New 2010 HP Pavilion dv3
HP Fansite super exclusive review of the 2010 HP Pavilion dv3: If there’s one fantastic thing the world didn’t see coming this year, it would be the brand new 2010 HP Pavilion dv3. Redesigned from the ground up (along with its larger siblings dv5, dv6 and dv7) and looking nothing like pre-2010 Pavilion models, the 2010 Pavilion dm4 is designed for those who want a compact notebook with plenty of power. At the moment, the HP Pavilion dm4 will sell alongside existing dv4, but with the total makeovers HP has done to the dv5, dv6 and dv7 models this month, who knows what they’ll do to the old, glossy dv4?
Update: Whoops, epic fail on my behalf. This is not the Pavilion dm4 – I was too busy gushing over the greatness of the notebook for several days that I didn’t even notice that this is in fact… the 2010 Pavilion dv3. Apologies for the mistake, and thank you to the many readers who pointed out the confusion to me (-embarrassed look on face-). I would also like to extend further thanks to those who sent in links to HP’s product pages (Those are exactly what I’ve been looking for!)
Here’s a sneak peak of what the new Pavilion dv3 has to offer: it has a quad core Intel Core i7 processor (yes, quad core!) and new DirectX 11 kicking Mobility Radeon 5400 series graphics (Updated; new 2010 dv3 has lower end graphics than similar dm4) from ATI! Hit the link for HP Fansite’s complete, super in-depth, super exclusive review of the notebook!
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I have a friend who recently bought a new HP Envy 15, which HP updated last month with new Intel Core i5 mobile processor options and ATI Mobility Radeon 5830, and USB 3.0 (with Core i7 models only). First, a little intro on why he decided to buy the Envy 15, and why now – he wanted to replace his aging 15 inch notebook with some thing of similar size and with a lot of power for his PC games, and liked the 2009 Envy 15 (mainly due to build quality), but decided to hold out until ATI released their Mobility Radeon 5000 series graphics card. Coincidentally, the refreshed 2010 Envy 15 was the first (or one of the first) notebook with ATI’s new breed of DX11 mobile graphics available, so he got his cake and got to eat it too. So two weeks ago (or was it three), after his Envy 15 arrived, he offered me to take this new machine on a two week [intensive] test drive, in exchange for helping him set things up – install his games and software, remove the bloatware (ahem, Norton trial, ahem) and stuff… an offer I gladly accepted!
It’s gonna be a fairly in-depth review with many pretty pictures, and I don’t want to jam up the front page, so hit that link to continue reading.
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HP Night Light in action on Elitebook 8440p running Left4Dead 2
Wondering how effective the HP Night Light is in HP’s Elitebook models? How about the gaming performance of the HP Elitebook 8440p when it comes to the sequel to everyone’s favorite zombie-horror game? Well, everyone, I’ve got a treat for you today: you get the answers to both questions in this single article! I just happened to be playing Left4Dead 2 on a friend’s newly acquired Elitebook 8440p (don’t forget to plug in the charger for maximum performance!) and come on, what’s a survival horror/zombie game without playing in the dark for ambience? So last weekend, I switched off all the lights in the room, whipped out the HP Elitebook 8440p and started up Left4Dead 2 for a little “Dark Carnival” multiplayer LAN fun!
As you can see, the HP Night Light (the little light above the notebook’s display) illuminates the entire keyboard pretty well and even the area around it (you can spot my travel mouse to the right if you look hard enough). What’s great about HP’s implementation of their Night Light is that it isn’t annoying or too bright; and there’s no light leakage, so the illumination is focused solely on the keyboard area.
As for gaming performance, I ran Left4Dead 2 (yes, with my newly installed Zoey skin/voice mod!) on a HP Elitebook 8440p configured with 2.53 GHz dual core Intel Core i5 540M, 8 GB DDR3 RAM, 320 GB 7200 RPM hard disk drive and 512 MB Nvidia Quadro NVS 3100M graphics with the following settings in Left4Dead 2:
- 1600 x 900 resolution
- No film grain
- 2X MSAA anti-aliasing
- 2X anisotropic filtering
- Vertical sync disabled
- Multicore rendering enabled
- Shader – Low (GPU dependent)
- Effects – High (CPU dependent)
- Model/texture – Medium
- Available memory – High
Turns out that the Elitebook 8440p performed pretty well with the settings above, with frame rates hovering around 24 to 40 frames per second: enough for navigating through all the action from saferoom to saferoom. I have one big tip for gaming on notebooks running the latest Intel Core i5 and Core i7 mobile processors: Always plug in the notebook to a nearby power outlet. This new generation of processors are even more picky and sensitive than their old Core 2 Duo counterparts – bringing performance down to minimal levels to stinge on power when running off the battery. Only when plugged in do these new processors run at full tilt, even letting Intel’s Turbo Boost kick in whenever possible, for maximum performance.
Oh, in case anyone is wondering, I tested the Elitebook 8440p with the uncut, butt-kicking version of Left4Dead 2. There’s word that the cut/censored version of Left4Dead 2 brings a noticeable frame rate increase thanks to reduced levels of in-game blood and gore (among other things).
