Product Review of the Popular HP Pavilion DV6605US 15.4" Entertainment Laptop

The computer manufacturer HP has recently released a number of notebooks marketed as "entertainment" laptops. Thanks to reasonable pricing and aggressive marketing these notebooks have been a sales success. I became curious about how entertaining they were after reviewing a few of their stats, so I've decided to try a few out. This article is about the HP Pavilion DV6605US 15.4" notebook. I've managed to get my hands on one I'm going to let you know how well it performs for me and if it is worth HP's price. First some of the basics.

Hardware:

Processor: 64-bit 1.8 GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 TK-55

Storage Space: a 160 GB hard drive

RAM: 1GB of RAM (upgradable to a 4GB maximum)

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

Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce Go 7150 graphics (using up to a total of 287 MB of available shared system memory)

Dimensions and weight: 14.0" x 10.1" x 1.6" and weighs in at 6.14lbs.

This notebook has HP's wave imprinted bezel. If you've been looking at notebooks for a while you've undoubtedly seen one of these. If you haven't I would recommend seeing one in person just to ensure that it matches with your personal tastes. This notebook has an average looking clear and bright screen with a glossy finish. It actually has a nice processor in the 1.8GHz AMD. It is unfortunate however that it only has 1GB of RAM. This doesn't allow for the consumer to completely take advantage of all of Vista's visual capabilities. The graphics card is a standard integrated card, don't expect too much. This notebook has average performance. I recommend going through and deleting any unneeded trial-ware. This will greatly increase boot times.

Connectivity:

3 2.0 USB ports (The gold standard in peripheral connectivity use with the likes of mice, thumb drives, 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 out jacks and 1 microphone in jack

Integrated WiFi

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

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

This notebook has average connectivity. It appears that this is a low end example of a wide product line. It is more of an all business notebook then an entertainment machine. I would recommend this notebook for those that are interested in doing more work than anything. Priced at $699 it is a good option for students or professionals who just need something mobile, and little frills (other than music and the occasional movie).