DV6 Turion II thoughts/reviews/benchmarks?

Hi Guys

Im looking at getting a fairly low budget laptop for browsing the net, Office apps and doing the occasional bit of SD video editing. Battery life isnt a big concern and games aren't really a consideration but if I could get SOME gaming ability into the bargain all the better.

Anyway, I'm looking at a couple of the machines in the lower end of the Pavilion DV6 range. The thing is, my budget (in the UK) doesn't quite stretch to a Core2Duo machine so the choice is either Celeron / Pentium Dual Core Intel CPUs with 4500MHD graphics, or the new AMD Turion II processor with 3200HD graphics.

Either this (Intel):
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en/ho/WF06a/321957-321957-3329744-64354-64354-3999443.html

Or this (AMD):
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en/ho/WF06b/321957-321957-3329744-64354-64354-4011364-4034143.html

Ive read that the HD3200 in the AMD is the the more powerful graphics engine, but because its so new, I can't find any reviews of Turion II based laptops. From brief mentions Ive seen such as on the Passmark CPUbenchmark website, the Turion II (M500) should be roughly on a par with an equivalent speed Core 2 Duo Intel processor so should be quicker than Pentium/Celeron Dual Core CPUs, but I know that previous incarnations of the AMD platform have lagged a little behind Intel, so Im wary of going for something before seeing some concrete evidence on the new processor.

Does anyone have any links to reviews or benchmarks on the Turion II or even some first hand experience, ideally on the DV6 but anything equivalent would be fine?

thanks
Chris

 

Spend a little more to get the Radeon 4530 dedicated GPU in this dv6 Turion II notebook:
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en/ho/WF06b/321957-321957-3329744-64354-64354-4011364-4036199.html
Ideally you'd get a Radeon 4650 but that will up the heat output a bit, not to mention the expense. The Turion II is derived from the 45nm Phenom II core and closes the gap with the 45nm C2D's considerably. Windows 7 seems to manage Turions more efficiently than Vista did too.

 

Many thanks Brian, I've looked at the 2030 you linked to as I agree its significantly better spec for seemingly little extra outlay, unfortunately though it actually works out quite a bit more expensive as I get staff discount off certain HP products, and the 2030 isnt on the limited list I can source through that agreement, so whereas I could actually get the 2020 for around £360 (or the 1333 for £400), the 2030 would cost me full retail at ~£500

At that price point, something like this ProBook 4510s starts to look more desirable but its more than I want to spend really.
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/e...ndex-ot-xx-pu-notebook_pcs/chev-vq492ea_3768/

thanks
Chris

 

I don't think there are any reviews of the Turion II's out there, so I can't help you out there. But, I think I can offer some info -

The AMD processor should be very comparable to the Intel. The Turion IIs are AMD's newly released "caspian" cores built on a 45nm process, which bridges the gap between AMD and Intel's Core 2 Duo series considerably, both in terms of performance and efficiency. I am almost certain that the DV6 comes with the updated HD 4200 and not the HD 3200, because the Turion IIs are released with the new Tigiris platform (RS880M?). HP probably listed it wrong: something it commonly does lol. Though, the only difference between the two IGPs is slightly more performance, efficiency, DX10.1 support, and some other slight changes (so its an added bonus!).

http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/10/amd-tigris-and-congo-mobile-platforms-focus-on-multimedia-longe/

I would personally go with the AMD for the better graphics (that and I'm an AMD fanboy lol). There's a youtube video of someone playing Batman Arkham Asylum on an HD 4200 IGP (though, who knows what kind of overclock he had to do to pull that off!). But honestly, you can't go wrong with either choice. Computers these days are more than capable of handling office, a few youtube videos, multimedia, etc. Even my 2 generation old HP laptop (Turion x2 1.8GHz) can handle everything I throw at it.

I hope that helps!

 

Many thanks for that, I'd also read about the Tigris platform and it having 4200 based graphics, so was a little confused why that 2020 was listed with a 3200. I thought perhaps HP had somehow done a hybrid with an older motherboard, I dont think so though as I believe the Turion II is a new CPU socket?

I'll try and see if I can find one in stock at a local retail outlet to see if I can clear that one up.

thanks
Chris

 

I would get the AMD. Much better Graphics and the CPU is probably better than that Intel. PCU benchmark says it is so with 1257 for T4300 and 1335 for M500. I don't know how this test represents your use but it is an indication.

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_lookup.php?cpu=Pentium+Dual-Core+T4300+@+2.10GHz

 

I dug out the service / maintenance manual for the DV6-2000 series and that only mentions HD4200 as the integrated solution.

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c01859609.pdf

I couldnt find a 2020 locally but saw a DV6-2010 today which seems the same spec other than an Athlon II rather than Turion II processor, and that had the 4200 graphics, so I suspect its the same.

Either way I dont think it will make a lot of difference so I think Im going to go for the 2020.

thanks
Chris

 

The 4200 is just an updated 3200. Speed is comparable, but some changes have been made to the GPU to allow for transcoding etc. I'm skeptical as to actual changes being made since I wouldn't be surprised if this could be done through software.

Anyways that's the difference.

 

This video claims up to 75% faster transcoding video using Cyberlink's MediaShow Expresso:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjMItx5K3jc

Anyone test this out?

 

There's still a few suspect things in that service manual so Im not sure I'll trust anything HP list as 100%, such as "RX880M" chipset? I can't find any mention of any chipset called RX880M anywhere on Google, only RS880M which is the new Tigris platform that these CPUs run on.

