Digital Trends

HP dv9000z February 21st, 2007 | by Brandon King

Features and Design

We were first struck by the size, weight, and layout of this computer. Like other 17” notebooks, the dv9200 is a bit large for everyday portability, but generally preferred for media playback and desktop replacement. Here, we see the same market direction from HP, bundling an HD-DVD player and remote with the system. Unlike a few years ago, when these systems weighed 10 to 11 lbs, the dv9200z is a “svelte” 7.8 lbs.

The screen has very little bevel around it, meaning no space was wasted in the case design. All the corners of the case are smoothly curved, and everything about the case flows nicely. The keyboard is inset with a smooth curve, the bottom screen bevel swoops into the base, and the resin material that makes up the body was made using a unique technique to print subtle wave patterns across the flat surfaces. The surfaces are all glossy, making them a magnet for fingerprints and dust, but that seems to be a forgivable tradeoff in modern chic electronics. Of course, a microfiber cloth is included to keep your new beauty shiny and looking like new.

The wide format screen measures 17” diagonally and uses the Ultra BrightView technology which enhances contrast and color tones. The WXGA+ screen resolution (1440 x 900) is the most expensive option offered by HP due to the Ultra BrightView technology, but for those who want more screen real-estate, there is a WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050) option with normal/non-Ultra BrightView technology. Above the screen, the top edge includes the latches that hold the notebook closed, dual microphones, and the integrated 1.3-megapixel camera (more on this later). The pixels are pushed with the help of an Nvidia GeForce Go 7600 with 256MB of dedicated DDR2 memory.

Port layout is straightforward and well thought out. The left side includes three video output options: s-video, VGA, and HDMI. You’ll also find a dock connector, gigabit ethernet, modem, two USB 2.0 ports, and one mini IEEE 1394 port. There’s also an SD/MS/MMC/XD slot, but CF owners are out of luck. The front edge includes the activity lights, wireless switch, IR receiver, microphone input, and two headphone ports (one of which supports S/PDIF for surround sound system connection). The right side houses two more USB 2.0 ports, the HD-DVD/DVD±RW DL drive, and ExpressCard slot. An optional ExpressCard TV tuner is available during product configuration. The power adapter plugs into the right side and has a blue, glowing ring to indicate that there is power flowing through the cable.

The left side of the HP dv9200z


The right side of the dv9200z

The work surface holds a full keyboard, complete with number pad and functions keys. A row of touch-sensitive keys above the keyboard provide quick access to media controls. There are two buttons dedicated to HP’s Quickplay media front end and DVD/HD-DVD sub-component, the second of which is somewhat unnecessary, because the DVD player is the first option when QuickPlay opens. Other buttons include play/pause, stop, next, previous, mute, and a volume slider. These controls work within QuickPlay or Windows Media Player. There is no software included to customize the functions of the buttons, which we generally like to see. The Altec Lansing speakers are concealed under a mesh-like resin covering and pump out respectable audio, though it’s somewhat distorted at higher volumes (as is the case with most laptop speakers).

The Keyboard and trackpad

The trackpad feels almost too smooth, but it is responsive. The dedicated scrolling area is continuous with the rest of the trackpad, making it easy to accidentally trigger the virtual scrolling function. We had to tweak the Synaptics control panel to get a more natural feeling while scrolling. Even then, some applications (such as Firefox) refused to recognize virtual scrolling. Annoying? Yes, but it is an issue with the Synaptics drivers we have seen on other systems as well. The keyboard is comfortable, but feels slightly flimsy. There is also a dedicated hard button to turn off the track pad when using an external mouse, though we fail to see any situation where this would be helpful. The trackpad is off center compared to the case, but centered on the space bar of the keyboard.

Our system came configured with an AMD Turion 64 X2 clocked at 2.2 GHz — the top of the line offered in this series of notebooks. There is also a separate model number with Intel Core 2 Duo processors topping out at the T7200 (2GHz). The other differences between the two lines are the optional WLAN capability in the AMD line and a 512MB GeForce Go 7600 in the Intel line. Given the option between the two series, we would recommend the Intel line. We tried installing several applications on this test system, most of which ran without any problems. However, since the AMD series comes with the 64-bit version of Windows Vista, drivers can be an issue. We found two pieces of software that required special beta drivers and executables in order to run. These were specialized applications that most people don’t use (and they required USB Secure Keys), but with our limited time testing, the chances of another such issue are likely. If you are sure of the environment you will be using this computer in and use very few titles from small vendors, it is safe to take the 64-bit jump.