HP Compaq 6730b Laptop/Notebook

[Spykar]

Whether it’s the smallest, lightest, most powerful, or longest running, it is easy to focus on the exceptions, not the standard systems that get most people through their typical day

The HP Compaq 6730B is the newest launch in the business series laptops by HP Compaq. It sports the latest hardware specs and has a new simplistic design and the very nice HP-esque build quality. It is priced just about right and should compete with Dell Vostro’s in the higher - moderate budget spectrum of business notebooks. In this review, we check out the HP Compaq 6730B and compare it with the other notebooks competing with it.

The 6730b was one of HP’s first notebooks to be released on the Centrino 2 (Montevina) platform. From the looks of it, the 6730b is a typical business book with an average size/weight for a desktop replacement and middle-of-the-road (yet up-to-date) components. It’s not exactly the type of notebook you would find on someone’s wish list, but it is the sort of general purpose workhorse that so many of us rely on.

HP Compaq 6730B Specifications:

• Dimensions: 3.4 cm x 35.6 cm x 26.6 cm
• Weight: 5.95 lbs
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 at 2.40 GHz with 3 MB L2 cache, 1066 MHz FSB
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Business
• Display: 15.4 inch WXGA Bright View Display, 1280 x 800 pixels
• Graphics: Intel GMA 4500 MHD Integrated Graphics
• RAM: 2 GB DDR2 800 MHz RAM
• Hard Drive: 250 GB SATA HDD, 5400 RPM
• Chipset: Intel GE45 Express Chipset with ICH9M
• Optical Drive: DVD+/–RW SuperMulti DL LightScribe Drive
• Wireless: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/Draft n, Mobile Broadband
• Audio: Internal HD Audio stereo speakers
• Battery: 6-cell (55 WHr) Lithium-Ion battery
• Ports: 4 USB 2.0 ports, VGA, S-video TV out, stereo microphone in, stereo headphone / line out, Firewire (1394a), power connector, RJ-11, RJ-45, serial port.

[Spykar]

Design and Build Quality:

The HP Compaq 6730B sports a very simple and clean design, very similar to the other notebooks in HP’s business range. It has dimensions of 3.4 cm x 35.6 cm x 26.6 cm and weighs around 6 lbs. It is not very heavy and can be used as a portable daily computer. The build quality is very nice and durable. HP laptops generally are very reliable and the HP Compaq 6730B is no exception. It is composed fully of black and gray and the build material has a nice durable finish to it. No complaints on this front, this is definitely near the best you can get in this particular category at this budget range.

Display and Speakers:

The HP Compaq 6730B comes with a cool 15.4 inch WSXGA Bright View Display with a native resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. The display quality is very good and the brightness levels are superb. It also offers good contrast and has nice picture quality. Usually business notebooks don’t stress much on the display quality but the HP Compaq 6730B offers you a superb video watching experience. Watching movies is a pleasure on this display. The resolution - 1280 x 800 pixels is pretty nice, but falls short when multitasking. More screen space with a higher resolution is the only thing this display falls short on. The display area has very little flex, proof of its nice and sturdy build quality. The viewing angles are also pretty nice, both horizontal and vertical. The screen legibility under direct lighting is also pretty decent.

The HP Compaq 6730b comes with built in internal HD Audio stereo speakers. Normally you don’t expect good speakers with a business notebook, but the HP Compaq 6730b manages to surprise you again. The speakers have very nice sound quality and also offer good volume. They enhance your movie watching experience when coupled with the display. The audio quality is equally good throughout the whole spectrum range. You can also attach your custom headphones to the laptop if you want better sound quality. Just above the display, you also have an integrated VGA webcam. The image capture quality is average but will do the job for simple web conferencing. The mics are located next to the webcam.

