HP Compaq 2230s

Pros: It’s a good budget option that doesn’t skimp on security and connectivity features
Cons: It’s not the most powerful CPU and the battery life could be a little better considering its target market.
RRP: $1299
Score: 3 out of 5

Thanks to the fast moving release of newer, second generation processor technology, the HP Compaq 2230s’ first-generation Core 2 Duo CPU (and the Centrino platform that accompanies it) is now on offer for a very reasonable price and isn’t a shabby performer.

Granted – the Core 2 Duo T5670 1.8GHz CPU installed is not the cream of the first-gen crop, offering an 800MHz FSB (front side bus) and a mere 2MB L2 cache, but this petite 1.73kg model, with its 12.1in screen, isn’t really aimed at those who need a workhorse. In fact, it only offers 1GB of pre-installed DDR2 RAM, so the emphasis here definitely rests on price, not performance. Also included in the Centrino package is Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.0+ has been thrown in, too.

Like other recent HP Compaq machines the 2230s has HP ProtectTools pre-installed, a useful collection of security settings to help keep data safe. Such features include easy (operating system-level) access to the BIOS security options, like power-on password protection, as well as more advanced protection such as hard drive data encryption, message encryption, the data sanitiser and the ubiquitous biometric fingerprint scanner. One of the most important features of such a portable notebook is battery life. Using a DVD movie to drain the battery took just over two and a half hours, a fair performance but not amazing. We tested the XP Professional downgraded option.

Like any standard business notebook the HP Compaq 2230s does not offer any notable entertainment features. The screen is good enough for text and simple graphics, but isn’t high definition or particularly sharp and the viewing angles aren’t superb.