A Laptop Review of the 17" HP Pavilion DV9810US: A Great Desktop Replacement Notebook

Desktop replacements are especially popular this time of year. Students are receiving their acceptance letters to college and parents are beginning to get them stocked up on their materials, and that includes notebooks. I have my hands on the 17" HP Pavilion DV9810US which since it has a display larger than 15" is considered by most a desktop replacement. I'm going to let you know how well it performs and who will likely be pleased with this notebook.

Hardware:

Imaging: A 1 megapixel integrated webcam (producing an image comparable to that of a cellular phone's)

Processor: 64-bit 2.0 GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-60 dual-core

Storage Space: 160 GB hard drive

RAM: 3GB RAM (expandable all the way to a 4 GB maximum)

Optical drive: a CD R/RW with integrated dual-layer DVD +/- buring drive

Graphics Accelerator: Nvidia GeForce Go 7150M graphics (using up to a total of 1071MB of available video memory)

Dimensions: 15.1" x 11.2" x 1.6" and weighs 7.7lbs.

This notebook is fairly powerful which is to be expected from a large desktop replacement. Thanks to the high end hardware the battery life has lasted up to 2.5 hours for me. This is a little better than average for a desktop replacement notebook. So if hard pressed I wouldn't mind taking this on a plane ride or trip, although your legs may fall asleep under the 7.7 pounds of weight. The 3GB of RAM is adequate and allows for Windows Vista to run flawlessly. The storage space on the other hand seems a little light with only 160GBs. If you're really looking for a desktop replacement I would find something with more space.

Connectivity:

Integrated wireless

1 Ethernet port (so that this notebook can connect to wired networks)

4 2.0 USB ports (these are the gold standard of computer connections, to be used to connect digital cameras, printers, and mp3 players)

1 FireWire port (this is used for high speed data transfer between another PC or digital camcorder)

1 S-Video output (designed to be used to connect to projectors or compatible televisions)

1 VGA output (this is a typical monitor connection)

1 ExpressCard Slot (this slot allows for the addition of peripherals like a Bluetooth adapter or cellular modem)

2 audio out / 1 mic in

5 in 1 memory card reader (this is used to directly insert solid state memory from mobile devices into this notebook)

1 56K modem (so that this notebook can dial up to the Internet)

To really have an excellent example of a desktop replacement notebook I would really look for something that has TV tuner and HDMI output. This notebook has neither of these unfortunately. It does however have a great processor and a decent video card meaning it will run smoothly, do plenty of work and play a few games. If you want to watch movies on it as is, you'll have to get used to watching them on the 17" screen. As far as price this notebook comes in at an average online price of $894. This is a decent price for this notebook and I don't expect and drastic price drops in the near future, so if this notebook sounds like everything you need I wouldn't bother hesitating to pull the trigger.