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HP Pavilion dv2 Notebook: Embracing The Yukon Approach

littlelion | 30 July, 2009 11:24

If the previous year was set aside for netbooks and mini-notebooks, this year the spotlight is apparently beamed towards cheaper, ultrathin notebooks. We have already seen some of them and most are banking on the CULV processors from Intel. Given such a picture of affairs, some might be waiting for an answer from AMD. Well, their response has arrived on time in the form of HP Pavilion dv2 notebook, which is capitalizing on the AMD Yukon platform.

 

 

 

 

For your information, the Yukon platform, in the case of the dv2, is comprised of a single-core AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 (1.6GHz, 512KB L2 cache) and an AMD RS690E + SB600 chipset combo. The processor is basically the old Athlon 64 (K8) architecture all but boasting 15 watts TDP based on the existing 65nm process technology. Obviously, the AMD chip consumes more power than the Intel CULV but this would also mean better performance in theory. Before we further talk about performance, let's lay our hands first on the tangible aspects of the dv2 notebook.

 

 

 

As what would you expect from an HP notebook, the dv2 reflects a certain degree of premiumness which is clearly seen on its lustrous, black lid. The dv2 possesses beveled lips to put more emphasis on its slim contour and make the stereo Altec Lansing speakers discreet at the same time.

 

 

 

 

Lifting up the lid, the dv2 brings to light its reflective 12.1-inch screen held with a fairly wide frame. There is also the lustrous magnesium-alloy casing dabbed with the familiar Imprint pattern and sculpted with rounded edges. Within, the dv2 has 2GB DDR2 RAM, a 320GB 5400RPM HDD, and a discrete ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3410 graphics core.

 

 

 

 

Sporting a mirror-like finish, its trackpad might not be your cup of tea. In our experience, there were a few times that it missed some of our finger cues.

 

 

 

The keyboard was really good to type on and had minimal flex. Note the slightly scalloped keys in the picture.

 

 

 

The right profile is slim yet packed with enough space for the power switch, Wi-Fi switch, 4-in-1 card reader, audio jacks, USB 2.0 port and the power jack. Importantly, the dv2 is not equipped with an optical drive, though the unit we received came with a USB powered LightScribe SuperMulti 8x DVD drive.

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, the left side has two USB 2.0 ports, HDMI out, analog video out and the Ethernet port. Noteworthy, we found the placement of the air vent on this side quite inconvenient as warm air directly hit the wrist of our left hand.

 

 

 

 

While the default model comes with a 3-cell battery, our review unit came with the extended 6-cell battery and lasted around 2.5 hours which is plenty enough for most common use.

 

 

 

 

That’s all for now folks. If you are interested in knowing how the HP Pavilion dv2 fared against other laptop offerings that run on either an Atom or CULV processor, grab a fresh copy of HWM Philippines where a comprehensive review of the dv2 simply awaits your notice. Furthermore, stay tuned as another online preview of an ultrathin notebook is about to come here on HardwareZone Philippines!

 

General, HWM Philippines, Quick Take, Unwrapped, Preview, Spotlight :: Comment (9) :: Permalink :: Trackbacks (0)

comments

HP Pavilion dv2

Renante Digor | 03/08/2009, 11:37

HP Pavilion dv2

ceejay_ramos | 04/08/2009, 22:11

HP Pavilion dv2

ceejay_ramos | 04/08/2009, 22:12

Cost of HP Pavilion dv2 Please!

Shane Ann Lopez | 06/08/2009, 10:08

price Please

John Yu | 06/08/2009, 10:11

Prices

burning vengeance | 06/08/2009, 14:59

Prices

burning vengeance | 06/08/2009, 15:03

handsome

chinito26 | 21/08/2009, 20:16

pogi laptop

master pogi | 02/09/2009, 10:37

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