HP Pavilion DV4-2161NR 14.1-Inch Laptop (Digital Plaid)
- Intel Core i3-330M Processor (2.13 GHz, 3 MB L3 Cache)
- 4 GB DDR3 System Memory (2 DIMM) (expandable to 8 GB)
- 500GB (7200RPM) Hard Drive (SATA), LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD±R/RW with Double Layer Support
- Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, * Up to 4.25 Hours of Battery Life
- 14.1″ Diagonal WXGA HD HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800), Intel HD Graphics with up to 1696MB Total Available Graphics Memory
Rating: 
(out of 16 reviews)
List Price: $ 970.00
Price: $ 679.99
HP G60-630US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
- Intel Pentium Dual Core Processor T4400 (2.2 GHz, 1 MB L2 Cache, 800 MHz FSB)
- 3GB DDR2 System Memory (2 DIMM) (expandable to 4 GB)
- 320GB (5400RPM) Hard Drive (SATA), LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD±R/RW with Double Layer Support
- Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, * Up to 3.75 Hours of Battery Life
- 15.6″ Diagonal High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1366×768),
- Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500M (shared) with up to 1309MB total available graphics memory
Rating: (out of 29 reviews)
List Price: $ 836.00
Price: $ 509.98
HP Pavilion DV6-2162NR 15.6-Inch Black Laptop–Up to 4.25 Hours of Battery Life
- Intel Core i3-350M processor (2.26 GHz, 3MB L3 Cache)
- 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 DIMM) (expandable to 8 GB)
- 500GB (7200RPM) Hard Drive (SATA), SuperMulti 8X DVD±R/RW with Double Layer Support
- Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, * Up to 4.25 Hours of Battery Life
- 15.6″ Diagonal High-Definition LED HP BrightView Display (1366×768), Intel HD Graphics with up to 1696MB Total Available Graphics Memory
Rating: 
(out of 26 reviews)
List Price: $ 1,007.00
Price: $ 699.99
HP Pavilion DV6-2150US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
- Intel Core i3-330M Processor (2.13 GHz, 3 MB L3 Cache)
- 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 DIMM) (expandable to 8 GB)
- 320GB (7200RPM) Hard Drive (SATA), LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD±R/RW with Double Layer Support
- Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, * Up to 4.25 Hours of Battery Life
- 15.6″ Diagonal High-Definition LED HP BrightView Display (1366×768), Intel HD Graphics with up to 1696MB Total Available Graphics Memory
Rating: (out of 14 reviews)
List Price: $ 1,007.00
Price: $ 649.00
Review by Jessica L. Milbrett for HP Pavilion DV4-2161NR 14.1-Inch Laptop (Digital Plaid)
Rating:
I’ve owned my computer for almost a week now, and I’m absolutely loving it. For the money I almost bought an Hp with a T6600 processor and 320GB hard drive etc etc. I bought this for the same price as the other hp and got MORE memory and a better processor. Why wouldn’t you want an upgrade of 180 GB hard drive for free? If your a student and like to have lots of music, videos and play light gaming and still have tons of room for your homework and projects, this is a great computer.
I also love how its 14″ monitor, so I can take it anywhere and fit it into any bag. It has a very sleek and glossy exterior. A little bit of work to keep clean, but that’s no reason not to buy a computer. The speakers are great for a laptop. I was actually surprised how clear sounds and music was. As with most HP laptops, you get the lightscribe burner, which is great, but it also comes with a disc replacement thing so if you don’t care to use a disc drive, you can remove it and save some weight. But really it doesn’t weigh that much.
The only downfall I have with this computer is the slightly low battery life. I think a little bit of that might be my fault cause I just plugged in and played rather than letting the battery charge fully first before I started playing with it.
Great laptop for the price.
Review by Miguel A. Atuesta for HP Pavilion DV4-2161NR 14.1-Inch Laptop (Digital Plaid)
Rating:
I had have this computer for a month now, so here goes nothing:
Pros:
- Excellent design
- 4GB Ram, enough for most tasks
- 500GB hard drive, for me that’s enough for now
- Small size and little weight (even lighter when DVD is removed, which is an excellent feature in itself)
- Windows 7 (better than Vista, we’ll see about XP)
- EXCELLENT PRICE
Cons:
- Battery life is about 2 hours, bound to decrease within 6 months, not on par with most other laptops this size.
