Laptops Arena

HP Pavilion was launched way back in 1995 and it has been producing computer desktops and laptops ever since. Today, we have a whole variety of HP Pavilion laptops to choose from, from cheap to expensive and from basic to high-performance; this is one of the most famous series of laptops ever produced by a manufacturer. Too bad these laptops are only customizable in the United States; people in Europe will surely have gotten a kick out of such a personalized notebook.
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If you are looking to buy a good laptop, nice looking design and made by a manufacturer with good reputation and experience in the field, you might want to consider some HP Pavilion models. The HP Pavilion dv6000 may look like it's a business laptop, but that does not mean you cannot use at home just as well. The specs don't include the top of the line parts available on the market, but since this is not a gaming laptop, you'll probably be happy with what this model has to offer for its $1500 price.

The design of the dv6000 is not very different from other Pavilion designs. You still get that glossy black plus the gray lines on the case. It's a 15.4 inch laptop with a display that can easily render you favorite movies and with the QuickPlay feature you can launch and control your multimedia files with no need for booting up Windows.  The keyboard is full-sized and it will give you a good response. Above the keyboard you have the touch-sensitive multimedia control buttons which sure come in handy for some quick multimedia operations.  You get an Intel Core 2 Duo T4700 processor which means double the speed and 1GB of RAM to help you get around. The nVidia GeForce 7200 should be enough for a non-gaming laptop.



The HP Pavilion dv6000 laptop is not just about one machine, this is an entire series.  For example, this series includes a really nice laptop model, called the HP Pavilion dv6000t. The glossy black lid and the silver surroundings of the keyboard are sure to catch your eye. Since 15.4 inch laptops are what most people are looking for, HP Pavilion has made no compromises. The glossy display is very pleasant even if you just stare at it for a while. You have the nVidia GeForce Go 7400 graphics chipset and that is quite a lot of power even if you can't play the newest games at the best resolutions. The Intel Core 2 Duo processor is one of the best there are. It will help you double the performance especially if you are used to a single core processor (this one will seem like it is flying).



The keyboard is comfortable and the keys are easy to press and give a good feedback. The size is just right and you will have no complaints regarding this aspect. The touchpad seems to work fine as well and you also have a very special button that can help you disable it. You have the standard HP media control buttons just above the keyboard. These buttons are touch-sensitive and they light up in a pleasant blue color as they respond to your fingertips. They come in handy when you want to adjust the volume, quickly mute the speakers and perform other multimedia functions. Above the display, there is that small little webcam which work extremely well and is very useful when you want to chat with your friends from far away. There are plenty of ports for various functions. In the front you have two headphone plus microphone ports, on the right side there is an optical drive, one USB port, an Express Card accessory slot and the power jack and on the left side you will find two more USB ports, an Expansion port, the monitor output port, the Ethernet port and the FireWire Media card reader. We really liked the idea of having two headphone ports, this way you can share the music.



The battery will last about two hours but you can extend the period by activating the power-save feature (the battery drain test was performed with maximum LCD brightness and the wireless feature turned on). The laptop will heat up, especially on the left side and during heavy laptop activity but nothing to worry about, this is normal for most laptops. The fan will not become very noisy.  This laptop is likely to come with some pre-installed software so one of the first things you should do is to check out which programs you need and which ones you don't and then perform some serious disk cleaning to free some of that used space. In conclusion, the HP Pavilion dv6000t has the brains and the brawn to make you a proud Pavilion user anytime. You will be tempted to spend a lot of hours in front of this laptop as its speed and performance are outstanding compared to other computers available at the same prices. HP chose just the right components to store into that beautiful, shiny case which makes the dv6000t one of the best choices money can buy and the star of the dv6000 series. Except for the short battery life (don't say you haven't been warned) and the fact that the glossy lids attracts fingerprints so you'll have to keep a fiber cloth in handy and clean the laptop constantly, the dv6000t has nothing but good features. There are no major problems with this laptop, you will surely love the looks, the fact that it is quiet and even if you don't have high resolution options, we surely believe this is not going to stop you from buying this laptop.

Although it is in competition with other powerful brands like Sony VAIO, this series is surely something you should look into if you need a multimedia gadget. That QuickPlay feature is a definite competitor to the Sony VAIO multimedia control buttons, even if the Pavilion isn't available in color like pink, blue, lily or green. Trust us, it just may be worth you money.

