NOTE: I need you guys to know that I just bought this laptop about a month ago. If anything negative happens to the laptop within the next few weeks (or month), I'll make sure to edit this review. if you have questions or comments about this review, just click "comment" on the button below and I'll gladly help you out.(PLEASE TAKE NOTE THAT THIS IS A CONSTRUCTIVE REVIEW. YOUR VIOLENT REACTIONS WILL NOT BE ENTERTAINED.)
Story:
my old laptop has finally retired after a few years and I wanted something a little bit more affordable and portable without compromising performance. the older model of this laptop (HP DM4-3050) a lot of good reviews so I bought this one.
REVIEW:
1.) DIMENSIONS (size and weight)
First thing that I noticed when I bought this was the dimensions of this laptop. It's actually unusual for a 14" laptop (not 14.1") to be this small and portable. The weight is about 4 pounds (rounding-off) and its very comfortable to carry around on my backpack (even carrying this bare-handed is convenient!) in some cases, this laptop can even fit some 13.3" laptop sleeves. The size of the screen is adequate for documentation, watching movies, internet browsing and even Photo editing.
2.) PHYSICAL HARDWARE AND APPEARANCE
The Laptop is has a steel aluminum plate covering and doesn't take fingerprints (unless you have oily or sweaty hands). very easy to clean and doesn't attract too many dust particles. The webcam with integrated microphone is better than average since it adjusts to the light that surrounds the user of the laptop. There is also a Bluetooth (which a lot of laptops of this level doesn't have) if you want to transfer files wireless. Keyboard is comfortable for typing and doing shortcuts. this laptop has three USB ports in total (two 3.0 USB PORTS on the left and one 2.0 USB PORT on the right). This also has an HMDI port if you want to connect your laptop to your big screen television. Mouse pad has excellent sensitivity and the buttons are good. I really love the finger sensor on this laptop because its very convenient for windows start up and logging into your accounts (no need to type your username and password all the time, just set it up on your HP simple pass and your all good!). The Hard Drive has about 610GB usable memory (the other 30GB is for recovery and system files)is more than enough if you have a lot of files to store. The BEATS AUDIO that was put into this laptop is better than most laptops. Highs and Mids are good. HP actually did a great job of putting in a very small sub-woofer for low frequency sounds and better acoustic.(I'm a music professional so my standards are a little high).
I only have three comments about this laptop...
1.) I wish the SD Card Port has a cover...
2.) the Keyboard doesn't have a back-lit.
3.) the OPTICAL DRIVE button is hard to press (not a deal breaker), hence the 4 stars.
3.) PERFORMANCE
everything actually depends on the type of work that you do on your laptop. My routine is centered on multi-tasking (internet browsing, playing some music, editing photos, videos and music,using Microsoft office, etc) No problems at all. The 8GB RAM and i5-2430m Intel core Processor (has 4 processors with a speed of 2.4 GHz each) has a start-up of about 15-18seconds and 10 seconds to shut-down. It doesn't have any problem running ANY kind of programs you throw at it. The Intel HD Graphics is enough for High-Definition Videos (both 720p and 1080p) and some Games that require high specs (sorry, not a gamer).
**If you want to maximize the performance of this laptop, I highly recommend you take out all the bloatwares (HP and other programs that's already in the laptop). It took me about 15-20 minutes to do this.
EXTRA REASONS WHY THIS LAPTOP IS A GOOD BUY:
-This laptop has a security Hard Drive feature. If ever you accidentally bumped your laptop into something or it falls into the floor, It will automatically LOCK your hard drive, and this will help you recover important files if ever the laptop breaks.
-The HP Cool Sense Temperature Control Automatically adjusts to its surroundings so your laptop doesn't overheat (whether it's on the table or on your lap.)
-I've already said this, but I want to emphasize this really good feature. The FINGER SENSOR which helps save time when your logging into your windows start-up or into your private accounts.(No need to type your username and password again and again.)
OVERALL, this laptop is solid and excellent whether you're a student or a professional. In terms of the price, It is actually a money saver if you're looking for the same specs as me. Hope this review helps you.
For the $600 price range, this machine is pretty well equipped. I was stuck between getting this or the Folio. In the end, it came down to the price tag. Compared to others on the market, it is pretty light. Not has light as the ultrabooks, but this isn't an ultrabook. The screen quality is pretty good (no complaints) and the keyboard is very comfortable (not sure why some people have a problem with the keyboard, unless they are used to something else).
PROS:
Price
Solid Intel processor (yes, I'm an "Intel geek," I'll take it over AMD any day)
Great sound quality for a laptop
Good memory and harddrive
CONS:
No boot disk included (can be requested)
Optical drive is a little tricky to open, you have to press the eject button a little hard (which is my only real gripe so far)
No backlight for the keyboard (but, clip-on lights are cheap...no biggy)
If you are looking for a solid, good-performing laptop which isn't too heavy (in terms of pounds AND cost) this one is a great choice!
