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    HP DV4040 Review and pictures!!

    Discussion in 'HP' started by lastdon, Apr 30, 2005.

  1. lastdon

    lastdon Notebook Evangelist

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    HP DV4040
    HP DV4040 Intel Centrino Mobile 740 1.73GHz
    1024MB DDR333mhz PC2700
    100GIG 4200RMP Hard Drive
    Double-Layer +/- DVDRW - CDRW (the one that came with mine is the NEC6500)
    15.4" WXGA high-definition widescreen display (BrightView)
    Intel Graphics Accelerator 900 Graphics
    PCMCIA
    S-Video out – VGA out
    ExpressCard/54
    6-1 card reader
    4 Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0, 1 notebook expansion port, 1 IEEE 1394, 1 consumer IR (remote receiver)
    Intel Pro/Wireless 2200 802.11b/g integrated wireless LAN
    QuickPlay buttons
    Remote
    Headphones
    6.5lbs

    Overview:

    Well, I received this laptop from futureshop as a warranty replacement for a Compaq 915CA I had. Well to be honest, they had given me a Compaq 3470US, but I wanted something portable and opted to pay the difference for this one. I wanted something light. The price difference wasn’t much, so I was willing to pay the $300 Canadian difference.

    Design:

    I wont talk to much about this, but the pictures speak for themselves. It is a very sleek and great looking notebook. Some people that I know, when buying things, besides specs, they also look for design. Well I have to admit that I am one of these people. I am very picky about design, and this notebook wins my vote. It is a very light notebook, even with the battery in. The only concern I had was of the material used to build this notebook. I believe its all plastic of some sort. Though it seems very durable and not flexible like other notebooks I saw at futureshop.

    Screen:

    This is a BrightView display 15.4” WXGA. Since I am not a gamer, the screen was not a concern for me. This screen has the glossy reflective material. On start up during the boot process, you could physically see yourself on the notebook. I had no dead pixels so this was an added plus, but futureshop is very good with this and accepts returns even with one dead pixel! This screen, and personally this feature I like, is not as bright as the Sony X-Brite screen but they are just as good. I think personally this is a good thing because it is better on battery life.

    Speakers:

    Are you sure these are laptop speakers? These speakers are really great. Very loud and clear. Not as loud as the JBL speakers on the Compaq models but they are still great. I prefer them over my Acer 8104.


    Graphics:

    Are you looking for a notebook that you can game? Well step aside because this isn’t the one you want. Unless you don’t care about playing your games at the lowest levels possible. I ran 3dmark 2001 and scored around 3770 points. Remind you that 3dmark 2001 counts cpu power as well. Though for everything else I haven’t found any other problems. Since I have my desktop computer for gaming and a ps2 this didn’t bother me at all.

    Noise:

    What noise? This notebook is very silent. When used with battery the fans hardly come on if at all. You can hear a very very slight hum, but that is when the room is completely silent. The fan do come on though when then power bar is in use. The fans get loud but not to loud like other laptops I have heard.

    Keyboard:

    In this portion I will compare the keyboard to the Acer 8104. I personally like the Acer keyboard a lot better. It is more responsive with less force. This one seems a bit more tough.

    Track Pad:

    I am not very found of it. It is not a very smooth surface like the Acer 8104 or the older Compaq 915CA that I owned. I do not like the scroller that HP uses in these new laptops. At times it doesn’t respond, and you have to use more force or something. I still haven’t figured this part out.

    Dvd Writer:

    Well it does get loud when loading, but when burning its not that loud. I enjoy that fact that its an NEC in the laptop that I have. It is a dvd writer so I can’t really say much about it. It gets the job done.

    QuickPlay:

    I like this feature that HP added in this laptop. It includes a remote and headphones. The remote is a bit small, and I have big hands so pressing the keys was a bit difficult, but I got over it. When not in use you can slide the remote controller inside the pcmcia card slot. QuickPlay is a neat feature to have. You do not need to have the computer on to take advantage of this. You just press the power button on the remote controller and it starts up the computer. You can either use it for music, or movies. It loads up the QuickPlay software and your all good to go.

    Battery Life:

    I was a bit afraid to get another BrightView display after I had owned a Sony FS50 laptop for a week. The battery life on the Sony was horrible. I was expecting much, but I was surprised. With screen brightness at the lowest level, and wifi on I got about 3hours and 57minutes. I have yet to test a dvd as I do not travel and watch movies on a laptop that often.

    Conclusion:

    Would I recommend this laptop to anyone? Yes I would. If you’re not a gamer that is. It is affordable, and comes with the lasted Intel Sonoma platform. Though it does not come with DDR2 memory, but really there isn’t much of an advantage with it anyway from reviews that I have read, that is. It is a very sleek notebook, light way, and is packed with features. I personally couldn’t ask for more. The screen is great, the speakers are great, even the blue LED’s that it has look nice. If you are in the market for an affordable laptop for basic things, and more, take a look at the HP DV4040 or even the DV4030.

    http://img256.echo.cx/img256/6893/back5ss.jpg

    http://img256.echo.cx/img256/8434/bottomlaptop5kd.jpg

    http://img256.echo.cx/img256/4842/frontlcdlights2cz.jpg

    http://img256.echo.cx/img256/6469/frontlaptop3at.jpg

    http://img256.echo.cx/img256/8172/fullopen5lp.jpg

    http://img256.echo.cx/img256/9526/keyboard3ha.jpg

    http://img256.echo.cx/img256/6092/keyboardupclose7ve.jpg

    http://img256.echo.cx/img256/2433/remote2bf.jpg

    http://img256.echo.cx/img256/9246/remotesliding3ey.jpg

    http://img256.echo.cx/img256/6152/rightside9gj.jpg

    http://img256.echo.cx/img256/9605/screen1ul.jpg

    http://img256.echo.cx/img256/8233/toplaptop7ld.jpg

    http://img256.echo.cx/img256/9154/trackpad7ue.jpg

    http://img256.echo.cx/img256/8268/upclosescreen7gm.jpg

    http://img256.echo.cx/img256/773/leftside1md.jpg
     
    lastdon, Apr 30, 2005
    #1