15 responses so far ↓

• 1 Ursettie

  Pros
  1. 18″ HD screen is very clear and bright
  2. Fingerprint log feature is pretty nice.
  3. With 7200rpm hard disk, this laptop runs like desktop.
  4. With a full size keyboard.
  5. Build in webcam
  6. Lowest price compare other brand with same configuration
  Cons
  1. I don’t like these touch buttons on the keyboard at all. Slow response or response by wrong way all the time. I have to be very careful how many times touch on that volume touch button. It has to wait for CPU available to take sound adjustment request processor. A normal mechanical button is more efficient.
  2. Wireless connection comes and goes. I guess that is windows vista’s common issue.
  3. DVD player interface is so bad; actually, HP media DVD player is the worst DVD player software I have even seen, which shows HP is really not a software company! Player does NOT allow use mouse to do most of DVD normal function and remote control doesn’t work at all in most of time. Backward, forward can only go one speed. And every time I want to change movie feature (add subtitle), DVD will restart from beginning.
  4. HDMI output doesn’t include sound, only video.
  5. You can put second hard disk in this laptop. But it’s not wired.
  6. Not indication bar on screen shows screen brightness level during adjustment
  Overall conclusion
  Performance is pretty good as a laptop stand. Good for doing some serious job, but not that good for entertainment purpose.

• 2 Quaternik

  I am completely happy with my recent purchase. My family is enjoying the high quality of this product, modern and well designed.

• 3 Kidde

  After twenty years of using nothing but desktops, I finally decided to get my first laptop. I did a large amount of looking around and finally decided on a laptop in the HP HDX series. I wanted a big screen and since I didn’t (and don’t) plan on carrying it around a lot, I wasn’t too concerned about its size. Portability and weight weren’t major considerations. If they are for you, then definitely don’t get this. It is something of a monster, quite heavy. Furthermore, as far as I’ve been able to discover, there is only one case that will accommodate a laptop this side, one by Targus. It is less like a messenger bag or pack back and more like a suitcase on wheels. But except for the size, this is a great laptop and I’m completely delighted with it.

  There is really only one advantage to buying a preconfigured laptop. You can get it quickly. But I would recommend people who really know what they want to do their own configuration. I wanted a computer that was really strong on media, so I opted for the 1 GB video card, a Blu-ray burner, and a TV tuner. I also got the bluetooth wife modem so that I wouldn’t have to use a transceiver. The computer has been exceptional in this regard. The screen is bright and unbelievably detailed. Blu-ray discs don’t look quite as good as they do on my Samsung high def TV using a PS3, but it is close. The built in speakers are amazingly decent for a laptop. Although I prefer using headphones for movies and videos, the speakers are good enough for two people to watch something together. But for music while I type I usually just use the built in speakers.

  Just about everything else about the computer is great as well. I find the keyboard comfortable to use and the action on the keys are really nice. I don’t like the touchpad, but that would be true for absolutely any laptop.

  If you are looking for a laptop that is superb at multimedia but that doesn’t have to be especially transportable, you can’t do much better than this laptop. My one piece of advice for anyone configuring a laptop is to put your upfront money almost entirely in things that cannot be upgraded easily later. Put off the printer if it means you can get a faster processor. Don’t worry about the size of your hard drive, because there great inexpensive external hard drives (you can get a 1 TB today for less than $150). But also plan on doing other things to extend the life of your computer. I got the Blu-ray burner, but I plan on getting an external DVD drive to minimize the wear and tear on the internal drive. I got a single battery now, but plan on getting a second one later. But it is pretty difficult to upgrade your processor speed or video card later. Of course, if money isn’t a consideration for you (it was for me), go ahead and get everything right now. But whether you have to economize or not, this is a great multimedia computer.

• 4 Teeters

  HP Pavilion HDX16-1160US 16.0-Inch Laptop HP Pavilion HDX16-1140US 16.0-Inch Laptop HP Pavilion X16-1040US 16.0-Inch Laptop HP Pavilion HDX18-1020US 18.4-Inch Laptop HP HDX 16t Premium-Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo ProcessorP8600 (2.4 GHz), 4GB DDR2

  It is ironic I picked HP for reliability and service reasons. After over two frustrating months I can only report about poor reliability and extremely ineffective service. My new HDX Laptop still has major performance issues and the horizon looks bleak. I am considering making this purchase a total lose in order to save me from wasting many more hours of my time.