Since laptop users nowadays are looking to own something out of the ordinary, computers that will attract the looks and the envy of the other, computer manufacturers are struggling to come up with innovative laptops, blasting colors and out of this world design.  The HP Mini 1140NR is a 10.1 inch laptop which is a very efficient computer, not to mention that it is light and easy to carry around.
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The special thing about this laptop is mostly in the design part. The 10.1 HP Mini 1140NR Vivienne Tam Edition netbook is a definite must for people who want to make a statement and stand out in that big crowd of laptop and netbook users. Let us tell you a bit about Vivienne Tam, just in case you have no idea who we're talking about. She is a fashion designer. Having her designer fashion house founded in 1994, the company has been designing, producing and selling women's contemporary clothes and accessories for big department stores and boutiques in the entire United States and also in the Asian Pacific Region where 30 stores are open and selling these clothes. The Vivienne Tam brand promise is surely unique and outstanding; it combines Asian mysticism with the modern world. The clothes they produce are beautiful, light, affordable and made with superior quality fabrics.

If you look at the picture below, you will know exactly what I'm talking about. This is a netbook for all those who want to have things that are out of the ordinary. The processor is an Intel Atom N270 1.6 GHz but maybe most of us did not expect to find power under that sweet and floral case. You also get 60B of free disk space and an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950.

With Windows XP Home Edition preinstalled, you can run all your daily tasks on this ruby red notebook and thanks to the integrated Bluetooth and wireless card, you can stay in touch anywhere you may be.  You have 2 USB ports to help you copy on your friend's memory stick those great pictures you guys took on your last holiday, a headphone and microphone jack for those late night Skype calls with your long-distance friends (oh, we forgot to mention that you also get an integrated webcam to show them the new outfit you bought for that party Saturday night), an 2 in 1 card reader to help you copy your photos from the digital camera and Ethernet jack.

We have nothing to complain about this netbook's performance. Even if it was lousy, we'd probably buy it for that astonishing case that make us look good. The HP Mini Vivienne Tam Edition has one downside though and that is battery power. The batteries lasted less than we expected but this is the average performance of a 3-cell battery. So, if you are looking for a netbook that bursts with power, try looking into some Asus models (or other HP Mini models) as this is not the netbook for you. With a starting price of 389 dollars, this accessory/netbook can help you get around with your basic internet surfing, e-mail checking, photo-sharing, messenger-chatting and music-listening needs and the best part of it is that you will look good while doing it.



Reviews for the 10.1 HP Mini 1140 NR Vivienne Tam Edition netbook are even better than we imagined. With a 4.7 rating out of a maximum 5, this laptop has sure amazed some customers which are absolutely in love with this notebook.  They think this mini computer is excellent for you average tasks like keeping track of your meetings and lists and storing information that would normally occupy a lot of physical space. They adore this small gadget and no one has been disappointed with the performance so far. Although they are satisfied with it, it seems this netbook is hard to find and users would have liked to read more reviews about it which are, unfortunately, unavailable. Some even said it's easier to use than an iPhone. People even buy this netbook as a gift and you don't even have to pay extra for wrapping, as it already looks like it's been gift-wrapped. You can also but the matching bag and mouse to have your collection complete. Students that have this laptop just throw it in the bag and use it to take notes in class. All-in-all, people are very happy with the small red devil and suggest all you girls hurry-up! It is a limited edition after all.

In September 2009, Vivienne Tam and HP announced another collaboration as they plan to extend their partnership. These netbooks will become fashion accessories for the modern women which is always on the go, who needs all her documents stored in order, in a safe place and can always carry useful information around wherever she needs it. The new fruit of this collaboration was the "Digital Clutch". It is different than the original, no more fierce-passion red and pink floral motives this time. Now it's butterflies all the way! The new redesigned netbook was revealed at the New York Fashion week, where Vivienne Tam presented her Spring 2010 collection.



We have yet to find any specs and this new netbook, but the pricing will probably be around 600 or 700 dollars (of course, in a month or two you will be able to buy a refurbished one for less than 400 dollars). The design of the netbook seems to have been inspired from a Chinese movie, a love story called "Butterfly lovers".  This butterfly is a symbol of independence, love and freedom. We've seen some photos from the catwalk and we just loved those girls in spring outfits carrying shoulder-bags and that butterfly sticking out like it wanted to fly directly on out lap. We can't wait to find out more about this laptop but we are guessing it will have a huge impact, maybe even bigger than the 10.1 HP Mini 1140 NR Vivienne Tam Edition netbook. We'll have to get back to you on that one!

