Opinion » AboKevin.com

HP Pavilion dv7 2114eo :The Review

Clubhouse Tags: clubhouse, story, HP, dv7-2114eo, review, Windows 7

I got my new laptop yesterday, Friday 30 October. As you know from my previous posts; here and here, I got my new HP Pavilion dv7 2114eo as a replacement for my old HP dv9074ea which broke down for the third time due to the same error. Despite my problems with my former laptop, I really liked it and was thoroughly satisfied with its performance. Although it was purchased in 2006 it ran Windows 7 beautifully and were able to run a game like Call of Duty decently. Since it went down for the same error for the third time, I was issued a replacement PC; a brand new HP Pavilion dv7-2114eo. Being a gadget and tech lover I was really looking forward to un-boxing, setting up and testing my new machine, and I could hardly wait for it to arrive.

In this review I will cover the following;

- Specifications

HP Pavilion dv7 2114eo

- Overview

- Windows 7 – installation process and compatibility

- Performance

- Battery-life

- Conclusion

Specifications

Processor, operating system and memory
Operating system installed	Genuine Windows® 7 Ultimate (64-bit)
Processor type	AMD Turion X2 Ultra-mobile technology ZM-82 / 2.2 GHz ( Dual-Core )
Standard memory	4096 MB
Memory layout	(2 x 2048 MB)
Maximum memory	Supports up to 8 GB DDR3 memory

Internal drives
Internal drives	1000 GB (2 x 500 GB)
Storage controller	SATA Hard Disk Drive
Hard disk drive speed	5400 rpm
Optical drive type	Lightscribe Super Multi DVD Writer (+/-R +/-RW) with Double Layer support
Lightscribe	Create silkscreen-quality disc labels direct from your PC with LightScribe: Just burn, flip, burn.

System features
Memory card device	5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader for Secure Digital cards, MultiMedia cards, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, or xD Picture cards
Network interface	Integrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN
Wireless technologies	802.11 b/g/n
External I/O ports	4 (4th shared with Esata port) USB 2.0, 1 HDMI connector, 1 eSata + USB connector, 1 VGA port, 1 RJ45 ethernet connector, expansion port, 2 headphones-out, 1 mic-in, 1 IEEE 1394, Consumer IR, cable docking connector
Video capture interface	IEEE 1394 FireWire® Interface
Expansion slots	1 ExpressCard/54 Slot (also supports ExpressCard/34)
Display size	17.3” Diagonal High Definition HP LED Brightview Display
Display resolution	1600 x 900
Graphic subsystem name	ATI Radeon™ HD 4650 Graphics
Video RAM	Up to 2815 MB total graphics memory with 1000 MB dedicated DDR3
Webcam	HP Pavilion Webcam with Integrated Digital Microphone.VGA low-light
Remote control	HP Mobile Remote Control
Speakers and microphone	Altec Lansing speakers with integrated subwoofer
Keyboard	Full size keyboard with integrated numeric keypad
Pointing device	Touch Pad with On/Off button and dedicated vertical Scroll Up/Down pad
Power supply type	90 W AC Power Adapter
Battery type	8-cell Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) battery

Dimensions / weight
Product weight	3.52 kg
Package weight	5.81 kg
Product dimensions (W x D x H)	27.7 cm (W) x 41.26 cm (L) x 3.5 cm (min H) / 4.32 cm (max H)
Package dimensions (W x D x H)	450 x 160 x 345 mm
Price	8995,- NOK – approx $1500

The specs shows off a fairly decent laptop with a good processor, a good GPU, lots of storage and a potentially great screen. The screen resolution should have been higher though, real HD would have been nice. The machine was originally delivered with Windows Vista Home Premium (x64), but I wiped the C drive and installed Windows 7 Ultimate on it as soon as I got it. But that is all based on numbers, how does it work in real life?

