HP dv2945se: show, go, or both?
Posted by Kathleen Maher on October 27th 2008 | Discuss
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One would hazard a guess that the most likely causes of early laptop retirement, regardless of who uses the machine, are the same—death by gravity (dropping) or death by blunt object (smacking it against something). This review was undertaken due to the latter cause of death. An overzealous traveler apparently stuffed this writer’s trusty old Acer 1690 WLCi into an overhead bin to make room for his oversized luggage (the backpack containing the machine managed to travel four rows from its original location, so there was more than one culprit). One must look at the bright side, however. The Acer weighed about 40 lbs and was far too big to use on an airplane. Upon arriving in Phoenix, the search for a new, smaller, and lighter machine was underway.
Digging through the offerings at a local Fry’s, it was discovered that the HP dv2945se Pavilion Special Edition Entertainment PC weighed a mere 5.25 pounds, was only 1.5 inches thick, and had, by far, the best specs of any machine in its class (under $1,000) in the store. In addition, it looked cool. Meanwhile, the Acer was shipped back to the office via UPS. Ground.
The specs
Obviously, while the form of the laptop was appealing, the function was more important. It even had a few tricks up its sleeve that weren’t noticed in the store. Here’s what makes it go:
- AMD Turion 64 X2 mobile technology TL-60 for AMD dual-core technology.
- HyperTransport and AMD PowerNow! Technologies.
- 4GB DDR2 memory.
- Multiformat DVD±RW/CD-RW drive with double-layer support to record up to 8.5GB of data or four hours of video using compatible media. It also supports LightScribe direct-disc labels using appropriate media.
- AMD64 technology for simultaneous support of 32-bit and 64-bit computing.
- 14.1 WXGA high-definition widescreen display with BrightView technology and 1280 x 800 resolution.
- 320GB Serial ATA hard drive (5400 rpm).
- Nvidia GeForce Go 7150M (UMA) integrated graphics with up to 1071MB total available video memory.
- S-video output.
- QuickPlay touch-sensitive music and DVD controls, HP mobile remote, and stereo earbud headphones.
- Built-in HP Pavilion webcam and integrated microphone.
- 5-in-1 digital media reader that supports Secure Digital, MultiMediaCard, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO and xD-Picture Card.
- IEEE 1394 (FireWire) interface.
- Three USB 2.0 ports.
- Built-in high-speed wireless LAN (802.11b/g); 10/100Base-T Ethernet LAN with RJ-45 connector; 56 Kbps modem; Expansion Port 3 connector.
- Six-cell lithium-ion battery.
- High-gloss HP Imprint finish with a wave pattern and backlit media control panel.
- Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition (64-bit) operating system with SP1 preinstalled; software package included with HP Photosmart Essentials, a 60-day trial version of Microsoft Office Student and Teacher Edition 2007, and other less desirable apps.
Pros
The bullet list shows the pros on paper and, initially, very few cons were found. The machine was noticeably faster than the Acer but then the Acer was a relatively old machine. Blessedly, the new HP also had little of the crap software that usually comes with new computers (what’s up with the recent popularity of a shortcut to download OpenOffice?). The main blemish that stands out in this regard was the Norton software, which was excised immediately. (This is a personal prejudice.) The keyboard is comfortable. Despite what anyone tells you, there’s no such thing as a “full-sized keyboard” on a laptop but this one wasn’t so small that it had a negative impact on work. The fastidious may appreciate the polishing cloth that’s included. (Oh, come on now.)
Cons
The most obvious Con is the presence of integrated graphics instead of discrete graphics or a hybrid approach. However, the most obvious Pro is the machine’s features at its price point. The point is that Nvidia’s GeForce Go 7150M is doing the job considerably better than Intel’s comparable solution and at least some games are playable on this machine (see benchmarks).
At first glance, the dv2945se looks like it’s set up for multimedia, as its name implies. The high-def WXGA screen looks great. However, benchmarking showed the laptop to be sorely lacking in multimedia skills. The integrated 64MB Nvidia GeForce 7150M with Nvidia’s Forceware 156.71 software scored a grim 323 at 1024x768 (no AA) and 268 at 1280x800 in 3DMark06. The integrated graphics were also limited to DirectX 9, making it impossible to run some more modern benchmarks.
Actions speak louder than numbers however. First, some movies that were supposed to play in widescreen (which should have been great on the WXGA) would only play in standard mode. Worse, some movies wouldn’t play at all.
The computer includes two headphone jacks, but what’s the use if you can’t watch a movie? Sure, the machine played MP3s, but you can use your iPod for that. The so-called entertainment PC also includes a remote control that can be stored in the side of the laptop. The remote was kind of puzzling. It was cute, and if the laptop actually played DVDs reliably it might have been fun, especially if you hooked the machine to a larger screen. But the button functions were unreliable on the DVDs that did manage to play. It seemed more of a cute parlor trick or a glimpse of things to come.
The speakers? Well, they sound like laptop speakers. The brand name, Altec Lansing, might lead you to believe otherwise, but the little devils are crammed up in a cylindrical metal net near the laptop’s hinge and sound as tinny as you might expect. In addition, the two USB ports on the passenger side of the computer were a little too close together. It was impossible to plug in a transmitter for a wireless mouse while plugging in a Flash drive. This is a small complaint, however, since there is another port on the driver’s side.
At $750, the HP dv2945se Pavilion Special Edition Entertainment PC was is a respectable machine for running office apps and it is a great price if that’s what you want. However, its name is deceiving. It seemed like a machine that was intended to run Windows XP and had Vista loaded onto it as an afterthought to make it seem more up-to-date.
Overall, for multimedia apps, there was nothing special about this edition. Fortunately, that isn’t what I need it for.
If you’re looking for this exact version of HP’s Special Edition Entertainment PC (called the “Verve”), you may be out of luck (or in luck, depending on your needs). Between the time this computer was purchased and the time this review was written, the Verve design disappeared from HP’s website. The new, hopefully more capable, Entertainment PC is adorned with what are known in the tattoo industry as “finger waves.” These resemble the tsunami design in Katsoshika Hokusai’s famous painting “The Great Wave.” HP has released laptops with other special-edition designs in the past. These include a Lance Armstrong-approved “Livestrong” design, a bronze-colored “Clay” edition, and a flowered “Vivian Tam” edition.
