HP Pavilion DV9535US 17" Entertainment Notebook Review

Desktop replacement notebooks typically start at the 17" display and can get larger. These notebooks often weigh a little more and can be bulkier than their 15.4" counterparts but that extra space often means that manufactures can cram more high performance hardware in there. I've gotten my hands on one of these big guys and have decided to give it a review. First I'll start by going through a few of the basics.

Hardware:

Processor: 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300

Hard Disk: a 160 GB (Serial ATA) hard drive

RAM: 2GB of RAM (this is an un-upgradable maximum)

Optical Drive: A CD R/RW with integrated 8x LightScribe DVD -/+ burner

Graphics Accelerator: Intel GMA X3100 video card with Windows Vista Aero interface support

Dimensions and weight: 15.1" x 11.6" x 1.5" and weighs about 7.7 pounds.

This notebook performs quite well. The Intel powerhouse is very strong and actually allows for some decent battery life. The RAM is adequate for Windows Vista and is maxed out at 2GB. I experienced little lag while performing standard operations on this notebook (multitasking multiple tabbed browsers and Microsoft office programs). The screen on this notebook is very nice. The large 17" LCD delivers a bright crisp image on a glossy screen. The screen seems to resist washing out but does have some glare.

Connectivity:

Integrated Wireless

1 Ethernet port (to be used to connect this notebook to a wired network)

3 2.0 USB ports (The gold standard in peripheral connectivity use with the likes of mice, keyboards, printers, and iPods)

1 FireWire port (these ports are used for high speed data transfer typically between digital camcorders or other compatible PCs)

1 VGA port (this is a typical monitor connection)

1 S-Video port (this is used as a typical projector connection, and sometimes a compatible TV)

1 ExpressCard slot (to add temporary hardware like a Bluetooth adapter or cellular modem)

2 audio output jacks and 1 microphone input

5 in 1 memory card reader (these slots allow users to directly insert the memory from their mobile devices into the notebook)

The connectivity is great although I would have liked to have seen a high definition output of some sort to really exapand this notebook to the living room setting. Right now it is more strictly a desktop replacement. It will make most casual consumers happy but the high end gamer or graphics designer will be disappointed. The average online price comes in at about $1200 which is only slightly higher than I would expect considering it's capabilities. I would expect this notebook to see some price reductions soon. I feel like it may be using older hardware considering that the RAM cannot be upgrade beyond 2GB (motherboards capable of up to 4GB is currently the standard).