Overview

Prior to setting the machine up and being able to test it, I had to unbox it. A moment I truly savored and enjoyed. For me at least, it is not an everyday occurrence to get a new laptop. Here are some pictures of it, courtesy of Hp.com;

Front side; showing off the espresso wallpaper as well as the 2 phone jacks and the microphone port.

The Espresso imprint on the lid, with the glowing hp logo

Front and left side;

Front and right side;

Left side with the VGA, HP expansion port, RJ45, HDMI, eSata (+USB), USB and card reader.

Right side with the DVD writer, 2 USB ports, the Kensington lock and power connector. (The picture has two additional ports which are not present on my model)

The machine has got the glossy (fingerprint prone) black Espresso finish with a discreet circle pattern. The lid has a glowing HP logo (taking a cue from Apple) and with the silver lined edges it gives the machine an elegant and eye-catching look. As with the previous Pavilion notebook models there are no ports on the rear side, everything is placed either on the sides or on the front as shown in the pictures above.

The keyboard, which is a full size QWERTY keyboard with a numeric pad, is comfortable to use with just about the right resistance and responsiveness. It looks great and seems to be of good quality. The touchpadThe Altec Lansing speakers are placed above the keyboard, and there you will also find the quick launch buttons. The latter are way better in this iteration than they were on the dv9074. Much more responsive, without that annoying clicking sound and placed further away from the keyboard itself, avoiding the accidental clicks. The speakers themselves deserve some additional recognition: The sound is quite good, and with the subwoofer found under the laptop they are doing a very decent job indeed. They will in no way replace external speakers, but you get quite good sound straight out of the box.

The screen looks just great, although the common problem with viewing it from the sides are still there. That said; how many people tend to work or watch a laptop at any given time? One – exactly. And he tends to be right in front of the screen – and there there are no problems. The one issue I have with the screen, is the fact that they haven’t gone to full HD. 1600×900 is a great resolution on this screen, but I see no reason why they haven’t made it 1080p.

So with an AMD processor and a good GPU plus 2 large HDDs you expect the fans to making some noise, right? Well, you are right on. The fans are going constantly and are making some noise. Less noise than my older laptop, but still much more than I hoped for when I got this machine. While playing a game or a movie you will not really notice it, but while working on your machine, like I was when I wrote this, I certainly picked up the sound.

Windows 7 – Installation process and compatibility

The laptop came with Windows Vista Home Premium with the normal mixture of trial versions of different software included. I contemplated removing the software I did not want and then to do an in-place upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate, but decided against it. I have always advised clean installs to others, so I decided to follow my own advice. I prepped my memory stick according the instructions in my own complete guide on how to install Windows 7, and booted from it. I chose custom install, formatted the C drive and installed Windows 7 Ultimate on it. From the time I restarted until the Windows 7 desktop greeted me it took exactly 18 minutes, including the time it took for me to format and to enter my credentials.

HP had already put up their drivers for Windows 7 for this very machine, and I had downloaded them all. After installing them and I then went to the Device Manager to check the status, and was greeted with everything being ok, except for an unknown device;

After some digging around I found that this device has the hardware ID ACPI/HQP0004 and I have yet to find drivers for it. Hopefully HP will provide one soon…

UPDATE: Hp on 5 November had a Windows 7 Expert day over on their support forum, and they were quick to solve the missing driver issue for me. I was missing the driver for the HP Mobile Data Protection Sensor, an accelerometer that detects sudden movement and freezes the hard discs in order to protect them. For some reason that driver never showed up on my computer models driver home page, but I was given a direct link, and the problem is now solved.

So how does Windows 7 work on it. No surprises there – just great! Smooth, responsive and every way I would expect this OS to work on newer hardware. The only problem I encountered so far was when yesterday the wireless modem acted up on me. I thought my connection speed was slow, and tested it only to find that I had less than 1 Mb/s download speed. And given the fact that I have a 12 Mb/s line this annoyed me big time. After checking the router I decided that it was probably the driver that was the problem; I uninstalled the hardware, and reinstalled the drivers – and I got my 12 MB/s download speed again.

