Hewlett-Packard or HP Laptops are some of the best selling and popular laptops anywhere worldwide.  The HP laptops offer a wide variety of power, screens, designs, memory and accessories.  The following information is from online sources and three of the computer reviews are from cnet.com.  Visit cnet.com for great reviews and computer information online.

Performance Laptop PCs

Key Benefits

Designed for mobile professionals who need ultimate performance, docking solutions, and high-end graphics.
• Ultimate in high performance.
• Mobile workstations with ISV certifications
• Business-rugged for those needing the maximum reliability and durability

HP EliteBook 8530p Notebook PC HP EliteBook 8530w Mobile Workstation HP EliteBook 8730w Mobile Workstation HP Compaq 8710p Notebook PC HP Compaq 8510w Mobile Workstation HP Compaq 8510p Notebook PC HP Compaq 8710w Mobile Workstation

Ideal For Mobile power users who need a high-end, desktop-like experience in a lighter-weight notebook Developers, engineers, designers, and animators who need the workstation graphics plus ISV certifications and a large display with a lighter weight Developers, engineers, designers, and animators who need the ultimate in workstation graphics plus ISV certifications and a very large display Power users who need a high-end, desktop-like experience and a very large display for working on multiple projects Developers, engineers, designers, and animators who need the ultimate in graphics plus ISV certifications and a large display with a lighter weight Mobile power users who need a high-end, desktop-like experience in a lighter-weight notebook Developers, engineers, designers, and animators who need the ultimate in graphics plus ISV certifications and a very large display Ideal For

FreeDOS Operating system
Processor Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor

Display size 15.4-inch diagonal WXGA anti-glare (1280 x 800 resolution); 15.4-inch diagonal WSXGA+ anti-glare (1680 x 1050 resolution) 15.4-inch diagonal WSXGA+ anti-glare; 15.4-inch diagonal WUXGA+ anti-glare 17.0-inch diagonal WSXGA+ WVA, anti-glare; 17.0-inch diagonal WUXGA WVA, anti-glare; 17.0-inch diagonal WUXGA DreamColor WVA

17.0-inch diagonal WXGA+ anti-glare; 17.0-inch diagonal WSXGA+ WVA, anti-glare; 17.0-inch diagonal WSXGA+ WVA, BrightView 15.4-inch diagonal WSXGA+ anti-glare WV); 15.4-inch diagonal WUXGA anti-glare WVA 15.4-inch diagonal WXGA anti-glare; 15.4-inch diagonal WSXGA+ WVA, anti-glare 17.0-inch diagonal WSXGA+ WVA, anti-glare; 17.0-inch diagonal WSXGA+ WVA, BrightView; 17.0-inch diagonal WUXGA WVA, anti-glare Display size

Maximum memory 8 GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM

Energy Efficiency ENERGY STAR® qualified ENERGY STAR® qualified ENERGY STAR® qualified ENERGY STAR® qualified ENERGY STAR® qualified ENERGY STAR® qualified ENERGY STAR® qualified Energy Efficiency

Graphics ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650, 256 MB of dedicated video memory (discrete graphics) NVIDIA Quadro FX 770M with 512 MB of dedicated video memory

ATI Mobitilty FireGL V5700 with 256 MB of dedicated video memory

Microsoft DirectX 10 and OpenGL 2.1 capable NVIDIA Quadro FX 3700M with 1 GB of dedicated video memory

NVIDIA Quadro FX 2700M with 512 MB of dedicated video memory

ATI Mobility FireGL V5725 with 256 MB of dedicated video memory

Microsoft DirectX 10 (Shader 4.0) and OpenGL 2.1 capable (models with NVIDIA graphics)
Microsoft DirectX 10.1 (Shader 4.1) and OpenGL 2.1 capable (models with ATI graphics) NVIDIA Quadro NVS 320M graphics, with 256 MB dedicated video memory (512 MB TurboCache)
Microsoft DirectX 10 support NVIDIA Quadro FX 570M graphics, with up to 256MB dedicated memory (512 MB TurboCache)

ATI Mobility FireGL V5600 graphics, with up to 256 MB dedicated memory (512 MB HyperMemory)

Microsoft DirectX 10 support

OpenGL support ATI Mobility Radeon HD2600 graphics, with 256 MB dedicated video memory (512 MB HyperMemory)

