Performance
The Intel Core Solo and
Core Duo platform have become the wonder-products from Intel. Since all of the Core Duo notebooks use the same Intel i945GM chipset, there isn't too much variation in system performance from manufacturer to manufacturer. It's mostly a question of how fast your CPU is, how much memory you have, and how fast the HDD is. The GPU is where you'll still see a big difference (particularly with games). Notebooks with dedicated graphics chipsets from companies such as NVIDIA and ATI offer additional performance.
The dv2000 platform is an interesting one. You can get a dv2000t or a dv2000z. The dv2000t is powered by the Intel Core Duo whereas the dv2000z is powered by an AMD Turion X2. You can configure your dv2000t for an integrated Intel GMA950 or an NVIDIA GeForce 7200 Go. The dv2000z uses the GeForce 6150.
The GeForce 7200 Go is a substantially better graphics processor than the Intel GMA950 at an extra $25, it’s a no-brainer for gamers. That said, it’s always worth remembering that Intel GMA950 will offer better battery life for traditional desktop work, and should be fast enough for technologies such as Windows Vista Aero Glass (given that it’s fast enough for MacOS X’s CoreImage and QuartzExtreme).
Speaking of battery life, our hp dv2000t came with the extended 12-cell lithium ion battery pack. This has jokingly been called the “tumor battery” on the internet because it adds an asymmetrical bump to the notebook. That said, I got 5 hours of battery life under heavy usage, wireless and Bluetooth enabled, and maximum screen brightness. When using typical Office applications and decreasing brightness to a very-usable zero setting, I was able to reach over 6 hours of battery life!
Thermal Management
We've all heard stories of laptops that can overheat and burn their users. Lawyers have even gotten every notebook manufacturer to emphasize that notebooks should not be used on a lap. Fortunately, the dv2000t remains relatively cool. The Fujitsu hard drive does warm up the left side of the notebook, but it never reached dangerous levels.
Screen Quality
HP uses 14.1” LCD panels from several different suppliers. Our notebook was configured with a Quanta LCD panel. We found that the high-gloss, anti-reflective coating on the screen worked very well and the dv2000t had superb colors. The backlight was generally uniform, and was still bright enough for indoor use at the “0 level.”
by DSimmons on November 8, 2009:
“I purchased my HP Pavilion dv2000 cto from HPShopping.com in late May '07. It took several weeks to receive it and when I did I had various problems that caused me to call HP support 1-2 times per month, of which they never resolved any issue. One of these...” More...