For a great updated HP Touch laptop, check out my HP 15.6″ Touch Laptop review!
As someone who often works with several Chrome tabs, Photoshop, Lightroom, a couple of documents, Skype, Google Talk and other apps all open at the same time it is a must that I have a powerful laptop. A computer that does not keep up with my constant multitasking just won’t cut it. Under-powered computers inhibit my productivity and frustrate me.
Because I am such a picky laptop user, when I research laptops I look for several things:
- Upgradeable RAM
- Processor Power
- Hard Drive Size
- Battery Life
- Screen Resolution
If a computer does not meet my recommended specs on all of those, I am not interested. I will check the specs and move on to the next one.
HP – ENVY TouchSmart 15.6″ Touch-Screen Laptop – AMD FX-Series
I’ve always been an AMD processor fan. You may remember that I was blessed to work with AMD for several years. I was able to test many different laptops and they always lived up to my expectations. AMD offers a wide range of processors that are used in laptops, tablets, desktops, and even gaming systems like the XBox 360 and Nintendo Wii.
What I love about AMD processors is that while still offering tons of processing power they are not as hard on the wallet. Computers with AMD processors are generally lower in price than those with chips from that other manufacturer. 🙂
I was pleased to check out the HP ENVY TouchSmart 15.6″ laptop. This laptop is a powerhouse for sure! I’ve been able to keep all of my usual tabs and programs open, and use it for some monster photo and video editing.
Key Features
AMD FX-7500 accelerated multi-core processor – The AMD Quad-Core FX-7500 APU integrates processing power with AMD Radeon graphics enabling great performance, immersive graphics and many intelligent features.
15.6″ screen with 1366 x 768 HD resolution – While I usually prefer a smaller resolution, this screen is absolutely beautiful. It is HD so movies, games, and apps look incredible.
6GB system RAM (upgradeable to 16gb) – I LOVE the fact that this computer can be upgraded to 16gb of RAM. I will certainly be maxing this out very soon. Having more RAM means I can do more. More multitasking is always good. I usually look for a laptop that allows me to easily upgrade the RAM.
750GB Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart – 750gb is a great size for a laptop. HD ProtectSmart keeps your data by protecting your hard drive against bumps, and drops.
Backlit Keyboard – I am so glad that this laptop includes a backlit keyboard. I very often use my laptop in bed while watching television and I prefer not to have the lights on just to see my keyboard. Yes, I am a good typist, but I still like to see it! A backlit keyboard means that even in low light, or no light situations I can see all of the keys without a problem.
Beats Audio – Beats audio means that this system has full, rich sound. There is no need for an external speaker when watching movies or listening to music.
This may not be a con for others, but I am a simple mouse user. This touchpad has a ton of extra features that I find confusing. I’m sure after I get used to it, it will be fine. But for now I have disabled some of the advanced features. I found myself clicking and activating things that I did not mean to click. 🙂
You will notice that even though this ENVY is a full size 15.6″ laptop, it does not have an optical drive. There is no CD or DVD drive. Some users don’t like this. But I can honestly say that it has been a while since I’ve actually used one. When I have to install programs I am usually downloading them from the internet. In the event that I have to install a program from a CD (this has not happened in ages), I just copy it to a USB key and stick that in my laptop.
Great Gaming Laptop
The powerful specs of the HP Envy Touchsmart with AMD FX Special Edition APU technology make it a perfect gaming laptop. There is plenty of storage to install your favorite games. And the AMD Quad-Core FX-7500 APU with AMD Radeon graphics makes games run smooth and fast. Plus, with Beats Audio your game sounds will fill the room.
The HP Envy Touchsmart 15.6″ laptop is currently available from Best Buy for $579.99.
Disclosure: The HP Envy TouchSmart was provided to me in exchange for this review. All opinions are my own.
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