  Out of the box the laptop looked promising. for instance HP decision to scarify proper aspect ratio for the display in order to achieve high resolution at a lower cost seems reasonable (it uses standard HDTV screen rather than WXGA). Immediately it was obvious that performance was mediocre at best in spite of ordering the highest available options for my configuration (processor, memory, hard drive, etc. all superior to the listing above). Documentation was not helpful like directing me to unavailable features and options for the embedded webcam.

  I failed my first task of connecting my new HP laptop to my new HP printer. It is missing an essential HP driver that apparently was supposed to be install at the factory. After eight weeks and 50 (yes fifty!) hours of my time and similar effort from HP, the only option I have, is to start from scratch and install the initial factory configuration for the software myself. Since it takes numerous hours to proceed the inital configuration with missing updates, software configuration choices, installation of my own software, etc., I wonder if I should invest any more time in this computer. At this moment, the reason for the faulty factory installation is not on HP service map yet (likely a faulty sector on my new hard drive). Thus my odds to continue a long expensive path in reviving my sick new computer looks high.

  Since we are at the age of paying relatively little for much functionality and performance one must face the high probability of requiring support. If you like to follow excessive useless long laundry instruction lists (looked canned to me) of re-installing existing software that works fine, email HP Support and ask for help. If you enjoy long aimless frustrating discussions with mostly nice people but with lack of knowledge, ability, responsibility, or authority (probably the combination of all), than buy HP products. I can assure you that you will meet many people from the Philippines and India with various impressive job titles.

  While generating a rich set of service records, I was wandering how can HP afford to spend so much time and effort with a single customer on a single product with very low profit margin. Perhaps that is the reason why HP cut corners more aggressively than others. My personal cursory inquiry and Consumer Reports survey suggest that Lenovo is a better choice for laptops.

• 5 Vanderheide

  Installed Adobe Premiere Elements 7, Lightroom II, and Photoshop Elements 7 (in that order) and Vista crashed; after “restore” and boot, the mousepad did not work. Called HP technical support and was told that they were having “many” “conflicts” with Adobe product line. The agent clammed up when I asked for details.

  Have purchased four HP laptops over last 3 years; construction quality (esp. drive wiring) on this laptop clearly inferior to older 9000 and 6700 models.

  Technical support is highly variable, hence very frustrating. They have excessive training in “manners” and inadequate training in their work. They must fill out form info on the caller for half an hour. Their computer support (they search your problem as they talk) is weak (their response times are slow) and requires them to access multiple “data bases” on multiple computers.

  In fairness, I suppose, after many years and many laptops, I stopped buying Dell because they were worse…. Unfortunately, I am afraid that HP is the “next Dell.”

  Otherwise, a good, if somewhat expensive, laptop.

• 6 Skelton

  I am fairly pleased with this laptop and think it was a great bargain for the price but the keyboard is very hard to see the letters/numbers, etc.,!!! What was HP thinking when they designed this product?? I’m half tempted to return it but like it otherwise.

• 7 Veelik

  I think this laptop is practically perfect! I read all of the reviews on amazon before purchasing it, and the only flaw I read was that the grey letters on the keys were difficult to see. I have had no problem in any light or at any angle seeing what is on the keys. I have no complaints! It’s very user friendly and would recommend this laptop for anyone!

• 8 Moyle

  The flaw is not, as some people have suggested, in the keyboard. It’s in the chrome strip on which the power button rests, along with a volume control, and the single, only, solitary, absolutely-no-other-way-to-do-this, wireless switch. The wireless switch isn’t a positive contact mechanical switch like the power button–it’s a capacitance “touch” location which ceases to function if the chrome strip happens to short against something. This not only turns off the wireless and makes turning it back on virtually impossible, it also causes the audio volume slide area to short, which makes the audio volume dialog strobe on and off repeatedly, accompanied by a cascade of annoying clicks.

  We are returning the laptop to HP for warranty repairs on the hardware, and hoping that the unit comes back completely fixed.

  I think that making the wireless functional only through a single, highly-suspect switch is a bad design. I’ve expressed this view to HP already.

  Beyond that issue (and we have the chrome, not the bronze finish), I think the laptop excels in all other ways. I’ll be happy to see it back and functioning in about…oh, maybe 10 days from now.

• 9 Vannier

  I have the 1245dx version of this laptop. The 17-inch screen is marvelous and the laptop’s design and the chrome/bronze finish is sharp and makes it look so much more expensive than it actually is. It is not as portable as other laptops but is an acceptable trade-off to have a big screen. The keys are very comfortable and have a nice soft touch, the space bar is short and works well ergonomically, and the keyboard is laid out with number keys off to the right, which is useful. Both for work and for play [media applications], you feel like you have a mini flat screen TV on your desk.

