HP Pavilion DV2810US 14.1-inch Laptop (AMD Turion 64 X 2 Dual Core TL-60 Processor, 3 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, Vista Premium) Reviews

• WHAT I NEEDED AT A GREAT VALUE

  
  By A1TPHXTPZO3GMY on 2008-04-26
  This piece concerns my review of Sony Vaio CR420 vs. Pavilion dv2810US...
  
  I suppose it should come as no surprise that the Sony name will cost a little more. This Sony Vaio CR420 laptop combines a new Intel T8100 processor with attractive style multiplexed with all the accoutrements of a modern laptop and maybe more considering it has the no yet agreed upon N-wireless 802.11. Aside from enumerating all the other features, you go ahead and read for yourself the fairly detailed Amazon description.
  
  Although it does not contain a separate graphics card it's nvidia graphics chip does provide enough power to turn on all the Vista Aero features I know.
  
  My major gripe with this pretty laptop is that when I compare it to the HP dv2810US it doesn't deliver me anything more (of what I need). Note that the HP Pavilion's CPU is AMD TL-60. While I have heard AMD is getting their butt kicked with T8100 (Penryn) I just don't see it here.
  
  Without going to great detail I considered drive size/speed, memory, weight, screen size (Sony is a noticeably brighter screen btw),Bluetooth (pretty sure both stereo -a2dp),battery life, optical drive, speakers, touchpad, and overall quality of build. The HP performs well in all aspects. Note, I say "performs" instead of compare to differentiate my real world experience versus marketing specs. I do think the Sony is prettier. Note: I got the blue case b/c it uses a silver keyboard I preferred, most if not all these Vaio's have black keys. The Pavilion has black keys also.
  
  Overall, I think a case could be made for choosing the Sony over the much cheaper Pavilion, however, for my station in life and value of a dollar, I chose the Pavilion dv2810us.
  
  Things (of note) I did while I possessed both aforementioned laptops...
  connected both wirelessly and wired to my home network (and ultimately Comcast broadband), signed in wirelesly at coffee house to web surf, downloaded and installed updates to Vista, streamed audio/video from Windows Media Server, installed VMWare Server GSX and then multiple OS's within -very slow to start on both laptops(slower than my previous Lifebook S Pentium M 1.6Gz w/ 2MB RAM running XP home).
  
  I contacted both vendor's customer service departments about "downgrading" to XP Pro from the Vista Premium and it turns out to be not so easy. In the case of HP, while they highly recommend against downgrading the Web Chat HP guy said he could point me to some of the drivers on the web... but could not say if all the XP - flavored drivers were available. I didn't get into a discussion with Sony as much but got the same indication.
  
  Hope this helps someone.
  
  PS I like the Sony battery adapter more, it plugs into the laptop from the back with an "L" shape, the HP plugs from the side and sticks out approx 2". Also the Vaio has what I consider and annoying light emanating from under the touchpad -I dislike stray light-sources like that and not sure if it has a reason for it.
  
  

• So far so great

  
  By A2QEZU2SHYBHM5 on 2008-04-30
  I purchased this laptop for my wife to replace a bulky 17" unit for her. She loves the smaller size and the speed even impresses me (I'm typing this review on my 17" laptop that runs dual hard drives, dual SLI video cards and the fastest dual-core processor you can get today). The video quality is very good and the easy connectivity to wireless networks is very helpful to my wife. Overall, this isa great buy for the money. If I hadn't just bought my 17", I'd probably get one for myself (this coming from someone who upgrades his laptop every 12-14 months - so you know it's a good one).
  
  
  

• Greate buy with cool looking design

  
  By A11R6JALEDNW2E on 2008-05-01
  I have Sony SZ110 laptop which I bought two years ago. I decide to look for a new one since the Sony seems to run very slow consider the amount of money I paid for the Sony one($1500). I have looked at HP, Dell, Gateway, and Toshiba, and then decide to go with this HP. I did a custom build this laptop on HP site and cost around $1250. When I saw at best buy discount for $799 ($100 off), I didn't wait very long. I have been a long fan of Sony due to their quality, however, this time it is HP.
  
  Pros: 1) I like the design and the finishing - very shine and glossy. At night when you turn it on, the blue light on the laptop looks outstanding 2) The performance is very good. I have alot of software on this machine including Adobe CS3 suite and this thing shut down in 30 seconds and will boot everything up in 1 minute - fully load. 3) A great price for this kind of laptop.
  
  Cons: 1) The volume control is slow to reponse when using the assign buttons. 2) this baby give out heat about 20-30% more than my sony. 3) The screen is not as bright as my sony (10-15% less), but if you don't have a sony before or don't care about the screen to be very bright, then it doesn't matter.
  