- Touchpad really has a mind of its own on ocassion.
- Glossy design is beautiful, but it’s also a fingerprint magnet
- Opening it is a cumbersome task, not really bad, but a little.
- Windows 7 “64bit” – Some old programs I use refuse to work in such environment.
All in all a solid laptop, with excellent features (and minor inconveniences), but please, HP, this is my third HP laptop and the batteries have never been your forte. (yet I keep buying HP) DO SOMETHING!
UPDATE: The battery won’t last for more than an hour and a half, so I took two stars off my review for this major inconvenience. Sorry to say this, but I no longer recommend this purchase.
Review by J. Hamilton for HP Pavilion DV4-2161NR 14.1-Inch Laptop (Digital Plaid)
Rating:
I’ve had the HP DV4-2161NR for a few weeks now. Super fast, no problem running multiple programs at once. The screen size is perfect, not too big and not too small, and the weight is perfect as well. The only problem I have with this laptop is the mouse pad area. I guess as with any laptop, the mouse seems to have a mind of it’s own a lot. Sometimes the mouse won’t even move at all when you are moving your finger on the pad. It jumps around and randomly selects things when you didn’t want it to. I’ve noticed the same problem with my friends HP laptops as well. This is the only problem I have had with the computer so far though. I would still recommend this computer to anybody who wants a good quality HP product.
Review by M. Priest for HP Pavilion DV4-2161NR 14.1-Inch Laptop (Digital Plaid)
Rating:
I switched from a Mac to this PC, and I’m very glad I did. Windows 7 is pretty great. There’s a decent amount of junk software preloaded, but also some useful software (media organizers/ players, etc), and useless but fun games.
Other than that, what’s not to like, especially now that it’s $50 less than the $700 I paid for it? It’s 14″, so it’s transportable. Has a DVD drive, a ton of memory, is really fast. Multiple programs run easily. Battery lasts about three hours, but can last longer with wireless/ speakers turned off.
In contrast to some negative reviews, I have had zero problems with the computer overheating. The only reasons I can think to not purchase it are if you wanted either Bluetooth or Bluray capabilities directly installed, as it doesn’t have either.
Review by Tanya Miller for HP Pavilion DV4-2161NR 14.1-Inch Laptop (Digital Plaid)
Rating:
I recently purchased this Notebook and I have to say I have no major complaints as yet. Everything works as it should and the size is perfect for me. I’m about to travel out of the country with it next week and to me that will be the real test. I had an old HP laptop before that was so heavy carrying it around was more of a burden than my luggage!
I would say that it is a little heavier than I expected but again it’s nothing compared to my last one so I’m fine with the weight. The only thing I am not sure about is the Microsoft Office Programs that come with it. Everytime I open Word 2007 it keeps asking me for some code that is supposed to be located on the side of the box that the program came in… I check the box that the Notebook came in… there ain’t no such box or code in there… So far I can just close the prompt box and use the program but it is annoying.
Other than that, it works great and I’m loving it!
I’f you’re like me and jsut need something portable and practical, this Notebook is a good fit.
Review by Benjamin D. Kittrell for HP G60-630US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
Rating:
This laptop worked perfectly right out of the box! I had absolutely no problems setting this machine up or in getting it to connect to my network. It does everything that it was advertised as being able to do. Even the built in webcam works great. If there is even a single negative , it’s that it comes with a lot of superfluous HP software. Other than that, I am incredibly pleased with this laptop.
Review by MB for HP G60-630US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
Rating:
Overall, I’m very happy with this laptop. Works great, is fast, clear picture, and love the Windows 7 vs. my old Vista. Only gripe is the battery lasts under 2 hours with normal use – not the 3.75 hours listed. We keep ours plugged in mostly, and use on the go as necessary. Would buy similar one again, just upgrade the battery.
