| Laptops and Notebooks Reviews : Hewlett-Packard |
 | HP Pavilion dv6427cl - Turion 64 X2 TL-56 / 1.8 GHz - RAM 1 GB - HDD 160 GB - DVD?RW (?R DL) / DVD-RAM - GF Go 6150 - WLAN : 802.11b/g - Vista Home Premium - 15.4" Widescreen TFT 1280 x 800 ( WXGA ) BrightView - camera - remarketed
Barely acceptable -- 2007-12-01
I purchased this notebook (on sale with a printer and backpack) as I hoped it would work as a multipurpose notebook. I need it for school, work and use it as an entertainment PC and occasional internet box at coffee shops. It is inadequate for each of these purposes except as an internet box.
I purchase this as a replacement for a stolen HP DV6131od which I loved. This is similar in many aspects, better in some respects, but its pitfalls well outweigh its good points. I purchased it from OfficeMax and tried to return it within 48 hours. OfficeMax refused to accept its return because I had opened the box. I will probably have to sue them. I will boycott their store forever, and urge others to do the same.
The Good Stuff:
The AMD Turion 64 processor is more than adequate, and comparable to the Intel core 2 Duo T5200 in the DV6131. It has 2Gig of memory, which is more than adequate for most uses. Memory througput is excellent as the system has a very high speed bus and DDR 5400 memory.
The keyboard surface is slightly angled unlike many notebooks, which tend to be boxy. I work as a paralegal and law clerk, which requires a great deal of typing. The angled keyboard makes typing much easier.
The cursor touchpad has an on-off switch right above the touchpad. The cursor pad on just about all notebooks is right below the keyboard, and you can inadvertently make the cursor jump by touching it. This makes it easier to use an external USB mouse and more functional as a work computer. It has a section on the cursor pad which works like a wheel on the mouse for quick up-and-down scrolling.
HP has QuickPlay buttons above the keyboard and its own proprietary software which make it functional as an entertainment PC. I very much like the voume controls and entertainment buttons.
The system has digital optical output (although it does not come with the adapter) for digital audio output and S-video output to connect into home theater system.
The Shortcomings:
The video processor is horribly inadequate. Videos and DVDs do not play as smoothly as I would like. This unit is marketed and sold as an entertainment PC. It is barely adequate for this purpose. Given the speed of the processor and front side bus, this is probably the result of an out of date video processing system.
It only comes with a 6 cell battery. Battery life is short -- about an hour and a half.
Vista Home Premium. Nuff said? Vista is, in my opinion, a major mistake. It is incapable of running much of the business software I use. Further, Vista Home Premium, which comes installed, has much of the commercial networking capabilities of Vista Ultimate and Business disabled. Knowing the problems with Vista, I bought this with the intent to downgrade the software. However, HP does not provide much support for Windosws XP. The drivers are available, but HP does not publish them on its website with this computer. HP does not have XP install disks for this computer.
Benchmarks:
The following benchmarks show the video processor is horrible by current standards:
3dMark2001 = 3315
3dMark2003 = 1036 (It is interesting to note that the CPU tests run the same tests at a faster frame rate than the video processor!)
3dMark2006 = 194
Overall benchmark scores:
Performance Test PassMark 6.1 = 372
PC Wizard = 2422.55
Subsequently, I downgraded the OS to XP Professional. Some very bright customer service tech at HP sent me a list of all of the XP drivers for the system. With the old XP o/sand got the following scores:
3dMark 2001 = 4610
3dMark 2003 = 1132
PC Wizard 2523.64
Performance Test Passmark 6.1 = 398
So, the system does better with a downgrade in the O/S, however, you loose all of the fun stuff (i.e., Quickplay) that is incorporated into this entertainment PC.
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 | HP Pavilion DV6-2190US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
powerful machine! -- 2010-08-31
I really like this laptop. I purchased it in early April when Newegg had it on sale for $850, and for that price, it's perfect! For anything more, well, it is heavy to lug around (6.3 lbs), and the battery life is NOT what they say it is. I generally got about an hour and a half, at most, but that's with it on full power. But it handles ANYTHING I throw at it without any slowing down in performance. What used to take me three hours of video editing I can now do in 20 minutes, thanks to the core i7 CPU. There is now a Toshiba out there with nearly identical specs for $850, including the same core i7 CPU, but I'm happy for the lightscribe capability of this HP, something that isn't matched by Toshiba's version, which I read only works on DVDs, not CDs as well, as does the HP. Overall, I am delighted with this purchase. I am only giving it 4 stars, not 5, because it's a bit too heavy for me and the battery life (six cell) is not impressive, which admittedly is understandable given the laptop's powerful CPU. Best of all, I can continually backup my work onto an eSata external hard drive with no lag at all in computer performance while I keep on with my various pc work tasks. This is the best pc I've ever had the pleasure to use, whether desktop or laptop.
