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I had a chance to compare the two head to head and just thought I would like to share my experiences with anyone interested. Recently I was able to pick up an HP Envy 14 for $852.36 shipped with the following specs:
HP ENVY 14 customizable Notebook PC
* Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
* Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-560M Dual Core Processor (2.66 GHz, 3MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz
* 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5650 switchable graphics [HDMI] - For Dual Core Processors
* 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
* 500GB 7200RPM Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
* No Additional Office Software
* 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (standard) - Up to 6.0 hours of battery life +++
* 14.5" diagonal High Definition HP BrightView Infinity LED Display (1366x768)
* SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support (Slot Load)
* HP TrueVision HD Webcam and Dual Digital Integrated Microphones
* Intel Wireless-N Card with Bluetooth
* Backlit Keyboard
* Adobe(R) Photoshop(R) Elements 8 & Adobe Premiere(R) Elements 8
Basically, the HP Envy was everything I was hoping for aesthetics wise, but a few glaring problems are leading me to choose the Asus, and returning the HP. I really hope that they address these issues in the future.
Build quality:
HP > Asus. The Envy is a very solid laptop. The most solid laptop I have ever beheld with my own two hands. The Asus only has metallic top, and it is flimsy in comparison. Even my wood door scratched the top. Also the Asus has much more noticeable keyboard flex. Also, the Asus is a dust and fingerprint magnet!
Power:
HP > Asus. The HP has much more horsepower than the SU7300 Asus, however, when it comes to putting that power to actual use, it leaves the user experience lacking as I will explain later.
User experience:
Asus > HP. This is the part that irks me. The HP has everything going for it in its favor, but I would rather use the Asus because of small issues that add up to an unpleasant experience. The first most annoying thing is the touchpad. I don't LOVE the Asus one at all, but it is so much better than the HP. It is something you can read all about everywhere else so that is all I am going to say about that. The next most annoying thing is the slow boot time. With all that horsepower, I could probably still reset and restart my Asus twice before the HP boots up once. What is the point of having all that power when it feels like I am in the 90s again booting up my Pentium computer? This is simply unacceptable and I cannot fathom how HP could overlook these two HUGE issues when making this thing. The backlight is also extremely annoying. There is no hotkey to turn it off completely like on other laptops. Also, it likes to slightly change levels on its own when you go from a dark background to a light one, but very slowly and gradually. It is very annoying. Next are the keyboard hotkeys. When you change the system volume, fullscreen videos exit fullscreen. This blew my mind. I was watching a DVD, and changing the volume with the keyboard caused the DVD to stutter. I was watching a youtube clip fullscreen, and changing the volume caused the video to exit fullscreen. The last thing that could be overlooked if it was the only thing is that the fan is always audible even in the lowest power and graphics setting doing simple web browsing. I could overlook this because it does have a powerful i5 processor, but I would rather it was completely silent at those tasks like the Asus.
Now in Asus' favor, their software suite for their laptops is very useful. Even after a clean format, I reinstalled the Asus Power profiles and some other things that were very well designed and did not hinder, but rather enhance, the user experience.
Gaming:
HP > Asus. This is obvious so 'nuff said.
Battery life:
Asus > HP. When you look down and see 20% battery life left, and you don't panic because you have 2 hours left, it is a great feeling. When you forget your power brick at home and you don't start to panic hoping you have enough juice to get work done at work, nothing compares. The 10 hour battery life on the Asus is game breaking.
Conclusion:
I really wish the HP ran like its specs. I really do. If the HP even ran like my Asus, I would have kept it for the price. It is just that beautiful. I look at my Asus and wish it was built like the HP. However, for me at the end of the day, how it runs is more important than how it looks, which is why the HP is going back. I know there are probably ways to get around some of the glaring issues I mentioned, but I don't have the time to go above and beyond anymore like I used to. I expect things to work out of the box, and the Asus does, the HP doesn't.
HP ENVY 14 customizable Notebook PC
* Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
* Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-560M Dual Core Processor (2.66 GHz, 3MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz
* 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5650 switchable graphics [HDMI] - For Dual Core Processors
* 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
* 500GB 7200RPM Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
* No Additional Office Software
* 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (standard) - Up to 6.0 hours of battery life +++
* 14.5" diagonal High Definition HP BrightView Infinity LED Display (1366x768)
* SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support (Slot Load)
* HP TrueVision HD Webcam and Dual Digital Integrated Microphones
* Intel Wireless-N Card with Bluetooth
* Backlit Keyboard
* Adobe(R) Photoshop(R) Elements 8 & Adobe Premiere(R) Elements 8
Basically, the HP Envy was everything I was hoping for aesthetics wise, but a few glaring problems are leading me to choose the Asus, and returning the HP. I really hope that they address these issues in the future.
Build quality:
HP > Asus. The Envy is a very solid laptop. The most solid laptop I have ever beheld with my own two hands. The Asus only has metallic top, and it is flimsy in comparison. Even my wood door scratched the top. Also the Asus has much more noticeable keyboard flex. Also, the Asus is a dust and fingerprint magnet!
Power:
HP > Asus. The HP has much more horsepower than the SU7300 Asus, however, when it comes to putting that power to actual use, it leaves the user experience lacking as I will explain later.
User experience:
Asus > HP. This is the part that irks me. The HP has everything going for it in its favor, but I would rather use the Asus because of small issues that add up to an unpleasant experience. The first most annoying thing is the touchpad. I don't LOVE the Asus one at all, but it is so much better than the HP. It is something you can read all about everywhere else so that is all I am going to say about that. The next most annoying thing is the slow boot time. With all that horsepower, I could probably still reset and restart my Asus twice before the HP boots up once. What is the point of having all that power when it feels like I am in the 90s again booting up my Pentium computer? This is simply unacceptable and I cannot fathom how HP could overlook these two HUGE issues when making this thing. The backlight is also extremely annoying. There is no hotkey to turn it off completely like on other laptops. Also, it likes to slightly change levels on its own when you go from a dark background to a light one, but very slowly and gradually. It is very annoying. Next are the keyboard hotkeys. When you change the system volume, fullscreen videos exit fullscreen. This blew my mind. I was watching a DVD, and changing the volume with the keyboard caused the DVD to stutter. I was watching a youtube clip fullscreen, and changing the volume caused the video to exit fullscreen. The last thing that could be overlooked if it was the only thing is that the fan is always audible even in the lowest power and graphics setting doing simple web browsing. I could overlook this because it does have a powerful i5 processor, but I would rather it was completely silent at those tasks like the Asus.
Now in Asus' favor, their software suite for their laptops is very useful. Even after a clean format, I reinstalled the Asus Power profiles and some other things that were very well designed and did not hinder, but rather enhance, the user experience.
Gaming:
HP > Asus. This is obvious so 'nuff said.
Battery life:
Asus > HP. When you look down and see 20% battery life left, and you don't panic because you have 2 hours left, it is a great feeling. When you forget your power brick at home and you don't start to panic hoping you have enough juice to get work done at work, nothing compares. The 10 hour battery life on the Asus is game breaking.
Conclusion:
I really wish the HP ran like its specs. I really do. If the HP even ran like my Asus, I would have kept it for the price. It is just that beautiful. I look at my Asus and wish it was built like the HP. However, for me at the end of the day, how it runs is more important than how it looks, which is why the HP is going back. I know there are probably ways to get around some of the glaring issues I mentioned, but I don't have the time to go above and beyond anymore like I used to. I expect things to work out of the box, and the Asus does, the HP doesn't.