Review by M. Webster for HP G60-630US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
Rating:
I have only had this laptop for a week and so far it has been working very nicely. I have always been an HP fan so I love it even more. I love the look and feel. The graphics is wonderful and the brightview screen enhances the colors. All the features makes it very exciting to use and I love the fact that it has a built in webcam and wireless network ready. I have also notice that it is not a noisy machine in which is a plus…..thanks its wonderful!
Review by Temporary Texan for HP G60-630US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
Rating:
The internal microphone is broken, and not just in the one I bought. According to HP, it’s broken in the entire G60 series of laptops. I’ve had mine for one week; I discovered the microphone was broken on the second day, and I’ve been talking with HP’s case managers about my options. Looks like I’m going to return it, because there’s no fix in the works at HP. And who needs a laptop that you can’t use for videoconferencing, Skype, Gmail Videochat, and so on? It’s a shame, too, because the laptop is otherwise great.
Why is HP still selling this product when they know it’s dysfunctional?
Review by Katrina L. Hughes for HP G60-630US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
Rating:
I purchased this after having two computers die in one week! I was able to find this one on sale locally, a bit less expensive than Amazon and available immediately.
Overall I am happy with my purchase. Good size and speed. Having said that, my computing needs are basic. Mainly I use it for on-line research, e-mail, and school. When I realized that I would have to upgrade OS from Vista to Windows 7, I was a bit worried about compatibility issues but I have easily found all the driver updates I need online. I have been happily surprised with Windows 7 overall. It does not seem to be much different from Vista and has some cool visual upgrades. I gave a four star rating because my other computers were made by HP and in my opinion died before their time. So far so good…
Review by J. DREIER for HP Pavilion DV6-2162NR 15.6-Inch Black Laptop–Up to 4.25 Hours of Battery Life
Rating:
I bought this HP for my wife to replace her 3 year old Toshiba. It’s 100% her computer but she places everything technical in our lives on me and then holds me accountable for its performance. My wife is brutal on electronics and her laptop is no exception. The Toshiba had a VERY hard life and ticked along perfectly until the past few months. After wasting $200 on a failed repair (hard drive) I decided it was cheaper to replace it than to nurse it along. I initially went shopping for another Toshiba and frankly, I feel like I would be writing a 5 star review for a Toshiba if it hadn’t come down to a $150 price difference. I was able to use the competing Toshiba at a retailer, but when I went to Amazon I found this HP. Nearly identical in performance and appearance; aside from a couple of keyboard control features they were the same.
I bought the HP, Amazon shipped it FedEX and it arrived to Fairbanks Alaska in less than 48 hours (used standard shipping, nothing special). She loves it, charged it up and it performs flawlessly and much better than my 8 month old Dell XPS (Argh, never again…long story). I have not attempted to load Office 2007 yet, but suspect from my research on 64 bit systems, it will work fine. Neither one of us cares for the bubble scheme and thinks it detracts from the professional look of the rest of the finish (petty, I know).
The mouse pad works perfectly and I particularly like the keyboard layout and feel of the keys. I REALLY like the number pad without having to buy a 17+ inch system which is of course standard now.
4 USB ports, 1 HDMI output, a great LCD screen and Graphics card…zero to complain about. Oh, and Windows 7 works very well.
I’ll report back if it doesn’t hold up to the flagrant neglect my wife typically inflicts on her electronics, but as of for now she is rightfully treating like a shiny new sports car!
Review by Felix Felicis for HP Pavilion DV6-2162NR 15.6-Inch Black Laptop–Up to 4.25 Hours of Battery Life
Rating:
Alright, so I’m 26 and a student, and I had been making due with a old Dell Dimension for the last 3 years, so hopelessly out of date that I wont spare you the details. I needed an upgrade and wanted a laptop in the $600-800 range that had a speedy processor, ability to handle videos of all types smoothly (esp. HD), enough RAM to multi-task with heavy programs and not break a sweat, lots of slots USB and otherwise and 500 gigs of space. When I saw the specs on this Pavillion it met all my qualifications, with good battery life for my traveling (I go from FL to NY often) and a nice look and smooth functionality/keyboard to boot.