DV6-2190US -- 2010-08-08
The product is just great. Just what I expected. Fun fast and at the right price. The shipping was on time although it was close to the 4th of July. The only negative thing that I noticed is that the battery does not last nearly as long as advertised. Also I have had a bad experience with HP since they initially told me they would send me the 32bit OS which they never did and they wasted a lot of my time since every time the email replies came from a different customer support rep. I am very satisfied with Amazon and I highly recommend this product and the merchant.
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 | HP Pavilion DM3-1030US 13.3-Inch Silver Laptop - Up to 6 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium)
I finally see the point of the MacBook Air -- 2010-08-03
When the Macbook Air first came out, I thought it was pretty pointless, with a fairly small 13" screen, no optical drive, and so forth. In the last few weeks, though, I've been working on different notebooks at various Starbucks, Peets and similar locations with free WiFi, and I'm starting to see the point.
Last Christmas, I upgraded from my tiny and very handy MSI Wind netbook to an HP DM3-1030us "ultraportable". Like the Macbook Air, it doesn't have an optical drive, it has a relatively small 13" screen, but it is pretty thin and light (and expensive-looking, even though it didn't cost more than a high-end netbook, and was 1/3 the cost of a MacBook Air.) What it DOES have is enough portability to easily fit in my soft briefcase and leave room for a textbook or two, it has a dual-core CPU and discrete graphics so it performs pretty well, but these are all low-power devices (the CPU maxes at 1.6GHz!), so the normal battery easily lasts for more than 3 hours even with full screen brightness, wifi, and normal surfing/app use. 4GB of RAM and 320GB of disk space on a fast 7200rpm drive are improvements over the MacBook Air, as well.
Even though we live in the modern Wifi cafe age, it turns out that *power outlets* are what are scarce. With this HP, I never have to worry about not being near an outlet, because I can do a whole morning's or afternoon's work on the battery. The keyboard is fine, and the notebook is small enough that it easily fits on whatever little euro-table the cafe provides, whether round, rectangular, or some funky shape. The screen is bright, and just big enough to allow proper viewing of web pages and documents, which the 600-pixel-high netbook screen never quite managed.
Unlike the MacBook Air, it's got lots of USB ports (one of which I use for a proper Logitech mouse), a memory card slot, and even HDMI to connect to a TV set! If I need to use optical media, I just plug in a portable drive to a USB port, but almost all of the time, USB flash drives are plenty.
Like I said, I finally understand the point of a MacBook Air, but I've found something even better. Thanks, HP!
Great compact laptop, buggy touchpad -- 2010-06-20
I've had the DM3 for about 4 months now. I absolutely love its small form factor, fit, and finish. It serves my needs well, though I was hesitant to downsize from my old 15" to this smaller machine. My favorite feature are the metallic surfaces, that give it an elegant yet rugged feel. I haven't missed the CD/DVD drive at all.
I wish it were all good, but with any technological device, there are issues. The most prevalent is the touch pad. Ninety-five percent of the time it behaves flawlessly, but sometime for no reason it gets crazy, and it is impossible to navigate the cursor to where you want it. Restarting the computer seems to fix the issue. Also, the battery life is overstated. In real world usage I get about 3 hours from a full charge until Windows tells me to plug in or else.
All in all, I would buy the same one tomorrow, I just wish they would fix the touchpad.
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 | HP ENVY 17 customizable Notebook PC with Intel- R Core- TM i7-720QM Quad Core processor - 1.6GHz,
An overall well built machine with one major flaw -- 2010-06-14
After several shipping delays I finally received my HP Envy 17 a last Friday. Now, after spending several days with it, I feel like I can say that it's a rather capable, and well built, desktop replacement.
For a little perspective on what I'm comparing the Envy 17 to, I bought a custom configured Envy 17 with a Core i5-520M as a replacement for my desktop which holds a C2Q Q6600 and a Radeon 4870. In terms of power, I think that the two machines are roughly similar. I ran some benchmarks while playing Dragon Age Origins. On the Envy 17 I managed around 37fps average with all settings maxed out, compared to around 40fps on my desktop machine.
The Envy 17's screen is absolutely gorgeous. I paid an extra $100 for the full 1920x1080 resolution, and I feel like it was well worth it. That's the same horizontal resolution as I get with my 24" desktop monitor (a Samsung 245BW), and 90% of the vertical resolution. The Envy 17 bests my desktop monitor in both pixel density and brightness, and the result is very impressive.
