: Although it is a well built machine from HP, it isn't perfect. Screen wobbles a bit and the underside has a soft-grip, but plastic quality to it. The SSD is fast, but a lot of the space is eaten up by the system restore partition. I'd rather have that space and put the system restore on an SD card or something. Out of the box, you're looking at about 70 gig available. But with SSD, you trade speed for space. And this thing is fast.I think the screen is nice, but the colors don't blow me away. I don't expect to be playing any new games on this, but it seems powerful enough to dabble. Also the memory is on-board so you can't upgrade it. That may be a problem in two or three years.Other Thoughts: Overall a great computer. If you're looking for a computer with equal build quality to the macbook air and don't care about the OS, just go with a macbook air. This machine comes close, but little things like screen hinge balance (so you can just open with one hand) aren't there. HP definitely did a great job paying attention to detail, but they overlooked a few superficial things. Of the available options, this one is the best for the price. I wanted a Windows machine, and after extensive research and screen defect issues with two HP Spectre 14's, this one is the best available for the money. All the other ultrabooks seems to have some issue with the screen, trackpad, cheap keyboard or poor build quality--these manufacturers can't seem to get it right, and a computer like the macbook air kind of destroys the competition (in terms of build quality).You're not getting a super-hi-res display here, but you're getting a great computer with very good specs and excellent support from HP. They're trying. Really. And if you're in the market for an "ultrabook" today then you can't go wrong with the Spectre XT when you consider the other options. I really shopped around. Went to stores and played with tons of different models in this price range--Acer laptops felt poorly made; the Asus machines had weird screen bleed on the display models and the trackpad--the main method of input--was terrible; other HP's were either non-SSD or had strange ripple defects on their screens (Sandy Bridge Spectre 14's); the Samsung models, once you figure out the huge difference between the 2011 and 2012 thirteen-inch models had junky keyboards and were incredibly expensive; I wouldn't touch Vizio yet and they haven't been reviewed well; Dell's... meh, they didn't have a good feel either; Lenovo has a weak plastic keyboard tray and a ton of flex. It felt like it was going to break.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
One of the Best Ultrabooks
By G. Clough
This would be my 3rd ultrabook. I own the Samsung Series 7 and the Asus Zenbook. I love both of those ultrabooks so when I got this one, I wasn't expecting it to blow me away or anything. I was quite wrong. This is a really great overall laptop. The design is flawless, built in audio speakers are superb, and an SSD drive makes booting up extremely fast. This was great because I mutli task a ton and this handled everything perfectly, incredibly smooth. The battery lasted me almost 6 hours mutli-tasking between web pages and work, which was less then I expected, but still about on par.What I Love:-4 Speakers-Speedy i5 Processor-SSD Drive that makes booting up Windows 7/8 incredibly fast-Stylish & Sleek Design-Keyboard is great compared to other ultrabooks keyboardsWhat I don't Like:-Can't upgrade RAM-Screen is sub par compared to other ultrabooksDespite a few drawbacks, I would still place this in my top 5 ultrabook list.
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Love it :)
