The HP Pavilion dv2000 series notebook combines a stylish design with durability and entertainment. Each features HP’s new Imprint finish–an elegant, high-gloss, durable design, plus you get touch-sensitive, back-lit media controls. There’s also an integrated Webcam and omni-directional microphone for live video chat plus easy capture and sending of still shots and video clips. Other cool features include HP QuickPlay, which lets you watch movies and listen to music without booting up, a 5-in-one digital media card reader for fast photo transfer, dual headphone jacks, and an optional LightScribe drive that lets you imprint CDs and DVDs with your own silkscreen-quality labels.

“With the release of the HP Pavilion dv2000, HP inaugurates a new look and feel for its HP Pavilion line of laptops. Departing from the familiar matte silver and black case, the HP Pavilion dv2000 has sleek rounded edges, a high-gloss finish (which HP says is particularly scratch resistant), and a subtle Zen wave design on the lid.


Looks aside, however, the HP Pavilion dv2000 sticks to the same basic script as previous HP Pavilion models: you get a strong set of components and most of the features that a home user will want for a competitive price (it starts at $830). HP has also upped the ante with the HP Pavilion dv2000’s processor options: you can configure it with either an Intel Core Solo or Core Duo, or AMD Sempron or Turion 64 X2 processors. Unfortunately, the AMD-based HP Pavilion dv2000z we tested offered below-average performance and battery life that just couldn’t keep up with that of similar laptops that feature Intel processors, most notably HP’s own Compaq Presario V3000.

When it comes to design, features, and software, the HP Pavilion dv2000 is virtually identical to the Compaq Presario V3000, with the exception of a Webcam built into the Pavilion’s lid. For complete details about the dv2000’s overall design, feature set, and warranty, head on over to CNET’s Compaq Presario V3000 review.

Where the two models differ is configuration: the HP Pavilion adds the option of discrete graphics into the component mix. We tested the HP Pavilion dv2000z, which cost $1,615 (though various Web discounts and rebates can knock $150 off the price) for a 1.6GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 dual-core processor, a whopping 2GB of 533MHz RAM, a 100GB, 5,400rpm hard drive, and an Nvidia GeForce 6150 graphics card with 256MB of dedicated video memory. Those are some pretty good specs for the price, which made the system’s performance scores on CNET Labs’ mobile benchmarks all the more disappointing. Seeming to suffer from the same slow performance we saw on the Turion 64 X2-based HP Compaq nx6325, the HP Pavilion dv2000z just couldn’t muster scores that matched Intel’s Core Duo offerings. And while power-saving features factor heavily into the laptop’s performance on these tests, the HP Pavilion dv2000z doesn’t offer much in terms of battery life–it lasted a below-average 2 hours, 42 minutes. In short, the Turion-based HP Pavilion dv2000z may give you enough performance for basic productivity tasks, such as e-mail and Word processing, but you can get faster performance and longer battery life from several competitors’ models, and even from within HP’s own product line.” - CNET.COM

This entry was posted on July 15, 2006 and is filed under HP Pavilion notebook PCs.