4. HP Compaq 2510p: Features, Heat, Noise

Keyboard and Track Pad

Due to the small size of the unit, HP had to deal with some compromises with the keyboard: the letter keys are of normal size and the font seems to be almost oversized. The keys F1-F12 and ESC , Up , Down, Home, End, Ins and Del are much smaller than normal. Also the 1 and the ^/° keys are shrunk to two thirds and one third their normal size, respectively. The Tab, Caps Lock and Shift keys are shortened as well. Other than that, HP follows the standard layout. The keyboard has a short stroke; this, together with the soft pressure point, can tire you quickly, because you hit the keyboard hard even when typing normally.

The fingerprint sensor is always active, and every once in a while you unintentionally touch it since it is in the area where your hands rest. When you do this, HP’s Credential Manager will ask you whether you want to store a new finger print — this gets extremely annoying after a while. Thankfully you can deactivate this assistant.

HP has given the 2510p two devices to replace the mouse. Integrated in the hand rest is the usual trackpad with its vertical scroll functionality and normal buttons. In addition, there is a trackpoint between the letters G and H, with its corresponding buttons below the spacebar. If you’re not used to a trackpoint you might occasionally get stuck on it while typing, but you’ll eventually adjust to its presence.

Display

The 12.1" anti-glare display has a widescreen resolution of 1280x800 pixels, and comes with an LED back light. Its light intensity is evenly distributed, although it gets slightly darker at the upper corners. At the brightest spot, we measured 176 cd/m², and at the darkest spot 148 cd/m²; on average it is 164 cd/m². This means working in direct sun light should not be a big problem.

The average black level is 0.98 cd/m²; this is relatively high, and thus the unit doesn’t display a complete black very well. It also leads to an average contrast of only 168:1, although colors are displayed nicely. In addition, the horizontal viewing angle is wide at both sides. Text can be viewed very well from the bottom, but on the top the image gets reversed quickly. The cover lid can be opened to 180°, which guarantees a good view of the display in any work environment.

Temperature

Even under idle conditions, the back of the case’s bottom gets really warm, but if you can avoid blocking the fan’s air inlet, the temperature will stay at an acceptable level. The airflow at the side of the notebook stays cool, but the area underneath your right hand gets really warm.

Under full load conditions, the underbody of the right side gets heated up to above 40 °C (104 °F), which is very warm. This is acceptable when you’re wearing thicker pants, but when wearing thin pants or shorts it is not recommended. Other than that, the temperature on both the top and bottom stays on a reasonable level.

Noise Level

The HP 2510p is never really quiet — even when idling, the noise stays at a constant level of 33 dB(A), accompanied by a high frequency background noise. The problem is that the fan does not get enough air supply when the notebook sits on a table or similar surface, so it operates louder. When you lift the notebook up you’ll instantly notice the fan speed slowing down.

When playing DVDs the 2510p’s noise level is noticeable at 34.9 dB(A), but not too loud. Under high demand it reaches a maximum noise level of 37.0 dB(A); if you run the DVD drive simultaneously it can get up to 37.8 dB(A).