Get a Touch of the Smarts

HP ENVY TouchSmart Ultrabook 4-1125TU is an ultrabook computer that features responsive touch screen for making the most of the new Windows 8 operating system.

The Ultrabook 4 comes in an eye-catching metal design with a 14-inch diagonal multi-touch HD (1366 x 768 pixel) display that support intuitive touch-screen navigation of Windows 8.

It measures 23 mm thin and weighs about 2.12 kilograms. It battery could last up to eight hours.

The 1125TU model tested here in The Nation’s newsroom is powered by third-generation Intel Core i5-3317U 1.7 GHz and it is equipped with 4 gigabytes of RAM or active memory. It runs on the new Windows 8 64 bit edition.

It has plenty of storage, using 500 gigabytes of hard drive. For graphics display, it uses an Intel HD Graphics 4000 chipset that shares video memory from the 4 GB system memory.      To increase its performance, you should increase the system RAM to 8 GB.

Since, the 1125TU uses a hard drive instead of a Solid State Drive (SSD) like most ultrabook computers, it is quite thick and heavy. But HP managed to have the 1125TU start up fast by using a 32 GB SSD as the hard drive buffer.

The test found that the TouchSmart Ultrabook 4 started up only in 14 seconds to show Windows 8’s application tiles and become ready for use. It took about 17 seconds to shut down. It could go into sleep mode and come out instantly.

The TouchSmart Ultrabook 4 has good sound quality thanks to an integrated subwoofer with Beats Audio system. So you can use the ultrabook as a music player on the go.

The integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000 is not good for playing mainstream PC games, but it has sufficient power to handle multimedia applications, like playing videos and playing casual games for Windows 8. I enjoyed playing Pinball FX2 on the ultrabook and it rendered beautiful graphics smoothly. You can download more casual games from the Windows Store.

The TouchSmart Ultrabook 4 has quite good performance for an ultrabook. Using Windows 8’s internal benchmark tool, the TouchSmart Ultrabook 4 got good scores in most categories, except for the desktop graphics performance.

On a scale of 1.0 to 9.9, it got 4.8 points for desktop graphics performance but 6.5 for 3D business and gaming graphics performance. It got 6.9 for the performance of processor calculations per second and 5.9 for both performances of memory operations per second and disk data transfer rate.

The 1125TU comes with all necessary ports – 2 superfast USB3.0 ports, 1 USB 2.0 port, 1 HDMI port, an Ethernet LAN port with up to 1 GB speed and a headphone and a microphone port. It also comes with HP TrueVision HD Webcam and Intel Rapid Start6), Intel Identity Protection Technology, Intel Anti-Theft Technology, Intel Smart Response) and Intel Smart Connect technologies.

The ultrabook also comes with useful applications, including HP ProtectSmart, HP Connected Photo, CyberLink PowerDVD, Cyberlink Youcam, Cyberlink Mediasuite, Cyberlink PowerDirector and Cyberlink PhotoDirector.

HP ENVY TouchSmart Ultrabook 4-1125TU has a suggested retail price of Bt29,990.

 

 

 

        Key specs

Operating system: Windows 8 64

Processor: Intel Core i5-3317U (1.7 GHz, 3 MB L3 cache)

Chipset: Intel HM77 Express

Memory: 4 GB 1600 MHz DDR3

Storage: Intel Smart Response and Rapid Start Technology with 500 GB SATA (5400 rpm) and a 32GB mSATA

Optical drive: None

Display: 14-inch diagonal HD BrightView LED-backlit Display Touchscreen (1366x768)

Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4000

Ports: 2 SuperSpeed USB 3.0, 1 USB 2.0, 1 HDMI, 1 RJ45, 1 Headphone-out (Stereo), 1 Microphone-in

Webcam: HP TrueVision HD Webcam with integrated dual array digital microphone (High Definition low-light)

Audio features: 2 x Beats Audio Internal speakers; Beats Audio Audio playback; Dual speakers with subwoofer

Connectivity: Integrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 connector), Intel 802.11 b/g/n with Smart Connect Technology, Bluetooth

Battery: 4-cell Li-Ion polymer

Dimensions (WxDxH): 342.2 x 237.1 x 23mm

Weight: 2.12 kgs