 

Had a look at a 2020sa at lunchtime today, and can confirm that it comes with the 4200HD graphics. I didnt have time to have a good look around on the machine but I noticed Windows reporting it as having 384Mb dedicated RAM and up to 1470-ish total. Not sure if that means its actually got 384Mb of seperate dedicated RAM or whether that's just the amount it always reserves from main RAM, Im assuming the latter, but still good to clear up the error on HPs website.

Forgot to check the chipset, but I assume RS880M

 

I think you are talking about graphics memory. RAM usually refers to computer memory.

 

Consider the term "RAM" as interchangeable with "memory" in this case as I dont recall the exact wording of the dedicated 384Mb of memory it was reporting. In any case its all "Random Access Memory" of some flavour or another, whether its discrete memory soldered to the graphics card or integrated and borrowing memory from the system.

Anyway, I'll hopefully be ordering tonight so may be able to confirm by the weekend.

 

Can I take your word on that? I ordered a CQ61 330SA, but its on back order. Was therefore considering getting the 2020SA instead but was put off by the HD3200.

Also, while checking the linked manual I notice it states that for computers with UMA graphics as isthe case with the 2010 and 2020 it uses an Integrated Realtek 10/100 NIC. Would it be then correct to assume that Gigabit LAN isnt supported on these 2 models?

Edit: No firewire too?(according to manual)

 

the 4200 is essentially the 3200 with sideport memory (it has its own DEDICATED RAM built on the motherboard, but its quite slow, DDR2 IIRC and a narrow memory bus, so not really much of a performance advantage, other than its not using system memory)

 

Cheers Bob, so it does have discrete dedicated memory of its own then?

trv26 - I ordered my 2020sa last night and it's already arrived at home so I'll be able to confirm the complete spec tonight after work. Impressive turnaround by HP, ordered 6pm last night, arrived 9am this morning!

I can confirm though that the 2020 I saw yesterday had the 4200 and didn't have firewire (despite what it says on the HP site), but there are several 2020 models depending on region etc so check we're talking exactly the same thing, in this case 2020 SA

cheers
Chris

 

Hi locoblade, yes we're talking of the same model. I too was going to order it from the HP website, which has the dv2020. And yes I would really appreciate it if you could check the above for me. Also a quick review of sorts on anything you like/dislike about it would be appreciated. Just need this information so I can decide if its worth paying roughly £40 higher than what I payed for the CQ61 330SA.

Btw if I may ask, how much did you pay for it? I hope you were aware of the 10% off evoucher that is available for use at HP UK.

 

Hi trv26

Right, I can confirm 100% that it comes with 4200HD graphics, no firewire, and "Realtek PCIe FE Family Controller" network card which looks like its only 10/100. It also has a nice Western Digital Scorpio Black 7200rpm HDD (WD3200BEKT) which gets good reviews online, and ships with Win 7 Home Premium 64 bit as advertised (I saw one mention on the HP website of it shipping with 32 bit), although I havent had time to look at the other crap that HP put on yet to see its worth

Ive only had it running an hour but first impressions are good, the screen is impressive compared to my old Acer (which itself had a decent display) and quality generally feels OK, not quite the same quality feel of the 6930p laptops we use at work, although they're twice the price and have much more metal in the casing. Ive not had time to test anything else yet but will report back in a few days once Ive had a bit more time to play. From initial impressions the only thing that may annoy some is the shiny palm rest which is already covered in fingerprint marks, the white/grey version might be better if you think that would be an issue.

As to cost, I work for a company that's now part of HP so got it through the employee purchase scheme for about £370 including an additional 10% discount which runs out tomorrow, so significantly cheaper than elsewhere online. If paying normal retail prices though Id go for the the dv6-2030 over the 2020 if you can afford it as it has the 4530 graphics, slightly faster M520 Turion II processor and 4Gb of RAM for only about £40 more, unfortunately that wasnt available to me.

 

Hi again locoblade, thanks very much for the review. Unfortunately without Gigabit LAN, Firewire etc. it fails to add much more to the Compaq I ordered for £40 extra, so will be sticking to the current order. Ofc there might be a difference in build quality. Glad to know you like the screen btw... hopefully the one on the Compaq is similar.

As for the HP 2030sa, I was aware of it but its a bit higher than the budget I was set by my sis who I'm buying it for. So I guess CQ61 330SA it is unless ofc something else catches my eye (ideally non-HP/Compaq just to them off in return). Have to say though the DV6 and CQ61 series from HP look excellent value for money. If only a few more manufacturers could be bothered to come out with laptops based on the Caspian platform.

 

The 330SA does look almost identical spec and I suspect they're fundamentally the same internals in a different chassis, the only differences I can spot is a 5400rpm HDD rather than 7200rpm, 4Gb rather than 8Gb max memory (although I bet theyre both the same) and it doesnt seem to come with the HP remote control which is quite nifty, hiding away in the Expresscard slot. Its a bit of a gimmick if you just use the laptop for browsing the net etc but would be handy for watching DVDs.

The only other thing is the 330SA is listed as using the standard "High Definition HP Brightview Display" rather than the LED Brightview display on the 2020SA, although I dont know how the two compare visually or whether its mainly using LED for improved battery consumption.

 

Good point on the screen. I guess things like the LED and higher speed HDD etc. lead to the higher price.

Edit: If I may bother you a little more, do let us know how you find battery life and how hot/cool the laptop runs.