Overall, the Envy 17 is very well constructed. The aluminum finish is very clean and feels very sturdy, with little to no flex or bending in the body of the machine. The touchpad is large, and the multi-touch gestures work well, something I understand was a problem with previous Envy models. Double-tapping the top corner of the toouchpad will turn it off so that you don't accidentally brush it while typing. The keyboard is sturdy as well. There's only the smallest amount of flex in the very center, you almost wouldn't notice it if you were't looking for it, and it's likely one of the sturdiest laptop keyboards I've used aside from the newer Macbook Pros. The HP logo on the back of the screen is a nice tough as well. It's mirrored when the machine is off, but glows blue when it's turned on.
Though I think the machine is well built overall, there are a few niggling problems that I've noticed. The machine emits a small, high-pitched whine sometimes. It seems to be associated with the microphone, as members of the notebookreview forums have discovered that turning on the internal microphone, then muting it gets rid of the noise. The down arrow key on my machine also sticks sometimes, though this problem may be specific to mine.
The biggest issue is probably the heat, though. RealTemp shows the CPU at 55C idle and 82C while gaming. Thankfully, the majority of the exterior stays cool. The right 2/3rds or so of the machine hardly increase in temperature at all, and while the left palm rest heats up slightly I wouldn't say uncomfortably so. However, the top left corner of the machine gets very hot. I imagine that this is where the GPU is located as most of the vents are placed there as well. Also, the heat seems to impact the construction a bit. The heat seems to cause the keyboard tray to expand a bit and flex ever-so-slightly upwards. You wouldn't be able to notice it visually, but if you press down on the top left corner, you can feel it flex a bit, which it does not do when the machine is off.
My last complaint is that HP has loaded the Envy 17 with loads of junk software. I understand that this is pretty much par for the coarse with Windows machines, but the Envy line is supposed to be HP's premium line. And I would hope that with such products they wouldn't subject their customers to the tedious process of removing all the half-baked software that does nothing but eat up system resources.
In conclusion, I think the Envy 17 is a solid machine. With few small exceptions, it's well built and quite capable as a desktop replacement, even for gaming purposes. The only major complaints that I have are the excess heat on the top left corner of the machine and the HP software that it comes loaded with.
Update (6/17/2010):
In my initial review I mentioned that the notebook had heat issues but they did not make it uncomfortable to use. Now, after spending some more time with the machine I think the heat issues are more serious than I initially thought. If you plan on doing any sort of intense gaming on this machine, they should be a concern. I spent about 15min playing Crysis Warhead the other day and had to turn it off because the right side of the machine was getting too hot for me to comfortably keep my hand on the WASD keys.
It's a shame. There's so much about this notebook that I really like, but due to the heat issue I think I'm going to end up returning it to HP.
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 | HP Pavilion DV6-1360US 15.6-Inch Espresso Laptop - Up to 3.5 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium)
It's a great machine! -- 2010-07-09
I love it!.
1.- Great price.
2.- Beautiful notebook.
3.- Amazing performance.
4.- The shipping was in time.
That's why its a five stars for me.
P.s. sorry about my english.
Extremely weak product support! Not recommended -- 2010-05-27
I am a software engineer who has used a variety of brands. I got a 3 month old DV6t-2000 i7 quad core with 8GB RAM for development purposes. I trusted in HP brand and bought this computer to see that there is absolutely no support. The computers GET issues from time to time, a well performing computer does not necessarily mean that it is a good product.
The support department is going to offer you to replace the whole panel and reformat the PC if one of your key-caps(in my case up arrow) gets loose or broken. You will have to leave your PC to service department for at least a month if you have warranty, and if your warranty is over may God help you since your will have to pay several hundred dollars. There is absolutely 0 initiative, and prepare to talk to human robots. I went up to their CEO! and could not get a resolution. Managers are arrogant and chooses to fight with the customer instead of offering solutions.
I am an IT expert and strongly suggest advanced and novice users to stay away from HP as far as possible...
05/27/2010
After sending several emails and hours spent on the phone calls, I could get the support department to resolve the issue. However, they sent a whole keyboard panel. So, it seems, once the warranty period is over, I would have to pay for the panel. It is a powerful computer , yet the support is still weak.
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 | HP G71-349WM Refurbished Notebook PC
very pleased -- 2010-08-07
I'm very pleased with this labtop. I needed to move up to a faster labtop as my old one was five years old and slow. I selected HP because I have had three HP desk top computers with minimal problems. New labtop needs speakers, low cost work fine. Additionally, I added a external mouse.
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