HP Pavilion dv3 taken for a spin, comes back unfit but well-performing
By Ross Miller 
posted Apr 15th 2009 9:43PM
posted Apr 15th 2009 9:43PM
posted Apr 15th 2009 9:43PM
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What is that bar thing at the top of the screen? Why don't computer companies realize that not many people like crapware?
They do realize it. They just don't care. Or maybe they just like the money companies pay them to install their crapware.
That's an HP app, buddy. If any of you make a South Park reference, I shall set fire to your lawn.
He ain't your buddy, guy. (I don't have a lawn, so there!)
My latest HP laptop was a bad purchase. It's a dv7. I dunno if it's a big problem or not but I've sent it in 3x now because dust has gotten under the screen! It's a great looking laptop, great price for performance but I had it repaired three times! Luckily the warranty covered it. Not sure if I want to buy another HP laptop. My first was fine though.
I have a dv6 and the chasis bends and squeeks when I pick it up.... really sketch. They should really come out with a unique unibody design and not something that has 100+ parts all glued and clipped together
sweet jesus, that thing is ugly.
stupid stickers all over it, protrusions on every side of the screen's bezel, etc...
add that to the overall creeky, cheep plastic feel that the review highlights, along with ALL the crapware that all of these HPs have on them.... AND IT STILL COSTS A COOL GRAND?!?!?!
GTFO.
i got a dv5... works great except theres so much crap under the keys they dont work sometimes. body is rock solid as well. im just pissed at the mirror finish trackpad that looks like crap when you scratch it and its like....black underneath o_O
I'm just sick and tired of having front audio/mic ports. Why not put them on the right side of the lcd or something.
I'm sick and tired of most laptops not having a volume wheel.
I gave up on those a long long time ago..... but yea, I can't stand my dv9700t volume buttons. They always end up activating media center or something else I don't want.
is it just me, or are hps wayyyyy uglier than dells?
I think the opposite =\
They are. The new Studio XPSs are very nice.
I own the dv3510nr and they are right about build quality, the worst part of the machine is the thin DVD Drive they crammed into it. You can tell its really cheaply made and the tray is loose in the case. Also for some reason the laser in the drive is too weak to burn Dual layer DVD's which is a real bummer.
Pro's: Small, Powerful, back lit screen and keys.
Con's: Build quality and the quality of some parts.
I think this is the last HP I buy because this is the second HP machine I have purchased with a cheap or faulty part.
I have the same machine and after only a month of ownership I've sent it in for a screen that has a very uneven backlight with a bunch of bleed from bottom. Otherwise, the screen is spectacular, but I'm starting to regret going against my better judgement (after my wife's and brother's DV2000s died after getting excessively hot) and buying an HP. Oh, and HP still has it after a week and a half.
Do I HAVE to buy a MacBook to get a high quality 13" for ~1000? Please say no...
From this angle, it doesn't look too shiny.
I'm never touching an HP computer again. I've sent my sister's HP laptop for the 3rd for repairs because of a dead/faulty motherboard. It was a good price at the time- you get what you pay for, clearly. The fan comes on full-blast a couple minutes after you turn it on, its loud as hell, and NEVER shuts off. The laptop is really sluggish with vista, even after I wiped it clean and doubled the RAM. The build quality is pretty much crap. Those touch sensitive controls suck, and are completely useless. I mean, who decided it would be practical for the user to reach all the way across the keyboard to control playback??
Anyway, like I said, never touching HP again.
So what you're saying is when you touch an HP, you break it?
Notebooks these days suck. Look at that piece of Sh*t! I have an Acer Aspire 5050, very old but it looks way better than that thing and doesn't feel so weak and the keyboard is actually good.
I once replaced the motherboard in a dv6000 - not my choice of repair job but I was the one with the technical knowledge.
The comments about cheap build quality are so incredibly true across the line. I was frightened every step of the way that I would snap some stupid tab or bezel and the machine would never go together again. The fact that it shows on the outside is equally distressing.
Can someone compare this to the Dell Studio XPS 13? I'm in the market for a powerful 13" notebook, and I have basically come down to those two choices.
I have an HP laptop, but I think I would recommend the Studio XPS over this because I think in general HP laptops these days don't have great build quality, whereas I think XPS is still pretty good. I'm actually wanting to replace my laptop with a Studio XPS 13 as well, although I most likely will not get a new laptop before at least two more years, so I'd probably get whatever the equivalent model is in two years. I guess if the price difference for similar specs is large go with HP, but I think I'm tired of HP laptops now, at least until they stop with their ubershiny aesthetic.
I like the HP laptop a lot... Best laptops I've seen in a while. I don't know what these comments are talking about. Unibody design is way overrated... I don't like the sharp edges on the new Mac laptops... they hurt my hands after 5 minutes of using it.
The report above is incorrect. The review is for the dv3510nr, which is the Best Buy Blue Label Laptop. I own the said laptop. I agree with most of the reviews readers have discussed.