The Windows Experience Index for the machine looks like this;

The processor is obviously the weakest link scoring only 4.9 as opposed to the rest which scores around 6. Having stated that, it is time to test the performance of the system…

Performance

In order to test the performance of the system I ran it through some synthetic tests in order to see how it would perform when it came to gaming and desktop performance. I also ran a battery test to see how long this one would last, remembering clearly how poor the battery on my dv9074ea fared.

I have compared my results with my old laptop as well as well as two results from the Norwegian site Hardware.no; the very high-end and expensive Toshiba Qosmio X300 (ca 15000 NOK – $2500) and the Dell Studio XPS 16.

3DMark 03

HP dv9074ea:                                                 8265

HP dv7-2114eo:                                        17612

Toshiba Qosmio X300:                                       NA

Dell Studio XPS 16:                                            NA

3DMark 05

HP dv9074ea:                                                 3584

HP dv7-2114eo:                                          9982

Toshiba Qosmio X300:                                       NA

Dell Studio XPS 16:                                            NA

3DMark 06

HP dv9074ea:                                                   NA

HP dv7-2114eo:                                          5901

Toshiba Qosmio X300:                                   10091

Dell Studio XPS 16:                                         4379

PCMark Vantage

HP dv9074ea:                                                   NA

HP dv7-2114eo:                                         2969

Toshiba Qosmio X300:                                   3995

Dell Studio XPS 16:                                           NA

Crysis

I ran Crysis on Medium settings, screen resolution 1600×900 2x antialias just fine. No hick-ups or artifacts, which speaks volumes about this machines gaming capabilities.

This laptop comes up with some pretty decent results compared to the other ones. That the Toshiba comes up with better results should be expected, given the price and thus the included hardware. For me personally it is truly great having a new laptop as a replacement that is way better than what I had before. I can only say; HP dv9074ea R.I.P.

Battery life

In order to measure the battery life I ran three tests; the first two with the utility Battery Eater Pro. The first test was in the so called Classic mode, which resembles full load with no power saving options enabled ie the minimum capacity of the battery. The second test I ran was in the Idle mode, which gives the maximum capacity as all power saving options are enabled. The third and last test I did was to close all programs and start playback of a DVD (Platoon) to see how long the battery would last.

Battery Eater Pro v2.70 Classic Mode          74 minutes

Battery Eater Pro v2.70 Idle Mode             190 minutes

DVD playback                                           90 minutes (not enough – pc was in balanced power mode)

So for graphic intensive tasks not nearly enough, but for ordinary work related tasks it should provide enough juice for getting the things done. That said, this is a desktop replacement and I at least will in 9 out of 10 cases always use it connected to the power grid. Although it would have made people look at me, I don’t see myself pulling this enormous laptop out on an airplane to watch a movie

Conclusion

All in all I am very satisfied with the dv7-2114eo. It looks great, is comfortable in use and packs all the power I need and then some. Being a casual gamer, this machine has more than enough gaming power to satisfy me. The downsides of it being the “non-HD” screen resolution, the constant humming of the fan and a battery that I hoped would perform better.

I have no problems recommending this machine to anyone interested in a multimedia desktop replacement system. For me this is value for money. Actually double so, since I did not pay one cent for this machine…

Popularity: 13% [?]

Installing Windows 7 on my 2002 Toshiba Satellite 1200-S121

Clubhouse Tags: clubhouse, story, Windows 7, hardware, Ultimate

There has been many stories going around the internet on how well Windows 7 manages on older and inferior hardware compared to what Windows Vista did. Having an old laptop lying unused in my shed, I decided to test this out myself. I went to the shed, picked up my old dusty Toshiba Satellite 1200 S121 and returned to my office. I plugged in the machine, popped the Windows 7 Ultimate x86 DVD and booted from it.

