Why You Can Trust CNET HP Pavilion dv9590ea review: HP Pavilion dv9590ea
The HP Pavilion dv9590ea is an excellent, all-rounder of a desktop replacement. It's prepared for the future by its ability to play high definition, with built-in HD DVD and HDMI. It performs well, has impressive 3D levels for gamers and has plenty of storage space
If you want a laptop that's not all about work at the expense of play then the HP Pavilion dv9590ea fits the bill. It's fully equipped for HD entertainment but can also turn its hand to the odd bit of bookwork too.
HP Pavilion dv9590ea
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
With an asking price of £1,100 from LaptopsDirect.co.uk it's not exorbitantly priced either.
Strengths
HP hasn't messed around when it comes to kitting out the dv9590 -- its 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 processor and 2GB of RAM managed to achieve a PCMark05 score that was pushing 5,000 with 4,834 -- which is extremely high for a laptop.
Equally it was not too shabby when it came to 3D either -- its Nvidia GeForce 8600M graphics chip pulled in a 3DMark06 score of 2,658 -- anything above the 2,000 mark is impressive for a portable machine.
HP has also equipped the dv9590 well for the future by including an HD DVD drive, so you can watch hi-def movies in all their glory. There's also an HDMI port on the side, so you can hook it up to your big screen TV for the full immersive experience.
As it runs Windows Vista Home Premium it comes with a bundled copy of Media Center and thoughtfully HP has included a remote control, so you can command it from afar. Perhaps more cleverly, the remote slips into the ExpressCard slot when it's not in use so you're less likely to lose it down the back of the sofa.
In terms of battery life, it pulled in an average result of one hour 18 minutes running the Battery Eater intensive test, but scored a much more impressive three hours 24 minutes with the more leisurely reader test.
It's also equipped with not one, but two 160GB hard drives, providing plenty of storage space and there's a numeric keypad to the right of the keyboard for quick number input.
Weaknesses
Despite the large amounts of storage space available and bundled Media Center software, if you fancy turning it into a telly-shifting machine then you'll need to splash out extra on an external USB tuner, as there isn't one included.
It's also disappointing that the widescreen glossy 17-inch display only stretches to a resolution of 1,440x900 pixels, leaving it unable to display the full 1,920x1,080-pixel resolution images available from HD DVD.
It's not really up to life on the road either, as it measures 396 by 42 by 285mm and weighs 3.6kg making it only suitable for moving from room to room rather than home to work. The keyboard is also slightly bouncy to type on, making extended text input seem like more of a chore than it should.
Conclusion
The dv9590, available for £1,100 from LaptopsDirect.co.uk, is built with fun in mind, from the HD DVD drive and HDMI port for next generation movies, to the remote control and impressive games performance. However, it's let down slightly by its substandard HD display resolution and lack of TV tuner.
Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Jon Squire