15.6″ HP Touchsmart 15-f162dx Touch Laptop via Amazon
HP Touchsmart 15-f162dx is a low cost 15.6 inch touchscreen laptop with mid-range specs like the ultra low voltage Haswell Intel i3 processor with a Passmark score of 2704 as of today, ample storage space and memory, a DVD optical drive, HDMI and 2 x USB 3.0 ports, good quality sound and screen, a decent VGA webcam and other features anyone would need on a day-to-day basis and a bit more- processor is a rather capable one to handle most applications. HP 15-f162dx is offered with the 4th generation dual core Intel i3-4030U processor (3MB of L3 cache) at fixed 1.9 GHz speed as there is no turbo boost function but hyper threading for 2 cores to handle up to 4 threads, 6GB DDR3L SDRAM for multitasking power, 750GB hard drive at 5400rpm spindle speed and Cloud based 25GB Dropbox storage for 6 months to give you easy access to your important data and 64-bit Windows 8.1 operating system and yo can expect the newer Windows 10 soon- some time in 2015 and you are entitled to a free upgrade. Intel i3-4030U CPU has the Thermal Design Power of only 15 watts and that helps with less power usage.
15.6 inch WLED-backlit HD 10-point capacitive touchscreen display with 1366 x 768 pixel resolution offers nice and clear visuals with fine details and integrated Intel HD Graphics 4400 that allows photo editing, video watching and light gaming. Picture and sound quality are pretty good and you will have fun watching movies on it or listening to music with its high definition audio and integrated stereo speakers. It has a front-facing HP TrueVision high-definition VGA webcam with integrated microphone to chat live with family and friends. HP 15-f162dx weighs 5.05 pounds and measures 10.16 x 15.18 x 0.97 inches- relatively lightweight, slim and portable. The standard Lithium-ion 2800 mAh battery offers up to 3.5 hours of battery life in normal use. It comes with a full-size island type keyboard with 10-key numpad for easier number crunching and volume key. For connectivity you have the Multiformat DVD±RW/CD-RW to read and burn both DVDs and CDs, 802.11bgn wireless LAN, an HDMI output to simply connect to a HDTV or other external HD display, a USB 2.0 port, 2 x USB 3.0 ports, 10/100 base-T Ethernet and RJ-45, a Digital Media Card Reader which supports SD format, a 3.5mm audio jack and Security cable lock slot.
Conclusion: HP finish in black HP 15-f162dx has a solid build- is well made, easy to set-up and use. The 4th generation Haswell Intel i3-4030U has the Passmark benchmark score of 2704 on the day of this review so it is capable of not just the regular daily tasks but also a bit more complex and demanding stuff of more advanced users. Both the 10-point touchscreen and multi-touch touchpad are rather functional and user friendly and they let you navigate through Window 8 apps easily. 6GB memory is a good bonus at this low price level and is nice to have the 750GB storage space. Battery life is not the best at only up to 3.5 hours on average use as it is only the regular 3-cell battery, and it appears to me primary negative of this computer but think about all that you’re getting at such low price, and lucky that they cut costs on battery life rather than processor, memory or screen. . You get 7 Zip, 30 day free trial of Microsot Office 365 and an antivirus software as well as Cyberlink’s Photo and Media software pre-installed and not much junkware to uninstall. There is no Bluetooth, which means you can simply purchase a Bluetooth USB very cheaply when you check out on Amazon. Really good value for money and if you’re on a limited budget, definitely a strong PC to consider.
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