hp-probook-4510sThe previous experiences of HP business laptops have been quite an elitist’s one where the price was much too heavy for our slender shoulders or economy ridden pockets. HP is trying to produce a minimalist working solution for business people through its ProBook S Series which is made for the budget minded business people at nearly half the price of those EliteBook laptops. Can this 15.6 inch machine become a sure choice for them? We have made a review to find the answer. In this review you’ll find details of :

Design

The design is of the ProBook is not dull as you would expect from a budget laptop. Constructed mostly of plastic, the system looks solid and should be durable. The keyboard does not flex much under pressure. The lid is glossy which I don’t like for its proneness to fingerprints. We miss the chassis of strong magnesium alloy found in more expensive EliteBooks. On the outside it looks nice but it is not as rugged as the more expensive notebooks. The ProBook would not be able to survive multiple drop-offs from your desk.

Processor, RAM and HDD

The standard system is configured with a 2.1 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6570 CPU and 2GB RAM. The performance was just a little below average of mainstream notebooks but you should remember that the system is a $700 budget notebook not a $1200 one. However navigating between multiple tabs of internet explorer was no problem and the performance is not sluggish by any means. The system comes with a 5400 rpm 250GB HDD does also deliver standard speed. It booted Windows XP in 65 seconds which is only 4 seconds longer than the industry average. There is a 3D accelerometer to protect the hard disk from shocks caused by drop offs.

Graphics

Probook 4510 comes with a integrated Intel GMA 4500 MHD integrated graphics card which is very weak when it comes to gaming performance. The graphics is only suitable for movie watching and light graphics intensive applications.

Heat and Noise

During Normal Use the system remains relatively cool but the exhaust fan noise is sure to attract your co-workers. Only the bottom of the notebook where the processor, graphics and the wireless card is stored gets heated to a good level after some serious workloads.

Size and Weight

The 15 inch system weighs 5.6 pounds which does not seem unreasonable at that size. For its wide 16:9 display aspect ratio, the system looks a bit wider. The thickness of 1.2 to 1.5 inches would not please the slim notebook lovers.

Keyboard

One of the greatest attraction of the Probook laptop is its keyboard. The laptop features a island style keyboard which is first from HP’s factory. The spill resistant keyboard layout gives an additional feather to the glamor of the laptop. The keys are slightly textured, have scratch resistant finish and the spacing is comfortable. Unlike the netbooks, there is also a space of full sized number pad in this 15 inch system. The keyboard flex was only noticeable just above the optical drive.
keyboard

TouchPad

The touchpad size of 3.3 X 1.7 inches feels very large. There is a scroll zone on the right side that works exactly as it should. The friction on the touchpad is comfortable but the touchpad buttons disappoint me. The buttons are hard and can only be pushed at the edges.

Display

The LED backlit 15.6 inch display has 16:9 aspect ratio with its 1366X768 pixels display. The display has a very good viewing angle and available in both versions of matte and glossy at the same price. I always like the matte finish as it cuts down the glares. Watching movies or showing off slides to a couple of people is a pleasure with this screen.

Sound

The speakers sound pleasant without much distortion. The positioning of the speakers are just above the keyboard which throws the sound towards the user. The dialogues sound clear although sound level was not up to the mark in max volume.

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Ports

There is every port that you should need. On the left side there is a Kensington lock slot, GigE Ethernet, Heat Exhaust, VGA Out, HDMI, Express Card/34 slot, and two USB Ports. There are two more USB on the right side accompanied by a modem under rubber flap, an optical drive and power jack. The memory card reader slot, headphone and microphone jacks are at the front panel and there is nothing other than the battery and the hinges in the back panel.

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WebCam

The webcam has a good 2.0 MP Resolution. The lighting and was pleasant and details were very good. The VGA Video was smooth but the fixed focus camera was unable to render the details of very far or very close objects

Battery Life

The six cell battery lasts around five hours under normal working condition and at least three hours in high workload. This is about one hour more than the average battery life of a laptop of this class. If you need more battery life, HP also has an option of eight cell battery which is expected to be adding at least 30% more battery life. It also supports fast battery charging of upto 90% in 90 minutes as HP claims.

WiFi

The Intel WiFi Link 5100 802.11a/b/g/n radio delivers a good throughput of around 20 Mbps which seems to be better than the average. To access mobile broadband, users can install optional EV-DO/HSDPA module for an extra $125.

Price

Basic Models start at $529 but you can get the standard model at $699.
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Pros

  • Good Price Tag for a 15 inch Business Notebook
  • Keyboard is nice
  • Attractive Design
  • Relatively LightWeight

Cons

  • All plastic Build is not rugged enough for a business laptop
  • Customization is overpriced
  • Touchpad buttons are not comfortable
  • Upgrade is difficult

Conclusion

The HP Pro Book 4510s is a solid contender in the business notebook market for its attractive pricing. If you are looking for a low cost laptop that you can use as a desktop replacement, the ProBook is a nice choice. But for its plastic construction, difficulty of upgrades will make you reconsider your choice if you can pay the price for a Dell Vostro 1510 or Lenovo ThinkPad SL 500. As the final word, I would say that if you like the preconfigured standard models and don’t plan to change your model configuration, your choice of this laptop is very much reasonable.