Compaq 398650-001 To get a brief overview of the playability of some recent PC games on this notebook, we tested the first person shooter Battlefield Bad Company 2 and the racing game DiRT 3. The results can also be compared easily with those in our gaming database. With the lowest graphics settings the games can be played very well; it’s only at the higher resolutions and with greater graphics effects that the rate drops sharply. HP Compaq 398680-001

On Battlefield Bad Company 2 we reached 30 fps, which is still good, on the medium graphics setting, though the rate dropped to a very stuttery 7 fps during a short underwater scene in the first mission. With higher detail settings, the game becomes unplayable.Compaq 398854-001

DiRT 3 plays at a very good 72 fps while still on the lowest settings. With medium details the notebook can only manage 21 fps, but this does not sink below 19 fps at any point.Compaq 398874-001

The ProBook 4730s is generally a quiet companion. Compaq 408545-001 Admittedly the fan runs constantly and can be heard clearly, and the hard drive cannot be silent because of its design, but the fan does remain at a constant speed during light use and so disappears almost entirely into the background. The hard drive is quieter than the fan, at 32 dB, and so is barely audible. With heavy use, the fan speeds up significantly and reaches from 38.7 dB up to a very loud 46.8 dB. But even then, the fan noise remains constant.Compaq 408545-141

When idle, the notebook remains cool as expected. The palm rest on the left-hand side does heat up to 27 °C, but this is still some way short of being uncomfortably warm, and so will only get noticed if you pay particular attention to these things.Compaq 408545-142

With heavy use, the notebook can get really quite warm in places.Compaq 408545-241 While the right side heats up by barely 3 degrees, on the underside in the back-left corner below the processor the temperature can reach up to 45 °C. So during heavy use you should entrust the notebook to a solid surface rather than resting it on your lap. The touchpad doesn’t stay very cool either, warming up your fingers with its considerable 39 °C. But the temperature here is still within reasonable bounds, so there should not be any complaints. Compaq 408545-261

The stress test with Furmark (GPU) and Prime (CPU) makes notebooks work at full stretch for at least an hour. It is possible for throttling to emerge if the hardware gets too hot. Compaq 408545-262 

The ProBook 4730s internal temperatures remained in the safe green zone, with a maximum of 93 °C for the processor and 80 °C for the graphics card. The clock speed of the Intel Core i5-2410M stayed at a constant 2.7 GHz, and the GPU did not begin to throttle either.Compaq 408545-621

HP boasts that this notebook has SRS Premium Sound, which is probably supposed to suggest that a great sound system has been included. SRS Premium Sound is a technology that is supposed to enhance the sound quality using software.Compaq 408545-721

It is usually set on its default ‘music’ setting. On this setting, the software adds some reverberation to the music and thus emphasises the higher tones. The software also overamplifies almost all the high tones, so that you can only enjoy music if the volume is set at the halfway point. Playing with the settings brought practically no improvement, and the best result by far was when we turned off audio enhancement.Compaq 408545-741

The speakers are loud enough that you could watch the occasional film using a projector without external loudspeakers. But you should not expect too much of them; with this notebook you have to do completely without bass.Compaq 408545-761

Compared to notebooks with Nvidia’s Optimus system, Compaq 409357-001 the HP ProBook 4730s has the disadvantage that its AMD Radeon HD 6490M does not automatically switch off for low performance when in idle mode. Cards like the Nvidia GeForce GT 540M switch themselves off in idle, letting the Intel HD Graphics 3000 integrated into the processor do the work for them. So the ProBook does not measure up as well in idle, needing at least 12 Watts; notebooks with Optimus technology or without a dedicated graphics card come in at under 9 Watts. Compaq 409357-002 

The lithium ion battery is equipped with a generous 73 Wh capacity, and is recharged using a 540 g, 90 W mains adaptor. To completely recharge the battery requires about 114 mins, i.e. just under two hours.Compaq 415306-001

The Battery Eater Reader’s test simulates the reading of a .txt file, using this to determine the maximum battery life you can expect. The ProBook managed a modest six and a half hours, showing again the high energy consumption during idle use. Compaq 418867-001 

The battery life for wireless internet use is determined with a realistic internet surfing test, away from mains power. The notebook lasted for 220 mins, making it perfectly suitable for a short train journey or a car ride. But for anything longer you will have to return to the wall socket. Compaq 418871-001

In the DVD test, a video DVD is played at full brightness. In this test the ProBook only lasted 150 mins. So most films can still be watched while on the go. However, really long films, like Lord of the Rings 3 or The Green Mile, should be watched within reach of mains power to avoid interruptions. Compaq 443884-001 

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