dv4-2170us for $550...worth it?

Staples is going to have the dv4 with i5 on sale starting Sunday for $650 (per leaked ads) and I have a $100 credit, and won't be paying tax. Considering I can snag this for $550, is it worth it? I've only heard terrible things about the trackpad, which i'll be using 50% of the time. I assume battery life is good for 3hrs w/ internet...can anyone confirm? I had planned to get a new XPS13, but I realize I don't need everything that it would offer at the heavy price I was likely to pay (~$1100), not to mention Dell pulled it almost a month ago. My computer recently died, so I'm in need. Any thoughts?

 

I got the dv4-2160us from Office Depot a few weeks ago that appears to have the same specs and as far as I can tell, the only difference appears to be the color. Right now, it's the cheapest laptop that features the Core i5m CPU.

Generally, I'm impressed so far as the performance is excellent because of the CPU and if you're just going to be using it for general productivity applications and browsing, it's perfect.

So far my only gripes are:

1. Track pad - Yes, the track pad is bad but if you have a mouse or wireless mouse, you can live without it. I picked up the Logitech V450 Nano because the track pad pissed me off THAT much.

2. Cooling - When you are using a single-threaded application that's CPU intensive, the Turbo Boost will engage and the cooling system isn't that great. Just having the butt end lifted, it helps out a lot but the CPU temp will still reach what I think are uncomfortable levels. You definitely want to make sure that back left corner (if you were facing the laptop) has plenty of access to air. I picked up the Cooler Master Notepad U2 and the laptop sits well on it and you can pop the fans off and place them where needed. I moved one of the fans to the top left to try and help out.

3. Display - You basically need to be staring right at the screen, doesn't really have the best viewing angles but this is a budget laptop

4. Battery - It comes with a 6-cell battery and even with the Windows 7 power savings, it doesn't last very long. Investing in one of the 12-cells that are available might be a good idea or just pick up another AC adapter. I'm not sure if disabling Turbo Boost in the BIOS will extend battery life or not and I haven't really tested to see if it's triggered in power savings mode or not.

It has its imperfections but it's not bad as you can find some economic solutions but you'll pretty much be spending that $100 that you save and spending it on accessories.

While I do have my complaints, if I had to, I would buy it all over again...it's worth it.

In the event that you do pick it up, if you want to save yourself some frustration, HP packaged and ships the laptop with the track pad off by default. Just push the button right above the track pad to turn it on...it took me a while to figure that one out

 

After reading this I'm even less willing to buy it :-( . I knew the screen wouldnt be awesome, but is it that bad? And I do plan to have it on my lap a good amount of time, so if heat is an issue, than this is a problem. Argg now I'm even more willing to spend a chunk and wait a while to get either a Studio or XPS. Thanks though, at least you saved me from having to pay a restocking fee!