The nx7400 weighs only 5.7 pounds, yet its sweeping 15.4-inch wide-aspect display stretches its measurements to 14.1 inches wide, 10.2 inches deep, and 1.4 inches thick. These specs straddle the line between midsize and thin-and-light laptops, making the system light enough to take on the occasional jaunt. The AC adapter adds another 0.8 pound. On average, competing laptops with the same size screens weigh a bit more than the nx7400. For example, the Lenovo 3000 N100 comes in at 6.1 pounds, while the TravelMate 4650 weighs 6.4 pounds.
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
Designwise, the nx7400 is a stripped-down version of the nc8230. Both feature a crisp 15.4-inch wide screen, and our nx7400 evaluation system shipped with a standard 1,280x800 native resolution and reflective coating that blocks out extra light, making colors appear especially vivid. Like its more expensive sibling, the nx7400 features a spacious keyboard flanked by two passable speakers, a broad rectangular touch pad with vertical scrolling functionality, and convenient extra buttons for controlling wireless connectivity and volume. However, the nx7400 lacks some of the nc8230's design highlights, such as a dedicated scroll button between the touch pad's two standard mouse buttons, a pointing stick with its own set of mouse buttons, and a button that links directly to help information. The nx7400 also omits some of the higher-end features, including a fingerprint sensor and a built-in WWAN card, that are present in pricier HP laptops such as the nc6400.
In keeping with its minimal price, the nx7400 features a fairly limited selection of ports, jacks, and slots: FireWire, VGA, docking, and three USB 2.0 ports; microphone and headphone jacks; and a lone Type II PC Card slot. Networking options include Ethernet, 56Kbps modem, and 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi. Common connectors--a smart card slot, an S-Video-out port, and a flash card media reader--are conspicuously absent. HP also neglected to include a Trusted Platform Module chip for data security--not exactly surprising for a budget system such as this, though HP did include hard drive antishock protection. Our evaluation system came preloaded with the ubiquitous Windows XP Professional operating system, as well as a handful of utilities and disc manipulation programs--a typical software offering for a business laptop.
HP sells our nx7400 test configuration for $1,299--reasonable despite its lack of some features, given its high-end components. Our unit included a 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo T2400 processor; 1GB of speedy 533MHz RAM; a decent-size 80GB 5,400rpm hard drive; a fixed, double-layer DVD burner; an integrated Intel 950 graphics subsystem; and 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi. The Sony VAIO FE is priced at about $100 more for nearly the same specs (though it features a discrete Nvidia GeForce Go 7300 graphics card), and the Acer TravelMate 4650 costs just about the same for a bigger hard drive and a slower processor.
The nx7400 didn't break any records in CNET Labs' benchmarks, but it still provided plenty of speed to complete basic office tasks. The system finished in front of the Lenovo 3000 N100 and trailed not too far behind the better-equipped, Core Duo cousin to the Acer TravelMate 4650, the TravelMate 8200. In our Labs' drain tests, the HP delivered a bit more than 3.5 hours of runtime, slightly ahead of both the Acer and the Lenovo.
HP backs the nx7400 with a one-year warranty, which is shorter than the three years provided for many business models, but more in line with the terms of less expensive laptops. To obtain service, you must return the system to an HP repair center; upgrading to onsite service for one year costs $59, while three years of onsite service costs $199. The company also lets you call its 24/7, toll-free support line at no charge during the warranty period. Should you choose to go the Web support route, access to the FAQ info, customer forum, and other features on HP's online support site is always free.
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System configurations:
Acer TravelMate 8200
Windows XP Pro; 2GHz Intel Core Duo T2500; 2GB DDR2 SDRAM PC4300 533MHz; ATI Mobility Radeon x1600 512MB; Seagate Momentus 5400.2 120GB 5,400rpm
HP Compaq nx7400
Windows XP Professional; 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo T2400; 512MB DDR2 SDRAM PC4300 533MHz; Intel Mobile i945GM Express 256MB; Fujitsu MHV2080BH 80GB 5,400rpm
Lenovo 3000 N100
Windows XP Professional; 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo T2400; 512MB DDR2 SDRAM PC2700 333MHz; NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300 256MB; Hitachi Travelstar 5K100 80GB 5,400rpm