Review: A Trio of HP Laptops : HP Pavilion dv7 (continued)
4. HP Pavilion dv7 (continued)
Display
The HP Pavilion dv7-2160ef also has a glossy LCD panel. Reflections, dust, and fingerprints are inevitable. It’s a shame that HP doesn’t offer a matte-finish panel on any of its consumer-range computers. But when you look at the test results, you can figure out the reasons behind their choice. The glossy panel surface has a tendency to flatter the actual visual results. Unfortunately, it’s not enough. This panel also uses TN technology. In practice, that means narrow viewing angles. Colors quickly darken viewed from below and lighten viewed from above. The 1600 x 900-pixel definition is a good choice for multimedia use, and in particular for video. A little more height would have been a good thing for running office applications, however. The black level is mediocre, with 0.43 Nits for a luminance of 99.5 Nits. The resulting contrast ratio is 230:1, which is not good. The default colors are not true and had a strong tendency to shift towards blue. The average color difference (Delta E) we measured was 8.4.
Performance
Vista Index: 5.2. Details: Processor 5.2 - RAM 5.9 - Graphics 5.9 - Game Graphics 5.6 - Main hard disk 5.9.
The processor in the HP Pavilion dv7-2160ef, an Intel Core 2 Duo P7550, scored an index of 81. An index of 100 corresponds to our reference computer, the Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Xi3650. It’s a good score, and in practical terms translates into fast execution – quite satisfactory for photo retouching and video editing. The processor’s results were close to those of a Core 2 Duo P8400, which is clocked at the same frequency (2.26 GHz).
Video decoding is handled by the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 dedicated graphics card, with hardware acceleration. That makes it possible to play HD movies (like Blu-ray) with no problem. The processor can also take over the decoding tasks. But it’s better use the graphics card with a compatible software app (such as PowerDVD), which supports hardware decoding, and free up the CPU.
Games
The Mobility Radeon HD 4650 from ATI is a good midrange model. The most recent games run with no problem. But you will have to limit details with the most resource-hungry ones. Crysis, for example (surely THE hungriest game title) can only run with the detail level set to medium if you want to play in native definition (which is preferable). Most other games play well at high detail levels. With Race Driver: GRID it was no problem.
Audio
The HP Pavilion dv7-2160ef’s sound output is fairly good. We might have expected better, though, from such a hefty machine. The HP HDX18 does better.
The inclusion of two headphone jacks is a plus. It lets you listen to music or watch a film with a friend without disturbing those around you (while traveling, for example). The outputs are fairly clean and both have a quite adequate level.
Mobility, battery life
The battery life came as a pleasant surprise. At 2 hrs., 45 min., this model has the best battery life in its category, ahead of the MSI GT725. The 8-cell battery clearly contributes to those results.
As for mobility, this is a heavy, bulky, desktop-replacement computer, with its 7.7-lb. (3.52-Kg) weight and 17.3-inch display. It’s not the kind of machine you want to carry around all day.
PROS
- Multi-use, well balanced
- Good overall performance
- Complete connectivity
- Good battery life for its category
- Comfortable keyboard with number pad
CONS
- Glossy, poor-quality LCD panel
- Only average audio
- Noisy
- No Blu-ray player
A handsome machine, complete and multi-task friendly. It’s at home with office applications, photography, video, and even games. It’s a shame that the reflective LCD panel is of such low quality. We would also have appreciated a Blu-ray player.
>>HP
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Wow
Wow
What I meant to say, before the site automatically posted my message when I merely logged in:
HP dv2 - $650 15" MacBook Pro - $1580 - $2100 on the site I looked on. I bet HP could have included a better battery for a THOUSAND BUCKS, including a faster processor, better graphics, etc.
I don't get why this site always uses inappropriate references. I'm not saying HP is the best thing since sliced bread. They're the Ford / GM of PC makers. Would you compare a Ford to a BMW?
What I meant to say, before the site automatically posted my message when I merely logged in:HP dv2 - $650 15" MacBook Pro - $1580 - $2100 on the site I looked on. I bet HP could have included a better battery for a THOUSAND BUCKS, including a faster processor, better graphics, etc.I don't get why this site always uses inappropriate references. I'm not saying HP is the best thing since sliced bread. They're the Ford / GM of PC makers. Would you compare a Ford to a BMW?
I guess I would compare a ford to a bmw if I was interested in what parts create the difference between the low end and the high end. They aren't in the same class--that's a given--but the vast difference in performance is still something to remind yourself of, as a tech enthusiast. That said, this article should've also made comparison to machines it its same class, so good point.
amd turion x2 rm75 @ 2.2ghz on my hp pavilion dv6 1211ax scores 5.0 wei on vista which beats the intel core2duo t7250 @ 2.0ghz on my sony vaio lappy which only managed a wei score of 4.9 on vista and equals score of 5.0 with intel c2d t6500 @ 2.1ghz