  For your my normal usage, the battery last about 2.25 - 3.00 (6 cells).
  
  Overall, this is a great buy. If I have to buy again, I would buy this one again.
  
  

• Love my new laptop!

  
  By A36QWBAEC0FNFW on 2008-05-24
  I've had my new laptop for about 2 weeks. I love it. The outside design is very cool, but it was the many features packed into such a compact laptop at a great price that sold me.It is smaller and lighter than my previous laptop. The computer boots quickly and connection to my network and the internet was simple. This laptop even has a switch in the front to turn off the wireless in case you're in an area that you do not want to chance someone accessing your computer or to just save on battery power. The battery time is OK, but I ordered a 12 cell replacement from Ebay to supplement. The built in speakers are pretty good and the webcam works great. The 250 MB hard drive was one of the largest I saw on the market, as was 4 Gig of Ram. It will easily accommodate larger files and multitasking will not slow things down. I also like that the little remote control tucks into the side of the laptop so that you won't misplace it. I am not a gamer, so I didn't need some of the higher end graphic capabilities. This computer is perfect for surfing, small business, picture and media viewing and editing, or for a student. I'm considering purchasing the optional TV tuner. I would highly recommend this laptop!
  
  

• Nice laptop but hard to see symbols on it and no guidebook

  
  By A21MSRBYQQSBIC on 2008-05-25
  When I first saw this laptop (which I got for my husband) I was impressed with its' sleekness. However, when we actually got down to using it, we found there was no insruction book and the symbols (eg. to increase volume, etc.) were very hard to see - the color contrast is minimal. If you are very young this is a nice machine - if you are older you may want to look a lttle further.
  
  
• GREAT laptop!
  By ACD5RWMQDAJ5H on 2008-05-22
  I can't begin to say enough good things about this laptop. I was looking for a laptop with enough system memory and other appropriate features to accommodate a good video editing program and was just about to purchase a different computer when I came across this one, which had all of the features of the first laptop plus an additional GB of RAM for $150 less, so I decided to go for it. It was the best decision I could have made. This computer is amazing. I am still in the process of discovering all of the different components and pre-installed programs and am so very impressed with its capabilities. This being my first laptop, I have to admit I am not too adept at using the touchpad, but I easily added a wireless mouse which works perfectly. I have not yet done any video editing, but the computer appears to have more than sufficient memory and other system resources to accommodate a good editing program. This is the first time I have worked with Windows Vista, but having worked in all of the other Windows OS formats, I have found Vista to be as easy to work with as any of the others. All in all, I would highly recommend this computer - purchasing this was one of the best decisions I have made in a long time!
  
  
• Windows vista experience = 3
  By A1CDDTLKPARVUY on 2008-06-04
  Lets start by saying it is a pretty laptop indeed!
  Nice HD,the most of it's ram capacity, so, i don't understand why it is so slow! I guess windows vista sucks and this is the major problem because otherwise with 4 ram and a dual core 2.0 ghz procesor i would expect to run nice and smooth! But it does not!
  It gets too hot fast and speakers are pretty lame!
  don't get me wrong, it's just an average machine, don't spend time and money on this if you are tryin to work with heavy programs that involve nice sound and video or graphics! But it's ok for everything else though!
  
  To me, this is a 600$ laptop instead of the almost thousand it costs!
  
  
• Very good indeed but...
  By ASAK3N0XKDS5C on 2008-06-13
  I won`t make a big review telling you all about this notebook because it`s been done already. Here`s what I think:
  
  
  Pros:
  
  - The specs help it to work real smooth, especially the 4gb RAM
  - It`s stylish and has many shortcuts among the keyboard that will help you navigate through the system
  - It`s very complete with webcam, DVD-WR drive, Bluetooth and Wi-fi, slick keyboard, in-built mic, 3 USB and stuff.
  
  
  Cons:
  
  - I`d like at least one more USB and located on the back of the notebook, not on the sides. It makes connecting "permanent" peripherals ugly with lots of wires appearing
  - The ethernet connection is sideways as well which is not good either
  - The notebook comes with Vista. Its ok, but you cannot downgrade it to XP `cause hp didn`t release many drivers to the older windows system yet. So you MUST use vista to enjoy all your new computer has to offer.
  - Vista system can be lazy and slow sometimes, which is very irritating.
  
  
  That`s all I think.
  
  
• Seems Flawless So Far
  By A1TEMNM9ZEOLJ6 on 2008-05-22
  I picked this up at Best Buy for $799 and the performance has been perfect. Speed seems exceptional. Wireless connectivity is very sensitive. Weight is right. It does give off a lot of heat, so beware.
  
