HP Pavilion Sleekbook 15t Review with Video and Pics (HP Pavilion Sleekbook 15t-b000)

I got ahold of the new Pavilion Sleekbook 15t-b000 and have done a video review that I thought those interested might find helpful:



And a quick written review is below, feel free to ask any questions you might have!

The new HP Pavilion 15 is a budget entry 15” Windows 8 equipped laptop. The specific model number under review is the Sleekbook 15t-b0000, configurable via HP.com where it starts at $579.99. HP has recently realigned their naming scheme for laptops and the Pavilion series is now squarely aimed at budget buyers while the Envy line includes more premium models with generally higher prices. This means that most Pavilion laptops are made of plastic and upgrade options are somewhat limited to medium performance components – no Quad Core i7 processors or top of the line Nvidia graphics. Such is the case for the Sleekbook 15t-b000, it’s an all plastic thin and light 15” model that could be called an Ultrabook save one fact, it has no SSD option.



That said, it has a lot of nice features that will appeal especially to those on a budget who want a mainstream 15” laptop, but don’t want something that weighs 6lbs. The Pavilion Sleekbook 15 weighs a very reasonable 4.6lbs so it’s easy to pickup and carry around the home. It’s even light enough for a school backpack being carried around campus, just make sure the dimensions fit into your backpack.

The light weight is achieved mainly due to the all plastic case and absence of optical drive that allows for a thinner profile. The plastic used is non-ABS (a higher quality stronger and more rigid plastic) so it is of course not as durable or rigid as aluminum or magnesium used in higher end laptops, so you will find some flex in the body and screen. The Pavilion Sleekbook 15 will need to be treated well and not simply tossed around or dropped from heights of several inches, it’s simply not meant to be a ruggedized notebook and withstand major impacts. So long as you do care for it and the shiny plastic finish doesn’t bother you looks wise, this is not a major concern, if HP did use a thicker case or more metal they couldn’t achieve the sub-5lb weight.
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The design of the Sleekbook 15t-b000 is rather uninspired, it’s the same glossy plastic finish we’ve been seeing for a few years now. You can get either black or red, the red will cost you an extra $25 though. With the screen being glossy, it’s a little too much shiny shiny for my tastes. And if you hate fingerprints, you’d better bring a cloth to help you keep this thing clean because it picks them up like a magnet.



The removable and replaceable battery is another great aspect of this Sleekbook, many other 15” Ultrabooks have a sealed battery making it impossible to replace 3-years down the road when it’s life has run out. The battery is rather small at just a 4-cell and the battery life is only 3 – 3.5 hours depending on usage, that’s very low and will disappoint some, but you can carry a spare battery around if you need power on the go.



The keyboard on the 15t-b000 is a chiclet style (island style keys that are separate) and it even has a built-in number pad. Unfortunately, the keyboard feel is quite poor, the keys don’t have much travel and there’s a lot of rattle to the generally cheap feeling keyboard. There’s also no option for a backlit keyboard, something many people look for these days, HP seems to be reserving such upgrade options to their Envy lineup. If you’re picky about your keyboards, then take note, if you never think about such things then none of these negative comments I made will really bother you as it’s of course a full sized and fully functional keyboard with decent usability, just not best of breed.



There are no screen upgrade options for the Pavilion Sleekbook 15t-b000, it’s a 1366 x 768 glossy screen or nothing else. The screen is quite average, when viewed straight on colors pop thanks to the glossy finish, but adjust the viewing angle backwards and you can pick up reflection from lights on the ceiling and the colors distort as this is not an IPS screen.

The performance of the Pavilion Sleekbook 15 will vary based on configuration, the model I have has the Intel Core i3-2377M from the 2nd generation “Sandy Bridge” Intel mobile processor lineup. That’s the default processor, you can upgrade all the way to a Core i5-3317U from the 3rd generation Ivy Bridge and also include Nvidia 630M dedicated graphics for an extra 3D performance kick. For those who just want to do some web browsing and word processing, the Core i3 will be sufficient. If your demands are a little higher and you want to do a lot of video processing, maybe some CAD or light gaming then upgrading to the Core i5 and including the dedicated Nvidia graphics is recommended, it’ll cost you an extra $175 though, which takes the price all the way up to $755. The standard amount of RAM is 4GB, you can upgrade to 8GB RAM max. The fastest hard drive configurable at purchase is a 7200RPM spinning variety, and max capacity is 1TB.

The port selection includes all the essentials. On the left side you get a a USB 3.0 port and dual headphone / microphone jack.



Over on the right side is a media card reader (SD card reader), a USB 2.0 port, USB 3.0 port, HDMI and Ethernet jack.



So is the Pavilion Sleekbook 15t-b000 a buy? Seeing as Windows 8 is the default OS, it sure would have been nice to see a touchscreen option. It also would have been nice to see other extra touches people like to see these days such as a backlit keyboard, SSD or mini SSD cache, and a higher resolution screen option. For the starting price of $579.99 before any coupons you do get a number of attractive features though. The highlight is definitely the very light 4.6lbs, making this a very portable 15”. I really like the removable battery aspect as well, even if battery life is short at under 4 hours. The Sleekbook 15 remained cool under almost any usage and the port selection is good for a thin and light. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that overall this was a pretty cheap feeling laptop with an uninspired design. I’d probably go for a heavier small business budget laptop such as the ThinkPad Edge E530 or Dell Vostro 3570 if it were my money on the table, but they are much heavier than this Pavilion 15 Sleekbook. If you like thin and light laptops but want a larger sized 15-inch screen and don’t want to spend much, the Sleekbook 15t-b000 could be a fit for your needs.

 

Hey, I bought this same product but i have no idea where to insert a cd?? Reply asap please

 

lolz. There's no optical drive in the sleekbook.

 

Yes, as Kirr indicates there's simply no place to put a DVD or CD in the Sleekbook 15t, you'd have to purchase an external DVD Burner such as this $37 Samsung drive from Amazon (or wherever): Amazon.com: Samsung Ultra Portable Slim DVD+/-RW USB External Drive, Black SE-218BB/RSBS: Computers & Accessories and plug it into the USB port.