Before buying this laptop I had bought one from Gateway and it gave me so many problems that I couldn't stand it. I returned it to the store and my only other option for the same price was this laptop. I absolutely love it! Its 100x sturdier than the Gateway and much better looking with its lightup "HP" symbol and cool design. Also, the performance is just as good.PROS
-durability
-style
-speed
-price
-hardware
-audio quality(high definition)
-ports (HDMI, eSATA, VGA, USB)
-comes with a remote
-battery life (over 2 hours of heavy use)
CONS
-runs hot
-seems to be a little buggy (video card driver crashes every once in a while but recovers itself after a few seconds. Reinstalling driver didn't fix the problem)
-there is no program that comes with the computer or from HP that allows the webcam settings to be changed (resolution, quality, etc)
Overall I LOVE this laptop though and I'm glad that I bought it regardless of its flaws. The value is amazing!
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First the good stuff:
Mine doesn't run hot at all (apparently it was a problem with some dv4 models then fixed by HP) This is HUGE as I exclusively use my laptop in my lap; my compaq ran hot, the acer was unbearable, the fujitsu was so so.
I have recently taken to using a lap desk with it, and with a hard surface underneath I rarely hear the fan, even after hours of use.
The biggest plus though, it has more than enough power to do anything I want it to (I am currently running 29 tabs in Firefox, something that alone would have killed my last computer, MS Word, a remote desktop connection). The Adobe CS4 tests seemed solid for this class of laptop which went a long way in selling me on this model. In the end I switched from CS4 to Lightroom so I don't need as much processor power, but it is nice to know that it is more than enough machine to handle my hobby usage.
I don't expect instant boot but it is fast enough for me to turn on and pull up a document without becoming a painful wait for my client on the other end of the phone.
I like the fact that the DVD is removable and an insert is provided for travel/etc to get the weight lower. My Fujitsu had this and it made a huge difference when I used the insert (I took that laptop with me everywhere, every day, so it had to be super light) I have yet to use this feature on the HP but I have yet to travel with it either.
I am not a big video on PC person, but the few netflix streamed movies I've watched have been sharp and pretty with decent sound. The screen and keyboard are both comfortably sized without being huge. I love the HDMI option and the fact that the usb ports are on both the left and the right.
Finally the cons:
I seem to have problems with the touchpad when working in remote desktop, if a review of the dv4-1433 is correct, the pad is sensing the heat from my hands and the cursor ends up jumping around. Oddly I don't have this issue as frequently when not working remotely. The ability to turn the touchpad off adequately compensates for and solves this issue when necessary.
The shiny surface of the brown version of this machine (slightly different model number) can be a major fingerprint magnet. I happened to like the white better and luckily it hides fingerprints somewhat (not as much as a matte surface machine, but way better than the brown one)
Buy HP Pavilion DV4-1430US 14.1-Inch Entertainment Laptop Now
I bought this laptop right before my first semester (Fall 2009)of college for school stuff. And eventually I wanted it to replace my main computer (running Linux I was tired of the hassle). Its had its problems: the screen went out within the first year and the charger stopped charging are the big ones I can think of. But HP has a warranty for the 1st year to the screen was fixed quickly and freely! As for the charger, that was my fault this laptop has been dropped sooo many times, and a few on the charging plug while it was charging. But this problem was also fixed quickly and freely due the the extended warranty I bought. So its been almost 3 years, I'm still running vista because I didn't want to upgrade. As far as wear and tear the left/right buttons are starting to lose their metallic finish, but after 3 years of heavy daily use I think that's excusable.Read Best Reviews of HP Pavilion DV4-1430US 14.1-Inch Entertainment Laptop Here
My sister needed a basic laptop to run Powerpoint and use web based apps like gmail, google docs, etc. And take it on the road while making presentations to customers. A netbook was tempting but she needed the DVD unit so we chose this one instead. It is slow, but that was fixed by turning off many unnecessary Windows Vista services that just consume too much CPU power. After tweaking Vista (it took about 2 hours, you can google the term "Tweak Windows Vista" and get to a great site with the proper info) we manage to run it very fast. We also did a clean install of Windows XP and it works even better. At that point we got what we wanted: a Netbook with god battery life and a DVD unit all for less that $499 after rebates. For $499 a good value. For $700 it is a bit overpriced as at that price point the basic Macbook at $999 is a better option hardware wise.Want HP Pavilion DV4-1430US 14.1-Inch Entertainment Laptop Discount?
I had high hopes for this computer, but it has given me nothing but trouble. I've had it for a year and a half now. During the first year, the computer went through a phase where it would just shut down for no reason. The sound card would also turn off intermittently, as would the sound control. The battery died the day the warranty expired. I'd been having trouble with the CD player for a while, but it would play some CD/DVD if I got lucky. I didn't use it that often. Now the CD drive is not working at all, and none of the fixes suggested in the support pages work.The cover also gets very easily scratched.
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