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Holistic Guidance - HP Pavilion DV9830US 17-inch Laptop (1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5550 Processor, 4 GB RAM, 320 GB Hard Drive, Blu Ray Drive, Vista Premium)
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List Price: $1,750.00
Our Price: $1,299.99
Your Save: $ 450.01 ( 26% )
Availability: N/A
Manufacturer: Hewlett Packard
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Batteries Included: 1
Binding: Personal Computers
Brand: Hewlett-Packard
Color: Black/ Silver
CPU Manufacturer: Intel
CPU Speed: 1.83
CPU Type: Intel Core Duo
Display Size: 17
EAN: 0883585943777
Feature: Entertainment-centric notebook PC with widescreen 17-inch LCD and stylish high-gloss finish with wave imprint, integrated webcam
Floppy Disk Drive Description: None
Graphics Memory Size: 512
Hard Disk Size: 320
Label: Hewlett Packard
Manufacturer: Hewlett Packard
Model: DV9830US
Modem Description: Fax / modem
Processor Count: 2
Publisher: Hewlett Packard
Studio: Hewlett Packard
System Bus Speed: 667
System Memory Size: 4000
System Memory Type: DDR2 SDRAM
Warranty: 1 year warranty
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Features
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Entertainment-centric notebook PC with widescreen 17-inch LCD and stylish high-gloss finish with wave imprint, integrated webcam
1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5550 processor, 320 GB hard drive, 4 GB RAM (max), Blu-ray ROM drive with dual-layer DVD/CD burner
Quad-mode Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n); Gigabit Ethernet; Nvidia GeForce 8600M GS graphics (up to 2303 MB of available memory)
Connectivity: 4 USB, 1 FireWire, 1 HDMI, 1 VGA, 1 S-Video, ExpressCard 54/34, 5-in-1 memory card reader
Pre-installed with Windows Vista Home Premium (Service Pack 1); includes remote control
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Editorial Reviews:
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PRODUCT FEATURES:Larger than life entertainmentUnrivaled satisfaction with a 17" high-definition wide-screen displayQuickPlay media accessSurround-sound speakersDual hard-drive capabilities
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Major heat issues caused it to break after a year...
Comment: I purchased this system in January of '07. It had always given off a lot of heat so I purchased a laptop cooler. However, it still ran very hot.
One day, I realized that it would not close all the way. When I opened it up, I realized that the plastic bezel around the screen had expanded from the heat and actually split apart. I call HP technical support and even though it was still under warranty by one day, they said I must have damaged it because "it was impossible" for the bezel to come apart like that. They said I could send it in to be fixed but it would cost 700.00 to fix the display (the entire system had only cost 1000.00).
I called back another couple of days later and they said they couldn't help me since the laptop was no longer under warranty.
HP had always had a reputation for solidly built PCs. However after the problems I had with this system and the lack of sufficient support and the actual rudeness associated with tech support basically accusing me of lying, I will never by another HP computer system again.
The brand and the construction has just gone way down hill and there are many better alternatives out there -- including Lenovo (stick to the thinkpad series) and the Acer line (which I have a new respect for -- they seem to be built as well as the older HPs and are a lot cheaper)
Customer Rating:
Summary: Works for me!
Comment: After the initial excitement left and I started loading various products and upgrades, I'm still impressed with the HP's capacity, performance and capabilities. Video streaming has been working well, easy link up to my home router and cable broadband. Been studying the TV links - what was included and the product called Slingbox. Played a few regular DVDs and all has been working as advertised. Minor criticism on the right shift key size but I can see it was a design choice that had little other options.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Vista Experience 2.5......
Comment: This laptop was a very large disappointment after the heightened expectations that developed after reading the product description and the reviews...I think the shills might have been busy on this product.
First, it is SLOW. This may be more a Vista problem than a HP problem, but it is slow. The Dell 1505e (1gb mem, 1.6mz Intel Dual Core) that I replaced with this ran XP much faster than this runs Vista. Booting and restarting from sleep takes forever and every screen change is an opportunity to do something else while it loads.
Second, the NVIDIA card is a complete oversell. The gaming graphics card is the "weak link" responsible for the 2.5 Vista Experience according to the Vista analysis. I bought a few current game titles just to take a look, GRID and Battlefield 2 and they simply overwhelm the machine. GRID, a Vista game, simply won't load, even after all the processes are stripped and the graphics are dialed back. It is like playing under a strobe. Battlefield2 is a few years older and still plays in stop-action.
Finally, and most surprisingly, the 3 media players included (maybe more, I stripped out alot of the crapware)barely play without stuttering. PowerDVD, my preferred media player for years, barely functions, and only after, again, all the non-critical processes are stopped. After a little investigation I learned that these titles require a Vista Experience rating of from 4.0 to 5.0. Again this machine has a 2.5 rating based on the NVIDIA card. This was very surprising and very disappointing piece of information.
In sum, if you are looking for a machine to surf and spider solitare on, then this would do just fine, but it seems that you could find another alot cheaper to fill that bill. If you want the high performance that this machine promises, I'd keep shopping.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Lives up to expectations
Comment: I've had no problem with the laptop to speak of, the screen is quite readable and bright, it plays the various games I've tried at high levels of graphics (Age of Empires III, Battle for Middle-earth I and II, and similar games).
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good choice for a basic laptop
Comment: This is a pretty good laptop that I've been happy with and would recommend. It is sufficient for my basic needs of Web surfing, organizing my music and photo collection, and playing solitaire. This is my first time using Vista, and I'm actually kind of impressed with it's ease of use. The only real problem I've had with it is that Vista would not allow me to install Microsoft Office 2003 until I disabled DEP (Data Execution Prevention) first. You would think, that a Microsoft operating system would be able to recognize another Microsoft product as being safe, but I guess not.
The battery life is short (a couple of hours), but I always use the AC charger, so I don't really care. The keyboard is spacious and comfortable. The screen quality is lovely.
The laptop includes a Blu-Ray drive and player that I've used a watch a half-dozen Blu-Ray movies connected to my big LCD TV via the laptop's HDMI port. The playback quality is very good and has only skipped a couple of times. The software that comes with the laptop for playing the movies is pretty bad, but it works. There are some noticeable bugs, like if you want the movie's audio to go through the HDMI cable to your TV instead of out of your laptop's little speakers, there is an audio-output property you must set. But this setting is only accessible by clicking on a little gear-shaped icon in the upper-right corner of the player window, and this icon is hidden unless the player window is made full screen. The bigger problem that is so far not documented or acknowledged by HP is that you can only output Blu-Ray movies on either the laptop's monitor or your TV, but not both at the same time (mirroring). If you try to play a Blu-Ray movie with the displays mirrored, it gives you an unhelpful message about the security of the disc being in violation. The fix for this is to press the Function-F4 key to send the display to only the TV, but then it can be awkward to use the mouse and keyboard on the laptop while looking at the interface on the TV.
The laptop comes with a little remote control, that is perhaps the worst remote control in the history of remote controls. It's tiny, about the size of a credit card, L-shaped, and only 3-4 mm thin (so it can fit in a slot on the laptop), which makes it very uncomfortable to hold. All of the buttons are shaped the same (circular blisters) and the icons printed on them are difficult to read in low light. It only has a range of 2-3 feet, and it must be pointed directly at the laptop. It kind of defeats the purpose of having a remote if you have to walk over to the computer to use it. It also seems like most of my key presses on the thing are being ignored. Like if I want to pause the movie, I have to press the pause button 5 times before it will actually do it. Maybe I need a new battery, but I would think the battery that comes with it would last at least a couple of months.
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