Obviously, buying a laptop is not a light consideration, especially when you have been working toward it for a while like me. So naturally upon booting up I immediately put it through the ringer. I loaded a printer, scanner and second monitor into the USBs, then used Nero to burn a DVD while watching Futurama on the monitor and Inglorious Basterds playing in 1080p on the main screen. Additionally I had iTunes doing a mass conversion while scanning some images in the background, with BitTorrent and Limerwire downloading and WinAVI converter making a .VOB as well. I had NO problems whatsoever = no lag, no image interlacing, no errors or delays in the converting/burning, no internet problems, no scanning issues or anything. That immediately sold it for me; if it can handle all the tasks I use most frequently all at once and look terrific doing it, who am I to complain?
4 GB of RAM is plenty, and though I prefer AMD in general the Intel i3 chipset is powerful and well worth it over Core Duo processors. Everything looks gorgeous, especially vivid colors in HD – South Park is a good example. The HDMI exporting is wonderful and looks great on my big screen. I’m never a big fan of proprietary software, but HP has a number of useful programs on here. The Mediasmart app is really good for HD, much better than Media Player in my estimation. The IDT sound options are terrific, especially for creating an artificial depth of field out of tiny Altec Lansing speakers – not bad themselves, by the way. The pad is great, with a scroll bar built in, the keyboard is big and has a number pad, a mic jack and two headphone jacks are in the front, and it’s not too heavy either – I mean I could go on and on but you get the point. The only thing remotely disappointing was the webcam but honestly I don’t care about it one iota.
This machine is sleek, speedy and strong with lots of options and will definitely be in use for a long time for me at least. Highly recommended.
Review by K. Carpenter for HP Pavilion DV6-2162NR 15.6-Inch Black Laptop–Up to 4.25 Hours of Battery Life
Rating:
Well I just got my notebook in the mail today but so far I am very happy. I like Windows 7, and the webcam works great. I used it to talk with my family and my kids had a lot of fun using the special effects with the webcam when we were using Skype. The system starts up fast which is a really good thing even after loading all my stuff to the notebook I had it all done in a few hours. I did a lot of research before I purchased this and for the price you can’t go wrong.
Review by a reader for HP Pavilion DV6-2162NR 15.6-Inch Black Laptop–Up to 4.25 Hours of Battery Life
Rating:
I picked this up at another store, the dv6-2155dx, and I was a little unsure of getting the i3 processor instead of a model with the i5 or i7. I’m sure those are even faster but I can say for sure, this laptop is the quickest, most responsive, of any laptop I’ve had and I go through a lot by frequently upgrading and selling or loaning my previous.
In this case I wanted to get a machine built with Windows 7 instead of trying to install it on my previous Vista system.
Standout features for me so far:
* Very solid and comfortable (and quiet) keyboard with lots of space, very ergonomic.
* The fact that it has a number pad area like a desktop keyboard.
* The widescreen performance and look. It just totally feels like a 17″ screen even though its not.
* Speed, as I mentioned.
* Startup time is excellent. I can open and use an application in < 30-secs. I can also start many applications at once without it skipping a beat.
* Quiet and speedy CD-rom.
* Nice 500GB hard drive
Potential drawbacks.
* The i3 is very new but also the bottom of the tier of this generation of intel processors. It might become dated or bog down after I add a lot more data/programs to the system. The 4GB of RAM is a big help in keeping things moving.
Overall I am very pleased with what I got. It’s very solid feeling and very quiet and doesn’t get hot at all.
Review by J. Tanenbaum for HP Pavilion DV6-2162NR 15.6-Inch Black Laptop–Up to 4.25 Hours of Battery Life
Rating:
This is a very nice laptop. Here are the highlights:
The Core i3 runs cool and fast
The 15 inch screen is bright and clear
The 500GB hard drive is a good size and is also 7200 rpm (many laptops in this price range are only 5400rpm)
The keyboard is comfortable and includes a number pad. At the top is a smooth touchpad style volume control/mute button.
The synaptics trackpad is somehow different than others that I’m used to, being made of a shiny silver material, but works just like any other; it has a dedicated vertical scroll area, but does not seem to support two finger scrolling, even after installing the driver support for it.
