A Review of the High End HP Pavilion DV6870US 15.4" Notebook: Performance for Pennies

Entertainment notebooks aren't just found in the 17"+ category any longer. We are starting to see more and more feature packed notebooks that can be taken on the road. Fortunately we're also see this in the moderate price category meaning that about any consumer can pick one of these highly mobile yet performance oriented notebooks up. I have gotten my hands on one of these notebooks produced by HP; the Pavilion DV6870US. I'm going to give it a brief review but let's start with what it's packing.

Hardware:

Processor: 64-bit 2.2 GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-60 dual-core

Storage Space: 320 GB hard drive

RAM: 3 GB RAM (upgradable to a 4 GB maximum)

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

Graphics Accelerator: Nvidia GeForce 8400M GS graphics (using up to 1535MB of dedicated and shared memory)

Dimensions: 14.0" x 10.1" x 1.5" and weighs approximately 6 pounds

While these notebooks have mobility and performance, unfortunately these notebooks end up lacking in the battery life category somewhat. Mine has been getting an average of around 2 hours of battery life. That is the most surprising thing that I've found so I thought I'd open with that. The processor is strong and I love the ample amount of memory with both the 3GB of RAM and the 320GB massive hard drive. The graphics card is also a great addition allowing for some games to be played. This notebook is outfitted with windows vista and runs it flawlessly. The screen is bright and crisp with very little washout in strong light. The only negative I have found is the battery life, or lack there of.

Connectivity:

Integrated WiFi

Integrated Bluetooth

1 Ethernet port (so that you can connect to a wired LAN)

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

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

1 HDMI output (to used to connect to a high definition TV)

1 VGA output (a typical monitor connection)

1 Svideo output (to be used to connect to a projector or even a compatible television)

1 ExpressCard slot (this can be used to add peripherals like a cellular modem)

2 Audio out / 1 Mic in

5 in 1 memory card reader (use this to directly insert solid state memory from portable devices into the notebook)

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

This notebook is packed with features. I love that it has an HDMI port, when that is combined with the strong performance of the processor and graphics card it makes for an excellent game playing experience on the big screen in the living room. The fact that this is a 15" notebook really means that it will make the working professional as well as the student happy. I would be hard pressed to find someone who could be disappointed with this HP, and for $1050 it is priced just right. I believe if you shop around you won't be likely to find a better deal.