HP Pavilion DV4-2160US 14.1-Inch Laptop (Digital Plaid)

I looked for like a month before I bought this laptop (not sure what the difference is from the laptop on this page other than the color scheme).

Pros:

14" screen.

It has an impressive amount of features, including the intel i5-430 processor. I've had it less than a week, so we'll see how it holds up.

Fast

No problems with stuck-on pixels.

Nice keyboard. The DV4 has a full sized keyboard with full sized arrow keys. It actually has LEDs next to the Caps Lock and Num Lock keys. The num lock feature almost made me re-install the OS because I didn't realize it was on, and I couldn't log in. I had just used the windows easy transfer, and rebooted, and I was unable to log in. Lessons learned here: make sure you make a password reset disk, and make sure you make a second account just in case your first one gets locked out for some reason. Also burn your DVDs for system restore.

LED backlight for battery conservation.

Looks cool. The volume control and WiFi on/off switch above the keyboard are more of a proximity sensor, and are cool.

Comes with windows 7 home premium.

Wireless works well.

Cons:

The far right corner is dim, about a square centimeter area right in the corner. If I move my head to look directly at it, it's not very dim. You might not even notice unless you move the task bar like I do.

The screen is glossy. All laptops have glossy screens except for a few Dell business laptops. HP might have one too that you can special order.

The hard drive is a little noisy (but I believe any noise is too much), and a little warm. The fan spins constantly, but you can turn it off in the BIOS (it still cycles when it needs to).

Other:

The touchpad seems like it has a lot of friction at first, but it got better, and if I use the tip of my finger with light pressure it glides just fine. The touchpad screen scroll feature works well. Has a button to turn off the touchpad if you don't want to use it.

I have had this laptop for 1 week and have had no problems. I don't find it to be any hotter than my Toshiba Satellite. The Toshiba fan vents on the side, but the battery compartment was hot from the start. The Hp vents on the bottom left rear corner, but the battery area stays relatively cool so all in all it is about the same as the Toshiba for heat levels. My CPU usage stays in the 3% to 19% for all of the activities I have done so far (I use the "gadget" that came with the Desktop features to monitor the CPU usage). The keyboard has a nice firm touch to it and the touchpad is fine, just different it is a smooth metal surface. The one thing that I have discovered (which is why I only gave it 4 stars) is that the internal wireless adapter Atheros AR9285 802.11b/g/n WiFi Adapter caps out at a speed of 150 Mbps. I went online to the Atheros website and read the specs, because I thought something was wrong with it initially I was expecting a higher speed than that. I had purchased an inexpensive wireless N adapter from Amazon, for the Toshiba, that caps @ 270 Mbps and runs perfectly. I am thinking of using it with this HP, even though it is bulky, because I can see a download speed difference with large graphics. The speakers sound fine, far better than my Toshiba that stuttered everytime the fan turned on. I wish it had come with a longer life battery and a USB port in the rear. I am planning on replacing the battery with a 12 cell. I use a vendor on Ebay and have had good luck with their batteries prices are great. The DVD drive is a little noisy so that's a minus. I really like the dedicated scroll "bar" on the side of the touchpad. I did not realize when I was first configuring the Hp that there is a button to turn on the touchpad. Mine arrived with the touchpad turned off as the default and it took me several minutes to figure out why I could not manipulate the touchpad. Operator error clearly. So far, so good. I got this laptop for $649 after the $50 rebate that is not eligible through Amazon, unfortunately. So for $649, I am very pleased.

Buy HP Pavilion DV4-2160US 14.1-Inch Laptop (Digital Plaid) Now

I searched extensively for about a month before making my decision. For my price range, there was no computer that even came close to the "H.P. DV4 2160us", and i mean no computer. Whether I'm blazing around the Internet, watching or burning DVDs, labeling the DVDs there's power a plenty and it runs cooler than most. A really pleasant surprise was how well the laptop speakers sound. The new Intel processor is noticeably faster than there previous version. All in all, if your looking for a notebook, that does it all, and looks great doing it with a easy to use keyboard, look no further. I highly recommend this model. You won't find a better book for the price of this one. So make sure you check out this model before you make your final decision. You can't go wrong with this H.P.Laptop.

Read Best Reviews of HP Pavilion DV4-2160US 14.1-Inch Laptop (Digital Plaid) Here

This laptop looks good, is powerfull and does meet my requirements for a Win 7 performance. It is the only laptop that I have found, at that price level, that offers Intel I5 processor with 4 GB. Everyone knows that Win 7 requires power and memory. Win 7 performance on this machine is very respectable. I own a powerfull desktop and can hardly see the difference in performance. Overall I am pleased with this laptop.

Want HP Pavilion DV4-2160US 14.1-Inch Laptop (Digital Plaid) Discount?

I did a lot of searching for a laptop and this is what I chose. For price, features and performance, this is a good deal. I found this at a local office store on sale for $650 after a $50 mail in rebate.

Pro's:

*"N" wireless -awesome speed! I am registering 150 mbps vs. 50mbps on my old "G"

*14" screen

*i5 processor

*4 gb memory

*320 hdd

*hd output

*built in, removable remote control for the dvd player.

windows 7 it is amazingly stable. Not a single crash since I bought this laptop 6 weeks ago!

*volume control uses a cool touch sensitive slide

*mute and antenna buttons are also cool and touch sensitive

*great plaid dark brown, almost black look

*removable cd/dvd drive reduces the weight of the computer. Also, may allow for easy blue ray upgrade?

Con's:

*battery life is fair at best. Maybe 2 hours with a full charge.

*unit is a little thicker than some of the more cooler looking thin laptops.

*Cooling vent is on the bottom. This deserves some explanation. First, I looked at this feature before buying and in my opinion, the new laptops with the newer "i" processors seem to run cooler than older models. Also, there is a vent on the top of the computer directly above the bottom vent, to the left where the base and screen are hinged. You can only see the top vent when the unit is open. It seems that when the laptop is on a pillow for example and blocking the bottom vent, the top vent takes over releasing the heat but not quite as well as the bottom when not blocked. At least it seems that way to me.

*the unit does run a bit warm when using on a pillow and I am careful to monitor the temperature since my last computer dies this way.

*hp should have put the vents on the side!

My brother bought a Dell just 2 months before I bought this and he got a pre-i5 processor and g wireless. In comparison, the hp is much better in performance and price.

Highly recommended.