Problems? See this thread at archive.org.
HP Dv4000 review
I researched this purchase to the point where my wife demanded that I choose a machine. The timing of her request was great, as it came just when the new Dv4000 was made available. So I pulled the trigger and bought a machine configured like this:
Processor Sonoma 740, 1.73 GHz
BrightView Widescreen
128MB ATI MOBILITY(TM) RADEON(R) X700
512MB DDR2 SDRAM (1x512MB)
80 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive
DVD/CD-RW Combo Drive
Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2200BG WLAN
6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery with free second battery
COST: $1170.00 (including a 6% academic discount)
To start off, I was happy with the purchase process. The HP sales representatives were helpful and allowed me to change my mind about my warranty option (actually, cancel the extra time and accidental damage options that I bought in a moment of extreme dumbness). I chose the no cost shipping option and the machine was delivered prior to the time HP had promised it to start the shipping from China. Since Ive gotten the machine I have had to call tech support a handful of times and Ive been pleasantly surprised. Id heard lots of horror stories about HPs support and I was concerned about how that would go (Im a long timer Gateway customer from back when they were a better company and gave really good support). In every instance, HP got on the line quickly, had good answers and went the extra mile with me. I have pretty poor hearing (my wife is sure its a classic case of gender deafness) and the rampant tales of support provided incomprehensible people from exotic Asian lands was another worry but so far, not a problem. The Indian HP folks have proven to be knowledgeable, helpful, courteous and concerned about customer satisfaction. And, they spoke English a hell of a lot better than I speak Hindi. Actually, three times I got young men who were electrical engineering students in college. I wonder if there is a cooperative education deal going there.
The machine seems well built, it has a solid feel and good tolerances on the joints and such. There is some flex on the bottom of the machine on the right front of the box where the optical drive resides. The unit weighs about 6.6 lbs. with a 6 cell battery and I get not great, but not bad battery life just under 3 hours with the wifi off and doing office type tasks. I got a second 6 cell free with my machine (an offer that HP took off about a week after the new Dv4000 was made available. I really like having the spare battery as the 12 cell protrudes about ½ inch from the bottom of the case. Some believe it makes a good grip when carrying the machine with one hand but I think the notebook is thick enough as is without the extra. The closure mechanism/latch is silent, pretty cool to close it and not hear a click. It looks rugged too, it has two metal spaced about 3.5 inches apart. The HP version (the Compaq version is the V4000T) has a silver outer case and is black when opened for use. The Compaq has the opposite color scheme. The case is hard plastic (hey, what do you expect at this price?) rather than metal or carbon fiber. Ive read some folks are dissatisfied with this as they feel it scratches easily cant prove it by me as yet.
The HDD and RAM slots are very accessible and swapping these out will not be a problem. There are very good posting on theses processes at
http://www.dv4000talk.com/index.php?sid=39b482ab48a35805fba8cb73f3b0aefe
There is a bit of flex in the LCD lid, particularly at the top and if finger pressure is firmly applied to the back, distortion can be seen on the screen.
The keyboard is solid, stiff and the keys have a nice feel. The delete, esc, ctrl keys and arrow key set are on the corners of the keyboard and easily findable in the dark (The keyboard is not lit). Likewise the home/pg up/pg dn/end set is in a nice location on the placed vertically on left side of the keyboard.
The touch pad works great. I've heard some negative feedback about it on the forums but I've had no problems. The default settings are perfect for me in terms of sensitivity. It has a scroll bar on the right side that is pretty slick.
Connections. There are 4 USB ports, two on each side of the case as well as a PC card slot, Express Card slot, 6 in 1 reader , IEEE 1394 video port, network jack, telephone jack, and AC power adapter jack on the left side. On the right side, the optical drive, earphone jack, mike jack, VGA monitor port, S-video jack and security lock fitting. There is nothing but a fan vent on the back of the machine. I like having all the ports and jacks on the sides I also like that HP has provided icons on the top of the case over each of the jacks and ports so you can find them while using the keyboard.
On the left front, in the speaker grill, is the on, charging, and HDD indicator light as well as the infrared sensor (that works with the $18.00 optional remote control unit).
The wifi, quick play and audio adjustment keys are lighted and above the keyboard...nice touch. The Dv4000 does have a quick play function that allows one to play CDs and DVDs without booting to windows, very handy.
The Pentium M really rocks this was my first P-M based machine and the performance surprised me; Id read that P-Ms perform like P4s rated at twice the MHz a claim I didnt accept but now believe is right on. I bought the 740 processor (I think many people suffer from testosterone poisoning when they select a processor...I mean, how fast can you roller-skate?) and its quick in this machine, calculating Pi to 2 million digits in 1m44s. Buying the 770 will cut 20s off that speed but will cost almost $300 more. This processor doesnt even heat up most of the time, even when 6 or 8 applications are open (except 3D games of course) and the wifi is on.
