I purchased a HP Pavilion dv6000 to replace my dying dell inspiron 6000 notebook. The dv6000 seemed to be a good candidate as it came with an ATI Mobility Radeon X600 graphics card and other options that provided for a great desktop replacement style notebook.
HP Pavilion DV6000 New Notebook Specs:
- Processor: Available with Mobile AMD Turion 64 X2 dual-core and Mobile AMD Sempron processors
- Screen: 15.4" widescreen with HP BrightView
- Graphics: Optional NVIDIA GeForce Go 7200 discrete graphics. Standard NVIDIA GeForce Go 6150 graphics and NVIDIA nForce Go 430 chipset with AMD processors.
- Wireless: Integrated wireless support for 802.11 b/g, configurable 802.11 a/b/g, wireless LAN and Bluetooth technologies on select models
- Media Card: 5-in-1 media card
- IEEE1394 / FireWire port
- Three USB 2.0 ports on select models, ExpressCard/54 slot
- Speakers: Integrated Altec Lansing stereo speakers
- OS Options: Microsoft Windows XP Home SP2 or Microsoft Windows XP Pro SP2.
- Battery: Standard 6-cell or optional 12-cell battery available for additional battery life
- Weight: weight starting at 6.5 lbs
- Two omni-directional microphones on select models with integrated camera
- Optional dual stereo headphone jacks -- one with high-definition digital audio support (S/PDIF capable)
- Optional HP Pavilion WebCam
Design:
The dv6000 has a slightly modified look from its previous generation model. Most notable is the cooling system. It is totally redesigned. Is it better now? Unfortunately that's a negative. There is an extra fan now, probably for making sure the machine can keep cool with the new ATI Mobility X600 graphics card. The entire rear of the notebook is dedicated to having vents for cooling, thereby sacrificing the parallel port from the previous generation. Even with a number of vents, the computer still gets very hot and the fans spin up all the time and they are loud.
The keyboard area and wrist rest below the keyboard still gets very hot to the touch, though not as bad as the dv2000 I used to own did. The touchpad area is thankfully improved and more usable now than before. I wish they had focused more on improving the cooling and reducing heat build-up around the keyboard rather than improving the touchpad though. The heat around the keyboard can make it uncomfortable to type after 10 minutes of typing on this laptop. The cooling system simply needs a lot more reworking, my use of the proved that a large desktop replacement notebook with a Pentium 4 processor doesn't have necessarily have to be a giant heat synch. Toshiba somehow managed to get rid of heat from the P35 system and typing was comfortable.
HP Pavilion dv6000 underside
HP Pavilion dv6000 back view
HP Pavilion dv6000(top) versus the Toshiba P35 (bottom)
I have heard of many problems others had with the older design, and have myself experienced problems of loose power adapter connections on my old HP dv2000. The new connector on the HP dv6000 looks to solve this problem, however this means you won't be able to use 3rd party power adapters anymore.
HP dv6000 Power Connector
Size and Weight:
This laptop is one of the biggest out there. Weighing in at a hefty 9.5 pounds, it is probably in the top 5% of the weight bracket for notebooks. The dimensions measure 16.5" L x 11.5" W x 1.57/1.85" H. The AC adapter adds another pound and 3 ounces to overall weight. That means that you'll be carrying well over 10 pounds of computer related stuff, so this titan is not for the faint of heart!
Screen:
The screen is gorgeous. It is wonderfully bright and clear, and provides a respectable 1280×800 resolution in a widescreen format. Yes, there certainly are notebooks with higher resolution. It really comes down to preference. While other units may give you higher resolution, some may find it hard to read on small screens. For me, I thought 1280×800 was a good resolution to use for a 15.4? screen. My only complaint with the screen is that the glare is really bad when trying to use the unit outside. It gets so bad that it’s more like looking in a mirror than into a computer screen. Inside, however, the screen is beautiful.
Speakers:
The speakers are Harman/Kardon brand and relative to the size of the laptop(hp battery pavilion dv6000) are tiny. The speakers on this laptop face outward which is nice if you would like to play something with the lid closed. The performance of the speakers isn't so good though. You begin to hear sound distortion at about 80% max volume. Bass is virtually nonexistent with this set of speakers. For games the speakers seemed to perform decently, but they lack the virtual spacialization found in the Toshiba P35 speakers.
HP Pavilion dv6000 Memory
Input:
The keyboard is a very standard layout with built in numpad, which is certainly a nice addition. If anything will drive you to this laptop(hp pavilion dv6000 battery), the numpad is it. It no longer gets dreadfully hot and is sunken in. This helps alleviate the problem of it being accidentally tripped when typing. But due to its large size it still does not totally prevent this problem, even with small hands.
Pros
- Gorgeous Screen
- NumPad included on keyboard
- 5 USB Ports
- 2 PCMCIA ports
- Good graphics card and gaming performance
Cons
- Loud Fans
- Keyboard area of laptop gets really hot
- Horrible Battery Life
- No serial or parallel ports
- Proprietary AC connector
- Only 100MB Fast Ethernet
The HP Pavilion DV6000(pavilion dv6000 battery) is a really nice, solid notebook computer and you really can’t go wrong with this unit. The price tag makes it very affordable. The unit sports a nice, sleek design and good all-around performance. It also offers a solid balance of features which really makes this entertainment notebook usable as a desktop replacement. In fact, I enjoy it so much I find myself spending more time working on the DV6000 now than I do my main desktop computer.
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