HP Pavilion dv8130us

HP's Pavilion dv series of notebooks has integrated many good multimedia features in the past, but the latest dv8130us desktop replacement is a mix of features that doesn't live up to other multimedia based notebooks.

1/26/06 – Intel has dominated the portable computer market with their success of the Pentium M, but AMD is not taking this lightly. In fact, HP has decided to use the new AMD Turion 64 TL-40 (2.2GHz) mobile processor in their Pavilion dv8130us desktop replacement. This is the fastest of AMD's current mobile chips and it gives the system a very strong performance and 64-bit software support, something not available with Intel's mobile chips. The processor is matched up with 1GB of PC2700 DDR memory. It would be nice to see them use faster memory in the system.

Storage is exceptional for the zd8130us. Two 100GB 4200rpm hard drives are used in the system for a total of 200GB of space. This provides plenty of storage for digital media files. In addition, an 8x DVD+/-RW dual layer burner is included that also supports burning labels onto LightScribe compatible CD and DVDs.

Graphics are important to desktop replacements and the dv8130us uses the now standard 17” wide screen LCD panel. What is disappointing with the system is the use of the ATI Mobility Xpress 200M integrated graphics processor. This eats up some system memory and lacks the 3D performance for things such as PC gaming.

While the Pavilion dv8130us is a multimedia platform system with features such as QuickPlay, the choice of using the Windows XP Media Center Edition operating system is misplaced. Without items such as a TV tuner, many of the important features of the operating system are lost.