HP Compaq 2230s Review

The HP Compaq 2230s, at first look, is a low cost version of the HP Elitebook series. It is a very economical option compared to its competitors like the Dell Vostro 1210. It offers a mix of netbook like portablility without compromising on the features. It starts at just $999 compared to the starting range of $1500 of similar featured notebooks. In this review we check out if the HP Compaq 2230s measures up to the Elitebook series or the Dell Vostro series atleast in terms of performance if not style and looks.

HP Compaq 2230s Specs:

• Dimensions: 13.3 x 9.7 x 1.21 inches
• Weight: 1.8 kgs
• OS: Windows Vista Business
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P8400 clocked at 2.26 GHz, 3 MB L2 cache
• RAM: 2GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
• HDD: 160 GB Toshiba HDD (5400 rpm)
• Display: 12.1″ WXGA Glossy TFT LCD display (1280 x 800 pixels )
• Graphics: Intel 4500MHD Integrated Graphics
• Optical Drive: 8x DVD (+/-R double layer) drive
• Wireless: Intel Wireless WiFi 802.11 a/g/n, Bluetooth 2.0
• Battery: 4-cell (37Wh) Lithium Ion battery with 65W 100-240V AC adapter
• Price: $1,299

Design and Build Quality:

The HP Compaq 2230s sports a clean black design. It resembles the black Vostro range and sports an almost black plastic body. It contributes a lot to the business look of the notebook. At dimensions of 13.3 x 9.7 x 1.21 inches, it is compact and portable. It weighs just about 1.8 kgs which adds to the portability factor. It is one of the most compact 12.1 inch notebooks. The Part of it can be attributed to the all plastic body. The notebook is totally black inside out - the exterior, keyboard, interiors, touchpad etc. Too much plastic somewhat degrades the build quality slightly. There is too much flex on the body, the diplay, the palm rest area. They should have chosen a partly metallic chassis to make it sturdier. The build quality feels cheap and non durable. The design is good with the all black look and rounded edges.

Display and Speakers:

The HP Compaq 2230s sports a nice glossy 12.1″ WGA LCD display with a native resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. The display quality is nice and produces vibrant colors. The brightness levels are good and the contrast superb. The vertical viewing angles are quite decent and the horizontal viewing angles are wide. The display can easily cater simultaneously to a group of 4. As the display is glossy, the sunlight legibility is expectedly a bit low, but not completely unworkable.

The HP Compaq 2230s is equipped with average speakers. The speaker volume is a bit too low and the sound quality isn’t much to speak of either. If you are a serious music buff, we would definitely recommend using good headphones with the built in headphone jack or better still, get a dedicated portable music player.

Keyboard and Touchpad:

The keyboard is a full size keyboard with perfect key spacing and travel, the keyboard surface is made of plastic and is quite conducive to typing. The keyboard seems custom made for touch typists and the keys offer good tactile feedback. Full points to the keyboard. The touchpad is made by Synaptics and totally blends in with the black palm rest surface. The touchpad is nice and responsive. The sensitivity is good too. The matte touchpad surface offers a good grip and a nice navigation experience. The touchpad buttons offer nice feedback and a distinctive click sound. The vertical scrollbar in the right works exactly as expected. The touchpad, being a Synaptics one should also support multitouch gestures soon with a driver update. It also sports a touch sensitive button panel on the top of the keyboard which perform basic functions like VGA out options, wireless on / off and the volume controls.

Performance and Features:

The HP Compaq 2230s is powered by the Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 which is clocked at 2.26 GHz and comes with 3 MB of L2 cache. It also comes with 2 GB DDR2 RAM at 800 MHz. The graphics part is handled by the new Intel 4500MHD. This is the whole new Intel Centrino 2 platform and is pretty powerful to handle almost everything that is thrown it, atleast the basic computing tasks. The integrated 4500MHD graphics can handle HD playback as well as some older games at low settings. If you are a hardcore gamer, you would better skip this one and rather get a laptop with a disrete graphics solution. As stated already, it can handle all the casual office and home needs easily. It can also handle Windows Vista but you should preferably upgrade it to 3 GB RAM for better performance in Vista. The whole configuration gathers good scores from almost all software benchmarks. The system runs very cool and only occasionally heats up under intensive operating conditions. The heat vents are properly placed and the system fans kick off with slight increase in system temperatures.

Battery and Other Stuff:

The HP Compaq 2230s offers a wide range of expansion ports. It comes with 3 USB ports, HDMI out, VGA out, Ethernet, card reader, Microphone and Headphone jacks and Expresscard slots. They are distributed throughout the body of the notebook. On the right, you find the Expresscard slot, card reader, HDMI out, 2 USB ports, VGA out. The left side sports the power jack, Ethernet port, a USB port and the optical drive. On the front are located the Microphone and Headphone jacks.

The battery life is pretty decent and lasts for around 3.5 hours with moderate usage. The 4 cell battery is quite capable but a larger capacity battery isn’t available even optionally. To improve battery life, you can decrease the display brightness and turn off Wi-Fi when not required. It takes about 1.5 hours for a full recharge when the system is idle.

Pros:

• Nice Keyboard and Touchpad
• Good Performance

Cons:

• Cheap Build Quality
• No expandable battery

Final Words:

The HP Compaq 2230s is a nice notebook with good features but is bit expensive considering its average build quality. It doesn’t have an exceptional design either and just the performance aspect doesn’t command such a price. It is a good option nevertheless though a cut in price would make it irresistible. If you prefer a bigger sized notebook, we would recommend the hugely popular HP DV5T.

Our Rating: 3 / 5.