Product Listing

HP Pavilion dv2 - Neo Goes on a Diet

By Aloysius Low - 19 Apr 2009

Slightly Thin and Shiny

Slightly Thin and Shiny

HP's Pavilion dv2 does have a lot going for it - it's a none too shabby machine that delivers much better performance than the Intel Atom based machines; but this is to be expected from its specs, of course. Our tests have shown that while it's nowhere near the Intel Core 2 Duo ULV processor based machines in terms of performance and power consumption, the AMD Neo MV-40 processor still manages fine on its own. AMD is trying to fill a niche that it has identified - a low cost ultrathin notebook platform - and it does that decently well with the help of HP. Given the choice of getting an Intel Atom based ultrathin notebook or an AMD Neo based ultrathin - well, the choice is obvious; provided that the notebook has decent battery power to boot like the dv2. This is because the Yukon platform does consume more power than the Intel equivalent platforms.

Since we're on the subject of power and battery life, we had hoped that the dv2 coupled with a 6-cell battery would do exceedingly well in delivering an optimal battery performance. While 2 hours 26 minutes is nothing to sneeze at, it's not really sufficient to make us change our minds about the somewhat less than expected battery life from the dv2 even when using an extended battery. It may be a thin notebook, but it's nowhere near as portable as a machine that's using Intel's ULV processors as shown in our portability index.

While we didn't review the Dell Mini Inspiron 12, our brief hands-on experience with the 12-inch Intel Atom based notebook running on Vista was sluggish and we didn't quite enjoy the experience. Similarly, we also had the same complaints with the Intel Atom based Gigabyte M912 mini-notebook that was running Vista. On the other hand, the HP Pavilion dv2 ran reasonably well with no discernible slow downs that should please the more picky folks. However, this is just with normal day to day use and you should expect performance limitations with heavy productivity and multi-tasking usage, similar to the Intel Atom based machines.

While the HP Pavilion dv2 does have some flaws, it's still a pretty looking and decent performing notebook that gives consumers a cheap choice in the ultraportable/ultrathin market.

Lastly, while we could find no fault with the overall design and build of the dv2, we're still slightly irritated with the glossy surfaces that do nothing but turn the pretty looking machine into a smudge magnet. Otherwise, you'll find yourself in love with its pretty design, good looks and solid build. Price wise, the dv2 will set you back at a price of S$1299. Definitely expensive compared to an Intel Atom based mini-notebook and considering that more powerful regular but bulkier machines are available for the same price range. It is however definitely much more affordable than what you would expect from a 'similar sized' Intel ULV based machine, and is really the key point for you to consider if you're thinking of getting this notebook.

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