HP Mini 2140

Performance

HP nixed the VIA C7-M processor it used in the 2133 Mini-Note for Intel’s reliable and power-efficient 1.6-GHz Atom N270 processor. Along with 1GB of RAM, the Mini 2140 provided the typical netbook performance we’ve seen in many similarly configured systems. We couldn’t run our usual PCMark05 test on the system, but in our hands-on experience, the machine’s Windows XP performance was snappy. Firefox and Windows Media Player opened quickly, and we saw no performance hit when conducting video calls over Skype, surfing the Web with multiple tabs open, and writing this review in Microsoft Word 2007.

The Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics chip with 64MB of memory delivered a score of 748 in 3DMark03 and 125 in 3DMark06; the former is about 70 points below the category average, and the latter is about 130 points below average. Still, the Mini 2140 scored higher on 3DMark06 than the ASUS Eee PC 1002HA (678) and the Samsung NC10 (730). Watching an episode of Heroes using an external DVD drive at full-screen was smooth.

Hard Drive Performance

The Mini 2140’s 160GB, 5,400-rpm Hitachi SATA hard drive (which is protected by HP’s 3D DriveGuard accelerometer) booted Windows XP Home in 57 seconds; that’s a few seconds better than the average netbook. The LAPTOP Transfer Test (copying a 4.97GB folder of mixed media) took a speedy 5 minutes and 22 seconds, a rate of 15.8 MBps. This is higher than the category average of 13.2 MBps and right smack between the Lenovo IdeaPad S10’s 17.4 MBps and the Samsung NC10’s 12.4 MBps. As with the HP Mini 1000, the Mini 2140 will also be available with a solid-state drive option.

Ambient Heat

Compared with the 2133 Mini-Note, which got extremely warm during heavy usage, the Mini 2140 stayed relatively cool. The keyboard and touchpad remained at room temperature during frequent use. However, the bottom of the Mini 2140 got slightly warmer than the rest of the system, registering 96 degrees during our battery test.

Battery Life

The HP Mini 2140 outshines not only its predecessor when it comes to endurance but all other netbooks equipped with six-cell batteries. On the LAPTOP Battery Test (continuous Web surfing over Wi-Fi), the system lasted a very impressive 7 hours and 19 minutes. This runtime blows away the mini-notebook average of 3:48, and it beats out even the Samsung NC10, the longest-lasting mini-notebook to date, by 45 minutes. If you can live with the added bulk of the six-cell battery, it’s more than worth the $30 premium. Still, the smaller three-cell battery lasts a solid 3 hours and 32 minutes.

HP also includes its Fast Charge technology in the Mini 2140, which can charge the netbook’s primary battery up to 90 percent within 90 minutes when the system is off. A completely drained six-cell battery on the Mini 2140 took 98 minutes to charge up to 98 percent with the system powered down; by comparison, the ASUS Eee PC 1000H (also with a six-cell battery) recharged up to 84 percent in the same amount of time.