Microsoft DirectX 10 support NVIDIA Quadro FX 1600M graphics, with 512 MB dedicated video memory

NVIDIA Quadro FX 3600M, with 512MB dedicated video memory - coming soon
Microsoft DirectX10 support
OpenGL support Graphics

Weight Starting at 6.3 lb (Starting at 2.86 kg) Starting at 6.3 lb (Starting at 2.86 kg) Starting at 7.5 lb (Starting at 3.40 kg) 7.55 lb (3.4 kg) 6.1 lb (2.77 kg) 6.1 lb (2.77 kg) 7.5 lb (3.4 kg) Weight

Wireless HP Mobile Broadband (powered by Gobi™); Intel 802.11a/b/g draft-n; HP Integrated Module with Bluetooth 2.0 Wireless Technology HP Mobile Broadband (powered by Gobi™); Intel 802.11a/b/g draft-n; HP Integrated Module with Bluetooth 2.0 Wireless Technology Intel 802.11a/b/g draft-n; HP Integrated Module with Bluetooth 2.0 Wireless Technology Intel 802.11a/b/g draft n; Intel 802.11a/b/g; Broadcom 802.11a/b/g; Bluetooth 2.0 Intel 802.11a/b/g draft n; Intel 802.11a/b/g; Broadcom 802.11a/b/g; Bluetooth 2.0 Intel 802.11a/b/g draft n; Intel 802.11a/b/g; Broadcom 802.11a/b/g; Bluetooth 2.0 Intel 802.11a/b/g draft n; Intel 802.11a/b/g; Broadcom 802.11a/b/g; Bluetooth 2.0 Wireless
 

HP Pavilion dv2

The good:

First laptop to use new AMD Athlon Neo CPU; best-looking budget 12-inch laptop we've seen; 4GB of RAM.

The bad:

Netbook-style performance at mainstream-laptop prices; no internal optical drive; unimpressive battery life.

The bottom line:

HP's slick-looking 12-inch Pavilion dv2 carves out a niche between entry-level Netbooks and expensive ultraportables.

Specifications:

Processor: AMD Athlon Neo (1.6 GHz) ; RAM installed: 4096 MB ; OS provided: Windows Vista Home Basic See full specs

We first saw the 12-inch HP Pavilion dv2 at CES 2009, we noted that, "at first glance, another glossy HP laptop with an AMD processor may induce yawns, but when we learned this was the first system to use AMD's new Netbook-like Athlon Neo platform, our ears perked up."

AMD sees room for systems with slightly bigger screens than Netbooks, and that cost slightly more. The Neo is intended to be a kind of step-up from Netbook CPUs, such as the Intel Atom and Via Nano, offering a little more processing power for a little more money, and is targeted at slightly larger systems: 12-inch laptops instead of 9- and 10-inch ones.

In practice, the 1.6GHz Neo handles many tasks better than the Intel Atom does, and it comes paired with ATI Radeon graphics (it's also restricted to Windows Vista--sorry, no XP option). But, at $749, there's a big psychological leap to the HP dv2 from a $499 10-inch Netbook or even the $549 12-inch Samsung NC20, which has Via's new Nano processor. Once you hit that price range, plenty of mainstream laptop choices come into play, as illustrated in our recent retail laptop review roundup.

HP's own Pavilion dv4-1275mx (also $749) has a 14-inch screen, but also features a dual-core Turion X2 CPU, while Sony's 14-inch Vaio CS215J/W ($799) has a 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6400--both of which handily outperform the HP dv2.

While we're not convinced that laptop shoppers are looking for some middle ground between a traditional Netbook and a cheap mainstream dual-core laptop, the HP Pavilion dv2 at least gets to carve out a niche (for the moment) as the overall-best, inexpensive, 12-inch laptop available.

