HP Envy 34″ Curved All-In-One review — easier than ever to get work done

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HP told me that they want
the computer back when I’m done testing it. And, I’m going to be
sad to see it go.
Best
Buy

 

• All-in-one computers are great for
  people who want a device for enjoying media, doing work, and
  browsing the web.
• For decades, HP has been one of the top names in the
  desktop-computing world thanks to their commitment to balancing
  detail with affordability.
• This commitment showed with the HP Envy 34, which features
  an attractive 34″ curved LED screen, Bang & Olufsen audio,
  and enough storage and memory to tackle almost any task.
• Though the HP Envy Curved 34″ All-In-One is pricier than your
  average PC (currently $1,999.99 at Best
  Buy), I found it did an excellent job of boosting my
  productivity when working and streaming HD films relaxing.

I’m a simple man. When it comes
to computers, I don’t want to have to shop for the best monitor,
tower, and components separately. I want a single unit that has
all of the best in one package, and I don’t mind paying a little
bit more for this convenience. I’ve used all-in-one (AIO)
computers throughout my work-from-home career.

When my AIO was starting to slow
down after five years of service and reinstalling the operating
system didn’t fix things, I reached out to HP to see if they
would let me test their HP Envy 34″ Curved AIO.

Here are my experiences with
it.

My first experiences with the HP Envy 34″ Curved

One of the most impressive
features of the HP Envy Curved is the 34″ UWQHD LED screen. Since
screens are always measured on the diagonal, it’s worth noting
that the dimensions are 13-1/8″ tall by 31-1/2″ wide. The
resolution is 3440 x 1440 (21:9 aspect ratio).

Here are a few of the other
important specifications you should know:

• The operating system is Windows
  10
• The graphics are AMD Radeon RX
  460 driven by 4GB GDDR5 SDRAM
• There is a 256GB solid-state
  drive (SSD) and 1TB of hard drive storage
• 16GB RAM
• 7
  th
  generation Intel Core i7-7700T quad-core
  processor
• 4 USB 3.0 ports
• HDMI in and out ports
• SD card slot
• Headphone jack
• Ethernet port

If I didn’t list a spec you were
looking for, you can find more info on

the Best Buy product
page

.

If none of the above makes much
sense to you, just know that this machine has all of the makings
of a workhorse. The graphics are enough for most tasks, save
heavy gaming. You will have a hard time filling up all of that
storage, and if you do, you probably know about the cloud or
external hard drives. And, the 16GB RAM and quad-core processor
are ideal for chronic multitaskers.

Setup time was relatively fast.
After 18 minutes of unboxing, logging in, installing updates,
saying I didn’t want to sign up for any newsletters or special
offers, and choosing other preferences, I was ready to put that
massive screen and computing power to work.

Read more: The best all-in-one PCs you can
buy

Essentially, the big
curved screen is like having two monitors.
Best Buy

How the HP Envy Curved performed

The hardest feature to
get used to was the size of the screen.

It tilts and has an attractive
curve, but it was a bit much to take in. Once I realized that I
didn’t need to sit so close to it, the display became a bit more
manageable. Essentially, it is like having two monitors. As a
writer, I like to be able to see what I am working on while also
viewing a few windows of research materials. The 34″ screen
helped immensely with this and saved me from jumping from one tab
to another, which could potentially lure me into a social media
wormhole.

The camera can be pushed down
into the monitor if you are concerned about hackers gaining
access and seeing what you are up to. However, you still need to
pop the camera back up if you want to log in using face
recognition.

Speaking of the face recognition,
initially, I had it analyze my face when I had a substantial
beard. After I shaved, it no longer recognized me. To be fair, my
friends have the same problem. If the PC doesn’t recognize your
face, you can still log in with a PIN.

The sound is delivered from
front-firing quad speakers in the soundbar at the front of the
computer’s base. The Danish high-end electronics firm Bang &
Olufsen is the brains behind the audio. The base is outfitted
with touch controls that allow you to play, pause, and adjust the
volume of your media without touching the keyboard or mouse. As a
sloppy person with a cluttered desk, I accidentally hit the
controls on several occasions so I disabled it. However, it did
function flawlessly up until I gave it the ax.

Overall, the audio
quality is impressive.

The bass isn’t earth-shattering
due to the size of the speakers, but the sound on all levels is
incredibly clear. I got a reading of 99 decibels approximately
12″ from the speakers when blasting some tunes. So, it should be
sufficient for rocking out or getting wrapped up in action
films.

One morning, I tried to play some
background music while working, but the HP Envy told me that I
didn’t have speakers. It didn’t recognize their existence. So, I
clicked on the little blue and white question mark icon in the
lower right to launch HP Support Assistant. I was instantly
messaging with Prachi, a support representative, who let me know
that the root of the problem was a Windows 10 update that had
some configuration and compatibility issues with the Realtek
sound card. I gave him control of my computer, and after
reinstalling the sound driver, I was able to play Brian
Eno.

This was my only experience with
the HP customer support, and I was impressed that they were able
to fix my problem in under 10 minutes with minimal effort on my
part.

Lastly, I tested the HP Envy 34 using the UL PCMark 10
test, which is considered the industry standard for PC
performance for Windows 10 machines.

James Brains/Business
Insider

Overall, it scored 4,631, which
is better than most PCs, very good for AIOs, but not as good as
the high-octane gaming consoles or graphics-editing computers.
However, it did score quite high for productivity (7,145) and
essentials (8,374), such as app start-up, video conferencing, and
web browsing. Visit

the PCMark website

to learn more about this benchmark
test.

Read more: This $250 home security system has
made living in a high-crime area less stressful for my
family

Some concerns about the computer

I really didn’t like the wireless
keyboard and mouse that came with the HP Envy Curved. There
seemed to be some disconnect between how the keyboard
communicated with the computer because it would occasionally
register several keystrokes when I only pressed the key once.
This was endlessly frustrating so I ditched the keyboard pretty
early on in the testing. I used the mouse throughout the testing,
but quite often, it would register right clicks as left clicks,
even when I clicked as far to the right as possible.

I was annoyed by the number of
emails and offers that followed the onboarding process. Also,
there are a lot of unnecessary programs that come on the
computer, which are easy enough to remove but annoying. If you
spend $2,000 on a computer, you shouldn’t have to deal with
having additional sales pitches or items thrust upon you. Then
again, maybe some buyers look for these “perks.”

All of the USB 3.0 ports are
located in the back of the computer’s base. This can be a pain to
access at times, especially if you have your PC against a
wall.

My last concern is that there is
no CD/DVD drive. Many of us still have these discs and would like
to listen/watch them on our fancy computer. A disc drive would
also have saved me a couple of minutes

setting up my
printer

. Instead, I
had to download the drivers online.

The hardest feature to get
used to was the size of the screen.
Best Buy

Bottom line

HP told me that they want the
computer back when I’m done testing it. And, I’m going to be sad
to see it go.

This is an awesome machine. A
good test of whether I would recommend a product is if I would
replace it if it were to disappear tomorrow. Since I don’t have
the income to spend more than $1,000 on an AIO, I probably would
not. But, if I came into a little extra money, this would be at
the top of my list of items to buy. It is worth the price tag,
and I’d be hard-pressed to find a PC that more closely meets my
needs.

That said, I strongly recommend
the HP Envy 34″ Curved All-In-One if you are looking for a
computer that can handle excessive multitasking, stream crystal
clear video, perform actions faster than you can click a mouse,
and you have a generous budget.

Buy the HP Envy 34″ Curved
All-in-One at Best Buy for $2,000

Check out more HP Envy 34″ Curved
All-in-One computers at HP from $1,650