HP Pavilion Dv9000t BEST

For less cinematic pursuits, HP includes a built-in 1.3-megapixel Webcam above the display; two built-in microphones on the display bezel eliminate the need for an external microphone while videoconferencing. Like almost all desktop replacements, the Pavilion dv9000t's keyboard is full-size and includes a 10-key numeric keypad. The somewhat compact touch pad includes a scroll zone, and we love the touch pad on/off button, which is handy when you want to use an external mouse.

HP Pavilion dv9000t

The dv9000t has a typical array of ports and connections for a desktop replacement, and they're well distributed and clearly labeled. You get one four-pin-FireWire and four USB 2.0 connections, plus a VGA out, an S-Video out, a 5-in-1 media card reader (Secure Digital, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, MultiMediaCard, and xD), and a slot for the latest ExpressCards. In addition to a microphone jack, there are two headphone jacks--great for sharing movies and music with friends--one of which supports S/PDIF output. Networking options include an Ethernet jack, a modem, and integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The aforementioned HD-DVD drive is also a double-layer DVD burner with LightScribe, which lets you burn your own labels onto compatible discs.

Our Pavilion dv9000t preview unit ran on Windows XP Professional, but the default configuration for consumers will include Windows XP Media Center Edition. HP bundles a decent amount of software with the system, including the Microsoft Works 8 productivity suite, basic photo-editing software, and applications for disc viewing and burning.

We tested an early build of the HP Pavilion dv9000t that featured a 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7400 processor; however, that processor will not be offered on the system in the near future (for now, the dv9000t will top out with the 2GHz Core 2 Duo T7200 chip). The rest of our configuration included 2GB of fast 667MHz RAM; two 100GB, 5,400rpm hard drives; and an Nvidia GeForce Go 7600 graphics card with 256MB of dedicated VRAM. This configuration, with the 2GHz Core 2 Duo T7200, costs $2,394; rebates and discounts currently available on the HP site shave $200 off the price. On CNET Labs' application benchmarks, the Pavilion dv9000t fell right between a Dell XPS M1710, configured with a slightly faster processor and hard drive, and a Gateway M685 with a previous-generation processor and less RAM. When it comes to battery life, though, the dv9000t triumphed: its battery held out for 3 hours, 19 minutes--longer than both the Dell's and the Gateway's and above average for a desktop replacement.

System configurations: Dell XPS M1710 Core 2 Duo Windows XP Media Center; 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7600; 2GB DDR2 SDRAM PC5300 666MHz; Nvidia GeForce Go 7900 GTX 512MB; Hitachi Travelstar 7K100 100GB 7,200rpm Gateway M685Windows XP Media Create; 2GHz Core Duo T2500; 1GB PC 5300 DDR2 SDRAM 666MHz; Nvidia GeForce Go 7800 256MB; Hitachi Travelstar 7K100 80GB 7,200rpm HP Pavilion dv9000tWindows XP Pro; 2.16GHz Core 2 Duo T7400; 2GB PC2 5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; Nvidia GeForce Go 7600 256MB; Fujitsu MHV2100BH 100GB 5,400rpm (2)

hello could someone please help me i have a hp pavilion dv9000 i love i spent a boat load of money in this laptop building it the way i wanted it now it will power on but i get no display and if i keep powering it on and off i will then get these grey lines on the display and if i finally do get it to power on the display looks all distorted

HP Pavilion dv9000t is a great desktop replacement and media center laptop. Don't mind the size, after all it's a desktop replacement. It is the first laptop to feature a HD-DVD drive. The dv9000vt sports 2 headphones jack, which is pretty cool if you want to watch movies with your girlfriend alone without disturbing your roommates. The shiny top cover gives a cool look to the laptop chassis. The 17" widescreen display shows 1440 X 900 resolution and unlike some of the media center laptop; it does not come with a TV tunner. Under the hood, the dv9000t powered by Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.16ghz. HP priced this laptop at $1249.99, which is pretty decent for a media laptop.

A Media Center laptop is a PC with multiple personalities. It's a desktop replacement, a portable, and, ultimately, it's a living-room entertainment system. Three months ago, I reviewed the HP Pavilion dv9000t ($2,569 direct), but hesitated to give it an Editors' Choice, thinking that a better Media Center laptop was in the works. It never happened. One alternative I had my eye on, the Toshiba Qosmio G35-AV660, had a long list of A/V features that could make anyone salivate, but it turned out to lack many of HP's finishing touches, especially when it came to high definition. Now, with the latest iteration of the HP Pavilion dv9000t (now with Vista) clearly having the best HD playback software developed for the included HD DVD-ROM drive, not to mention a neat little remote that fits in the ExpressCard slot, I'm ready to hand it the Editors' Choice. If that doesn't convince you, maybe the fact that all the cool features in the newest dv9000t are neatly tied together by Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate will.

There's a lot to be said about HP's design: The artistic imprints and the piano-black finish make it flashier than the Qosmio AV660. Its dimensions are thin, too: 15.5 by 11.1 by 1.1 inches (HWD). At 8.8 pounds, the dv9000t is still heavy, but considerably lighter than the boxy AV660. The HP has two options for screen resolution available: 1,440-by-900 and 1,680-by-1050. My configuration came with the latter, which looks great playing back high-definition content from either the hard drive or the HD DVD-ROM drive. The Qosmio AV660 has a true 1080p resolution (1,920-by-1,200), but you'll be hard pressed to find any differences between the two on the 17-inch screen.

High-definition players are the new wave for Media Centers, and since both the HP and Toshiba have built-in HD DVD-ROM drives, it's only natural to dissect the software. Toshiba has made drastic improvements to its playback software (Toshiba HD DVD Player), but HP's QuickPlay 2.3 is more refined and more integrated. For example, running an initial disc read is faster on the dv9000t than on the AV660. In Windows XP, you can also play HD DVDs (along with regular DVDs and audio CDs) without booting into the OS. HP assured me that they'll have figured out how to handle high-def discs without booting Vista soon. The company enlisted the help of Cyberlink, creators of the PowerDVD suite, to bring uninterrupted HD playback to the dv9000t (Vista), and it shows. I also have to give kudos to Nvidia for its part in providing the hardware component (HD acceleration and Post Processing) for smooth HD playback. Subjectively, playback quality appears to be smoother, and scene transitions look more natural. I also like the fact that both the AV660 and the dv9000t have built-in infrared sensors for the remote. Nothing annoys me more than attaching a clunky USB receiver, as you still have to do with the Dell Inspiron E1705 (Vista). The innovatively designed remote for the HP is small enough to fit into the laptop's ExpressCard slot, whereas the Qosmio AV660 uses a bulky, unattractive Media Center remote.

Both units have physical playback controls above the keyboard; the dv9000t's are touch-sensitive and backlit for low-light environments. Both units also have HDMI-out ports, which is important if you want to hook your laptop up to a larger display (say, your living-room TV), as HDMI streams both video and audio. In contrast, the Dell XPS M1710 (Blu-ray) uses a DVI-out port for HD output, but it requires a separate cable for audio. The Qo

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