This is the story of how that went down, but first some facts;

Windows 7 hardware requirements

Windows 7 Requirements	Toshiba Satellite 1200 S121	OK
1 GHz or faster x86 or x64 bit processor	1,2 GHz Intel Celeron Processor (x86)	Yes
1 GB RAM for x86 or 2GB RAM for x64	512 MB SDRAM PC 133	No
16 GB available hard disk space (x86) or 20 GB (x64)	20 GB (18 available)	Yes
DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver		No

So, as you can see the Toshiba is lacking when it comes to RAM and video card. Both could be show-stoppers, but hey, since I am not using the machine anyway, lets give it a go.

Installing

After choosing Custom Install and reformatting my drive the installation started. And here I noted the first difference compared to my previous installations on my other laptops and desktops; It took a lot longer to install Windows 7 on this one. A total of a little more than an hour as opposed to the 18 minutes it took on my HP laptop.

I was really curious to see if this would work, and if there were serious problems around after the install had finished and I was greeted with the desktop for the first time. As always, one of the first things I do after installing an OS is to check out the Device Manager for any potential problems.

As the screenshot above shows there were no surprises. I already knew that there did not exist any WDDM 1.0 drivers for the onboard Intel 830MG video card, so the fact that it showed up with an exclamation mark was expected. So this was a good start.

The next obvious thing was of course to head over to Windows Update to get whatever was available for me.

I got some updated drivers, amongst them drivers for the soundcard that only now I noticed did not work properly.

The next thing was to download an anti-virus for the laptop, and I chose to use the trial version of Trend Micro Internet Security Beta for Windows 7. Will see how that one works out.

How does it work?

Basic System information on the Toshiba Satellite 1200 S121

The Windows Experience Index comes out with the result of 1.0 due to only using generic VGA drivers. Not that any available WDDM drivers would have raised it much given that the processor and RAM only get 1.8. It is obviously not going to run any demanding games or applications well.

Starting applications takes some time, and I would not multitask on this one! But that said, once an application is running it works just fine. (as long as the app in question is not too demanding on the hardware – this post is written in Live Writer on the Toshiba, and without any problems whatsoever).

As you also can see from the screenshots above, I installed Ultimate on it, which really is a waste, given the limited available hardware resources. I did install it, since I already had downloaded and burned the x86 ISO to a DVD, and did not feel the need to waste bandwidth on another download. So I thought it was time to trim off some of the fat, and remove unnecessary features in order to speed it up a little.

Prior to the trimming, with WordPad, Live Writer and the System Information Tool running the Windows Task Manager showed me that the system was using approximately 400 MB of the available 503 MB. I did not think trimming away features would improve this much, but decided to give it a try anyway;

I ended up with turning off Windows DVD Maker (having no DVD burner), Tablet PC Components and Windows Fax and Scan. To what effect? Nothing positive… RAM usage went up and available hard disk space was reduced… So much for trimming the fat!

Conclusion

Windows 7 is less demanding on hardware than Windows Vista was. I tried installing Vista on this very same machine, and it was utterly unusable, whereas the Windows 7 install works. The machine can be used for internet surfing, basic word-processing and similar tasks, but not for more heavy applications. The official Windows 7 hardware requirements looks to be a good guideline when determining whether to upgrade or not, as this system would have done much better with double the amount of RAM as well as a newer video card.

The machine will probably be used by my 9-year old daughter for internet surfing (mostly Facebook and Facebook-games) as well as the writing the occasional document, for which she can use WordPad. For more demanding tasks there is always the desktop PC that my kids normally use…

All in all an interesting experiment, and although Windows 7 works on this machine, it cannot perform miracles. The hardware in question is 7 years old, and the mere fact that an OS of this day and age actually do run adequately is most impressive.

Anyone else around that has tried something similar? What are your experiences?

Popularity: 15% [?]

European distribution of Windows 7 to be released without Internet Explorer!?

