My Official Desktop
Written: Aug 02 '09
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Pros: excellent desktop replacement
Cons: touch pad placement
The Bottom Line: excellent computer which i use as a desktop and has the advantages of a laptop
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| chinafrog's Full Review: Hewlett Packard Pavilion DV9620US (DV9620US-RB) PC... |
I was in the mood. The lap top purchasing mood. It does not happen often but it was something that I had to do. My Desktop computer was old, 7 years old. It was time for a new one.
But I had plans to move out of my parents house, finally and thought it was a better to get a laptop instead of a desktop simply for the ease of portability. Even though the newer desktop models had much smaller monitors and less bulky towers, I was looking for something less compact and more easy to manage and move around.
So I went into information gathering mode. Visiting Cnet and ZDnet, going to Circuit City(RIP!), Best Buy and Frys.com. I asked my friends who purchased their laptops for advice and came to some interesting conclusions about how I wanted to use my laptop.
1. I wanted a Desktop replacement; meaning, I wanted a laptop which would really function as a desktop. It would have to the processor speed, memory and hard drive space that I could find in a desktop, except be smaller than a desktop.
2. Size was not crucial for me. For what I wanted to do, a teeny-tiny laptop with a sleek style was not what I needed. So, when it came to weight I was not that concerned. Besides, the laptop was going to stay in my apartment. I had no intention of bringing it to work or traveling with the thing. I just wanted a laptop because it would be easier for moving to a different household and would take up much less desk space.
3. I wanted to watch movies on my laptop. Therefore, a bigger screen, at least 15 inches with great graphics. Not, necessarily top of the line, but very good.
4. Multiple USB ports. I had a lot of movies saved on external hard drives. I will tell you more about that later. Also, almost all devices now are connected via USB connection. I wanted to have at least 4 that were on the laptop itself.
5. I wanted a dvd writer/player and cd writer/player all in one drive.
6. I wanted wireless built into the laptop.
Armed with my checklist, I went to the stores and sites and started asking questions. I was debating getting this lap top and the Toshiba satellite L355s7905. Both were great computers. I ended up choosing HP because all of my computers have been HP and I have never had a problem with any of them and their customer service has always been incredibly nice and helpful. Needless to say, this computer fulfilled all of my search criteria which I stated above. I purchased it from Circuit City(RIP!) for $1100 plus, I got a free all in one printer/copier/scanner, free wireless modem, free router and $200 cash back from HP. It was an incredible deal that I could not find anywhere else.
I have had this computer for 2 years now. Again have had no problems with it. The graphics display is excellent and I have had no problems with the image quality on the screen when watching a movie. I have even hooked up my laptop to my tv to watch movies playing off my laptop onto a bigger screen.
Even though I am not a big fan of video games I do play them and get excellent image graphics with java games. I have had no problems with the processor speed and the computer has never given me a bit of trouble when I open and run 5 or 6 different programs at the same time.
The laptop also came with a built in webcam which is great. I use it with Skype and get great picture and sound quality when talking to friends and family online. It was one other computer accessory that I did not need to buy when I was searching for my laptop.
There are some aspects of the laptop that I don't like so much.
1. The touch pad location is less than ideal. I usually have it off because I am using a wireless mouse. But when I do have to use the touchpad, my left hand constantly hits it and can interfere with what I am typing. It can make work a bit tiresome. The touch pad itself is not very sensitive and sometimes I have to tap it very hard in order for it pick up.
2. The volume buttons on the keyboard don't show you the volume that is being dialed it as you are tapping them. If I want to increase the volume to the max, and I tap the button , it makes a sound as long as I keep tapping it, even if the volume is at a maximum. There is no onscreen display that tells you this. The only way to find out is to use the mouse to find out the volume. A bit nit picky I know, but this is coming from a person who loves using the keyboard for everything and every short cut you can think of.
Overall, I am very happy quality of the laptop and would highly recommend it to anyone in the market for a computer. Even though it is 2 years old and technology has changed immensely since I got it, it still has many useful features and can compete with most, if not all, in today's market in terms of function, reliability and execution. I would use the same principles for recommending HP products in general.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1100
Operating System: Windows
Processor: AMD Athlon (K7)
Processor speed: 601-700
Screen Size: Greater than 15 inches
RAM: 256
Internal Storage: DVD
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
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Epinions.com ID:
chinafrog
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Reviews written: 164
Trusted by: 12 members
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