Both of them have experience as computer manufacturers, both have products available in the entire world and both of them have always come up with something special for all you consumers out there. But the question is who will win in the battle of Asus laptops versus HP laptops. For the comparison round, we have decided to give Asus a head start since HP is one of the best brand in computer development. So, we have chosen to compare an Asus product that really has an impact on the market when it was launched. Here we go; it's HP Mini 2140 versus Asus Eee PC 1005.
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As you've guessed by their names, these are actually netbooks and netbooks are the ultimate portable computers on the planet. The models we are about to show you are very similarly configured, but one of them is better than the other. There is nothing special about the design of the HP Mini 2140 (in fact, it looks kind of boring) whereas the Asus Eee PC 1005 has hinges and when you open the lid of the notebook, it slides back and makes this gadget look smaller (we think it looks like a toy). And the Asus Eee netbooks are available in many different colors to give you the chance to personalize your laptop style. The Asus Eee's keyboard is plain and black and has nothing appealing to it (unless you buy a pink Eee; then it will be pink) but the HP Mini's keyboard is shiny and silver and, best of all, it is water resistant. That's good knows for you all you out there who want to enjoy a coffee or a glass of orange juice while surfing the internet.  And the best keyboard award goes to HP Mini 2140! However, the Asus touchpad is better that the HP Eee's one since the second one is narrow and the vertical spacing of the button is quite uncomfortable (this is what happens when you make all that effort to produce a really compact computer).

The Eee wins at the performance level just by a notch with its 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N280 processor compared to the 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 processor of the HP Mini. And HP almost had him, what a shame! Both netbook have 10.1 inch display but the pixel resolution of the screen is much better in the Eee's case. That's another point for Asus! In terms of battery life, you will be surprised with the performances of these two little critters. The HP Mini's battery can last 7 hours while running the usual application and 5 hours while using intense memory application. The Eee is even much better. It runs for 8 hours with normal tasking and 6 hours with heavy-duty tasks. The Asus Eee PC 1005 has won again. The HP Mini is thinner than the Eee but the Eee is lighter than the HP Mini. And now, the most interesting part for most of you: price. You can but the Asus Eee for about 350 dollars while the HP Mini is available at approximately $450. In our opinion, the winner is the Asus Eee PC 1005, but if are looking for that more "tough and manly" netbook appearance, you should definitely go with the HP.

Well, we have shown you the good and the bad of those two models above but that does not mean this is the general conclusion. We should first see some facts in general about these two well reputed companies and maybe then we can draw a conclusion about who makes the best laptops from these two manufacturers. As usual, we have read some general reviews about customer satisfaction in general with these two companies.

We found out that lots of people who bought an Asus laptop were so happy, that they went off and bought another one (and, in some cases, another one). People who have used Asus for their business needs are very happy with the service. One HP user from another country said he found customer services to be useless in their country so he ended up calling in the United States to get his problem solved. Overall, people really do seem happier with Asus as many have owned one of their laptops for years and did not have one single problem. Well, we think that is a bit exaggerated, as after many years of use that battery sure can't last charged very long but these users probably don't care so much about battery life as their care for other aspects of laptops. And, besides, the laptop's batteries are one of the simplest things to replace. You just buy one, put it in, format it and there you go.

The truth is, when companies like Asus and HP get on a big competitive level with each other, this is something to the customer's advantage. That is because they come up with new models all the time, which are made available at good pricing and they have the latest technology and best components. They will do anything to have better sales figures then the other companies so they will have good sales promotions and extended warranties and other things that are welcome to us users.

Both of their websites stuck us as being a bit too serious, with all that black and white spread around. Check out Dell's website, which is full of colors and looks so lively. But let's get back to Asus and HP matters; after all, this is Asus laptops versus HP laptops. Asus website seems more easy to use because you get to choose your continent and country right from the beginning when you enter the web page and so eliminate any useless information from the start. You will be shown products that are available in your area. As for the product range, it is clear HP has a lot more to choose from. Another plus for HP is the Pavilion series and Asus has nothing that can compare to it. Both companies offer extended warranty packages for their customers but HP has laptops drivers available for download directly from their website and that is something we did not find on Asus' page. This being said, we will let you decide who your winning company is.