Price as reviewed / Starting price $749
Processor 1.6GHz AMD Athlon Neo MV-40
Memory 4GB, 800MHz DDR2
Hard drive 320GB 5,400rpm
Chipset ATI RS690
Graphics ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3410
Operating System Windows Vista Premium
Dimensions (WD) 11.5 x 9.6 inches
Height 0.9-1.3 inches
Screen size (diagonal) 12.1 inches
System weight / Weight with AC adapter 3.8/4.6 pounds
Category Ultraportable

Taking some design cues from the rest of HP's current Pavilion lineup, the dv2 has a mirrored touch pad, imprinted swirly design on the keyboard tray, and a high-gloss finish. But unlike other Pavilions we've seen recently, this model trades the traditional tapered-key keyboard for one with flatter, more closely spaced keys--similar to what you'd see on Apple and Sony laptops, or HP's Mini 1000 Netbook.

That keyboard is comfortable and easy to use, but the narrower overall width (as in the case of Netbook keyboards as well) takes a little getting used to for touch typists. As in other current HP laptops, the touch pad's mirrored surface isn't quite slick enough for our tastes--there's a little too much drag on the finger, forcing us to dial up the pointer speed in the system settings.

The slim Pavilion dv2 is thinner than other low-cost 12-inch laptops we've seen--the Samsung NC20 and Dell Mini 12 (powered by the Intel Atom and Via Nano processors, respectively)--and is only slightly thicker than a high-end ultraportable like the Lenovo IdeaPad U110. The end result is that the HP dv2 looks like a more expensive machine than it is.

The 12.1-inch wide-screen LED display offers a 1,280x800 native resolution, which is standard for most screens between 12 and 15 inches in size. It displays Web pages and documents better than a Netbook's typical 1,024x600 resolution can, and is also well-suited for watching 720p HD video content.

HP Pavilion dv2 Average for category [ultraportable]
Video VGA-out, HDMI VGA-out, mini-HDMI or Mini-DVI
Audio Stereo speakers, headphone/microphone jacks headphone/microphone jacks
Data 3 USB 2.0, SD card reader 2 USB 2.0, SD card reader
Expansion None ExpressCard/34
Networking Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, optional WWAN
Optical drive External DVD burner None, or DVD burner

But the big story of the HP Pavilion dv2 is its AMD Athlon Neo CPU, and this is the first system we've seen with that processor. AMD calls it a "platform for ultrathin notebooks," and wants to use systems such as the HP dv2 to create a new laptop category. As we noted after talking to AMD at CES 2009, the company sees Netbooks as occupying the space between 7- and 11-inch displays with prices under $499, while traditional ultraportrable laptops run from 11 to 13 inches and cost $1,499 or more. Somewhere in there, AMD reckons, there's room for systems with slightly bigger screens than Netbooks, and that cost slightly more.

The 1.6 GHz Neo CPU MV-40 has enough processing power to run Windows Vista smoothly, something that has tripped up Intel-Atom-powered systems, including Sony's Vaio P and Dell's Mini 12. In our benchmark tests, the HP dv2 was significantly faster than Netbooks with either Intel's Atom or Via's new Nano CPU at individual tasks such as iTunes encoding or Photoshop image processing. However, when running multiple apps simultaneously, none of these low-power, single-core CPUs were particularly impressive, and the Neo and Atom were essentially tied in our multitasking test. By way of comparison, a standard Intel Core 2 Duo ULV (ultralow voltage) processor, as found in more expensive 12-inch laptops, easily beats them all.

While far from a gaming platform, the HP dv2 does include discrete graphics in the form of a 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3140 GPU.

HP Pavilion dv7-1285dx

Attractive design skips the usual gray and black; excellent battery life for a desktop-replacement; big hard drive; discrete graphics card.

The bad:

Low-resolution screen not ideal for HD content.

The bottom line:

HP's Pavilion dv7-1245dx is a slick multimedia machine with great battery life, but for $1,200, we want a full 1080p display.

Specifications:
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo (2.4 GHz) ; RAM installed: 6 GB DDR2 SDRAM ; Weight: 7.7 lbs

HP's Pavilion dv line of multimedia laptops, available in 14-, 15-, and 17-inch versions, consists of attractive systems aimed at mainstream consumers with a heavy diet of videos, music, and other forms of media. To this end, they share features, such as Altec Lansing speakers, HDMI outputs, and touch-sensitive media control buttons, along with mirror-finish accents.

The $1,199 HP Pavilion dv7-1285dx is a step up from the less expensive (although cosmetically identical) $699 HP Pavilion dv7-1245dx we looked at recently. For the extra money, you trade up from an AMD processor to a high-end 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8600, and from a 320GB hard drive to a 500GB model.

