HP TouchSmart 15-d037dx

The HP TouchSmart 15-d037dx is a budget touchscreen laptop with a 15.6-inch display and a previous generation Intel Core i3 processor. It is very similar to the 15-d038dx. The only big difference is touchscreen functionality on the former.

Since it’s basically just another budget laptop, the 15-d037dx doesn’t bring any big surprises, nor disappointments. Inside a somewhat bland looking plastic chassis with plain high-gloss black finish, the machine packs the Intel Core i3-3130M “Ivy Bridge” dual-core processor from 2012. It’s not as power efficient as the newer 2013/2014 “Haswell” counterpart and provides slower integrated graphics. However, both are absolutely sufficient for home and office tasks of the average user. The newer Intel HD 4400/4600 graphics on “Haswells” is much better than the HD 4000 series included in the i3-3130M, since it can provide some playable frame rates on low settings in modern games, while the 4000 is good only for casual 2D gaming. Anyway, it manages the 1366×768-pixel display properly and supports external display output via the included HDMI port.

The 750GB hard disk drive provides extra roominess in comparison to the widely adopted 500GB HDDs. On the other hand RAM memory amount is ordinary 4GB, which is quite enough for all tasks an average user might throw at the laptop. Thankfully for those who still use DVD and CD media, the system has a built-in DVD burner optical drive. Besides the touchscreen, for data input there are a non-backlit keyboard with island-style keys and a numeric pad, as well as a multi-touch trackpad with physically isolated click buttons. For sound, there are stereo speakers, whereas video chats are supported through a built-in HP TrueVision webcam with 720p resolution.

Another downside of this notebook is the weight of 6.1 pounds. For comparison the 15-d038dx weighs in at 5.3 lbs, so the touchscreen on the 15-d037dx obviously adds a lot of weight to the laptop. On the other hand, this model is rather a desktop PC replacement for your home and office than a travel companion. It doesn’t have a bulky appearance, since it’s reasonably thin, measuring 1.2″.

Overall, the HP TouchSmart 15-d037dx is a good and inexpensive Windows 8 computing solution with touch input, but keep in mind that there are many other alternatives at similar prices. A good example is the Toshiba C55T-A5103 with the “Haswell” Core i3-4000M / Intel HD 4600 and the same screen size and RAM and storage capacities for a couple of bucks more.