HP Pavilion dv6500t Entertainment Notebook PC

HP has scored big with its piano-lacquer Pavilion design, and the new HP Pavilion dv6500t sticks with it, adding minimal visual upgrades. The subtle wave-pattern pinstriping has been replaced by a more circular imprint, but the glossy black exterior and silver keyboard deck look as sharp and sleek as ever (fingerprint smudges notwithstanding). The biggest draw, however, is its Santa Rosa chipset, which churned out good performance numbers and very good battery life. (View our photo gallery.)
 
Other changes to the line include an available fingerprint reader (which will cost an extra $25) and an optional HD-DVD drive (about $400 more), making the dv6500t even more of a multimedia powerhouse. The full-sized keyboard has light, positive action and a subtle click for audible feedback of each key press.
 
We love HP's contingent of touch-sensitive multimedia control buttons above the keyboard and the two headphone jacks on the front edge of the chassis. But while the company's QuickPlay multimedia utility was groundbreaking for letting you control music, photo, video, and DVD playback without booting Windows XP, the utility is an adjunct to the new Vista OS. And instead of gaining access to your files in about ten seconds (as you can with Dell's MediaDirect utility), you have to wait more than 90 seconds for Vista and then QuickPlay to launch. By that point, you might as well just use Windows Media Center.
 
In its favor, the dv6500t's 15.4-inch glossy widescreen is of the new, brighter variety with better color reproduction, and the difference compared with the previous generation's panel is noticeable. Images and DVDs are vibrant and rich, thanks to Intel's Clear Video technology, and the screen's 1280 x 800-pixel resolution makes for comfortable viewing on an LCD this size. Above the screen you'll find an integrated webcam, which at 640 x 480 pixels has a lower resolution than other models but performs better in low light and delivers better frame rates for VoIP and video chats. HP includes the usual ports, including an ExpressCard slot and a 5-in-1 card reader.
 
Performance from the Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 CPU (married to 2GB of RAM) was very good; the dv6500t scored 3,927 on PCMark05, which is neck and neck with the scores from the Acer TravelMate 6460-6263 and Dell Inspiron E1505. The new integrated Intel GMA X3100 graphics (part of Intel's new Santa Rosa platform) are fine for most mainstream chores and delivered better results on our 3DMark03 tests than the previous dv6000t with integrated graphics. On the other hand, the Windows Experience Index graphics subscore of 3.4 and 3DMark03 showing of 1,726 mean you can forget about serious gaming. Still, the GPU is more than powerful enough to handle all of Vista's eye candy, like the Aero interface's translucent and glass-like effects.
 
Wireless throughput of 11.8 Mbps at 50 feet was on the low side--especially for its 802.11a/b/g/n potential, but you probably won't notice during day-to-day use. Battery life of two hours and 39 minutes from the six-cell battery is good for the class.

 

The Pavilion dv6500t offers a lot to like. We would have preferred faster graphics, but the latest boosts in productivity performance, multimedia amenities, and the dv5000t's sleek design make this notebook a top choice.

 

 

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