The unit runs pretty cool, doing word processing, email and such (with the wifi on) the fans can hardly be heard. Right now the processor temp is 37c and the HDD 36c. After 25 minutes of playing Unreal Tourney II ( with the AC adopter plugged in) then getting out of the game and running PC wizard the processor and HDD temps had changed only a degree each. This, I think, is a testimony to the efficiency of the cooling fan and how fast the P-M scales down when the high processing demand is removed. Of course when gaming the temps DO increase, especially Doom3, and it's not comfortable to hold the machine in ones lap with shorts on (care must be taken to keep the fan vent open... I ignored this once and the machine shut itself down to avoid thermal overload).
I Love the 5400 RPM HDD. Of course a 7200 would be nice, but they do cost a few bucks and cause more heat. Ive read a study (http://www.hitachigst.com/tech/techlib.nsf/techdocs/33C6A76DF9338B0A86256D34007054C0/$file/Why7200MobileHDDs.pdf ) that makes the case that 7200s dont draw more power than 5400s but I have trouble accepting that; physics requires that it takes requires work to spin an object at a higher speed and as such it should require more power to do the additional work. Anyway, the 5400 is adequate for my needs and fetches information quickly enough.
I bought 512Mb or RAM in one stick because I was lazy. I'd recommend buying 256MB and then get a gig from Newegg, Tiger Direct or someplace else. Theres a posting on how to swap add RAM at this site:
http://www.dv4000talk.com/viewtopic.php?t=23
This site has details of the procedure (with pictures); it has the HDD swap procedure available as well.
The wifi works great, nary a drop on my home wireless or out and about. How great was it to find all those wireless networks in most urban areas; its like that old cartoon about what goes on behind closed doors, where you see a picture of an ordinary walled-in yard and behind the walls dinosaurs are having cocktails and a Bar-B-Q. Who knew? I can get on line almost anywhere at no charge (except Starbucks and Barnes and Noble who charge a fee for the service .bad marketing move Im thinkin)
The display is very good (I mean it's not a Fujitsu or Sony, but its multi-hundreds cheaper and as much more GPU power than either a N3500 or Vaio FS790). I ordered the glossy screen, which I was concerned about but I really like it; however, this is something one would need to decide for oneself based on how the machine is to be used; I use mine inside and out of the direct light of the sun most of the time. In strong sunlight one would be better off with the matte screen. I play games, edit/look at digital pictures, and watch DVDs on mine; for these purposes the widescreen glossy display is perfect. The only display resolution available is WXGA Widescreen (1280x800), which was a concern when I bought the machine; I thought I might want WSXGA. As it turns out Im happy I got the lower resolution, its sharp and detailed with vivid colors. I think my old eyes might have a problem wit the smaller images on a WSXGA or WUXGA display. There is plenty of available real estate on the 15.4 widescreen; two documents can be opened and worked with side-by-side with no problem.
There were no dead pixels detected by pixel buddy.
For me, the biggest selling point of the machine is the X700 GPU... a very solid component. I can play Doom3 at medium settings, Call of Duty and Unreal Tourney II at highest settings with no problem or slowdowns. This is with only 512MB of RAM, with 1 or 2 Gigs I expect the gaming performance would really be impressive.
Audio. I have hearing problems so many notebooks don't work for me because of weak speakers...but not this one, the Altec Lansing speakers are really good. Sure, theyre a bit tinny, there is no on-board sub-woofer, but thats to be expected on the tiny speakers found in a notebook. The audio output is impressive in volume and when the volume is cranked I can hear them from across the room. But the Sound Max audio support is only OK. Sound Max doesnt support its own graphic equalizer so the only option I could find for Bass/Treble controls was to implement the graphic equalizer in Media Player.
The power adapter is small, gets warm and works. It has nice long cords, so it will span some distance from outlet to the machine. What more can one say about power adapters Oh, yes, I did read about one user whose adapter went bad and HP couldnt find one to replace it.
I bought Windows Home Edition and it works fine for most folks, unless one is on a big network or is VERY concerned about security or VERY serious about gaming. I think the extra $79 for Pro is a waste of money that could be used for MORE RAM. The machine came with MS Works, which I dont use as I have my own copy of Office Pro.
Overall Im very happy with this unit. I think it is an absolute steal for the money, far and away the best value I found. Its not as sexy looking as an ASUS, Fujitsu or Sony but its a solid machine. Only time will tell about the build quality but this machine cost half what a Ferrari cost, almost a third the cost of a Qosmio G25 and the performance isnt that far off either of these. Id recommend it to anyone on a budget who wants a pretty powerful 32 bit machine.
-
Ah a review of the DV4000 with the X700
Good job, read the entire article. I think you made a wise decision, going with the HP. It's one of the best notebooks for the money, I recommend it all the time. -
Dv4000 review (no pics)
Discussion in 'Notebook News and Reviews' started by togus, Nov 10, 2005.
