HP Envy 14 Spectre teardown

Cracking Open: HP Envy 14 Spectre

With its unique glass-covered design, the HP Envy 14 Spectre was one of the most talked about products at CES 2012 and even took home CNET’s Best of CES award for the computers and hardware category. Now, the ultrabook is finally here, and as CNET’s Dan Ackerman points out in his review, the Spectre largely succeeds and doesn’t become a prisoner to its novelty.

That said, at a pricey $1,399, no one would fault you for wanting more than the current Intel Core i5 CPU, integrated Intel HD3000 graphics, and a 128GB solid-state drive (SSD). However, does a look inside reveal more? Well, Bill Detwiler, head technology editor at our sister site TechRepublic, cracked the ultrabook open to see what’s inside, and of course, there’s good news and bad news.

After dismantling the upper and lower cases of the Spectre and picking through such parts as the SD card reader, cooling fans, NFC module, and wireless card, Detwiler found one pro of the device to be that it’s a very well-built machine with user-replaceable parts. Plus, it’s the first ultrabook he’s cracked open that offers upgradeable RAM, since it’s not… [Read more]

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