  My review of this laptop is mixed however. This HP Pavilion refreshes slower than the Compaq Presarios my kids have. Also, when changing the appearance of the menu and other texts, there are some fonts that end up with less fidelity - parts of letters are faded! The worse is the white color of the letters/symbols on the keyboard. They are very hard to see against a bronze background. If you look at the keys from the right side at an angle, the letters and symbols are very visible. But who would crank their necks this far to type? When looking directly over the keys, more than half of the letters and symbols are nearly invisible! So much for fashion versus function.

  Other than these complaints, I would still recommend this laptop. Will I buy another one? Yes, but only if they do something about the colors on the keyboard.

• 10 Lucky

  I purchased the dv7-1262us version of this Pavilion notebook from Staples and have been pleasantly surprised with its capabilities. The video card (an Nvidia 9600M GT) handles most modern gaming titles on low-to-moderate graphics settings. I’m not aware of many notebooks below $1,000 that can play GTA 4 in medium resolution, but HP’s dv7 definitely makes the grade here. With the addition of a Blu-Ray ROM drive, the value of this machine becomes even greater.

  There’s ample memory and processor power for handling most tasks with ease. Even though the unit can be upgraded to 8 GB of RAM, I believe most users will find the 4 GB of included memory more than adequate. The biggest performance killer is HP’s Total Care Advisor, which I recommend un-installing once setup is completed.

  Another nice surprise was the machine’s speakers. Typical laptop sound systems are lacking in quality, but the dv7 is one of the best I have heard. Having a sub-woofer on the bottom is probably what makes the difference. Whether you’re listening to music or watching a Blu-Ray movie, the enhanced audio capability is a nice addition.

  My only complaint is the silver, mirror-like touchpad. It is a smudge magnet! That’s a relatively minor issue in my opinion, and certainly doesn’t overshadow the tremendous overall value of the HP dv7.

• 11 Jorgenson

  I am completely happy with my recent purchase. My family is enjoying the high quality of this product, modern and well designed.

• 12 Thomure

  Installed Adobe Premiere Elements 7, Lightroom II, and Photoshop Elements 7 (in that order) and Vista crashed; after “restore” and boot, the mousepad did not work. Called HP technical support and was told that they were having “many” “conflicts” with Adobe product line. The agent clammed up when I asked for details.

  Have purchased four HP laptops over last 3 years; construction quality (esp. drive wiring) on this laptop clearly inferior to older 9000 and 6700 models.

  Technical support is highly variable, hence very frustrating. They have excessive training in “manners” and inadequate training in their work. They must fill out form info on the caller for half an hour. Their computer support (they search your problem as they talk) is weak (their response times are slow) and requires them to access multiple “data bases” on multiple computers.

  In fairness, I suppose, after many years and many laptops, I stopped buying Dell because they were worse…. Unfortunately, I am afraid that HP is the “next Dell.”

  Otherwise, a good, if somewhat expensive, laptop.

• 13 Ingersoll

  After twenty years of using nothing but desktops, I finally decided to get my first laptop. I did a large amount of looking around and finally decided on a laptop in the HP HDX series. I wanted a big screen and since I didn’t (and don’t) plan on carrying it around a lot, I wasn’t too concerned about its size. Portability and weight weren’t major considerations. If they are for you, then definitely don’t get this. It is something of a monster, quite heavy. Furthermore, as far as I’ve been able to discover, there is only one case that will accommodate a laptop this side, one by Targus. It is less like a messenger bag or pack back and more like a suitcase on wheels. But except for the size, this is a great laptop and I’m completely delighted with it.

  There is really only one advantage to buying a preconfigured laptop. You can get it quickly. But I would recommend people who really know what they want to do their own configuration. I wanted a computer that was really strong on media, so I opted for the 1 GB video card, a Blu-ray burner, and a TV tuner. I also got the bluetooth wife modem so that I wouldn’t have to use a transceiver. The computer has been exceptional in this regard. The screen is bright and unbelievably detailed. Blu-ray discs don’t look quite as good as they do on my Samsung high def TV using a PS3, but it is close. The built in speakers are amazingly decent for a laptop. Although I prefer using headphones for movies and videos, the speakers are good enough for two people to watch something together. But for music while I type I usually just use the built in speakers.

  Just about everything else about the computer is great as well. I find the keyboard comfortable to use and the action on the keys are really nice. I don’t like the touchpad, but that would be true for absolutely any laptop.

