There’s plenty of good-looking competition
in this group test, but HP's Envy 23 still stands out. A large part of its
success comes from its unusual construction: while all the other systems here
use rear-mounted stands, the HP sits on top of a slender, brushed-metal base,
and it's held up by a pair of curving, tubular legs.
The
TouchSmart has a large, glossy 23-inch screen surrounded by a thick black bezel
The eye-catching design is matched with
good build quality. The base, which curves up to a thick point and tapers
backwards, anchors the system solidly, and the tilting design is reliably
sturdy. There's only one big downside to this good-looking design, though, and
it's a big one: a severe lack of flexibility. The HP's screen tilts back a few
degrees, but it's not far enough to even use the Envy from a standing position,
and this desk-bound machine looks limited when compared to the versatile,
double-hinged Asus ET2300.
The screen, like four other systems here,
has a 23" diagonal and 1920 x 1080 native resolution. Its average Delta E
of 3.3 means this is the best PC here for color accuracy, and images never look
oversaturated or insipid. It's great for photo editing and other work tasks, but
a couple of minor issues put this panel into second place, behind the Asus –
there’s a little bit of backlight leakage along the bottom edge, and the
measured brightness of 208cd/m2 is a little low.
Intel's 2.7GHz Core i5-3330S is a low-power
part an unfortunate prerequisite for most all-in-ones and its benchmark score
of 0.82 sits in the middle of this month's performance tables. Windows 8 felt
slick, but we can't say the same about the Envy's gaming muscle: the AMD Radeon
HD 7450A is the weakest discrete GPU here, and its Medium-quality Crysis
result of 19fps puts paid to any gaming prospects – you’ll be restricted to the
casual titles found in the Windows Store.
Its
unusual stand design doesn’t allow for as much adjustment as many rival
machines
That said, the 2TB hard disk on offer in
the HP is this test's biggest, and there's a Blu-ray reader and TV tuner – so
the media boxes are all ticked.
HP has included Beats Audio inside the Envy
23, but we wish it hadn't bothered. Dr. Dre's favorite audio system delivers
overwhelming amounts of bass that completely overpower the mid and high-end,
and it's so bad that the audio actually distorts at full volume.
HP
has included Beats Audio inside the Envy 23
Fortunately, it's possible to disable Beats
Audio, and the HP's speakers are better for it. There's still too much bass,
but the mid-range and high-end sounds are audible, and it's a much more
balanced listening experience that's on par with the victorious Asus.
It's the lack of versatility and the higher
price that damage the HP's prospects when stacked up against the Asus. That
means it's a runner-up this week, but it's still worth considering. While it's
not as flexible, the good screen and powerful specification mean the Envy 23 is
particularly good when it comes to work rather than play.
It's
the lack of versatility and the higher price that damage the HP's prospects
when stacked up against the Asus.
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Details
§ Price:
$1,575
§ Ratings:
8/10
§ Screen
size: 23.0in
§ RAM
capacity: 6GB
§ CPU
nominal frequency: 2.7GHz
§ Processor
socket: LGA 1155
§ Hard
disk: Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000
§ Resolution:
1920 x 1080
§ Speakers:
HP Beats Audio
§ Speaker
type: 2 x 2W
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