A Review of the 64bit HP Pavilion DV2810US 14.1" Laptop

AMD was the first major processor manufacturer to come out with consumer manufactured 64 bit processor. These notebooks are highly desirable and have had great reviews and successful sales figures. Now that they've been out for a while we're starting to see some drastic price reductions spurring the market even more. I've been lucky enough to get my hands on one of these notebooks; the 64bit HP Pavilion DV2810US 14.1" laptop. I'm going to give it a test drive and let you know how it performs for me. First I'll start with some of the basics.

Hardware:

Imaging: A bezel integrated webcam

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

Storage Space: 250GB hard drive

RAM: 3GB of preinstalled RAM (this can be upgraded to a 4 GB maximum)

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

Graphics Card: A GeForce Go 7150M graphics accelerator (operating with up to 1071MB of available Video RAM)

Dimensions: 13.1" x 9.3" x 1.5" and weighs about 5.2 pounds.

This notebook performs wonderfully. I have had next to no lag while performing a number of general operations like multitasking a number of web pages and operating some of Microsoft's office programs. It also handles gaming quite well for a notebook. The 14.1" screen is clear and crisp with a nice glossy finish. It doesn't easily wash out and is fairly resistant to glare. The notebook itself feels sturdy and is remarkably light weighing in at just over 5lbs.

Connectivity:

Integrated Wireless

1 Ethernet port (so that this notebook can be connected to a wired LAN)

3 2.0 USB ports (to connect things like MP3 players, printers and digital cameras)

1 FireWire port (for high speed data transfer between digital camcorders or other PC's)

1 VGA output (a typical monitor connection)

1 S-video output (typically used to connect to projectors or compatible televisions)

1 ExpressCard slot (designed to add peripherals like a Bluetooth adapter or a cellular modem)

2 audio out / 1 mic in

1 IR receiver (for consumer remote controls)

5 in 1 memory card reader (this is used to directly insert solid state memory from mobile devices like digital cameras or cell phones)

1 56K modem port (so that this notebook can dial up an Internet connection)

This notebook is a great option for the standard notebook consumer. If you're just interested in something to surf the Internet, watch movies, listen to music and do work then it's going to please you. If you're looking for something to edit movies or play graphically intensive games then you'll be let down by this notebook. In the end the average online retail price for this notebook is currently $879, which in my opinion is right on target. If you can wait a while we might see some price reductions on this notebook or comparable models when the market ramps up closer to August.