  One thing I don't like are the ergonomics of the touchpad. It's a bit scrunched, but this is a 14-inch screen computer, so I guess it goes with the territory. I purchased a wireless mouse and use that mostly anyway.
  
  I haven't begun to tap this unit's full potential yet, but it seems to be positioned to be useful for a long time to come.
  
  
  
• DV2840SE Laptop
  By AMGYXUPXP5UKN on 2008-06-02
  I've had this laptop for a month now and I couldn't be happier.Bought this for a super price ($820) after rebate from Amazon. This laptop is fully loaded with 250GB hard Drive 4GB Ram, Wireless ABGN with Bluetooth. Remote Control and beautiful finish with a cool design. Machine is very fast and stylish. Battery life with the standard battery is only a couple of hours. Laptop does get a bit warm on the bottom, but not as hot as my 4 year old Mac Powerbook. The only thing missing from this machine is an HDMI connection which I would have liked. Reality was, that I would not really use it that much anyway and there is still RGB output and S Video. I hear HP tech support is lousy but hopefully this laptop won't need support.
  
  
• Perfect Graduation Gift
  By A2WQNZXTRTEMSR on 2008-05-14
  I recently purchased this computer for my high school graduate. She will be taking it off to college in the fall. She loves the cool design, the entertainment functions and the great speed.
  
  
• HP DV Series
  By A236M95ZYWC0O9 on 2008-06-21
  I like the shape of this laptop but the shape is not every thing, i bought 5 laptops of the same seires and all of them have the same following problems:
  
  1- HP DV find it difficult to communicate with encrypted wireless router .. i konw it is a windows vista issue but i face this problem in HP more than Toshiba or Acer.
  2- The mouse and keyboard sensitivity is very bad, for example if i want to write www.amazon.com i discoverd that i only print ww.aazo.om with a lot of letters gone.
  
  This was the major problem in HP DV Series and the overall system is good.
  
  
  
  
• Customer service is not good
  By A2F536JCPZ5D06 on 2008-05-07
  Following in the pattern of everything conceptualize in America but made in CHINA stay with SONY or TOSHIBA. Bought a computer from AMAZON, first they sent me the wrong computer second three months later the keyboard stop working, since I took my laptop to Costa Rica my WARANNTY IS NOT VALID even thought they have outsource a large part of Customer support in Costa Rica, and they have a huge service center in Costa Rica simple they wont help me out, HOW can a company this large abandonded a customer with out any resposibility. HP is a multinational with out any respest......! I am ambarassed to say come from the bay area as well as this multinational company. Both friends who work in Costa Rica and San Jose California for HP said HOW COULD I have bought HP....! I wanted to give it a try and buy ¨American(made in china¨).
  
  
• First 2 days - Great so far but...
  By A17DE6B8T0ZNRE on 2008-05-25
  Great notebook so far... but the blue Status led sockets (power, charge, hard disk) are sharp and keep scraping my wrists when typing. Also the keyboard to the right where the arrow keys are if you repeatedly press the "down arrow" key or the "right arrow" key; it feels as if the keyboard is not screwed down or it's just "slotted" in kind of "floating". Any other owners have this issue? Also the battery pack is shaky... not tripping off or anything but it's shaky.
  
  
• King of Kings!!!
  By A3CQU6Z7G8INSV on 2008-07-08
  This comment I'm going to write in Spanish.
  
  La HP Pavilion dv2840se Special Edition Notebook PC simplemente es excepcional. Escribo desde Perú y les digo que cualquier comentario positivo acerca de ella, no es suficiente. Cada detalle en esta computadora indica que HP ha puesto delicadeza y esmero en su construcción, comenzando por su acabado externo (Verve) de alto brillo, con ricos matices en bronce y elementos de diseño orgánico.
  
  Tiene un procesador AMD de doble núcleo que, en relación precio - desempeño, no tiene que envidiar a sus pares de Intel. Gracias a la tecnología HyperTransport cuenta con un bus de 1600 MHz que le permite decirle adiós a los famosos "cuellos de botella" del que adolece la marca rival. Al fin y al cabo, no sirve de nada tener un Ferrari Enzo si lo vamos a rodar por un camino rural, angosto y sin asfaltar. Nunca explotaríamos todo el potencial que puede brindar la máquina. Análogamente, no podríamos aprovechar toda la potencia de este excelente procesador si no contamos con un bus que le permita desempeñarse a toda su capacidad.
  