As for the error- this is NOT the dv3 laptop that was anounced at the same time as the dv2. the dv3 is a AMD based system (sold as dv3z), that is configured slightly differently. I know this because I ordered the laptop as soon as it became available back in January. After receiving it in the mail, I turned on the laptop only to find that it ran hot (fan-on-overdrive-hot) all the time. so I promptly returned the laptop, and instead bought the dv3510nr, which has been available since last year at some point.
Even though they look exactly the same (save for the location of the audio ports and battery placement), the specs are very different. The dv3z does not have discrete graphics (it did not play a 720p .mkv video well-- stuttered), whereas the dv3510nr does (plays 720p fairly, I have only tried once though).
I don't want to review the laptops, but the one major complaint I have is the unresponsive trackpad, which are the same in both laptops.
Yup, this guy is right. The review is not for a DV3. The review is for a DV3000 (only at Best Buy, at least in the US) machine that is the only 13" HP with an Intel chip, which is why I bought it.
But Microsoft says *everybody* wants cheaply built laptops! So long as they have Windows on it!
You find it, they'll buy it!
*creak*
Are you that dense? Microsoft never claimed such a thing. They were only pointing out that this particular consumer wanted a laptop that met her needs, and it turned out that compared to a similar MacBook, she could just get an HP notebook for a much better price. Microsoft didn't say "everybody" wants cheapily made laptops.
I don't go for cheapily made, and prefer more high end laptops, and would pick a Sony Vaio any day as long as the price isn't too much. See? Not everybody wants cheapily made laptops.
You Apple fanboys are really over the top.
My old HP (the ones right before they got glossy) is nicer then this. I love the cleanness of a matte finish so if HP continues this I'm going to resort to buying a mac, A MAC! Or even worse ,a dell [puke]....
A Mac is probably the best Intel machine you can buy right now. If you don't want to use OS X, shrink the partition to like 10 gigs and let Boot Camp have the rest of your drive. This way you can still do firmware updates, etc. You may find that you like OS X better than Windows anyway.
You're probably referring to models before the DV series right? like the ZD, ZE series from about 5-6 years ago? I liked that design too. However from a graphics designers point of view (me), the DV series is very nicely designed. Now if HP can make the Imprint 2 (that really glossy finish) more smudge resistant or matte like, it would be brilliant...and same goes for the bright view infinity screen.
You do have to admit that HP is innovative and begins the trend:
*Lightscribe --->Label flash (toshiba/gateway)
*glossy notebooks ---->everyone followed HP a few months later in design
*those touch media buttons on top ---->every company copied not too long after
*bright view infinity screen (edge to edge glass) --->about 4 months later apples comes out with their new notebook with same type of screen
*quickplay (which sucks) ---->most companies have now made a similar program
*multimedia remote control --->dell first did something similar a couple of years later and then now a couple other companies are copying
*anti-shock hard drive (hardware based) HP is the second to offer in the consumer market, Fujitsu is first, but HP's works 10 times better. and i'm sure other will follow soon including dell
*offering pci express slots HP was first to adopt
*offering display ports HP was first to adopt
*offering hdmi ports HP was first to adopt
*Hp offering the first battery to hold its charge for three years, sure others will follow.
Just before the glossiness? Like the dv1000, dv5000, and such? I had a dv5000 and was horribly unhappy with this laptop for 3 years. It was slow, paint chipped off (no mistreatment ever, which is weird), and noisy and hot as hell. I had shown to stay away from HP until I played around with the dv3510nr at different best buys and ended up getting it. I'm glad you had a better experience with the older generation of HP laptops than I did...
Wow, look at all those stickers. Is there a huge one on the left? That's new. Good to see that most of these PC manufacturers are doing Apple's work for them.
I have the other DV3 (DV3-1075us to be specific). I wanted a Macbook, sure, but for half the price ($649) I got the HP with 4GB Ram, and a 320GB HDD. It has an AMD 2.1GHz chip, so battery life isn't so good and it gets hotter, but for the price it's terrific! I have plenty of money left over to buy spare batteries. I haven't found most issues that are mentioned with the dv3510nr. This model is a little thinner and lighter than the 3510 and has a slot load DVD drive that burns everything including DL discs with ease. The only thing I would have to agree with is the screen. It has a very tight sweet spot. If you aren't looking at it just right it washes out. I did compare it with the Dell Studio XPS 13 and the Dell does use better parts. For instance the memory is DDR3 and HDD spins at 7200. But, again it costs a lot more starting at $1099. Best Buy carries a less expensive model, but it doesn't use an LED screen. I also felt like the Dell's keyboard looked a little cheap and the system was a little thicker and heavier. Personally, I haven't found a perfect 13" notebook out there for me, but for the money the HP is pretty tough to beat.
So when is your Microsoft commercial appearing?
So when is your common sense coming?
Apparently, praising HP laptops and then criticizing a Dell machine, both which are Windows, makes him a Microsoft fanboy.
If you really wanted to be a jerk, at least you could have said "So when is your HP commercial appearing?"