Not too much preinstalled junkware to remove.
Good amount of ports (4 USBs, one which handles eSata, plus an HDMI port) in addition to the standards you’d expect on a laptop.
Speakers are nothing special, which is to be expected, but the computer comes with a small remote control that can be used to control audio and video playback. I haven’t messed around with it much, but it might only work on the preinstalled HP media software. The remote can be conveniently stored in the express card slot on the left side of the computer. There is a nice dedicated volume/mute
Fairly lightweight.
Wireless-N capability
Negatives? Not much really.
It won’t handle heavy duty gaming, but that’s not what it’s designed for.
This model doesn’t include Lightscribe or bluetooth, which is important to some people.
You can definitely see fingerprints and I could do without the bubble graphics, but it’s still a very sleek looking computer.
I compared this to a number of other similarly priced laptops (mostly other HPs, Dells, and Sonys) and feel pretty confident that I made the right decision.
Review by Dave for HP Pavilion DV6-2150US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
Rating:
Note: since I wrote a few reviews for some very simliar DV6 models Amazon has cross posted all those reviews.
I posted a long review of the current crop of DV6-21xx series of notebooks here: HP Pavilion DV6-2170US. The models are mostly the same with different CPUs (one has a discrete graphics chip). All include the newest mobile processors from Intel which eclipse the older Core2 line in terms of performance. Those with integrated graphics include Intel’s new HD graphics which are also a big improvement over Intel’s old 4500HD graphics (which are still inferior to discrete graphics chips from AMD/ATI and Nvidia when it come to 3D gaming). I would suggest avoiding the older DV6 13xx and 12xx series unless you can get a really good price (which may happen as HP discontinues them).
Here is the summary of models I posted in that review:
If you’re staring at the various DV6 models trying to decide which one to buy my advice is (based on the models available when I wrote this):
- For home users who aren’t gamers you can save about $100 if you go with the HP Pavilion DV6-2150US 15.6-Inch Laptop which combines a Core i3 with Win 7 Premium and a 6 cell battery. The performance for non-gaming software will be very close to the more expensive i5 models and you’ll save money by going with Win 7 Premium and a smaller battery.
- If you need good battery life, run higher end software, or like to game a bit go for the HP Pavilion DV6-2170US which combines the Core i5 with the 12 cell battery. The Intel graphics aren’t the best but it’s a big improvement over past products. This is the model I think has the best balance of features.
- If gaming matters more than battery life you should probably look at other laptop lines but if you are sold on the DV6 go for the HP Pavilion DV6-2190US which has a quad CPU Core i7 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 230M graphics. It’s only got a 6 cell battery and that CPU and graphics are going to drain it quickly. You’ll pay about $200 over this model.
- If you have a lot of older software consider the HP Pavilion DV6-2157SB Small Business Edition which comes with Windows 7 Pro (which can run older software on a WinXP kernel). It has a Core i3 and a 6 cell battery. It also has a different finish (“Plaid Mocha”) but I haven’t seen it so I can’t comment on it.
Review by Dave Mac for HP Pavilion DV6-2150US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
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Been shopping for a new computer for over a year now as I could no longer put up with my slow-as-molasses 2003 Gateway. Shoulda’ tossed it long ago, except I’m on a budget. I saw this HP Pavilion DV6 1250us at a huge (nearly 20%!!) discount at one of the chain office supply stores so I jumped on it. I’m completely knocked-out by how fast this thing is – runs like its hair’s on fire! I timed it at 1 min 20 seconds to completely start-up, connect to wi-fi and be ready to go. My 20GB+ library of iTunes opens in about 5 seconds flat.
My favorite features are; the jaw-dropping sharp, bright, vivid display, next generation faster memory (4GB DDR3), faster than usual 7200rpm hard drive (320GB), and the excellent integrated graphics card (with 1.6 GB memory!!) for watching smoooth on-line video (hulu etc.). I find Windows 7 to be not so different from XP. It has wireless N – glad I thought ahead when I replaced my router a year ago. Lots of USB ports (3 + 1 combo actually), and a little remote control that stores in the expansion slot, though I’m not sure how useful that will be… Battery life was good (2-1/2 hrs without economizing, after running it down to 5% & recharging it a few times to break it in).
