Home > Consumer Reviews > HP Pavilion DV9930US 17-inch Laptop (2.00 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5750 Processor, 4 GB RAM, 320 GB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, Vista Premium)

I've been shopping for a replacement for my 2003 Dell Dimension desktop computer for over a year now. I've been divided on whether to purchase a laptop or a desktop computer. The choice seemed simple when the Dual Core processors were released on laptops, but the choice was made difficult again by the introduction of new Quad Core processors for desktops. I realized that the battle was never going to end--by the time the Quads make it to laptops, there will be 6-Core processors in desktops. So finally I decided on mobility. The choice was great. The HP Pavilion dv9930us is simply an amazing computer. With 4 gigs of RAM this computer is lightning fast, and the brand new T5750 processor only helps to speed things up even more! I purchased a D-Link "Extreme N" router with this PC, which I recommend so that you can take advantage of the much faster wireless N technology that's included in this computer. Everything is fast; a word that sums up this computer. Video editing, via Adobe Premier Elements, was a task on my old computer, but is actually fun again on this HP. Every application launches almost immediately, everything runs smoothly and as you'd expect. What a great PC! I almost went the Mac route, but this HP is such a gem that I'll never regret my decision.

Pros:
1. Super fast with 4 GB RAM and the newest, fastest Intel processor
2. Giant, bright, vivid display
(Hint: Need help fitting large mega-pixel pictures (8MP+) on the background? Crop (NOT resize) pictures to 3312 X 2070 to fit perfect on this screen's background without cutting much of the image)
3. Battery lasts for hours, but if you let it totally die, the computer will start back up exactly where you left off (for example, even at the same point in time on a YouTube video clip)
4. For the top-of-the-line technology you get there's almost no beating the price, certainly not at this high level of quality
5. Tons of ports...favorites include 4 USB, 1 Firewire, S-Video output, etc.

Cons:
1. No Bluetooth
(Suggestion: the Logitech VX Nano Cordless Mouse has a USB connector so small that it almost totally hides in one of the 4 USB ports...no worries about no Bluetooth mouse)
2. No audio input. This is a laptop thing in general (no laptops have a standard audio input), but something to think about. There IS a Mic input on this laptop, and two 3.5mm headphone outs, but I've used the standard 3.5mm audio input in the past on my desktop to create ringtones from, for example, a TV show sound byte.

This laptop is a great computer for casual or novice users. The features are unbeatable for the price, and it's a gorgeous piece of hardware. The screen is razor sharp and the keyboard deck is wide and comfortable.

My unit had a defective CD/DVD drive right out of the box, but replacing the computer was fairly painless.

Beginners or casual users will enjoy the ease of setup and the wealth of software installed on the system. All the neat features work right off the bat (webcam, LightScribe disc labeling, DVD player, etc.). The computer is lightning fast and loads just about everything in seconds.

Advanced/power users will be sorely disappointed, however. As a 25-year veteran hardware/software developer, I demand a lot of my computers, especially access to all levels of configuration.

I expected to be able to wipe out Vista and install trusty Windows XP, but after days of deep research I learned this was impossible. The system is literally built for Vista, right down to the chipset. No operating system but Vista will ever run on this thing.

What's more, the installed "Premium" version of Vista is deliberately crippled, as it doesn't include the MMC (Microsoft Management Console) or Group Policy Editor; basic administrative components of XP. The only way to get these is to upgrade to Ultimate or Business editions, at a cost of at least $150.

There is also no way to reinstall a clean version of Vista from either the hard drive-based recovery partition or the recovery discs (which you must burn yourself). Meaning you are stuck with all the pre-installed "bloatware", which any experienced user knows can never be entirely removed.

The included TV tuner card and remote controls are nice touches, but again require Vista specifically (don't plan on using them with an XP machine).

The chassis is beautiful, but the glossy finish is a fingerprint magnet.

Pros:

- Well-built, comfortable to use.
- Generous extras included.
- Second hard drive bay is great (on the bottom of the computer).
- Tons of RAM, large hard drive, versatile CD/DVD burner.
- Lots of USB ports, and the memory card reader is nice.

Cons:

- You're stuck with Vista forever.
- Vista Premium edition is huge, eating a whopping 25gb of disk space (8% of the hard drive), and this 64-bit version has compatibility issues with lots of existing software.
- The keyboard volume control slider gets "stuck" frequently (on-screen volume display won't go away, and running software becomes unresponsive).
- Touchpad buttons are recessed (lower than the pad surface), making them awkward to use.
- HP phone support is appalling; very long hold times and inexperienced technicians.

Overall: Great machine for novices, awful machine for power users. I've since returned mine.

This laptop is an excellent combination of speed, features and price. After hearing Vista horror stories from people who tried to upgrade their XP machines to Vista, I was wary. But this laptop runs smoothly and I've only had one small problem with installing a program that, for some stupid reason, messed up my "D" key so it wouldn't work properly. I uninstalled the program and now all is well. There can be issues with upgrading certain software packages to run on 64-bit Vista, if there is a 64-bit Vista version at all. But that is changing, and overall I'd say I the entire VIsta experience has been painless. This laptop rocks, by the way.

So it didn't take me long to figure out that this was the laptop for me. The technology for the price is what sold me. Vista64, 4gigs of ram, core 2 duo processor, and an 8600m gs....all for 1099....can't beat that price. As with any laptop, there are programs installed that you will never use or just don't need. I have since deleted all of them. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to run Warhammer Online with it, but it actually runs very fast while still looking good. All in all, very happy with this computer.

Great laptop GREAT PRICE! But lame OS, it should work best with Xp, but this pc is built for Vista, didn't find all its drivers for Xp, hope to find the driver soon


and yes the quick launch bottoms freeze the computer for several seconds