| Business Laptops |
| The Powerful and Elegant HP ProBook 4510s |
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HP has been making quality computers for years but they never had a set line of business laptops. The ProBook line is what HP came up with, I believe to compete with Apples Macbook.
The thing that the ProBook has over the Macbook is price the 4510s starts at $579 (the configuration we will review costs $749). With that kind of price it can be considered a budget business laptop. The small price doesn't mean anything about the performance of this laptop.
Read our review of the HP ProBook 4510s but first look at the specifications on the model we looked at.
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The HP ProBook 4510s configurations as tested:
- Intel Core 2 Duo T6570 Processor (2.1GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 800MHz FSB)
- Microsoft Genuine Windows Vista Business (with option for Windows XP downgrade)
- 15.6-inch LED-backlit anti-glare HD display (1366 x 768)
- Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
- 2GB DDR2 800MHz RAM
- 250GB 5400RPM HDD
- LightScribe DVD+/-RW Optical Drive
- WiFi (802.11a/b/g/draft-n), Ethernet, Modem, and Bluetooth Connectivity
- 8-Cell 63WHr Battery
- Limited 1-year standard parts and labor warranty
- Dimensions: 1.25" x 14.6" x 9.83"
- Weight: 5.8lbs
- Price as configured: $749
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The Build and Design
The designing of the HP 4510s is plain and simple you can definitely tell HP wanted to focus more on performance than on design. The 4510s resemble the HP Elitebook but the two aren't the same because the Elitebook uses much stronger material than what the 4519 uses. The 4510s is mostly made mainly of plastic and there is flexing and bending when pressure is applied. The HP PowerBook 4510s should really only be used as an office desktop replacement. The body of this thing just couldn't handle the occasional drop you might have when traveling with it.
The build quality isn't very good as I've already made clear. The problem is mainly the plastic and how it bends in all the wrong places. The palm rest and the base of this laptop will bend with pressure. HP should have really borrowed more from the Elitebook when making this laptop. |
The Screen
The HP ProBook 4510s comes with a widescreen 15.6 inch Hi-Definition LED display. The display has a Anti-glare which works pretty good. The picture quality as you can imagine is great this laptop features resolution at 1366 x 768 pixels which is 720p not full HD but it still makes colors look good. The 16:9 aspect ration is great as well. The viewing angles on the HP ProBook 4510s are impressive and you only see a change in picture quality at around 70 degrees off center.
The Speakers
The speakers on HP computers are usually pretty good but the ones on this laptop are nowhere near as good as others. The speakers are placed well on the top of the keyboard on this laptop but they lack the range of other laptop speakers. If you turn the volume all the way up on this laptop audio becomes distorted and nobody likes that. So if you need to listen to anything just hook up some aftermarket speakers to the 4510s. |
The Keyboard and Touchpad
The new keyboard style is a first for HP the keys are well separated, great for typing. The keys are textured so its even better for typing. The flex isn't that bad on the keyboard due to some changes HP made to the chassis. The keys are surrounded by a glossy black plastic material that supports the keys well for almost no flex. Finish that HP put on the keys makes them scratch-resistant. The thing that really could help you out with your business is the spacing on the number buttons, the extra space between the keys lets you be more accurate why calculating.
The touchpad is well sized, the dimensions are 3.3 x 1.7 inches lots of room. The texture of the pad is comfortable and gives you perfect friction. The buttons beneath the touchpad are push-down buttons, that's something that is not common on laptops and its actually kind of weird using it. The two buttons are raised up but you have to push them down you get used to it but it makes the laptop feel kind of cheap. |
The Performance
The power provided from the Intel Core 2 Duo processor our laptop had was sufficient enough to run any kind of office themed applications like Open Office. The actual specifications of the Core 2 Duo processor are as follows it is 2.1Ghz, 2MB L2 Cache and 800Mhz of front side bus. The processor can handle your work load and the 250GB 5400RPM hard drive can help you pull up all that work in good time. The model we had came with 2GB DDR2 RAM which was enough to power through common office applications.
The HP ProBook 4510s laptop comes with discrete graphics, dedicated graphics will be available later for more money. The graphics performance from the discrete graphics card was less than stellar. Don't plan on playing any kind of 3-D games with it, its just to sluggish and there is to much lag during gameplay.
The Ports
The HP ProBook 4510s has a good selection of ports. Including four USB 2.0 ports, VGA output, HDMI output, Ethernet, headphone and microphone ports and a Kensington lock slot. Most of the ports are either side of the laptop except for the mic and headphone jacks which are on the front, HP kept the back of the ProBook clean with no ports. The HP ProBook 4510s has a 2.0 mega-pixel webcam integrated onto the the screen. |
The Heat and Noise
The heat on this laptop is thwarted but at the same time you have to deal with fan noise. The exhaust fan runs all the time when the laptop is plugged in, creating noise that is noticeable in a quiet office. Don't get me wrong about the fans they are a nuisance but I couldn't imagine how hot the laptop would get without it.
The Battery
The basic configuration of the Powerbook4510s comes with a 6-cell battery. While the $749 configuration has a 8-cell battery. The 8-cell battery gives you longer operating times for sure and you can also use the power savings settings in Windows Vista to conserve the battery even more. The 8-cell battery lasted a little over 5 hours with the settings set to performance mode. Like I said earlier you can adjust the settings to increase battery life with ease. |
Conclusion
The HP ProBook 4510s is a good laptop though it may not have incredible power its still a good budget business laptop. If you want to compare it to other business laptops like the Dell Vostro 1510 and 1520 or the Lenovo ThinkPad SL500, the ProBook 4510s is more impressive than the Dell and can be better than the ThinkPad depending on set-up you get.
Still, things like the plastic construction, uncomfortable touchpad design, and difficulty of upgrades might give potential buyers reasons to reconsider a purchase. Additionally, the fact that HP charges almost twice the price for custom configurations (CTO) means that business buyers are almost forced to choose pre-configured models.
With all things considered, the HP ProBook 4510s is a fine notebook for its intended market, but if HP made a few simple changes to the design and purchase options then business buyers would have even more reasons to buy this laptop.
Pros:
- A great price for a 15.6" business notebook
- Nice keyboard ... despite some flex
- Attractive design and relatively light weight
Cons:
- Not-so-great build quality
- Custom configurations are overpriced
- Touchpad buttons are just plain horrible
- Too difficult to upgrade
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