Did some research and found that this brand new i3 processor (released Jan 10, 2010) operates similar to a quad-core, so it’s not too easily bogged down. Now the Norton Security Suite that I get free from my cable company runs in the background and I don’t even know it’s there. My old computer would sputter and fuss for 20 minutes or so just getting an update.
So far, it runs like a champ with anti-virus going, burning a dvd, multiple tabs in Firefox open, and torrent down & uploads going all at once. Also easily handles Word documents with lots of artwork, which used to be a problem for me. Took me awhile to connect to my home wi-fi because I didn’t realize you first have to turn on the wireless via a touch-switch above the keyboard. Set-up wizard and on-screen prompts did not make that clear, but I figured it out before long. Wasn’t crazy about the case design but it’s not so bad… looks like rings left by a glass on a wood table. HP even includes a little polishing cloth to keep it shiny – a nice touch.
Overall, I’m thrilled with it. Cost half of what I payed for my Gateway in 2003 and I feel like I finally have a REAL computer that I’m confident will be current for at least a few years. I highly recommend you pick one up if you have the means!
Review by Richard Lord for HP Pavilion DV6-2150US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
Rating:
I just got this and it booted right up, the screen quality is very nice, much better than the older style of laptops with the satin finish. This high glass finish really makes the screen stand out. I’ve used laptops by dell, lenovo and gateway in the past so my first impressions are below.
The laptop is not heavy, very reasonable and despite the 6 cell battery, most times I’m plugged in so it’s not a big deal to me. I haven’t timed out the battery yet but so far as with any new laptop is seems to do just fine. I wish it came with a cover or bag of some sort until I get my laptop bag, but I guess I’ll be careful.
The side connectors are well laid out, I don’t see issues with too much in a spot, it all seems pretty nice. My version did not have a modem (which I hope we don’t need much longer). The one thing I’m trying to determine and it may be my misunderstanding but this should have “N” network wireless ability but when I booted it up, my dual band router only showed the regular G.
The big thing I like is the touch controls of the keyboard layout, everything is touch sensor, no buttons to break. The other thing that I really like is the pc does not get hot like older laptops do. It has no “side vents” for the cpu so it’s clearly a much cooler operations than its earlier laptops. I always had to make sure I powered down the laptops in the bag or they’d overheat. With this style I’d be surprised if I had an issue. It comes with a little video remote that is nice if you are watching movies on a flight or don’t want to mess with the keyboard. The hdmi on the side probably would be of good use if showing videos that way.
I personally don’t care for the “bubble” design on the black finish, it could have been left alone without that stuff but oh well. As I work with it more I’ll be able to post more but it’s a very nice laptop and they even have a 50 dollar rebate on some locations.
As far as gaming, I haven’t tried it so far but I’d suspect in most average games this I3 should do fine. I’m sure on call of duty versions it probably will not work well but I have a home desktop pc for that kind of gaming.
Review by Ken E for HP Pavilion DV6-2150US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
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HP 2150us – Pros – Super fast processor. Simple things like opening the contral panel to access add/remove programs only takes a second or two. All the programs appear immediately. I had to wait on my last computer for the programs to load. Everything moves very fast. Attractive gloss black that surprisingly doesn’t pick up fingerprints and smudges as fast as I feared. When they do appear, they rub off easily.
Cons- the keyboard – don’t know exactly what’s different but after 2 weeks of heavy daily use, I’m still not adjusted to it. It feels like it’s layout is one key too far to the left causing your fingers to land on the wrong keys. It is much different from the HP I replaced. Also the sound is very weak. It is hard to hear unless the volume is pushed up much farther on the scale than I am used to doing.
I moved from XP to Windows 7 and am still flubbing around trying to find everything but the computer itself is a great product and a very good buy.