For the same $1,200, you can trade some hard-drive space and CPU power for better 3D graphics by choosing the Gateway P-7805u FX. That system--our favorite in the mainstream category of our current retail laptop review roundup, has an Nvidia GeForce 9800M GTS, which is better-suited for gamers than the dv7-1285dx's GeForce 9600M GT.

Price as reviewed $1,199
Processor 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8600
Memory 4GB, 800MHz DDR2
Hard drive 500GB 5,400rpm
Chipset Mobile Intel PM45 Express Chipset
Graphics 512MB Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT
Operating system Windows Vista Premium (64-bit)
Dimensions (WD) 15.6 x 11.2 inches
Height 1.7 inches
Screen size (diagonal) 17.0 inches
System weight / Weight with AC adapter 7.5/8.6 pounds
Category Desktop replacement

The design of the HP Pavilion dv7-1285dx is essentially identical to the AMD-powered Pavilion dv7-1245dx's. HP wisely makes the current dv line of laptops stand out from the crowd, skipping the typical glossy gray-and-black designs for a subtle cross-hatch pattern with a bronze tint, which is more likely to fit into your post-dorm-room decor. We also like the laptop's single, long hinge, which keeps the display from wobbling.

The touch pad (which has wide-screen-like dimensions) and mouse buttons have a highly reflective mirrored finish. It shows fingerprints and smudges easily, but also offsets the bronze color of the chassis nicely. One other complaint: the mirrored finish on the touch pad glides less easily against the finger than a traditional touch-pad finish, causing a little bit of finger drag.

As in the less expensive 17-inch HP dv7-1245dx, there's a series of lighted, touch-sensitive media controls above the keyboard, which glow either white or orange depending on status (Wi-Fi on versus off, for example). There's also a volume slider, but for sensitive volume tweaks we still prefer a physical wheel; touch-controlled volume sliders are finicky and lack the capability to do very fine adjustments. When the system is off or asleep, the button labels literally vanish into the mirrored strip above the keyboard.

The 17-inch wide-screen LCD display offers a 1,440x900 native resolution, which is typical in less expensive desktop replacements, but for $1,200, we'd rather have a 1,600x1,200 screen, which is better for watching 1080p HD video content. The glossy screen makes video content pop, but can cause distracting glare while trying to read or type, depending on the lighting in the room.

HP Pavilion dv7-1285dx Average for category (mainstream)
Video VGA-out, HDMI VGA-out, HDMI
Audio Stereo speakers, headphone (x2)/microphone jacks Stereo speakers, headphone/microphone jacks
Data 4 USB 2.0 (1 USB/eSATA), SD card reader 4 USB 2.0, SD card reader
Expansion ExpressCard/54 ExpressCard/54
Networking Ethernet, 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, optional WWAN
Optical drive Lightscribe DVD burner DVD burner

The 17-inch dv7-1285dx has essentially the same ports and connections as its cheaper cousin, which includes some high-end choices, such as a combo USB/eSATA port, and a Lightscribe DVD burner, which uses specially coated, blank, optical media to burn grayscale text and images on discs.

All the systems in the Mainstream category of our Retail Laptop Review Roundup: Q1 2009 (covering laptops from $900 to $1,200) have high-end Intel Core 2 Duo CPUs and 4GB of RAM. Not surprisingly, the two systems with the 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (this laptop and the 13-inch Dell SX13-163B) were the fastest, although any of these are excellent performers for heavy multitasking.

The 512MB Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT is a standard midrange GPU, capable of kicking out a reasonable 43.2 frames per second in Unreal Tournament III at 1,280x800. For almost the same price, however, Gateway's P-7805u has a GeForce 9800M GTS--the current high-end of mainstream video cards, and scored 120.8 frames per second on the same test.

The HP Pavilion dv7-1285dx ran for 3 hours and 32 minutes on our video playback battery drain test, which is an impressive performance for a desktop replacement. In fact, it was the longest battery life from any system in the Mainstream category of our current roundup.

HP Mini 2140

The good:

Solid metal construction; full ExpressCard/54 slot; big keyboard.

The bad:

Odd resolution loses a few pixels; no mobile-broadband options (yet); awkward mouse button placement.