  Por otro lado, los 4 GB de memoria RAM la hacen ideal no solo para navegar por Internet, sino que, permite ejecutar múltiples programas al mismo tiempo sin afectar el rendimiento del sistema. Todo esto hace gala del excelente desempeño multitarea que ofrecen los sistemas AMD.
  
  Cabe mencionar que su disco duro con 250 GB de almacenamiento se encuentra dentro de lo razonable, dadas las necesidades del usuario de hoy, que gusta de grabar grandes cantidades de datos. Lo que si no me parece muy bueno en este aspecto es que la partición de recuperación quita casi 12 GB para almacenar los archivos de recuperación del sistema, los cuales solo ocupan dos tercios de dicha partición.
  
  Mención destacable es para el apartado gráfico. Hablo de la nVidia GeForce Go 7150M, que hoy por hoy es la mejor GPU integrada. Mucho mejor que su par de Intel, el Graphics Media Accelerator X3100. Cabe resaltar que, debido a la gran cantidad de memoria RAM, el sistema le asigna 1071 MB como memoria de gráficos a la GPU, lo que le permite hacer uso de la interfaz Aero con agilidad. Claro, siempre y cuando el uso al que se le destine sea netamente profesional, ya que si de juegos se trata, entonces su desempeño no es tan destacable como el de un sistema con gráficos discreto, por ejemplo el nVidia GeForce 8600M. La computadora posee salidas VGA y S-Video, un estándar en la industria de portátiles. Lo que haría falta, siendo muy necesario en estos días, es una salida HDMI, dado el uso masivo de dispositivos (LCD) con dicha característica.
  
  La pantalla brinda imágenes precisas y nítidas, con un alto nivel de brillo y profundo contraste. Las pantallas de las Sony Vaio pueden llevarles la delantera a las de las HP Pavilion, pero no por mucho. Además, en el marco se incluye una webcam de 1.3 megapíxeles que resulta ideal cuando deseamos usar la mensajería instantánea, ya que capta tanto fotos como vídeo de una excelente calidad. También en el marco, custodiando a la webcam, se ubican un par de micrófonos que hacen más amenas las conversaciones y tienen un gran alcance, si se configuran de forma adecuada.
  
  En el plano de la conectividad, esta computadora es de las pocas que incluye los estándares 802.11a/b/g/n y Bluetooth en un mismo equipo. Dicho de otro modo, no hay excusa para decir que no había forma de comunicarse con el mundo. Tengo un Access Point (AP) en casa y esta computadora capta la señal hasta en los lugares más recónditos de mi domicilio. En las aulas de la universidad ocurre lo mismo, la señal es captada con intensidad, a pesar que el AP más cercano está separado por algunas paredes de concreto.
  
  El multilector de tarjetas lee los formatos más populares. El control remoto (el cual se puede esconder dentro de la ranura ExpressCard) es de suma utilidad y tiene un largo alcance. He grabado CDs y DVDs sin problema alguno, aunque hasta ahora no he utilizado la característica LightScribe.
  
  El tiempo de duración de la batería de 6 celdas me parece corto. No llega ni a las 3 horas. Recomiendo que adquieran una batería de 12 celdas, si fuese posible, sobretodo si son usuarios que andan en constante movimiento. En caso de tenerla conectada a la toma AC pueden experimentar un incremento en la temperatura, por lo cual no tienen que alarmarse siempre que no le obstruyan los conductos de ventilación. Este ligero calentamiento no es una anomalía sino una prueba de que la computadora, con un suministro abundante de energía, deja de ahorrar recursos y pone en funcionamiento todo su potencial.
  
  El sistema operativo Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit con el Service Pack 1 es el indicado para aprovechar toda la cantidad de memoria RAM que incluye este equipo. Lo que si resulta un tanto desagradable, es que HP incluya muchos programas con licencia limitada o de prueba, algunos de ellos innecesarios y hasta molestos.
  
  En conclusión, como profesional de las TI y habiendo sido propietario de otras HP, afirmo y reafirmo que la dv2840se, libra por libra, es la mejor de su categoría, una portátil de muy altas prestaciones a un precio asequible al consumidor.
  
  

• Hewlett Packard Accessory Bundle

• Targus TCM004US Messenger 15.4" Notebook Case
• HP Pavilion DV6880SE 15.4-inch Special Edition Laptop (1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5550 Processor, 3 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, Blu Ray Drive, Vista Premium)
• Western Digital My Passport Essential 320GB USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive (Midnight Black)
• Logitech V220 Cordless Optical Mouse for Notebooks
• HP Pavilion Artist Edition DV2890NR 14.1-inch Laptop (Intel Core 2 Duo T5550 Processor, 3 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, Vista Premium)