HP Pavilion dv8000

The thinner and lighter HP Pavilion dv8000 ($1,579 as tested) is not as powerful as its predecessor, the Pavilion zd8000, but it serves as a nice desktop replacement notebook for moderate workloads. It uses the AMD Turion 64 ML-40 (2.2 GHz), and has dual 100GB hard drives (200GB total) and a gorgeous 17-inch widescreen. Although Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition is not currently available on this model, when it is, this will make a great Media Center system.

The dv8000 is the high-end, deluxe laptop in HP's Pavilion line. The system has slimmed down to 8.2 pounds, well below the 9.5-pound zd8000. And it ships with one of the smallest AC adapters we've seen for a 17-inch notebook, adding a mere 0.8 lbs to the system's carrying weight. The 17-inch widescreen has HP's BrightView screen, which is ideal for all of your multimedia tasks. The movie-watching experience is not as awesome as the Toshiba Qosmio G25-AV513's, but it comes very close.

The added width needed to accommodate the large display enabled HP to add a number pad next to the keyboard. Like its smaller dv sibling, the HP Pavilion dv4000, the dv8000 is configured with QuickPlay, which provides quick access to DVDs and music files in a preboot environment. With the press of the DVD or Music multimedia key (located above the keyboard), you can access your DVD drive or even the "My Documents" folder in your hard drive in seconds. You can also add a remote control that fits snugly in your PC Card slot for an extra $14.

To our surprise, the dv8000 came with a Turion 64 ML-40 processor instead of the Pentium M processor found on the dv4000. In PC Magazine Labs testing, the 2.2-GHz Turion delivered very good SYSmark 2004 SE performance, but the dv8000 still fell behind systems such as the HP Pavilion dv4000, which uses the Pentium M. The dv8000 doesn't offer a robust graphics solution. The basic ATI Mobility Radeon Express 200M with 128MB of discrete memory won't get you very far if you're a hard-core gamer, but is sufficient for video and all other 2D applications. For a serious gaming system, check out the Toshiba Qosmio G25-AV513. Based on our MobileMark 2005 tests, the dv8000's battery life is a very acceptable 3 hours 19 minutes.

Performance may not be commanding, but the features are. In addition to the four USB ports and one FireWire port, you get a 6-in-1 card reader that covers most major flash formats. The dual 100GB hard drives (200GB total) are cavernous—and the highest amount of storage we've seen in a notebook, along with the Fujitsu LifeBook N6210. Again, this is another feature which will really shine when the laptop has MCE installed and a TV tuner. The system comes with a DVD+R dual-layer drive with LightScribe functionality, and the Altec Lansing speakers keep you rocking all day.

The value rating is very good for a notebook with a 17-inch widescreen, 1GB of RAM, and dual 100GB hard drives. It's half the price of the Qosmio G25, but you don't even come close to getting all the cool A/V features found on that system. A weaker graphics solution, the lack of MCE and a TV tuner, and the less expensive Turion processor help keep the price down. Music and Photo ratings were excellent thanks to the dual hard drives and 6-in-1 card reader. The 60-day Norton Antivirus trials and 30-day Intermute SpySubstract software are good, but not enough to secure your PC completely.

By using the Turion processor, HP was able to make the dv8000 lighter and slimmer, but unlike many of its 17-inch counterparts, it's not a media-rich notebook. Adding the MCE OS could help with that. Until that happens, however, the dv8000 is a good general-purpose computer for small-business owners who don't want corporate notebooks, students, or home users working, doing the bills, researching on the Web, and doing e-mail.