I just realized something. When Engadget first wrote an article about this notebook, everyone made generally a positive comment. Now its all negative. (Not talking about the notebook itself but HP in general).
http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/06/hp-greets-us-with-13-3-inch-pavilion-dv3-entertainment-laptop
Anyway, just my 2cents. I really like the DV3510 except for two things. 1. bronze color. Although its grown on me a little, still prefer it to be black or brushed aluminium or something. 2. want edge to edge glass screen but have it matte, not glossy. Other than that I've messed with the notebook, very happy with the build quality and over all happy.
I also have the HP dv3510nr and, for my budget, is a really good laptop. Some of the caveats mentioned in notebookreview does not apply with my laptop. My keyboard is flawless and does not bow and, despite what another commenter had mentioned about his dv3510, burning dual-layer DVDs does not give me any trouble. I agree about the trackpad, but I had to get used to it. Screen visibility is great even outside on a bright, sunny day. The media touch keys work flawlessly despite what everyone out there have observed. The battery is GREAT, lasting me more than 3 hours on power saving settings, useful for horribly long lectures at school. 720p and 1080p movies look amazing and playing cod5 and bioshock runs smoothly, looking like a ps3 version. I also didn't like the bronze at first but I like the fact that I'm the only one at my school with this appearance. The build quality is surprisingly tough, which at first I thought it wouldn't. Maybe notebookreview got a horribly mishandled version to play with.
Sorry for the lengthy review. I know my review sounds biased but I'm not a diehard HP fan. I was considering two Asus laptops and one Toshiba laptop but realized that I'm a cheap university student and constantly need to budget until I can get a full time job. And I'm aware that my laptop sounds unrealistically flawless. Perhaps I should note that my laptop was a floor model at Best Buy. Since it was the last one and was not even on display, I was able to haggle -300 dollars off ;)
I had 2 of the Pavillion dvt9000's ... the 21 inch entertainment "desktop replacements". I had to send them both back. 1st one had a bad pixel (after I had paid an upgrade fee for the "better" screen) ... and the 2nd one died on the last day of my "no questions asked" return policy. But they asked a lot of questions before I got the go-ahead for return. Turns out one of the 2 hard drives had died.
I absolutely loved the design and form of HP's machines -- but the quality has put me off HP. Which is odd because I've since bought a Compaq (owned by HP) laptop -- and I'm very happy with the build and quality, especially for the price.
Only Apple fanboys have [brandname]-owning needs.
Get a macbook with OSX and unibody construction. Macbooks are very well engineered.
I don't have this particular laptop, but I just feel the need to comment on some of the "HP is garbage" posts.
I've had Dell and HP laptops, and I've had much better experiences with my HPs/Compaq. Within 6 months of my 1st dell laptop, the charging port stopped working, the LCD hinge was very weak, and the bottom of it, would get hotter than the surface of the sun. The fan/heatsink was replaced twice in two years, and the battery died in less than a year. The 2nd laptop also had a charging port problem, motherboard died on it, paint is wearing off, and the LCD hinge is weak on this one two.
I use a lowend Compaq CQ60, as my primary computer now, and the ONLY problems I have with it, is the the paint seems a little easy to scratch, and the hard drive is only 5400 rpm. However, it was a cheap laptop (under $450, for a Dual Core AMD 2.0, 2 gigs of ram, Vista Premium), so I can't complain about not having a really fast hard drive. It has integrated graphics, but good enough to play Return to Castle Wolfenstein on pretty high levels, same with Soldier of Fortune 2, Max Payne 2. Sure, non of those games are highend anymore, but just being able to play them on the go, in a pinch is cool. No HDMI, but the graphics card can output 1366*768 (correct ratio?) to my 32" LCD, so thats not that big of a problem anyways.
Unless Dell has really upped the craftsmanship in the past year or so, I think I will stay away from them, the next time I'm looking to upgrade.
This is my laptop. I kind of agree with the build quality lacking but for the most part it is just fine with me since Best Buy's version also has the 2yr manufacturer warranty instead of 1yr. Overall I am very happy with it since I strongly needed to replace my beast of a 17inch laptop that lacked amongst other things a dedicated video card. As low end as this card is it was a big jump in improvement considering I never had one in a laptop before. Most importantly for me is that none of the physical flaws that are in this review have appeared on my laptop. My problem is with overheating since I lay around with it often, but on a solid surface it is perfect...just dont put a coke on the left side otherwise it will get warm and no one wants that.
I just want to support some of the points above! This is NOT a review of the HP dv3. It is from the older cheap dv3000. Engadget should dump this posting!! You need to review the new product called the dv3. Hello?! I have a new dv3z and nothing in the images in the review even match! The build of the is of great quality and there is no squeaking or keyboard problems and the performance is great for such a small price. $703 dollars currently!! (link to hp at techbargains.com). Jeez, you guys need to do some fact checking next time!
Ya it looks exactly like the dv3000 one at costco!
Anyways, bad batt life = fail.
HP makes terrible looking notebooks.