  If you are looking for a laptop that is superb at multimedia but that doesn’t have to be especially transportable, you can’t do much better than this laptop. My one piece of advice for anyone configuring a laptop is to put your upfront money almost entirely in things that cannot be upgraded easily later. Put off the printer if it means you can get a faster processor. Don’t worry about the size of your hard drive, because there great inexpensive external hard drives (you can get a 1 TB today for less than $150). But also plan on doing other things to extend the life of your computer. I got the Blu-ray burner, but I plan on getting an external DVD drive to minimize the wear and tear on the internal drive. I got a single battery now, but plan on getting a second one later. But it is pretty difficult to upgrade your processor speed or video card later. Of course, if money isn’t a consideration for you (it was for me), go ahead and get everything right now. But whether you have to economize or not, this is a great multimedia computer.

• 14 Fiedler

  Pros
  1. 18″ HD screen is very clear and bright
  2. Fingerprint log feature is pretty nice.
  3. With 7200rpm hard disk, this laptop runs like desktop.
  4. With a full size keyboard.
  5. Build in webcam
  6. Lowest price compare other brand with same configuration
  Cons
  1. I don’t like these touch buttons on the keyboard at all. Slow response or response by wrong way all the time. I have to be very careful how many times touch on that volume touch button. It has to wait for CPU available to take sound adjustment request processor. A normal mechanical button is more efficient.
  2. Wireless connection comes and goes. I guess that is windows vista’s common issue.
  3. DVD player interface is so bad; actually, HP media DVD player is the worst DVD player software I have even seen, which shows HP is really not a software company! Player does NOT allow use mouse to do most of DVD normal function and remote control doesn’t work at all in most of time. Backward, forward can only go one speed. And every time I want to change movie feature (add subtitle), DVD will restart from beginning.
  4. HDMI output doesn’t include sound, only video.
  5. You can put second hard disk in this laptop. But it’s not wired.
  6. Not indication bar on screen shows screen brightness level during adjustment
  Overall conclusion
  Performance is pretty good as a laptop stand. Good for doing some serious job, but not that good for entertainment purpose.

• 15 Molden

  HP Pavilion HDX16-1160US 16.0-Inch Laptop HP Pavilion HDX16-1140US 16.0-Inch Laptop HP Pavilion X16-1040US 16.0-Inch Laptop HP Pavilion HDX18-1020US 18.4-Inch Laptop HP HDX 16t Premium-Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo ProcessorP8600 (2.4 GHz), 4GB DDR2

  It is ironic I picked HP for reliability and service reasons. After over two frustrating months I can only report about poor reliability and extremely ineffective service. My new HDX Laptop still has major performance issues and the horizon looks bleak. I am considering making this purchase a total lose in order to save me from wasting many more hours of my time.

  Out of the box the laptop looked promising. for instance HP decision to scarify proper aspect ratio for the display in order to achieve high resolution at a lower cost seems reasonable (it uses standard HDTV screen rather than WXGA). Immediately it was obvious that performance was mediocre at best in spite of ordering the highest available options for my configuration (processor, memory, hard drive, etc. all superior to the listing above). Documentation was not helpful like directing me to unavailable features and options for the embedded webcam.

  I failed my first task of connecting my new HP laptop to my new HP printer. It is missing an essential HP driver that apparently was supposed to be install at the factory. After eight weeks and 50 (yes fifty!) hours of my time and similar effort from HP, the only option I have, is to start from scratch and install the initial factory configuration for the software myself. Since it takes numerous hours to proceed the inital configuration with missing updates, software configuration choices, installation of my own software, etc., I wonder if I should invest any more time in this computer. At this moment, the reason for the faulty factory installation is not on HP service map yet (likely a faulty sector on my new hard drive). Thus my odds to continue a long expensive path in reviving my sick new computer looks high.

  Since we are at the age of paying relatively little for much functionality and performance one must face the high probability of requiring support. If you like to follow excessive useless long laundry instruction lists (looked canned to me) of re-installing existing software that works fine, email HP Support and ask for help. If you enjoy long aimless frustrating discussions with mostly nice people but with lack of knowledge, ability, responsibility, or authority (probably the combination of all), than buy HP products. I can assure you that you will meet many people from the Philippines and India with various impressive job titles.

  While generating a rich set of service records, I was wandering how can HP afford to spend so much time and effort with a single customer on a single product with very low profit margin. Perhaps that is the reason why HP cut corners more aggressively than others. My personal cursory inquiry and Consumer Reports survey suggest that Lenovo is a better choice for laptops.

You must log in to post a comment.