Amazon.com Widgets

HP Envy 14-1160se Beats Edition Review

We are overall very pleased with the second generation of laptops from HP Envy. They offer excellent design and high-end features at a reasonable price, especially theentry-level 14-inch model.

As with the original envy, there is also a black-clad HP Envy 14-1160se Beats Edition, the partnership with beats audio highlights. Originally, this version included a pair of headphones Beats solo and has over $ 250 on the bottom line, making it a bad deal on paper, even if only a little (solo Beats headphones, you run about $ 179 by itself).

HP Envy 14-1160se Beats Edition

Currently, the Envy 14 beats Edition without the headphones are available, and we have an identical configuration – but not entry-level – in the black and gray Beats standard editions for $ 1,149 (build can not knock you the Beats Edition on the same 999 $ base as the regular Envy 14). If that’s the case, we would have no problem, the selection of Beats Edition, when we color the gray better than the standard liked.

Envy of the 14 looks great and runs great in general, but there are also a handful of small but frustrating issues that arise from apparently on a high-end laptop. automatically with the volume control opens an onscreen volume bar that bumps do not switch from full-screen games, large multi-touch touch pad is nowhere as smooth as Apple’s version, and the ATI switchable graphics as seamless as Nvidia’s Optimus to do graphics.

Buy HP Envy 14-1160se Beats at Amazon

BUY HP ENVY 14-1160SE BEATS EDITION LAPTOP NOW AND SAVE MONEY!

Envy as the standard 14, the new HP Envy 14 beats Edition is made of aluminum and magnesium, but in black and gray with red highlights instead of the usual bronze, and with a slightly rubberized mat looks and feels very nice. It lacks the subtle pattern printed spaces for the palm rest and back of the lid on the standard Envy, this version makes a bit more smudge-prone.

The Envy 14 Envy, like his predecessors, feels solid and robust, but also dense and heavy compared to other notebooks of similar size. At 5.3 pounds, it is not exactly something that you would carry in a shoulder bag with a daily commute (and a 14-inch laptop is already just over the line of what we consider truly portable) would, but we did see it work for semi-regular trips to the office or cafe.

HP Envy 14-1160se Beats Edition

The system consists of an inner slightly sunken keyboard tray, with a keyboard far apart, flattened keys and made a Power button. While there is no quick launch or media control buttons are the row of function keys and media control other attributes as the primary mapping, has the actual F4, F5, etc., to tasks that you hold down the Fn key at the same time ( Setup HP and others are used frequently). A major advantage of the Envy 14 has over the older Envy 13 is that the new keyboard with backlighting (in this case, with red lights by matt-black keys), which is one the must-have features in every high-end laptop. A small switch for this version beats: the key “B” with a beats-Audio logo, which is in the form of a stylized letter B is a stamp

The controllers have the unpleasant side effect jumping on the screen volume display when you hit the volume up, down or mute (F7, F8 and F9, respectively). So if you use it while playing a game or watch certain types of full-screen video trying to kick you out of the full-screen mode, or even back to the desktop.

Buy HP Envy 14-1160se Beats at Amazon

BUY HP ENVY 14-1160SE BEATS EDITION LAPTOP NOW AND SAVE MONEY!

The envy of the oversize touchpad is now standard on many HP laptops. The look and feel is great, and it rivals Apple for sheer size. Unfortunately, every HP laptop with the new touch-pad, we tried the same problem: the multi-touch gesture controls do not work consistently, moving also the required two-finger scrolling. The scrolling is stuttery movement and the touch pad is also missing the scroll that helps MacBooks (and iPhone, iPad, etc.) feel so natural. The 14.5-inch widescreen LED display (remarkable, since most 14-inch laptop screens measuring only 14 cm diagonal) has a standard 1,366 x 768 resolution. Our previous Envy 14 had a higher 1600 x900-pixel resolution, but this option is not currently displayed by HP.

Above all, HP has combined with special Bass Beats Audio support software and hardware that works especially well with the beats of the allegedly brand headphones but are certainly sounds clear and strong with other headphones or speakers through the system. Killer-Audio can not list at the top of most laptop shoppers’ will, but this is certainly one of the best performers in this category.

HP Envy 14-1160se Beats Edition

The Envy has 14 HP a much better selection of ports and connections than last year’s 13th Envy This time you get three USB ports, including USB/eSATA port, HDMI, and a display port and a slot-loading optical drive, a feature conspicuously missing from the 13-inch version.

We tested a version with an Intel Core i5-450 CPU. A slower (and less expensive) CPU Core i3 is present, but only in the non-standard beats Envy 14th As you would rightly expect from the current Core i5 laptop, it also runs in our benchmark tests and for all but the most serious multitasking or high-end gaming, the Envy is 14 more than capable.

Buy HP Envy 14-1160se Beats at Amazon

BUY HP ENVY 14-1160SE BEATS EDITION LAPTOP NOW AND SAVE MONEY!

The ATI Radeon HD 5650 has included a mid-range graphics card for mainstream gaming. Play Unreal Tournament III at 1,366 x 768-pixel resolution, we got 72.3 frames per second, and we would feel safe with any current game on the system at medium detail settings.

The Envy also features switchable graphics, the ATI card can be turned off to save power when not needed, instead, is the standard Intel HD graphics means. It is a nice option, but unlike Nvidia’s Optimus solution for laptops with Nvidia GPUs, you must manually switch the video here by clicking on an on-screen button, which, frankly, feels archaic in this place (even if you configure the system to automatically jump to the integrated graphics when using the battery).

HP Envy 14-1160se Beats Edition

The HP Envy 14 ran for 3 hours and 20 minutes on our video playback battery drain test, using the included battery with eight cells. This is very good for a medium-sized laptop, especially one with a decent CPU/GPU combo.

HP includes an industry-standard one-year warranty on parts and labor with the system. Upgrading to a three-year plan starts at $ 399, but also accidental damage protection and on-site service. Support through a 24-7 toll-free telephone line on the Internet, and a well-maintained on-line knowledge base and driver downloads.

Buy HP Envy 14-1160se Beats at Amazon

BUY HP ENVY 14-1160SE BEATS EDITION LAPTOP NOW AND SAVE MONEY!

Related posts:

  1. HP Envy 14-1160se Beats EditionHear and feel the difference. Experience music the way it...
  2. New Envy 17 with 3D, New Envy with 14 Beats EditionHP notebook updates today with a pair of special versions...
  3. HP Envy 17-1181NRCount on precision crafted performance. Enjoy Blu-ray DVDs at home...
  4. New HP Envy 17 3D LaptopHewlett-Packard today announced the HP Envy 17 3D “, the...
  5. HP 17-1181NR Envy ReviewDesktop replacements are usually large, larger, and largest, with power...
  6. HP Envy 13-1130NR ReviewThe HP Envy 13-1130NR Laptop, Intel Core 2 Duo processor,...
  7. HP Envy 17 3D laptop with ATI’s active 3D systemThe HP Envy 17, seen in May and recently debuted...