Review by Boogaloo for HP Pavilion DV6-2150US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
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A less expensive laptop with a more dated dual core processor would have nicely served my business needs, but when a sale price brings this puppy closer to $650 or less, it really justifies going with this HP’s Intel i3 processor for the enhanced processing power, especially when dabbling in personal multi-media. It’s a feature rich machine that offers some ability to grow with your needs because it is so well ported. It comes with 4-USB, an external eSATA to attach a speedy external backup/storage drive, an HDMI port and companion laptop remote control, external monitor, 5-in one card reader (ooops, not Compact Flash, regrettably), ExpressCard 54 slot, 100-mbps RJ45 and Wireless N Draft networking, Bluetooth, and capped by a double-layer DVD/CD read/write drive.
Where the rubber meets the road, I was nicely impressed with how well the N-Draft wireless adapter downloaded a 311-MB printer driver software suite file … less than 10-minutes … and I finally get wireless service anywhere in our single story home through several walls. Hot dog, Cat5 is now dead. I have since teamed it up with a Seagate BlackArmor external backup/storage drive that promises up to 3-GB/S eSATA transfer. However, I’m using it via USB at this writing and am greatly pleased at how fast that connection works, as it is, for basic backup and off-machine file storage. I likely won’t go eSATA, but can.
I’m not a ‘touch-pad’ fan, using it only when a wireless mouse isn’t possible. This one is like any other and I find the right-side touch-scroll bar to work when I don’t want it to and to not work when I do. No doubt that’s a combination of me and the nature of that annoying little beasty.
The 15-inch class screen on this version is just right for these 60-year old eyes that have worn glasses since dirt was made, but I have a hit or two. First, it was dramatically bright out of the box with blacks washed out and the light-blue text so prevalent on websites very washed out and difficult to read. The good news is that the Intel graphics driver offered the needed adjustments to bring the brightness and contrasts under control and it even includes a text enhancement routine that capably took the harshness out of black text as delivered. It still displays digital photos with way too much brightness and I have not been able to get it under control. For basic multimedia / DVD movies and such the display is still serviceable with sharp imaging. Other versions of this model can be equipped with cable/satellite/off-air TV tuners and connections.
HP’s bloat-ware was within reason and largely ranted on with on-line backup offers. Windows 7 Home Premium now comes with scheduled system image and data file backup routines, but one must upgrade to PRO in order to back up over a network. It will work with an attached external drive, so the on-line vendors are now relegated to those worried about fire and theft. Win 7 networking is much improved and connected to all our shared resources within our home network without complaint. However, it now comes configured with a ‘Homegroup’ system that has yet to make any sense to me over the “workgroup” method, which is now somewhat buried in the operating system.
HP’s included MediaSmart software also doesn’t make intuitive sense especially with the photo display/editing features for basic snapshots. Picasa is still hard to beat and the serious photos still go through Canon’s Digital Photo Pro. I also have a problem with an HP ‘Web Printing’ plug-in for Internet Explorer. This piece allows for selecting a partial section of a web page screen for printing. However, an HP update for this module has fully and fatally crashed Internet Explorer 8 within a week of buying the laptop. This appears to be limited for reasons unknown since neither HP nor Microsoft has rushed to get it fixed and I didn’t shed much of a tear over losing it as a bloated, boat-anchor browser in favor of Google Chrome. But, for IE8 fans, get this … Microsoft says that IE8 is now an integrated part of the operating system and does NOT offer an IE8 download for WIN 7. As a result, it shall now stay banished.
Windows 7 also provides a relative performance rating routine for computer hardware. At this writing, it is on a scale of 1-to-7.9 with design for future updating. It rates individual hardware areas for performance and gives a score based on the single lowest scoring area … it is NOT an average. I don’t see why you can’t review this score on the store shelves in order to pick a laptop that meets your individual performance needs. This HP rates 4.2 for its “Desktop Graphics” system, which speaks pretty darn well for the rest of the machine. For a gaming screamer laptop, there are different DV6 derivations that score higher, but for a good, well equipped, feature rich system I think it’s fair to say that the DV-2150 is a ‘mainstream’ screamer that does a ton of things exceptionally well under the hyperthread Intel i3 core.