HP Pavilion dv5000 mini review

I just sold of my desktop to free up some room and decided to go the laptop route. My laptop search has been going on for about a month. I first started out with a Dell Insprion 6400, but after having major problems (Screen issues, burner problem, HD click noises) I decided to return it and not even go for an exchange unit....So....

I went to Futureshop (Canada) and looked over all the laptops, I was really debating what I should go for.. was I gonna go with a Cetrino Duo, or maybe a Turion 64 CPU? It was really a debate between the two. I looked between all the brands ie. Toshiba, HP, Compaq, Acer, Apple etc. When all the laptops are in front of you, it really becomes a hard decision. Toshiba and HP were my two top choices. After trying the Toshiba out I was happy how it ran, but the overall build on the unit seemed very weak, and the HP display seemed a lot more full of life and crisper.

I then ran into a a nice HP machine (the one I am on now ) the dv5000. Now I see HP has many variations of this machine, so here is my setup:

Processor Type AMD Turion 64 ML-37
Screen Size 15.4"
Windows XP MEDIA CENTER
RAM (Preloaded / Maximum) 1024MB DDR (Exp. To 2GB)
Hard Drive 120GB (4200RPM)
Optical Drives LightScribe 8X DVD+/-RW & CD-RW Combo
Graphics 128MB ATI Radeon Xpress 200M
Average Battery Life Long
Product Weight 2.9 kg
Audio Type Altec Lansing
Battery Type 6-Cell Lithium-Ion
Cache 1MB L2
Fax/Modem 56k
Network Card 54g 802.11b/g WLAN W/ 125HSM
Other Software See The Features Section
Processor Speed 2.0GHz
Removable Storage 6-In-1 Digital Media Reader
Screen Type WXGA High Definition BrightView Display
Speakers Built-In Stereo Speakers
System Bus Up To 1600MHz
Warranty 1 Year Parts & Labour

I grabbed this little machine for $1199 CDN funds plus tax because the salesman made a mistake on the price (Supposed to be $1299. The machine just seemed a lot more packed with features than the Toshiba which had a cheaper bland looking case, Intel Graphics etc) versus the HP with a way better looking case, nice blue led's, better dedicated graphics, Vista Aero ready (supposedly from reading around, correct me if wrong), light scribe burner, and Media Center OS. So far this machine rocks and I am happy with my purchase...

#1 SCREEN

The widscreen on this unit is just AWSOME I watched some movies on this thing and it blows the Dell out of the water. I just love the display on this unit. It really brings out nice colors and a great picture on some test DVD's. I actually love Sony Vaio units because of their awsome displays, but this HP screen in my opinion ranks up there. This is my first widescreen laptop and so far it's great. It is always a good idea to put both laptops side by side and go on the same webpages. Compare the sharpness and colors on each and you will understand what I mean. The screen is usually the first thing I look at in a laptop since thats what I will be looking at the whole time.

#2 CPU

Well I hear all the hype on the Duo Core Intel. Yes I understand it is the next big thing, but really for my purposes and testing around, I found the Turion 64 to be awsome. For XP tasks and my purposes, CPU speeds are not really a Huge issue. But I like to have something that has good battery life and runs at nice temperatures, and decent peformance. After testing 3 duo core machines, I found them all to mimic a whiney fan noise. This really didn't get the best of me, so I went to this HP machine and found that there was no buzzing, whining, or any high pitch electric noise AT ALL. My former Dell that I returned had some of these small famous laptop nosies. The Turion 64 CPU so far is working great for me, and all my apps run great, plus I get the 64 bit architecture, which means nothing in my mind, but it may for others. I have read some really good reviews on this CPU, so I figured I would go for it. So far so good, and I definitely recommend it. One thing I did find on the HP unit is that the fans quick on every now and then, which the Dell didn't do. I don't really mind it, but people that get annoyed on the fans kicking in every now and then may dislike it.

#3 Other features and w/e else...

This laptop is PACKED with everything you can imagine. The only lacking feature that I can see is the HD speed (4200 rpm) but I see all HP units have this speed so I wasn't worried. Plus I am not doing any intensive HD work, and so far its been more than fast for me. Everything from the Media Center OS to the Light Scribe burner made me satisifed on this purchase. It was defnitely a good buy in my mind.

Also another thing to note is that restore discs must me made yourself. HP no longer packs them in. Another cool thing is how this laptop includes the Windows Vista Compatible sticker on it, kinda cool knowing you have a machine thats ready for upcoming stuff. Finally, the battery life, I haven't tested it yet really, so I cannot comment on it, but I will post details on that.

OVERALL, very happy with this machine, I am debating if I should go with the 3 year extended warranty (about $300 CDN). it covers everything and the salesman almost had me, but I still have time. $300 is a lot of cash, so I am debating.. I defnitely suggest this model if anyone is looking for a nice feature packed laptop that holds its self up pretty good. I felt like I got a great price, and I am happy my search is finally over!!