Dv2z Upgrades Out!

Color Moonlight White edit
Operating system Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit) edit
Processor AMD Turion(TM) Neo X2 Dual-Core Mobile Processor for Ultrathin Notebooks L625 (1.6 GHz) edit
Memory 50% OFF!! 4GB DDR2 System Memory (1 Dimm) from 2GB DDR2 System Memory (1 Dimm) edit
Hard drive 500GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection edit
Graphics card 50% OFF! 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD Premium Graphics 3410-For L625 Processor and Vista Premium edit
Display 12.1" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP LED BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800) edit
Personalization Webcam Only edit
Networking Wireless-N Card with Bluetooth edit
Keyboard HP Color Matching Keyboard edit
Primary battery 50% OFF!! Extra 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery edit
Productivity software Microsoft(R) Works 9.0

comes out to 1100 something if u use the 30% off cupon itll come out to under 800$

30% off HP Pavilion & HDX Laptops $999+ Coupon Code: NB3442

 

I wonder how good the processor is and if its better than Intels SU9400 (1.4ghz core 2 duo CULV)

and

How good is the battery life?

 

It should be slower than the SU9400 considering the Turion Neo isnt a new processor as such. Its just a regular Turion with lower power ratings than what AMD used to make a couple of years ago. Fine for genral use but nothing special.

As far as battery we'll have to wait and see until the first reviews are out. HP supposedly has larger batteries than what was offered originally, so people expect to see increased battery life over the Athlon Neo based dv2.

 

They're only offering 6-cell batteries with it right now so I guess we will have to wait and see how much life it's get's out of that.

 

Does this mean the dv2z will now be able to handle YouTube and such?

 

LOL, I hope it did before these little upgrades came out.

 

who is the man that is brave enough to test this new baby out, looks cool, waiting for detail review about play HD contents. Oh YA!!

 

I think it's a bit overpriced, for just $20 you can get a better spec'd dv3t.

 

The price starts at $599, but choosing the L335 (Athlon Neo Dual-Core) also requires upgrading to Vista Home Premium 64-bit & the ATI 3410 graphics card. So the base price for the dual-core dv2 is actually $704.99.

I don't see the logic in paying another $50 for the L625 (Turion Neo Dual-Core). The only difference seems to be an increase in the L2 cache from 512kb to 1mb (1024kb). The clock speed (1.6GHz) and other specs are identical.

Both dual-cores have a TDP of 18W, compared to the original Athlon Neo (single core) rating of 15W. I hope that HP has beefed up the cooling system, otherwise these things are likely to run even hotter! And battery life will be even worse...they really need to offer a larger battery option...

 

The new DV2 uses a higher capacity battery from what I heard and what several sites have said.

Anyway, just now placed my order, should be here around the end of the month, just in time for a trip.

 

if you have time, before your trip, post a brief review of how u feel about new dv2. Thank s~

 

Would it just have been better to order a better spec'd dv3t for about $20 more? I'm sure the size difference is very minor and you get a lot more performance with the dv3t.

 

I wonder if these will have that horrible coating on the keyboard and touchpad as the rest of the dv line.

 

I'm sure you're not quite sure whats going on either.
These two laptops are in two separate classes. The dv3t is a normal laptop. the dv2z is a CULV. Thats a major difference in itself.

If I recall correctly, the dv3t is closer to 5 lbs while the dv2z is closer to 4 lbs. That is a 20% weight difference.

The dv3t has 2 dimms for memory, the dv2z has 1 dimm. [some engineer knows why...] either case, it jacks up the costs of the laptop unforunately.

The dv3t lacks a dedicated graphics card. The dv2z gets a x1270 or 3410 To some people, this may mean the difference between buy or no buy.

I believe someone from NBR commented on the build quality of the laptops as well. The dv2z was more solid in comparison to the dv3t. Build quality means a lot to some people too.

Someone double check me on this, but if i remember correctly, there is no way in this world the atom has an integrated memory controller but the AMD chip does. This makes a nice world of difference. (in some ways anyway) Brings me back to the good old release of the A64 and people going :O! It might be a placebo effect, but I still feel like my [email protected] is more responsive than my [email protected].

Last of all, its an AMD laptop. From my experience, the amd chips tend to be cheaper. Yet the dv2z is still more expensive. I wonder why?

Btw. nice build. E8400 + 4850. I'm surprised you didn't go 4gb yet. its quite cheap now

 

The Nvidia GeForce 105M is offered with the dv3t. The dv2z may have dedicated graphics chip options as well but performance will be severely bottlenecked by the AMD chip offered.

 

Just wanted to chime in here.

The dv2 is great for portable use as it is easily lighter and smaller than either the dv3 or dv4. I actually don't mind the external optical drive, since I can leave it behind when it's not necessary and save on weight.

The best advantage of the dv4 is clearly battery life with the 12-cell option, but the dv3 offers equal GPU and CPU options for smaller size and somewhat lesser weight.

If I were configuring the dv2, I would choose the L625 and 3410 for graphics, pair it with 4GB ram and get 64bit Vista on there. The built-in WWAN is sweet for folks on the move.

A full-spec dv3t will set you back about $600-$700 more than the dv2 will, but the dv3 does offer far superior performance and supports the T9900.

If performance were my top concern I would stick with the dv3t. But for somebody that needs a machine they can run out the door with every morning and use on the go away from an outlet all day, a dv2 with a second battery will make for a great road-warriors notebook with that WWAN built-in.

