Mini-DV9000 review

Hi I am pretty new here. I just wanted to post my thoughts about my HP DV9000Z. It has a tl-52 turion x2, 1gb ram, 80gb 5400rpm HD, 6150 graphics set, 17" wxga brightview.

Pros:
1. The aesthetics are really nice. The imprint finish is cool.
2. The keyboard has a nice feel. I also like the touch buttons. Very convenient.
3. Screen is generally good. Pretty bright. No dead pixels that I can see.
4. Speed of the processor and ram is good. Can multitask pretty well. More than enough speed for the average user who surfs the net and watches movies.
5. Is generally pretty quiet. Fan turns on periodically for very brief intervals. Also it isn't that hot. It is warm, but compared to my old dell inspiron 8500, the HP is heaven. That dell ran as hot as a skillet, I swear it could cook an egg.

Cons:
1. The screen has a somewhat blue tint(sparkle effect) on white backgrounds.
2. There is definitely backlight leakage along the bottom. It is not severe, but is moderate. It annoys me somewhat. This is a high end laptop. This is really noticeable when watching movies with the black bar(letterbox) on top and bottom. The viewing angle isn't that great, horizontally and vertically.
3. The touchpad is shifted towards the left, not use to it that well yet.
4. The touch buttons make an annoying beep everytime you touch them. Also not so much of an annoyance, but if you are watching a movie in the dark, all of the blue lights look like a spaceship if your eyes wander off the screen.
5. Although it is quiet, it isn't ibook quiet. You can hear the hard drive spinning just faintly. Then again compared to the dell 8500, this thing rocks. That dell really sucked.
6. They don't include a bracket for the 2nd hard drive slot.

All in all, I recommend this laptop. I got mine at OD for $750 AR with tax and shipping. I would normally return this laptop in the hopes of a better screen with less light leakage. But for the price I paid for it, I won't, I'll just deal with it.

Please give your input. Maybe some of you can comment on the screen issue and compare the brightview to the ultrabright. I always wonder if I would have upgraded to the ultrabright, maybe there wouldn't be any leakage.

 

The touch pad is shifted left on all HP 17" laptops because of the numpad. If you look at the touch pad, it's centered with the space bar. This way, your palms can rest comfortably on the computer while typing, and not hit the pad.

 

the screen issue is exactly what i saw from three different stores with the same model.........

there is no way i would use that pos screen..it's quite terrible....

i just ordered mine with an ultrabrite..i hope it makes a big difference.....


i suspect that the upgrade option with better resolution has the same leakage problems / dullness...


the thing is they must've changed vendors, because even though the 8000 models have the same screen name "17 xga brightview" ... it is not the same screen...

 

They have a bunch of different vendors for the same line of notebooks. Everyone wants to get a Quanta in the DV2000. Ultrabright, might make it worse, because there's 2 lamps.

 

I'm really not sure if the screen problem is leakage.

I bought a dv9000 last Friday and was initially disappointed with the ghosted band across the display, but then I noticed that if I adjusted the viewing angle the band would change location; if my eyes were perpendicular to the screen the band would completely disappear.

After a week with this machine I'm happy with it, especially the display.

 

can you guys check who makes your display?

 

Well, I have an nx9420, but the screen is pretty good. It's LPL IIRC, which is Phillips.

 

Mine is a samsung. For the poster who said the screen is a POS, well I think you are exaggerating. Overall the color and brightness is pretty good, there is just some minor leakage at the bottom. I haven't seen any laptop with no light leakage with the exception of an old ibook of mine.

Maybe someone with an ultrabright can comment on their screen?

 

Can you elaborate on this "band"? I am confused to what you are talking about.

 

.


Well... this is the third time to post the below info, using a new browser and somehow I keep closing the wrong tab..


Anyhow.. on the light leakage, the larger the screen the harder it's going to be to make it evenly lit so I guess if your picky about the screen the Ultra Bright with (2) lamps, an addtional lamp at the top would indeed be the setup to get as the amount of light needed to light the screen would be 1/2 from what would be needed from a single lamp.... (each lamp would have to output 1/2 what a single lamp would have to output at a given brightness level, so the amount of perceived light leakage would be less.


On the dv8000t I had with the 1680x1050 single lamped display it had maybe 1/4 -3/8 inch along the bottom.... Didn't bother me any... of course I was using the computer as a computer instead of a dvd player.


BTW: If you think the HP screens are bad, cruise over to the DELL side of the board of most boards.... 17 inch notebook forum and read comments from 1705/1710 /M90 owners !....



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FYI: Just a "heads-up" for those in the market... in the next few months or so...

Here's a deal I linked to a while back, deal is dead now but it gives you an idea on what kind of "deals" you can get if you keep your eyes open.


Office Depot 9/28-30 , 2006

HP dv9000z 17" CTO 3500+ Laptop + printer $499 AR + Shipping

Ripped from FW courtesy nphelge (FW= Fat Wallet)
Ad WAS is the Dallas Morning News, has been DELETED now as sale is over:
http://shopping.dallasnews.com/ROP/a...13304165&type=


Base configuration:
17"/Sempron 3500+
512MB
80GB
DVD-RW

- code 06580078

Nationwide sale

Ad states that in-store purchase required. (which means you CTO it, configure /purchase thru a terminal at the store in person)

(CTO=Custom to Order- should arrive in 7-10 from time of order.... At least that's the time frame if the order is placed thru www.costco.com)


Upgrades:
100GB => $50
1GB => $40
Turion X2 TL50 => $75


3 MIR (MIR =3 mail in rebates)

Dont forget the extra warranty for free using an appropriate CC (This means that some credit card companies DOUBLE the mfg warranty, for FREE when using "some" credit cards)



PS: Office Depot ran a sale on the HP dv8000z in July-2006 so these deals DO come around on a pretty regular basis.

http://www.notebookforums.com/thread161138.html

HP dv8000z & HP 1410 $499.99 @ Office Depot

 

Hey that OD deal is the same one I got. S&H was $50. Tax was about $85. I got the turion tl-52x2 which was $100. The 1gb ram was $40. There was an extra rebate you left out for $25, so in total there was 4 rebates totaling about 350. My laptop with rebate was about 620 before the tax and sh. A very good deal.

 

Thats' what I thought, given the info you were giving.

Nice machine for the money..


PS: On the hard drive bracket, I posted info on that on the other board you had posted on... http://www.notebookforums.com/index.php?styleid=53



PS: How about posting some BENCHMARKS on the machine when you get a chance.