discussion HP ENVY 6 Sleekbook Review; AMD's Mobile Trinity APU Arrives

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Temperatures & Acoustics

Temperatures

Temperature testing is quite straightforward: we load the system with a loop of Far Cry 2 in order to stress the dedicated GPU (if there is one) while the CPU load is handled by a loop of WPrime 32M. Battery power is used during these tests. Temperatures are recorded with HWInfo and GPU-Z. Remember that this is a worst case scenario test so typical usage patterns will result in slightly lower temperatures.

Meanwhile, exterior temperatures are taken with a calibrated Fluke infrared thermometer at various locations on the notebook chassis. For comparison’s sake, we consider exterior readings of under 85°F to be perfectly suitable for on-lap usage while temperatures between 85°F and 95°F will start to feel a bit toasty. Anything above 95°F is uncomfortable and care should be given before placing it on your lap.

Even though the Envy 6 uses a spindle-based hard drive and a 32nm AMD Trinity processor in a confined chassis, temperatures remain well in-hand. We can’t forget that despite AMD’s relatively outdated manufacturing process, the A6 boasts a TDP of just 17W, equaling many Intel ULV CPUs.

Luckily, the low internal temperatures were not gained by filtering heat through the aluminum chassis. HP’s use of CoolSense and an active thermal management system allows the Envy 6 to remain cool without any heat buildup directed towards your lap.

Acoustical Testing

No one likes a loud laptop so in order to objectively determine acoustical properties, we use a calibrated decibel meter which is placed 16” away from the keyboard. A loop of WPrime is used to load the system and replicate a high usage scenario.

Any result under 35dB can be considered no louder than general background noise and usually won’t be noticed. Between 35dB and 45dB is still perfectly acceptable for notebooks yet will be much more noticeable than lower frequencies and likely won’t be heard over the noise of typing. Finally, we consider any result above 45dB to be unacceptable for a mobile device.

HP didn’t attain such good thermals by increasing fan noise as the Envy 6 is actually one of the quietest notebooks we have come across throughout testing.

 

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Conclusion

Conclusion

In today’s mobile computing world, due to a myriad of reasons, consumers have begun demanding more while also making due with less. Build quality, ease of use and design appeal are gradually replacing adaptability and raw performance. Some may argue this current move towards “Appleization” has meant less customization, higher prices and a gradual slide towards one-size-fits all devices but the Envy 6 has proven those detractors wrong. It has striking good looks, top shelf construction and most importantly, it sports a price that’s decidedly unconventional. In a segment stuffed with to the gills with $1000 ultra portables, HP is daring to be different. This time, a combination of following today’s design memes and bucking the status quo has created a device that succeeds on nearly every front but still feels lacking in others.

No matter which way you look at things, HP’s Sleekbook chassis is a tour de force. The milled aluminum sheets meld perfectly together with a durable soft-touch base and remained blissfully cool to the touch even after several hours of gaming. Keyboard responsiveness -usually the first sacrificial lamb of most thin and light designs- remains largely intact and the inclusion of backlighting will always come in handy. The headphone jack can power even the most demanding headphones without skipping a beat and fan noise never becomes apparent despite how little space there is for air movement. Even the amount of bloatware was kept to a minimum, ensuring the system had ample resources to putter along. Sure, we hated the glossy screen and whenever it was clicked, the ImagePad made a sound normally associated with a medieval dungeon but those were minor blemishes in an overall stellar user experience.

While the HP Envy 6 Sleekbook doesn’t feel like a budget-friendly notebook in any way, it certainly performs like one. In standard CPU tests, the included AMD Trinity A6 APU lags far behind the competition and even real-world testing scenarios shows it being thoroughly outclassed by Intel’s lowly ULV processors. However, we have to remember that most of the Ultrabooks in our charts easily hit the $1000 mark while this Envy 6 configuration doesn’t even brush shoulders with $725.

The only shining ray of hope here is the A6 processor’s capability to pull double duty a decent graphics processor. Regardless of the slow CPU’s insistence to drag performance down, the graphics subsystem does wonders for gaming and also allows for GPU acceleration in a rapidly expanding number of applications. This compute prowess may improve some scores by leaps and bounds but AMD’s Trinity architecture still faces an uphill battle. On the positive side, the A6 works in harmony with the 4-cell battery to post some awesome battery life numbers.

HP’s decision to include a large amount of onboard storage space is commendable but in an effort to keep costs to a minimum, neither a cache drive add-on nor an SSD is present within the Envy 6. This is quite frustrating since perceptual performance and overall system responsiveness could have been helped immeasurably by either of these options. Without them, the Sleekbook feels like the one thing AMD and HP wanted to avoid drawing direct comparisons against: an inexpensive notebook that has to deal with serious sacrifices in order to hit a predetermined price point.

Making a decision whether or not to purchase HP’s Envy 6 Sleekbook will ultimately come down to properly managing expectations. If you are willing to push aside some performance, it will provide a well built platform that boasts spectacular battery life and costs a good 30% less than other solutions. With this in mind, the Envy 6 with AMD’s Trinity may not be front and center on marketing slides but it receives our Dam Good Value Award for doing so many things right while still being attainable for nearly everyone.