 

I managed to compare both the DV3 and DV2 today at the local store. Both were sitting right next to each other. The DV2 looks nice, but I would most likely get the DV3. Doesn't seem much larger, better spec's, and an inbuilt DVD burner.

Then again, if you were simply someone after a netbook for school, web surfing on the run, I'd probably go the DV2!

 

My new DV2 just shipped today, should be here on Monday!

Just have to hope FedEx doesn't screw up the delivery like normal.

 

so did anyone recieve theirs yet? i was hoping to hear how the performance is with the dual core

 

I just bought my DV2 on Sunday from Office Depot for $599 and am loving it! Just sold my Sony Vaio P, which I totally had enough of. I am curious on how the Turion Neo X2 will perform though...

 

same here...i want to know the performance level of the Turion Neo X2. Congrats on your purchase btw!

 

so, how come there are not many reviews or benchmarks on the low voltage dual core amds?

 

well they just came out, thats why i guess .. but then again reviews should start popping up

 

im looking to get this laptop but waited to get more information on this. I too am also looking to see the performance of this new chip.

 

Here is the only review I've found of a dv2 with L625 processor and ATI 3410 graphics:

Part 1 - Part 2

In most ways, the dv2 is very appealing. But, as this review points out, HEAT is a problem and very likely a deal breaker for many users. The fan runs constantly is apparently quite annoying, too.

Note to HP- put an Intel CULV chip and nVIDIA 9400M G integrated graphics in this thing, call it the dv2t and you'll sell 'em by the truckload!

 

Hey Folks (first Post)
I have been literally combing web in order to find any benchmarks for the DV2Z with the dual core processor. Thank you allfiredup for linking that review. Unfortunately, any reviews I have found on the DV2Z so far have been almost exclusively anecdotal (and two by Mac people, weird eh?). The reason I signed up was to let you guys know that there is one benchmark I have found and it can be found here: http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_lookup.php?cpu=AMD+Turion+Neo+X2+Dual+Core+L625. As you can see the processor score on PassMArk is 968, which is substantially better than the MV-40's 432 ( http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_lookup.php?cpu=AMD+Athlon+Neo+MV-40). I found this somewhat encouraging news.

I have ordered my copy of the DV2Z, but unfortunately, I will not be able to give you guys any benchmarks till the end of July. I live in Canada and you can't custom order it here so I had to get my parents (Chicago) to purchase it and I won't be going down there till later this month. In any case, I thought you guys might find the benchmark helpful as it signifies almost a doubling in processing power. From reviews and benchmarks done on the DV2 single core it seems as though the processor has been the limiting feature so it should perform quite well.

 

thanks for the info commander

 

The L625 dual-core does look promising in terms of raw performance. The heat issues noted in the review I posted (includes temp readings of various spots) are the only thing that keep me from ordering one! The ATI HD 3410 is one of the heat-generating components. HP should really offer the L625 dual-core processor with the integrated ATI X1250 to cool things down a bit!

 

I would tend to agree with you allfiredup, but I would be loath to give up the performance difference in those two video cards. The 3410 is what really puts this machine appart from the Acer Apsire and the MSI X-Slim. (And, from what I've read, the build quality is better). Futhermore, it is encouraging to hear about the effects of the BIOS update and I will look forward to see if Windows 7 has better idle power management than Vista.

Just in case you guys haven't seen it here are two more personal reviews I have found in my search for a proper review: http://studentbloggers.org/2009/06/18/sb-reviews-hp-dv2z/ and http://www.clintonfitch.com/reviews/hp/pavdv2/default.asp
We really need somebody from a website like notebookreview to take one of these for a proper test drive.

 

If you read through the comments in that review, the person who did the review solved the constant fan issue and lowered the temp by a couple degrees by flashing the BIOS.

I'm eagerly waiting for this laptop too! Hopefully I can buy it in Canada.

 

Read??? Are you mad? (I don't mean angry, image it being said with a British accent) :wink:

 

Here is another new review of the dv2: http://techgage.com/article/hp_dv2_121_ultra-portable_notebook/

His review is much the same as others. Great build quality, but the processor isn't quite what it could be. If anything, this makes my desire for a proper review of the dv2z with the dual core even greater!

 

Mine is coming tomorrow, so expect my review in a very short time, my plan is to review it running Win 7.
BTW, all those people that did the reviews (except NBR guys) did not even made an effort to test any games (with which drivers, on what resolution, on what game settings) or at least 3D Mark. Also they mentioned problems playing HD and Full HD, that is just funny, none of them actually explained what codecks they are using, what players, do they use the HDMI for the full HD etc.

 

true true...imho those reviews seemed very amateur

 

Yes that is the right word - Amateur. People are buying this product with no idea what are they going to use it for, they are throwing all that heavy programs like Photoshop and Dreamweaver (on the single core model with 2gb ram) at the same time and they are expecting miracles.
My major reason for buying is playing videos on the TV and light gaming (Source games) also use it in my rare occasions of traveling. For heavy tasking and work I have power horses

 

hey trentbg...give us a real review when you get your unit!

 

Will do...I promise.

 

Thank you trentbg, finally we can hear something really interesting on this laptop!

Just to let you guys know here is a quick review that just came out today: http://www.gottabemobile.com/2009/0...-dv2z-playing-blu-ray-streaming-hulu-content/

It's definately not extensive, but it does show a practical and interesting test. Seems to prove that the dual core processor makes a substantial difference.

 

This person actually did a petty good job showing that DV2z actually can handle the 1080p and still do other stuff on it at the same time.

 

I have a single core version. No problem with YouTube.