HP Envy 23-1050t

The HP Envy 23-1050t ($1,269.99 direct) is the first HP all-in-one desktop under the Envy brand name. The new Envy PCs are in fact the re-branded version of the HP Omni line of all-in-one desktops, and the Envy 23 accordingly retains many of the same features and design elements seen in previous models, like the HP Omni 27-1015t and the Blu-ray equipped HP Omni 27 and adds a few of its own, like BeatsAudio for a better listening experience.

Design and Features
The Envy 23-1050t retains the distinctive look seen on the HP Omni, with two arms lifting the monitor chassis up from a wide flat base. This design makes for an all-in-one desktop that is stable and also allows the angle of the monitor to be adjusted, or even lay flat if needed. Included with the desktop are two peripheral devices: a wired keyboard, and wired mouse. The keyboard and mouse are basic USB-connected devices, which means that they occupy two of the four USB 2.0 ports found on the back of the system. The basic devices will be serviceable for most, but those who spend a lot of time working on the PC will probably want to upgrade to better alternatives.

The 23-inch widescreen display has 1,920-by-1,080 resolution, similar in size and resolution to the Editors' Choice Asus ET2410IUTS-B018C . Below the display is a built-in soundbar with Beats Audio for improved sound. Taking advantage of this excellent display and sound is a built-in optical drive that plays Blu-rays and reads and burns DVDs. The presence of even a DVD optical drive is no longer something that desktop buyers can take for granted?the recent Vizio 27-inch All-in-One PC (CA27-A1) , for example, has no optical drive.

Along with the optical drive, the sides of the Envy 23-1050t offer two USB 3.0 ports, mic and headphone jacks, and a multiformat card reader (SD, MS, xD). An HDMI output lets you connect another monitor or HDTV as a second display, but you won't find an HDMI input, so there's no using the Envy 23 with your gaming console or cable box. On the back of the Envy 23, you'll find audio and subwoofer outputs, a power connection, and four USB 2.0 ports, though two of those ports will be occupied by the bundled keyboard and mouse. You'll also find the Ethernet port, which is a necessity on the Envy 23 since it has no built-in Wi-Fi.

HP has outfitted the Envy 23-1050t with a 1TB 7,200rpm hard drive, which offers plenty of storage capacity. Unfortunately, you will find that a good portion of it is already occupied by preinstalled software. Some of these programs are useful, such as Microsoft Office Starter 2010 and a 60-day trial of Norton Internet Security, and HP includes a number of tools and services, like HP LinkUp, which lets your desktop and laptop communicate and share files over your home network. But there are several programs you may not want or need, like branded toolbars from Ask.com and Bing. Blio and PDF Complete are there for reading ebooks and PDF documents, respectively, and you'll find a handful of game demos from WildTangent rebranded as HP Games. You'll also encounter a number of games and utilities that are part of HP's MagicCanvas program, which, though designed to take advantage of a touchscreen, has been included on all of HP's current all-in-one PCs. Without a touch screen, games like Bubblewrap, TapTap Bear, and Spot are pretty pointless. The HP Envy 23-1050t is covered by a two-year warranty.

Performance
The Envy 23-1050t offers quad-core processing, thanks to its 2.8GHz third-generation Core i5-3450S processor?similar to that seen in the HP 27-1015t, but with a slightly slower clock speed?and pairs it with 8GB of RAM. In CineBench R11.5, which serves as our processor speed benchmark, the Envy 23 scored 5.15, ahead of the Asus ET2410IUTS-B018C (4.70), but behind the HP 27-1015t (5.42). In our PCMark 7 general-use test, the Envy 23-1050t scored 2,943 points, comparing well with the 2,718 scored by the Dell Inspiron One 2320 or the 2,857 points of the Sony VAIO L24 (SVL24114FXB) but again falling behind the Core i7-equipped Asus ET2701INKI-B046C , which led the category with 3,512 points.

The Envy 23-1050t performed well in multimedia tests, completing Handbrake in 59 seconds, beating out even the Asus ET2701INKI-B046C (1:07). We saw similarly good results in Photoshop CS5, which the Envy 23-1050t finished in 3:12, ahead of the Dell 2320 (3:38) and Sony VAIO L24 (4:03), but it once again lagged behind the Asus ET2701INKI-B046C (2:51) and the HP 27-1015t (3:03). But its scores indicate that the Envy 23-1050t is still a decent tool for editing photos and video for digital scrapbooks or home movie collections.

The Envy 23-1050t is equipped with an Nvidia GeForce GT 540M graphics processor with 2GB of dedicated memory, which provides some gaming capability to the all-in-one. In 3DMark 11, the Envy 23-1050t scored 1,838 points at Entry level and 313 points at Extreme settings. The category-leading Asus ET2701INKI-B046C had a considerable lead (3,150 points at Entry settings, 591 points at Extreme), but most competing systems had scores similar to that of the Envy 23-1050t. The discrete graphics processor also opens up the possibility of gaming, producing a playable 47 frames per second (fps) in Crysis and a respectable 24 fps in Lost Planet 2 at low resolution and detail settings.

The HP Envy 23-1050t is the first all-in-one to bear the Envy name, and it's an overall solid system. But even though it carries over everything we liked about the Omni line, like a stable design and slot-loading Blu-ray drive, while throwing in Beats Audio, it's not perfect. Simple features like Wi-Fi connectivity or HDMI input?as seen on the Editors' Choice Dell Inspiron One 2320? would greatly expand the flexibility and usable life of the sytem, but are nowhere to be found. Despite these omissions, the HP Envy 23-1050t is still a decent all-in-one PC for a reasonable price.

BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS:

COMPARISON TABLE
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