[Spykar]

Keyboard and Touchpad:

The HP Compaq 6730b sports the standard keyboard with a few keys misplaced. The key spacing and travel is perfect and is suited for touch typing, just the reconfigured keys may prove to be a speed killer. You should get used to it in a small time though. The keys have a solid feel and offer nice feedback. Above the keyboard, you have an array of touch sensitive controls to control normal functions like switching off / on Wi-Fi, adjusting the volume etc. The Touchpad is located below the keyboard, aligned to the left. The touchpad is responsive and has good sensitivity. It has a nice finish and allows a good grip when navigating. There is also a vertical scrollbar to the right, to allow you to scroll through long documents or pages easily and fast. Below the touchpad are two buttons which offer good feedback. Between the buttons is an integrated fingerprint reader.

Performance:

The HP Compaq 6730b has a nice hardware configuration with the latest hardware used. It is powered by the Intel Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 at 2.40 GHz with 3 MB L2 cache, 1066 MHz FSB. It also has 2 GB DDR2 800 MHz RAM which can be upgraded upto 8 GB. The underlying chipset is the Intel GE45 Exress Chipset with ICH9M. The graphics part is handled by the very power efficient Intel GMA 4500 MHD Integrated Graphics with up to 384 MB shared video memory. The storage is handled by a 250 GB SATA HDD at 5400 RPM. This configuration is one of the best currently available, and has all the latest components. It is perfectly suited for a business notebook. You can easily run the bundled Windows Vista OS with no problems, delays or lags. If you are a heavy multitasker, you may want to consider upgrading to about 4 GB RAM. The notebook can handle light gaming easily atleast at low settings. It is particularly suited for multimedia based usage and is perfect for sound and video playback. It performs just as good as other competitors as far as performance is concerned.

Battery Life:

The HP Compaq 6730b is powered by a 6-cell Lithium Ion battery (55 WHr). It offers a superb battery life of about just less than 6 hrs with moderate usage, way more than about the category average, slightly better. To further improve the battery life, follow simple tips like lowering the display brightness, lowering the system volume, disabling the Wi-Fi when not in use etc.

The Lenovo Ideapad Y530 sports a wide range of expansion ports - 4 USB 2.0 ports, VGA out, S-video TV out, stereo microphone in, stereo headphone / line out, Firewire (1394a), power connector, RJ-11, RJ-45, serial port etc. The Wi-Fi reception is pretty nice and it offers good speeds.

Positive Points:

• Durable Build
• Nice Display
• Superb Speakers
• Nice Hardware
• Superb Battery life

Negative Points:

• Plain Design (Subjective)

Verdict:

Although consumer laptops from HP, the leading manufacturer of portable computers, are more popular than its business laptops, the later are still an important part of HP's success and better than those designed for end-users.

The case of the HP 6730b is slim and light, but, the choice of materials could be better. For sure, the user-friendly keyboard is one of this notebook's advantages. Compared to other laptops we reviewed so far it is one of the better keyboards.

Another essential pro is the matte WSXGA+ screen, which is bright and has a rich contrast. Nevertheless, the colour representation is somewhat mediocre, especially compared to the cheaper Dell A860.

The performance is sufficient for office applications. Should you look for a notebook with better graphic performance, you might possibly consider the HP 675b, which comes with the better ATI solution.

The HP 6730b proved to be a very quiet notebook in our test, but, the chassis can get quite hot.

HP's business laptops are well-known for their long battery life. The test sample could run independent of an external power supply for up to 5 hours. About three hours, with energy saving profile possibly a little longer, are likely.

To summarize, the HP 6730b has a number of desireable advantages. Unfortunately HP disregarded the software side. So, this laptop might sometimes tax the user's patience if something fails, does not run as expected or contrary to the expectations.

[Silent~Kid]

The 6730b is the Centrino 2 (newest) version. It has the most up-to-date graphics, CPU, wireless, and so on. I don’t think the exterior of the system was changed very much, but I haven’t spend much time with the 6710b.

[Bigga Lexx]

The 6730b is available at either 1680×1050 or 1280×800, but apparently not in every market. HP’s US site only mentioned 1280×800 but the UK site has both. I think it just depends where you buy it and then if you make the upgrade or not. HP just might have configured it differently for the European market.