In January the European Union stated that Microsoft most likely broke European antitrust laws since they were bundling Internet Explorer with their Windows Operating System. Today cnet news’ Ina Fried broke the story of Microsoft’s response to the EU; they will release a version of Windows 7 aimed for the European market without IE in it. As Microsoft themselves states it in their leaked memo;

"To ensure that Microsoft is in compliance with European law, Microsoft will be releasing a separate version of Windows 7 for distribution in Europe that will not include Windows Internet Explorer," the software maker said in the memo. "Microsoft will offer IE8 separately and free of charge and will make it easy and convenient for PC manufacturers to preinstall IE 8 on Windows 7 machines in Europe if they so choose. PC manufacturers may choose to install an alternative browser instead of IE 8, and has always been the case, they may install multiple browsers if they wish."

The whole case is so stupid in so many ways, and I have the following comments;

This antitrust case comes at a time when there has never been more competition in the browser market than there is now. Firefox, Google Chrome and Safari are all doing very well, thank you very much. While IE had a market share that hovered around 90 % 5 years ago, it barely brakes 70 % today – and is on a steady decline.
The main complainant in the case, Norwegian Opera Software, is (of course) not happy with Microsoft’s solution, saying that it will “not restore competition in the marketplace”. There are a lot of Opera fans out there, especially in Europe, but obviously not enough to make much of a dent in the charts when it comes to market share. But how come this browser is not gaining, while the other choices are? Might it be that the other products are perceived as better?
If the European Union accepts this solution from Microsoft (which is not entirely sure) who thinks that PC manufacturers will actually provide a PC without a browser on it? And if they install one, which one will that likely be – IE most likely. Google might have the money to persuade manufacturers to bundle Chrome, but in no way does Opera Software have that money available. And what about retail versions of the OS? Does this imply that you go home with your copy of Windows, perform an upgrade or clean install only to have an OS with no internet browser at all? (This of course leads to the rebirth of internet browser CD install disks – back to the 90’s ) Stupid, stupid, stupid.
In 2009 an internet browser is integral to any operating system. Apple Mac OS X without Safari? If this legal battle had taken place in the 90’s I could have understood it, but not now. The world has changed and the thought of having an operation system without an internet browser is just stupid. How in the world would you get on the net? You couldn’t even download a competing internet browser! As I have stated above there is more competition in this market than it has ever been, and Safari, Google and Firefox seems to be gaining market share at the cost of Internet Explorer every day. There obviously is no need for an antitrust case since the market seems to be functioning just fine.
My last point: I am deeply sorry for this embarrassing legal battle instigated by a Norwegian Company (and we are not even members of the EU!).

What are your thoughts on this issue? If you reside in Europe will you purchase a European Internet browser free edition of Windows 7, or will you do as I will, get the US version?

Clubhouse Tags: clubhouse, story, Internet Explorer, European Union, download, antitrust

Popularity: 7% [?]

What to go for; the 32 bit or 64 bit version of Windows 7?

The common advice out there is that unless you have more than 4 GB RAM there really is no need to go for a 64bit version of Windows. Well, I think otherwise. Yesterday, I figured it was time to reformat and install Windows 7 RC on my recently returned laptop. It is a HP dv9074ea from 2006. It has a AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-56 processor, I have upgraded it to 2 GB RAM and it has two internal hard drives, initially both 80 GB drives, but one has been exchanged to a 500 GB one. I have been accepted into the Beta testing program for Windows 7 Norwegian Language Edition (x86) and heading the first advice I mentioned above, thus decided to install the 32 bit Norwegian Language RC on the laptop.

The install went fine, but I was greeted by something far from a clean device manager afterwards, and had to install Vista drivers in order to have the system running. I then went through the hoops detailed in my install guide. But things did not continue smoothly. Far from it. Norton Internet Security 2009 were not allowed to run its heuristic drivers (incompatible according to the OS), I experienced several systemwide hangs, and had to force a log out to have the OS respond to keystrokes on several occasions. After having installed several of my applications I ran a Windows Update and were met with the Office 2007 SP 2 download – a huge one. For me that was a decision point. I was not happy with they way my system was running. It seemed at times slow, non-responsive and flat out buggy. That coupled with the fact that I am now so used to the English version of the OS that I did not feel at ease with a Norwegian version, made me decide to reformat again.