Dell and Helwett-Packard are two of the best and most famous computer producers throughout the entire world. But if we compare the two companies, or better yet, the company's products, which is the best? Let's see who the winner is in this Dell versus HP laptop fight.
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It's very difficult to compare the whole company to another because one may be really good at assembling systems but have lousy customer service and the other one may have laptops with original display and still have trouble shipping the products in due time. We are going to see a comparison between Dell Inspiron 1520 laptop and the HP Pavilion dv6500t and let you decided which the best is. As far as design goes, the dv6500t has a glossy black lid with a very nice imprint finish which makes it look very elegant. Inspiron 1520 gives you the possibility to choose the lid color but other than that, it looks quite boring. The HP Pavilion dv6500t is thinner than the Inspiron 1520. The 9-cell battery of the Inspiron also makes it heavier compared to its opponent.

In terms of ports and features, things are quite similar except for the fact that the Inspiron 1520 has four USB ports while the Pavilion dv6500t has only three. As for the keyboard, the Inspiron wins. Its keys are solid with no flex, unlike the Pavilion's keys which are not that firm and you won't feel comfortable if you push them harder. The touchpad in the dv6500t is bigger and that makes it easier to use and it also has an on/off switch. One good thing about HP Pavilion models is that they come with a finger print reader is which located right between the two touchpad buttons but this is more of a "business" feature since us regular users do not have much need of fingerprint authentication on secure websites.

The multimedia round should have an interesting finish.  You will find media control buttons on both laptop models, both of them have a remote control and you can get access to media without logging on to Windows.  If you are into chatting with your long-distance friends, you should know that both of these laptops have webcams.  Although the HP Pavilion dv6500t has done pretty good so far, the Dell Inspiron 1520 has better components.  The Inspiron has an Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 2.0GHz processor while the Pavilion has an Intel Core 2 Duo T7100 1.8GHz one. Both laptops have 160GB of available disk space but the Dell model has 2GB of RAM while the Pavilion has only 1. Even the graphics card is better on the Inspiron (Nvidia 8600M GT) than the one on the dv6500t (nVidia 8600M GT) and if you are a game player than the Inspiron is more suitable for you. The wireless card is the same on both models but the battery on the Inspiron is better (and heavier since it's a 9-cell battery) than the Pavilion's 6-cell battery. Something we were really surprised to find out is that even if it has better features and more powerful components, the Dell Inspiron 1520 did not have any overheating issues. In fact, it runs quite smooth, quite and cool. Both laptops have the same Intel wireless system and you get a Bluetooth device with both of them. Although these notebooks look similar in features (let's face it, they are neither good nor bad), the Inspiron 1520 really stands out in comparison with its opponent, the slim-looking HP Pavilion dv6500t. They are both good option if you are looking for an acceptable mainstream laptop and you could also get any of them at a good price.

Generally speaking, the two companies are quite powerful brands in the computer industry and they have a history and experience in producing these machines. They offer laptops from really cheap to very expensive. Both of the companies have famous laptop models that are designed for gamer (the Dell XPS and the HP Blackbird) and Dell even owns Alieware, a very popular name in gaming machinery material. Let's talk a bit about the particulars of each of these two grand names.

HP has a lot more models available on the market that Dell but they could start to improve the website. Don't get us wrong, the site is useful, but Dell's website is much more fun to browse and colorful, really live-looking. Dell offers really from cheap computers (the Dell Inspiron Mini 10 netbook can be purchased for about 300 dollars) to very expensive (the Dell Adamo basic laptop model is $2000). The Dell Inspiron series allows you really customize the appearance of your laptop as you can choose between different available case colors. Dell has the Inspiron Mini series and this used to be a good adgantage for Dell until HP also developed and released the HP Mini. Another thing we have noticed is that Dell that many more price promotions and it's probable you will find good holiday sales for a Dell model. We've looked into some reviews and people are happier and it would appear the Dell also has better customer service than HP.

It would seem that Dell is winning in the Dell versus HP laptop fight. In the end, it's all about the customer needs and their preferences. The truth is that these two companies are in a constant struggle to be the best. Not only that, they are also arch enemies. If one has a good online promotion, it won't be long until the other one also has a promotion offer. This is because they are always competing with each other. The big difference between these two brands is the design. Most HP laptops are shiny and glossy while Dell laptops have a more standard look (except for some Inspiron models which are shiny as well). Let's just say that you will have to clean your HP laptop more often because of fingerprints. Both laptops brand can customize most of their models according to your preferences and they are both available for online purchase directly from their website (you have to order and pay in advance) or at different retailers. Just know that whatever you may choose you will be having a laptop from one of the best laptop brands on the market; that, you can be sure of!

