HP - Pavilion Laptop with Intel® Centrino® Processor Technology - Bronze/Chrome

I bought my laptop for $899 in November 2008 and it is a wonderful machine. Despite it's large size, I carry it all over town and use it for everything. I love the full keyboard. Multitasking is not a problem; I've transferred files to and from three separate flash drives at the same time (there are 3 USB ports). DVDs and video games work perfectly. I have yet to test the machine's blu-ray capability.

The HP Pavilion dv7 is a truly remarkable laptop PC. It boasts both power and beauty and flaunts them by simply turning it on. It has incredible sound for it has a separate sub woofer underneath. The many programs that it comes with should not be thought of as a burden. They don’t hinder boot time as far as I’m concerned. The boot time from pressing the power button to being able to click the start button on the start bar was 1 minute and 39 seconds. That’s not that bad considering that’s after I installed my applications. The glossy screen is something to behold for it dose a wonderful job of making it easier to see outside. It does have the flaw of being vulnerable to getting lint behind the screen. I imagine it’s not really that bad it’s just that I got one in the direct center of the screen. It comes with a screen cloth that I recommend you keep in the bag with it because it loves to get finger prints on it, and that’s not just limited to the screen. The battery lasts about an hour and a half on guzzle mode while watching a movie this was a DVD though, Blu-ray takes more power, but remember that was on max power. Now what I really use it for is gaming. This is a gaming machine in disguise. I am able to run Quake 4 with max specs at full screen resolution and FEAR at almost max. It really does strut its stuff with the games. Back to the battery you can play a game for about three hours without plugging in. The fan is very quiet I cannot here it unless I stress the processor. The media access buttons are most handy but have two flaws, the first is that some programs disable them so you can’t adjust volume, and they can be triggered by putting a CD over them. This is by far the best laptop I have ever seen and whether you snag it on a sale or get it for full price it is still a deal. To build it on HP’s website you better have $$$$$ in your wallet. Now the worst part of this laptop is not a hard ware issue but software instead, Windows 64-bit Vista. Now if you are going to buy all new programs you should be just fine but if you want to play stuff like POD of Rayman there is a hard truth coming your way. The support of older programs on Vista 64-bit is horrible, but there is a better solution than installing XP over it. If you go to Microsoft.com you can download a PC emulator that will allow you to run a Virtual PC, it is called Microsoft Virtual PC. Make one, install XP and BAM your set. Back to the laptop, it is really an amazing computer and I highly recommend it to anyone be it for business or you want to deathmatch your buddies online it is the one.

I’d like to first start that I would highly recommend this laptop. I considered a different manufacturor with Blueray that cost more but decided on the HP because of price ($899) and dedicated 512MB graphics card. I went to two BestBuys and they were sold out. I must note that the sale for this laptop was up for only one week so I’m lucky I decided and bought it quickly. Windows Vista is not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. There is a lot of eyecandy that takes a while to get used to and I’m not too familiar on how to save files. Everything runs fast though with the 4G RAM. The keyboard is also off center because of the numbers on the right. II am not using the Flip 3d feature but I really do like the gadgets on this laptop, they are very useful. I do have to say that there is some typical windows stuff that happens like some windows taking a while to load or minor unresponsive applications, overall the laptop is very fast and these delays are faster than the past computers I have owned. I am a recent Mac user as well and found Vista easy to get used to, I like that it comes with Windows Works. I will say it took me over 4 hours to burn the restore discs and this is VERY slow but out of the way now. The graphics look amazing!! Everything in IE looks awesome although when watching Smallville I noticed the video seemed a bit faded or transparent but still good. I have yet to watch a Blue ray disc but look forward to connecting with HDMI. My programs all installed without problems, my printer driver and ftp program all ok. Internet is very FAST! The only challenge will be finding the right backpack or laptop bag for this since it is rather large. Also must note, I bought this from Best Buy already optimized. If you don’ t know what this is, they sell it with an additional $39 fee with all the crapware removed. I was up and running from the very beginning. Thanks Best Buy!!!

My hubby and I each got one of these laptops as an early Christmas present about a month ago. So far we are both more than impressed with the quality and performance of this thing! I use mine primarily for personal use. I create documents, download music, blog, shop, surf the web, etc. My hubby however, uses it primarily for work. He works from home and is a writer/researcher, so he needs to be able to switch between multiple windows, type, surf, etc., with really good speed and he get's that with this HP. He really works this machine hard, and uses it continuously for an average of 12 hours a day. One the best things though, is that we both game and we are extremely satisfied with the laptop's performance. We really didn't think that we would find a laptop in our budget that could play everything we play. WoW, Vanguard, Warhammer...they all play FLAWLESSLY and beautifully on here!! Display and speakers are both great. Love the the media center/player controls at the top of the keyboard, although they are very sensitive...find myself muting the speakers and/or disabling my WiFi accidentally more often that I would like. I really love the color scheme of the machine, although I agree with other reviewers in that the keys can be very difficult to read in certain lighting. The Blue-Ray player is a great added bonus...we would have bought these without the BR, but it's nice to have. Overall, we are ecstatic that we made these purchases. We have completely replaced our desktops with these. We got them on sale at a great price ($899 each) and would absolutely recommend this HP laptop to anyone!!

