HP Pavilion dv4217cl Notebook PC

I have bought new HP Pavilion dv4217cl from Costco Canadian store in my city. I don't find any review/report on this laptop except the details are available on HP's website. Surprsingly, BestBuy/Future Store & Staples Business Depot don't have this laptop for sale nor any info on their websites.

I have been using it for last two weeks without any problems. I will appreciate if anybody on this forum have opinion on this laptop. Do you know any review on it?

Thank you

greensky

 

Do you want a review on the DV4000 notebooks in general or this specific model? Theres tons and tons of reviews of the DV4000 but I'm not sure about the particular model you have. I have an older DV4000 which I also got from Costco and am overall very very satisfied with it.

The only issue I have with it, (I don't even think its an issue) is that after a couple of months of use, the keys on my keyboard and touchpad when typing has been worn down, (especially with the keyboard), to a gloss and looks shiny. However, everything still works 100%, its just a cosmetic issue but something that irritates me, it may not bother you at all and this happens with all notebooks, I just think its happened with mine a bit too soon, but I could just be overreacting to this.

The issue is actually interesting, as I can tell which keys I type on most depending on how worn down it looks. My enter key and shift key for example show no wear, I hardly use em but all the letter shows look shiny and worn down.

Also, the stickers on my notebook after a month just came off automatically and I couldn't get them to stick on so I just took em off, (I personally like the manufacturer's stickers on my notebook) and that area is showing a little wear from where my wrists lay when typing.

 

It is basically similar to the earlier release of DV4000 but with 1gb DDR memory and 80GB (4200RPM) HD. Everything else are pretty standard for DV4000. It has a few drawbacks compare to the new DV4000. First, it uses DDR instead of DDR2 memory. The actually performance different may not be that big, but it indicates the use of older version of motherboard. Second, it uses intergrate graphic interface with 128MB shared memory. The new ATI x700 may help the video performance particularly for gaming. Third, the 4200RPM HD is a kind of slow, however, it is usually the only kind they use in pre-configured system. If you are not going to do gaming with it, it is a good laptop. It was a mid-level DV4000 before September 2005. The bundled softwares and peripherals are the same as other DV4000. You may refer to any earlier review of DV4000 without x700.

 

Yeah, I got the older DV4000 model but the 4200 rpm drive doesnt bother me at all, I never notice it, its speedy for me, but of course I dont do any hard drive intensive things like video editing and heavy photoshopping at all so I guess I'm not one to talk.

 

Hi greensky,

I got one also from a local Costco the Saturday after Turkey Day.

Love it!

I've removed all the junkware and installed all the programs and data from my desktop.

So far I've only used the USB ports and they work flawlessly. Even with usb to serial and usb to parallel adapters, the ports work well in interfacing with legacy devices like my old HP896cxi printer and Samsung PDA.

I haven't used the firewire port yet. My existing cable from my miniDV camcorder uses a full size pci card interface. I guess I need to get a new cable or an adapter to connect to the laptop.

I also haven't tried the Digital media ports only because I use CompactFlash cards on my Nikon D70 and Coolpix cameras. I use a Sandisk card reader through a USB port to transfer pictures to the laptop.

The DVD player works with the installed InterVideo WinDVD. Not the latest version but it works wells.

Remote works well and I like how it stows on the side of the laptop.

Keyboard response is good. I prefer the old school click feel of old keyboards, but the softkey feel is fine. Keyboard layout is different from the standard keyboard but I've gotten used to it already. I don't really use the numeric keypad anyway, I don't miss it at all. The only key that stands out to me is the Delete key. It is the top right key. I actually like it because it is intuitive and easier to find vs. being buried amongst the other keys.

Display is very good. Not sure what the dot pitch spec or equivalent is of the laptop but it is actually better than my desktop LCD screen. With the higher resolution of new laptops, the default fonts of 8 on most programs are too small for me, so I've had to bump them up. Very easy to do.

Wifi performance is good with the 220BG. As an aside, neighbors' wifi show up some of which are unsecured. Amazing.

I haven't tried the monitor out, the svideo out, or the DVD/CD burn features but in all likelihood, I probably won't use them at all.

I can't say anything about battery performance since I have it plugged in most of the time and haven't hit the road yet.

I use the laptop for generating images (pano programs, image editing), music/video editing, web development programs, plus the standby Microsoft Office XP Pro programs. They all run flawlessly.

I'm not a gamer so can't comment on how this laptop will do with games.

For my needs, it works quite well in meeting my requirements. I'm happy with it.

Thanks. That's all for now. Good luck with your laptop. I hope it meets your expectations.

r,
eagle07

 

Rahul, billcsho & eagle07:

Many thanks for your quick responses. I am glad to find this Notebook Review Forum. This is my first time using a laptop. I'm a Dell's loyal customer as have bought 4 Dells by now - including the last one which is Dell 8250. Their technical support is good and their forum is super - there are helpful people to answer your problmes. I didn't buy Dell laptop as they do not have good programs (like hp dv4217cl) provided as part of their laptop but they insist to take "Word Perfect" with it or pay extra for MS Word etc etc.

You may be wondering why on earth I'm singing sweet songs about Dell. Right? The reason is - I was worrying after buying dv4217cl that where I will go to get help on my laptop, beside hp technical support. I have found this forum to get help on my laptop issues.

Now back to business. I was referring to a review on this particular laptop dv4217cl. I have seen quite a number of reviews on dv4000 and found that the specifications are more or less same as my laptop. I am not a gamer and don't do any compuer gaming as DDR instead of DDR2 don't bother me too. 4000 RPM HD is ok with although it does making grinding sound when seeking the information. I under stand it is a normal issue with all HD. The bundled software are really good, particularly HP Image Zone, MS Works Version 8, MS Money, Sonic Digital Media Plus, InterVideo WindDVD Player and Muvee AutoProducer DVD Edition with Buring etc. I have not burn any DVD+R on this machine, not yet. Do I have to use Sonic Digital Media Plus to burn DVD? I am not sure which program have to use for buring dvd+r to transfer movies/photos from my Canon Digital S1 IS camera?

I have bought D-Link DI-624 Router from Costco. It was so simple to set it up and got help from D-Link Canadian support to help me to set up security on D-Link Router. I was told that my laptop is now secured from outside interferences. I like the display of this machine but have to get used to the keys to increase or decrease the brightness.

The battery life is not good. It is just under 2 and half hour. I am still finding time to play around with this laptop. My router is on top floor of my house but was able to get internet connection while using it on ground floor in my dinning room. We have Canadian snow now and cannot try this machine from my backyard. I have to wait till spring time.

Many thanks again. I will come back with more questions later on.

greensky

 

You could write a review, then there would be one for the next person.