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HP has taken the all-in-one PC concept in a different direction with the Envy All-in-One (27-b010) (starts at $1,149.99; $1,599.99 as tested). Instead of building the PC with all its components behind the screen, HP has put the CPU, the motherboard, the storage, and the discrete graphics card into the base. The result is an all-in-one with a very thin screen, but one that’s particularly well suited to enjoying media. Because of its high-end components and features, the Envy All-in-One has plenty of power for both multimedia creation and enjoyment, though we’d primarily recommend this system for the latter.
Design and Features
Since the screen of the Envy( at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) doesn’t have to house components, it is quite thin (1.1 inch, or 27mm). And because the speakers have also been moved to the base, there’s no need for thick bezels on the sides; you get what’s almost an edge-to-edge display surface. The screen is supported from the base by a chromed metal arm that gives it the appearance of floating. The system is mostly dark charcoal gray, with a slightly darker shade for the fabric grille covering the speakers. It measures 18 by 24.2 by 7.5 inches (HWD) overall, so it will fit on a dorm-room desk or the dresser in front of your bed.
That screen measures 27 inches diagonally, and has a 2,560-by-1,440 resolution. It’s higher than full HD, though some AiOs, like the Asus Zen AiO Pro( at Amazon)(Opens in a new window), have resolutions of 4K (or better). It’s not quite as wide as the 21:9 aspect-ratio screen on the HP Envy Curved 34-A051 Signature Edition( at Amazon)(Opens in a new window), our last top pick, but most online video content fits the Envy All-in-One’s screen just fine. IPS technology ensures that you can view the screen from any angle, making it perfect for watching a movie with friends. Speaking of which, the speakers are as loud and clear as an external soundbar, so you’re in good shape to watch in a bedroom or den.
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A pop-up camera in the top of the screen can be used to log in with Windows Hello (in Windows 10) or make Skype calls. Since the camera hides away, it’s an extra measure of security in the parts of your home where you’d expect extra privacy.
The screen has Technicolor certification and a 99-percent sRGB color gamut. While that’s a tad narrower than the DCI-P3 color gamut of the Apple iMac 27-inch( at Amazon)(Opens in a new window), these certifications help make sure that the colors are mostly accurate in videos and TV shows. The screen also has a night mode that casts more yellow, so you can surf websites with less of the blue light that affects sleep cycles. The screen has a 10-point touch sensor, and can tilt so you can use it from either a sitting or standing position. Unlike the iMac, though, you can’t mount the Envy All-in-One on the wall or on an articulated arm, one of the few drawbacks to its design.
Because the base is wide, HP incorporated a ring-shaped volume control on its surface. It is touch sensitive, so you can tap the center to pause music, and draw your finger around the circumference of the circle to raise and lower the volume. It’s kind of like the old Apple iPod touch wheel, and is just as easy to learn to use. You’ll be using it to control the volume more than you will the buttons on the included wireless keyboard.
Speaking of the keyboard, it feels a lot more luxurious than the simple plastic one on the HP Envy Curved. It’s full size, but like the Apple iMac’s keyboard, it has a short Z-height and is rechargeable. The included wireless mouse is a little oddly shaped, with a body resembling a small bar of soap, and with a palm rest hanging over the bottom to help it fit in your hand better.
Connectivity options are excellent, including a headset jack, an SD card reader, and a USB-C port with Thunderbolt 3 on the right side of the desktop. That trumps the iMac, which lacks USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 and has its SD card slot inconveniently placed in the back. On the HP’s back panel, you’ll find the jack for the AC adapter, an Ethernet port, an HDMI-in port, an HDMI-out port, a button for switching the HDMI source, four USB 3.0 ports, and the power button. Wireless connections are handled by way of 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2.
This version of the system is configured for power users. It comes with 16GB of RAM, which is certainly enough memory for most games, viewing multiple video streams, and multitasking. There’s also a 128GB solid-state drive (SSD) boot drive, which has some preinstalled software, including Instagram, 3D Builder, Amazon, Candy Crush Soda Saga, Farmville 2, Houzz, Netflix, Office, OneNote, OneDrive, Simple Mahjong, Twitter, Priceline.com, and Dropbox, as well as a 5,400rpm 1TB SATA hard drive for storing files. The system comes with a one-year warranty.
Performance
The system is equipped with an Intel Core i7-6700T processor and a 4GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 950M discrete GPU. This extra graphics power helps decode streaming 1080p and 4K video, and lets you play 3D games. It returned smoothly playable scores on our Heaven (58 frames per second, or fps) and Valley (76fps) tests at 1,366-by-768 resolution with graphics quality set to Medium. When we used the native resolution and bumped up the quality to Ultra, frame rates were in the low teens—in other words, unplayable. The HP was competitive with the Apple iMac on both game tests, but the HP Envy Curved and Asus Zen AiO Pro were the class leaders. Essentially, you can play the occasional game like Overwatch on the Envy All-in-One, though you’ll want to keep the details down.
See How We Test Desktops
The system earned a respectable score of 3,323 points on the PCMark 8 Work Conventional test. That’s a smidge ahead of the HP Envy Curved and the Asus Zen AiO Pro, but a bit behind the HP Sprout($280.00 at eBay)(Opens in a new window) and the MSI Gaming 24GE 2QE-014US($3,672.28 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window). The HP Envy All-in-One was also quite competitive at multimedia tests like HandBrake (1 minute, 14 seconds), Photoshop (3:21), and CineBench (665 points). None of these scores was the highest we’ve seen, but all three results were very good among this group of powerful PCs.
The HP Envy All-in-One is an excellent choice if you’re looking for an entertainment PC for watching streaming videos and playing the occasional game. It has the chops to create multimedia as well, with a powerful Core i7 processor, 16GB of memory, and a speedy boot SSD. There aren’t too many nits to pick, and, at $1,599, it’s certainly less expensive than the $1,899 Asus Zen AiO Pro or the $1,949 HP Envy Curved. Ultimately, however, the HP Envy Curved remains our Editors’ Choice for high-end all-in-one desktops because its larger, wider screen is more useful and enjoyable to use, and it offers better discrete graphics performance. But if you’re looking for a well-designed large-screen PC for online streaming, the HP Envy All-in-One should be toward the top of your list.
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The HP Envy All-in-One is built for enjoying multimedia like movies and music, but its speedy processor and discrete graphics card make it powerful enough to create media and play games, too.
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Source link : https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/hp-envy-all-in-one-27-b010