The bottom line:

HP offers a premium version of its plastic Mini 1000 while keeping the price down, making the Mini 2140 the Netbook to beat.

Even though the HP Mini 1000 is only a few months old, Hewlett-Packard was actually an early player in the Netbook field. The company's business system side came up with the Mini-Note 2133 in spring 2008, with a solid, brushed-metal chassis and a nearly full-size keyboard. Unfortunately, this predated Intel's Atom CPU, and rather than using the Celeron processor that came with the very first Netbooks, HP went with an underpowered Via C7-M, which pretty much killed any chance it had of becoming a mainstream product.

Now that the plastic-clad, Atom-powered consumer version has become a hit, HP's business side is taking another crack at the Netbook market with a radically updated version, the $499 HP Mini 2140.

It keeps the aluminum construction and big keyboard, but updates the components to an Intel Atom CPU, and adds an accelerometer for the hard drive, and a full ExpressCard/54 slot--a Netbook first (Lenovo's S10 has a smaller Express Card/34 slot).

Thanks to those added features--and some concerns about the added weight aside--the 2140 is currently our favorite Netbook less than $500.

Price as reviewed / Starting price $499
Processor 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270
Memory 1GB, 800MHz DDR2
Hard drive 160GB 5,400rpm
Chipset Mobile Intel 945GSE
Graphics Intel GMA 950 (integrated)
Operating system Windows XP Home Edition SP2
Dimensions 10.3 inches wide by 6.5 inches deep
Height 1.1 inches
Screen size (diagonal) 10.1 inches
System weight / Weight with AC adapter 3.0/3.8 pounds
Category Netbook

The HP Mini 2140 shares the same basic silhouette as the earlier Mini 1000 and Mini-Note 2133 systems from HP. Because it has an aluminum case, like the 2133, it's a half-pound heavier than the plastic Mini 1000; it's a trade-off that may be worth it, however, as the metallic Mini 2140 feels as if it'll stand up to the rigors of the road better than a plastic Netbook.

The biggest selling point for HP's Netbooks has always been the fantastic keyboard, which HP claims is 92-percent of the size of a full-size laptop keyboard. Other Netbooks have been plagued by tiny Chiclet-like keys, which make typing a pain and typos plentiful. By expanding the keyboard right to the edges of the system, HP is able to fit bigger keys into the tray than other Netbooks (and even ultraportable laptops). The result is a comfortable typing experience that takes a tiny bit of adjustment (as the keys are very close together), but one that is, thus far, our favorite on a sub-12-inch notebook.

The touch pad has an unusual shape, stretched into a letterbox-like wide rectangle and the mouse buttons have been moved to the left and right sides of the touch pad. This permits the system to have a minimal amount of wasted wrist-rest space, but it's a somewhat awkward compromise, especially if you do a lot of vertical scrolling or right-clicking.

The 10.1-inch wide-screen LED display has an unusual 1,024x576 native resolution, which is a few pixels shy of the 1,024x600 we typically see in Netbooks. The end result is largely unnoticeable, but a Windows XP pop-up window expressed concern that we weren't running at a standard resolution.

HP Mini 2140 Average for category [netbook]
Video VGA VGA
Audio headphone/microphone jacks, stereo speakers headphone/microphone jacks, stereo speakers
Data 2 USB 2.0, SD card reader 2 USB 2.0, SD card reader
Expansion ExpressCard/54 None
Networking Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Optical drive None None

Besides its big keyboard, the Mini 2140 has one major selling point that no other Netbook currently offers: a full ExpressCard/54 slot. Lenovo's S10 has a half-size ExpressCard/34 slot, but there are fewer options for add-on peripherals in that size. We rarely find that we actually need an ExpressCard slot for anything, but some rely on them for mobile broadband modems, memory-card readers, or even TV tuners.

HP offers a handful of fixed-configuration versions of the 2140, but we're perfectly happy with the basic $499 model, which has an Intel Atom CPU, 1GB of RAM, and a 160GB hard drive. For $50 more, a smart upgrade might be an identical version with 2GB of RAM, but that comes with Windows Vista Basic. Adding an XP "downgrade" to that model adds another $80 onto that (but also includes a faster 7,200rpm hard drive).