HP Pavilion series is something the company really has shown off with and so far we have agreed with them. The laptop that belong to this series are elegant and powerful, stilish and expensive, However, there have been some issues regarding HP laptop Pavilion dv4 overheating.
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We have read some forum posts where people complained there was a problem with the HP Pavilion dv4000 overheating, even when running normal tasks, such as anti virus applications (which may require a good amount of RAM, it's true), the laptop would such down after 1 to 5 minutes, after some intensive fan running. The advice for such cases is to check the cooling airways to make sure they are not full of dust. The cooler is separated from the CPU by small heat pipes that run to a radiator neat the fan. This radiator's airways may be blocked up and this causes interruptions in the CPU's cooling process.  You could try cleaning with your vacuum cleaner (be very careful not to damage any laptop parts) or buying one of those special compressed air cans and blow air through the air inlets to remove all the dust. You could also use q-tips to "squeeze" into difficult spaces. It is quite normal for some laptops to overheat when running large programs but system shutdown is something you can avoid by constantly checking for air blockage inside the laptop.

Other people have complained that the Pavilion dv4000 shuts down even when doing some file conversion or watching videos on the internet. Some solution for this problem could be swapping the RAM in a different slot and then checking you processor for overheating issues. Also, on HP's website, you can browse and upgrade your chipset drivers (by downloading the latest ones).  There are freeware programs available on the internet, which can permanently monitor you CPU temperature and that of other laptop components. These programs will start making loud noise ("Everest" goes off like some kind of alarm) to warn you when one of the parts is overheating. This may not help you much as it is not actually a solution to the HP laptop Pavilion dv4 overheating problem; it is more of a way to let you know when your fan is over-working. Other solutions are removing the batteries from the laptop when you have the possibility to keep the laptop plugged into a power outlet (this is useful because batteries produce heat when charging) and try to keep you laptop placed on a hard surface, like a table or desk because the air circulating under the laptop will do so more efficiently. When the external temperature really gets impossible (like in the summer time) you can have a regular fan that blows cool air constantly at your laptop and this may prove to be an efficient way to prevent overheating due to outside temperatures.

The HP Pavilion dv4030us also seems to be having this overheating problem and it seems that this is an issue pretty common to HP as the fans cannot handle the heat output. It's not something you can really prevent, as these laptop models work perfectly fine when they are brand new and this problem appears after several months of usage. Another solution you might want to consider is CPU frequent scaling. This will slow down you processor clock speed when you don't use it and it will save you battery power which leads to cooling down your laptop. You should not come across any power loss as the speed will boost you processor when you need it to. Another good fact is that it may also reduce processor speed when there are signs of overheating to avoid you laptop being shut down. This solution does not permanently remove you overheating problem, but it will prove useful when the laptop is in "idle" mode or you use it at its minimum requirements.

We wanted to check out if HP is aware of this problem so we consulted the HP Pavilion dv4 Entertainment PC "Maintenance and Service Guide". First of all, in the manual you get a warning not to place the laptop on your lap (funny, isn't that where you are supposed to place it since it's a LAPtop?), which keeps you protected from heat injuries. There is some other piece of advice available. It says that for proper ventilation, you need to allow a clearance on the right side of the laptop (at least 3 inches) as the fan is controlled by a temperature sensor which trigs it off when things get too heated. This may happened due to system power usage, external high temperatures, software requirements and fast battery charging. The manual also says that if you want to remove the fan and heat sink, then there are certain steps to follow. First you should shut down the laptop and disconnect all the external devices that are attached to your computer (including the power jack and mouse - if any).



After that, you need to remove the battery and all the other components, as follows: hard drive, optical drive, keyboard, keyboard cover, display assembly, top cover and system board. To remove the fan, you need to turn the system board upside down so you can have access to it and then remove the two screws that secure the fan to the system board. Then you lift the fan up and clean it good and put everything back together again. When you remove the fan, you could clean it with a soft paintbrush or fiber cloth (we believe the paintbrush is more useful though).There is also a set of instructions available in the manual if you want to replace the heat sink.

The HP Pavilion dv4 series is not the only one to have these overheating issues. Problems have also been reported with other models like HP Pavilion dv6910us or the dv2700. Be careful, if you ignore this overheating problem and keep using the laptop even though it shuts down again and again, this will only lead to the processor's damage and you will need to replace it (because that cooling fan goes off to prevent your CPU from melting).