The dv2 in the real world
I'm a big fan of Windows XP—even the Home edition on netbooks—but the dv2 scores big points for coming with Vista Home Premium x64. A 32-bit OS simply won't do for a system equipped with 4GB of memory in its base configuration. Now if only HP had stopped there. Instead, it loaded down the dv2 with a monumental mass of software. Perhaps the most annoying of these applications are HP's own Total Care Advisor and a trial version of Norton Internet Security, both of which load up with Vista, lengthening the system's boot time.
HP has also installed Microsoft Works, a CyberLink DVD authoring suite, and a Lightscribe app—all of which are at least potentially useful. But there's more, including trial versions of Microsoft Office, muvee Reveal, and the Spore Creature Creator. Throw in a Slingbox app and installers for Juno and NetZero, and I start to lose count. None of these apps really eat up much of the Pavilion's 320GB hard drive, but the fact that there's this much bloat at all makes me cringe. What's worse, HP doesn't include physical media for the operating system. HP does provide instructions for burning your own (legally, of course), but that seems unnecessarily chincy for a system of this caliber.
Once you get past the bloat, the dv2 is quite responsive. It's noticably faster than my Eee PC when loading applications and web pages, and it does a much better job of handling multitasking, particularly when video playback or Flash-laden websites are involved.
The real difference between the dv2 and your average netbook isn't so much what the HP system does faster, but what it can do that an Atom-based ultraportable cannot. Take video playback, for example. With an Atom-based system saddled with Intel's 945GSE chipset, you're stuck with standard-definition playback that, while smooth, nearly maxes out the processor. The dv2's CPU utilization during SD video playback is only about 30-40%, which leaves plenty of room to explore more demanding content.
Curious to see whether the dv2 could handle H.264 video, I fired up QuickTime and played back 480p and 720p versions of the new Star Trek trailer. The former was buttery smooth, with CPU utilization in the mid 50s. 720p proved a little more challenging, pegging the dv2's CPU in the high 80s with the occasional 100% spike and accompanying stutter. I also saw high CPU utilization with HD YouTube video, and again, playback wasn't perfectly smooth.
Neither QuickTime nor YouTube take advantage of the Radeon's video decode block, so I decided to see if the dv2 could handle Blu-ray playback using HP's MediaSmart app, which does support Avivo. Playback was smooth across our collection of high-bitrate titles, which includes 28 Days Later (H.264), Nature's Journey (VC-1), and Click (MPEG2). The dv2's CPU utilization hovered between 60 and 80% for the first two movies and between 80 and 100% for Click.
Blu-ray movies are demanding enough prompt the dv2's cooling fan to ramp up. This fan runs quietly when the system isn't being taxed. Even at this higher speed, though, the fan isn't oppressively loud. The pitch is a little higher than that of my Eee PC, though, and consequently, the dv2's hum is a little more noticeable to my ears. At least the fan seems to do a good job of keeping the dv2 cool. The outer panels do get warm to the touch when the system is under load, but I had no problem keeping the dv2 on my lap for extended periods.
...and with real games
We've found that Intel's Atom processor lacks the horsepower to play modern games, even when paired with a capable graphics chip. The dv2 has a capable graphics chip and a decent processor, so how does it fare with recent titles? We tested a few with the Pavilion plugged into a wall socket to find out.
AudioSurf was fluid and smooth running at the dv2's native resolution and the second-highest detail level. With frame rates oscillating between 30 and 45 FPS, you shouldn't have to sacrifice much eye candy to surf on battery power, either.
Nvidia likes to tout Call of Duty 4 as one of the games its Ion platform is capable of running. However, we've found that actual gameplay is too jerky for our tastes, even with a dual-core Atom. The dv2, however, is pretty smooth at 1280x800 with low in-game detail levels. We observed frame rates in the high 20s and low 30s, with only the occasional stutter.
Left 4 Dead is the most recent game we tested on the dv2, and it also proved to be the most challenging. When running at the display's native 1280x800 resolution with medium detail levels, we enjoyed frame rates in the mid-to-high 20s, with dips into the teens as zombies swarmed en masse. Lowering the resolution and detail levels didn't help performance much.
World of Warcraft is exactly the sort of game I'd expect folks to run on an ultraportable, not just because it's so popular, but because it's addictive enough to have players jonesing for a session while they're on the go. I didn't get in too deep on the dv2, but I can confirm that aimless exploring on a random server yielded frame rates around 30 FPS at native resolution with the mix of high, medium, and low detail settings automatically selected by the game.