This time I installed the English x64 version from a USB memory stick (check here for instructions on how to do it) and it took a total of 15 minutes from I restarted my machine, reformatted the C drive, installed Windows 7 RC to be greeted by the desktop. The Device Manager was not completely clean, but a Windows Update found the missing drivers and the system was really running fine. I have now installed almost all my frequently used applications and the system works the way I want it to – smoothly with no problems.

Funny fact; I even have a slightly better Windows Experience Index on the x64 version; 4.5 as opposed to 4.4 on the 32 bit version (both due to the integrated Nvidia GeForce 7600 Go video card).

I am not completely sure whether this is due to the 32 bit OS or to inherent bugs in the Norwegian Language version of Windows 7 RC, but the user experience made it an easy choice. Yes I had to install everything again (not hard – just time consuming), but definitely worth it.

What are your experiences on this? 32 or 64 bit and why? Let me know…

Clubhouse Tags: clubhouse, story, windows 7 rc, windows experience index, x64, x86

Popularity: 18% [?]

AboKevin’s Laptop Hunt: Episode 1: My Laptop died today

Clubhouse Tags: Clubhouse, Story, Challenge-laptop

Last night I set my laptop to sleep, packed it into my computer backpack and went to bed. Today I brought it with me to work (as usual) and set it up on the desk, hit the power button and went to fetch a cup of coffee. When I returned to my office I was dismayed to find that the screen was black – pitch black. I moved the mouse… nothing happened, hmmm.. I used the touchpad… nothing happened… What the… I hit CTRL-ALT-DEL… still nothing… Okay, probably Bill Gates at work, so I held down the power button for 4 seconds and the machine powered down. I hit it again and waited for the usual HP logo screen… NOTHING!? and then… a long beep, and then two short ones. NOOOOOO… The videocard has died, and since this is embedded on the motherboard the whole thing needs to be replaced.

I contacted HP customer support, but since the warranty expired a long time ago, I mean – I bought this machine October 2006 – no immediate luck there. But, Norwegian consumer laws to the rescue. Under law I have 5 years in which I can complain and have the machine fixed. So I submitted my claim to HP and are now waiting their response, which I should have sometime tomorrow. (Wish me luck)

Being impatient I went to some online stores to see if there were any laptops I could think of purchasing if it comes to that. Microsoft has been running a lot of ads centering on the fact that Apple machines are way to expensive compared to PCs that are available. Well, are they?

Living in Norway, I went to Apples online store and was shocked to see the prices there:

For a 13 inch MacBook with and 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2 GB of RAM and a 160 GB hard drive they wanted a whooping kr 11.000,- (approximately 1500 US dollars). No way…

Then I went to komplett.no, one of Norway’s largest online computer shops and found this beauty;

A HP (yes, again) Pavilion dv5-1190 15,4 inch laptop, with a 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4 GB RAM and a 320 GB Hard drive for kr 7500 (approximately 1100 US dollars).

So, in other words a much larger screen, double the amount of RAM and double the amount of storage for kr 3500 less? Maybe my taste is awful, but I do think that the HP is every bit as appealing to the eye as the MacBook, so why the difference in price? It must be the silhouette of that one bite Golden Delicious on the front…

Conclusion;

None so far, other than the fact that a snowball would survive in hell before I buy a Mac (or their prices have to drop significantly).

For now I am waiting for HPs response, and hopefully a repair of my laptop. You know, I really like my HP dv9074ea. It was purchased 2 1/2 years ago, which is a long time when it comes to computers, but it’s specs can still hold up, and it ran (hopefully runs) Windows 7 beautifully!

Wish me and my laptop luck!

Popularity: 28% [?]