Digital Trends

HP Pavilion HDX September 17th, 2007 | by Jason Tomczak

Features and Design:

The HP Pavilion HDX is a monstrous computer. It's freakishly big - the Robert Barone of notebooks - when compared to other portable computers. Thankfully, its huge size is equaled by its stunning looks and beautiful, logical and remarkably intuitive design.

At the time of this writing, the HDX uses an Intel Core 2 Duo processor - the T7700 - running at 2.4GHz (like the 15" MacBook Pro). There's a healthy 4MB L2 cache backing up the processor. The HDX also has an 800MHz bus and supports up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM. Our test model had a 2GB complement of memory.

The HDX uses the ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT graphics card with 256MB dedicated DDR2 memory, and is able to utilize upwards of 2GB dedicated & shared video memory. It's hard to imagine using 2GB of video memory, but the HDX will gladly oblige.

Need lots of storage space on your monster notebook? The HDX is sold with up to 400GB storage with two (yes, two) SATA drives. Our test model came with two 100GB drives, making for 200GB total. If one wanted to trick the HDX out, they could add two 250GB SATA drives, giving half a terabyte of storage space. 

Sound System

HP endowed the HDX with a really enjoyable Altec Lansing sound system, featuring 4 panel mounted speakers and an integrated HP Triple Bass Reflex Sub-Woofer. The sound system supports up to 7.1 channel external speaker configurations as well. Unlike most laptops where the built-in speakers are meager to pathetic, the HDX actually sounds pretty good. When using headphones, the HDX sounds awesome.

HD DVD

HP gave the HDX an HD DVD drive, so you can play HD DVD movies. The "SuperMulti" DVD+-R/RW drive also burns DVDs and CDs (single and dual layer).

LCD Screen

HP has recently made dramatic improvements to their LCD screens and display technology. The Brightview screens, notable for their glossy coating and ultra-rich colors, are typically found on stand-alone LCD monitors. As time rolls forward, Brightview is becoming standard for HP laptops, and it's a very good thing. The HDX was given a 20.1" Brightview screen and has a screen resolution of 1680x1050. It's gorgeous - flat out gorgeous. Colors are vibrant, life-like and accurate.

DVDs look brilliant, and digital photos are given new life on this screen. On most computers, DVDs often look pixellated when blown up to full-screen. This is due to the incongruous resolution of DVD movies and the target LCD screen. LCD displays typically having higher res than DVDs, force digital upsizing of the DVD. Because the HDX is HD DVD compatible, and because HD DVDs have much greater resolution than standard def DVDs, the final effect on screen is beautiful and super-clean, although not a true 1080p resolution. 

The HP Pavilion HDX on the left and a MacBook pro 15" on the right

Wired & Wireless

The integrated network card connects at 10/100/1000, so if you have a gigabit switch, you can get full gigabit LAN connections for super fast data transfers. Additionally, the HDX has built-in wireless (802.11n capable) Wi-Fi and Bluetooth networking capability.

Flash Drives

The HDX has a built-in memory card reader that supports SD, MMC, Sony Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro and xD cards. There's no built-in adapter for CF cards or microSD, however ExpressCard adapters can be found online and in computer stores everywhere. The HDX can support either ExpressCard/54 or ExpressCard/34.

Giving You the Finger

HP includes a biometric fingerprint reader on the HDX. This is great for people who like to automate their logins and access to secure files and websites. The reader is located just above the F7 and F8 keys. The controller software is pre-installed on the HDX, so you won't have to wade through messy setup processes.

The HP Pavilion HDX w/ lid closed (notice the integrated neck)