Buy Hp PAV Dm4-3055dx 2.40 Ghz 2nd Generation Intel Core I5-2430m 8g, 640gb,14" Bt Widi Wcam W7 Now
I've been using a Toshiba Satellite for 3 years, and while it has been slowly dying for 6 months, in the last month it really started to disintegrate. I swore I would never again buy a Toshiba, what with the nightmares that machine had given me, and after a solid month of shopping around I had decided between this and an ASUS [both for sale cheaper at Best Buy]. I am a very picky shopper, and read all the reviews, and researched all the specs for the 2 machines, and eventually decided to go with the lightly smaller HP. I have been using it over 2 weeks, and have really no complaints. I don't game, nor do I do any photo or video editing: if this is what you are looking for out of a computer, I recommend a slightly larger, faster option. But if you want a hard working business or student computer, I really recommend this.THINGS TO NOTE:
-Small: It's such a portable machine. Just over 4 pounds with the battery, and noticeably thinner than most laptops. Also, while its screen is a full 14" the thinness and reduced "blank space" around the monitor and key board around the computer means it's smaller than most other 14" machines. As a college student, this is a major plus. It actually fits [just barely] into the 13.3" sleeves technically designed for MacBooks
-Ports: despite its small size, it still has 3 USB ports. I'm always charging something, and often have my wireless mouse linked via USB, so it's nice to have more than the 2 ports that are standard on most 14" laptops
-Fingerprint ID: I really didn't think I'd use this feature, but honestly I love it. It took about 3 minutes to initially set up, and then about 30 minutes of fussing with it to figure out all it could do, and how to set up in a way optimal for me. You can set to open the page you want when you swipe a finger, or to wait until you manually open a log-in page to prompt you to scan in. Emails, Facebook, Youtube, shopping sites, I'll never get my many passwords mixed up, and be thrown out because my caps-lock was accidentally on.
-Temperature: This might be premature, because it usually takes laptops a year or so to start overheating [if they're going to] but it was such a problem with my old Toshiba I can't help but be thrilled to again set my laptop actually on my lap. The interior fan works well, and you can turn off the auto run and set it to manual if you ever think it IS getting too hot.
Display: the picture quality is really fantastic. It's not one of the newer "retina display" things you'll find in Apple products, but it is far and away superior my old laptop
-I love the Island style keyboard. I do very little numerical typing, and find having a number pad just gets in the way of my typing. If you do work with numbers a great deal and are used to relying on the number pad, this might be something to consider before buying this computer
Processor: here is where the computer didn't quite live up to my expectations. I want a truly fast computer. I more often than not have up to 5 internet tabs running, and music, and school software.... you get the idea. I need a computer to take what I throw at it. While this computer certainly runs faster than my old Centrino core, I was expecting more from the much touted i5. Not a complete let-down, and maybe a better wifi source will help pick things up.
-Shell: the actual appearance of the computer is very sleek, very professional looking. Dark brown matte that looks black in low light, it does have a tendency to attract and show smudges. If this is a problem, I suggest carrying a cloth with you.
-Sound: Beats Audio is a major selling point of the HP line, and while it is certainly impressive when using headphones, the sound quality from the speakers comes out just slightly distorted because of speaker placement. Because of the small size of the laptop, the speakers are actually just under the front edge of the machine. While this isn't a problem if you are sitting it on a desk or table, if you're like me and prop your laptop against your stomach or chest a lot, it does distort the sound slightly. You do quickly get used to it, but if you are a "sound purist" external speakers might make you happy.
-Dedicated mouse buttons: Maybe I'm old fashioned but the new "no button" mouses bother me. This touchpad has two actual right and left buttons for the mouse, and the setting on the touchpad itself are easily manageable. Some have complained the HP touch pads are either over-sensative or glitchy. I have had not problems with it being to sensitive, and so far have no glitches to speak of.
Price: I wanted more RAM and memory than my previous laptop, and all the options seemed beyond my budget. This was a great find, in my opinion, because I GOT IT FOR $560 on sale at Best Buy. Everything else with similar specs was going for almost $700, which, while not outrageous, is still more than most students have to spend. For all that you get outta this things, you can't beat the price.
-Just to note, it does not have a backlit keyboard. This isn't an issue for me, but for some this is a deal breaker.
As a student going abroad in the fall, this computer is perfect for me: small, light, portable, lots of space on the hard drive, an awesome webcam, extra security through the fingerprint scanner, without all the frills and unnecessary things that turns me off to Apple products. People have complained in the past about HP's customer service, but as I get a really great Best Buy protection plan, hopefully I won't have to deal directly with them. I would highly recommend this laptop to a friend.I bought this laptop in June 2012 via a Best Buy sale, and am reviewing it 11 months later. I agree with other reviewers on its good points: it's fast, small, light, has great screen image and resolution. It's very thin, yet has a full DVD drive, which many thin laptops have abandoned. I love the fingerprint scan tool, which I use to log in every day to Windows and LastPass.
My only beef is with the keyboard, which is unlike any other laptop keyboard I've used. The keys have very little vertical travel, and no depression for fingertips, which may be part of my biggest complaint: both the keys and the spacebar frequently fail to register my strokes, though this has improved somewhat over time. As a result of this maddening problem, I use a wireless keyboard for most of my work on this laptop.
UPDATE: After writing the above I researched the keyboard issue on an HP board, and discovered a solution to the problem, which worked my keyboard now types as it should! Simple procedure: Go to Device Manager, find the PS/2 Keyboard, click its Driver tab, then click un-install. Close Device Manager and reboot the laptop. On reboot, it will re-install the keyboard driver (which is a firmware driver, so no worries about finding the file).the laptop is elegant, fast, an a good price in compration with other computers like sony or mac de apple.
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