I'm an IT expert and this notebook contains the latest and greatest technology. It boots up fast and surfs the Internet fast. I've been using it for about a month now, 18 hours a day, and haven't had a single problem. However, for such a nice notebook, I was initially very disappointed with the keyboard. In the store the keys were easy to read under the overhead florescent lighting at Best Buy and looking at the notebook while standing up, but when I set it up in my home office the glare off of the bronze keys was so bad I couldn't read them! I tried different desk lamps and tilted the notebook at every angle but nothing helped. I found companies on the Internet that sell high-quality matte-finished white-on-black keyboard stickers for $5. Viola, problem solved! THE KEYS ARE VERY EASY TO READ NOW and the notebook looks even better with the stickers as they match the black LCD frame. Everyone who has seen it thinks the keyboard came that way. Now it is the perfect notebook.

First, for $899 you're not going to find a better deal right now. I tried building the exact same computer online with several e-coupons and Best Buy's deal is unreachable. Second, the Blu-Ray and 9600 graphics card are a great pair. I'm looking forward to hooking this machine up to my TV and seeing what it will look like, with the card listed as 1080p capable. (the only con is that it's not the upgraded screen to fully enjoy the 1080p, hence the "4," but honestly it's still a pretty good display) Third, here's where things get a bit bumpy - there is quite a bit of bloatware (extra software) preloaded on this machine (why I rated a "4" for performance). Best Buy/Geek Squad sells a service for $40 to remove the unwanted software, but with a little research, some of it can be done on your own. However, I've read nothing but great reviews of the service so I may take advantage of it soon myself. Getting rid, or stopping these processes from starting should drastically increase the performance of your machine. The bottom line: Great laptop for $899, no need to buy a Blu-Ray player because you can hook this up to your TV with HDMI, one of the best graphics cards on the market for laptops, 4gb or RAM and can handle 8 gb, so this computer can play current PC games, watch the latest entertainment, and has pretty decent stock speakers. If you can get it at the sale price = buy it!! That's all for now, time to go home and watch a Blu-Ray or play any game I'd like to with my new screaming machine. Thanks Best Buy for the early Christmas gift.

This powerhouse is top notch. It is visually appealing, and packs a punch. The Blu-Ray allows me the use of my movie collection while I am on the road. For its price, you are hard to find another laptop that is this loaded. While some complain that the screen is too bright, I find it to be perfect. I wouldnt reccommend ANY laptop be used in direct sunlight, so glare is not a factor. I dont like with ANY store bought system, the plethera of programs pre installed, so alot of time was spent removing them. It may be a slower startup, but compaired to laptops AND desktops I have had in the past, this is lightning fast. I dont go out and get new computers every year, they stick with me, so to complain about startup speeds is irrelevant......Its lightyears faster then the P4 3.2 XP Laptop this replaces!! Hard drive size is great!! granted I never store my important files on it, just the baqsic programs, but paired with a 1TB USB HDD, this thing will be with me for quite ahwile. I DO love the color scheme, the bronze / copper color matches alot of what I own, and give a nice "POP" outside the normal colors of laptops....I can only stand to see so many, blue, red, pink, black..etc. This stands out from the rest. Its video card really smokes. There has not been any issue with displaying movies, streaming video, WoW, CoD4, etc, all running at max settings....not a single hiccup. All in all, this has been one of the best purchases I have made, and I dont have any plans for another for years to come.

This laptop is my first laptop, but I have to say it beats everything out of my computer that just turned 2 years old. Although this laptop has a slower cpu by a little, the 9600 GT out preforms my 1600x ATI card, which was a pretty good card. I can play Bioshock at max settings fawlessly, which I couldn't do on my other machine. I'm not used to VISTA, but it isn't bad. The keyboard is very nice, and easy to type on. Comes with some interesting programs for the webcam. The quickplay buttons are very nice. I love that it has 2 usb ports on both sides of the laptop. The case feels sturdy. It is a little heavy, but with everything that is in it, it is to be expected. The display is very nice also. This is by far the best deal you can get at the current 899 from best buy. Even if you get it from HP it is not as good. The hp one does have a TV tuner in it, but it costs 1400 dollars if you take out the tv tuner. I still have to try out the HDMI connection up to my 37 inch LCD TV. This also has a nice size harddrive of 320 gb. I would buy one more of these for my wife if the econmy wasn't so bad.