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HP Pavilion dv9500t

CPU: 2.2-GHz Core 2 Duo T7500 • Display Size (inches): 17 • Wide Screen: Yes • Total HD Size (GB): 400 • Min. Weight (lbs.): 8.5 • Price When Reviewed: $2314
Last updated
January 03, 2008
Test Center Reviewed by
Carla Thornton
Pros
Cons
Most Recent Reviews
1 Poor
Reviewed by: tonyaguilar70

02-13-08

Duration of ownership: 6 Months

Strengths: By buying this machine I learned NEVER to buy an HP product again.

Weaknesses: HP is not honest and put machines out in the market knowing they will cause lots of problems.

Overall Evaluation: This is the perfect laptop if you enjoy restoring your system at least once every month, reloading everything and losing valuable information, then send it three times to HP for repair, get it back with same problems, and finally after 6 months, give up return it and find out they will take 10% for every month you owned it. Bought it at $2700 including extended warranty and after months of frustation, got $1080. Unbeatable!!!!!!!!! Went back to Sony (4th Sony), now a AR670cto, 1960X1200, bluray,8600GT GPU, for $2200, and all I have to do is to enjoy it as it should be. Thanks HP, I won't forget my lesson!!!

3 Good
Reviewed by: tech45

11-10-07

Duration of ownership: 2 Months

Strengths: Excellent value, for game use i suggest the 2.4mhz porcessor and the 7200 Speed Gard Drive with 2 megs of ram. Only major reason not to purchase this machine is a software bug see weaknesses.

Weaknesses: Perlininary results found on other review forums as well as myself finds that units purchased between Sept and possible to durrent day have a defect in the restoration disks from HP and those obtained by tech. support ginve a SKU and Regions Mismatch error which prevendts the unit from re-loading the Vista operating system. HP has been notified to current long term solution has been offered at this time.

Overall Evaluation: Except for the restoration problem should your laptop need it this laptop is excellent. i equiped my system as follows; 2.4 Intel Processor 2 megs Ram 120 SATA Drive 256 Nvidia Geoforce 8600M GS Intel pro/wireless 4865 GN network w/bluetooth 17" Ultra Brightview widescreen 1440x900 Vista premium High capacity Battery Lightscribe supermulti DVD w/double layer HP imprint+fingerprint reader+microphone HP Express Digital/Analog TV Tuner Mobile Stereo Earbud Headphones System Revoery Disk I ran several games including Company of Hereos at its top graphics level wiht no problem. The Ultra bright screen is clar and crisp. the seperate keypad is great. The fingerprint reader takes a little gettting used to but it seems to get better with use. I think this is the best laptop for the money BUT HP needs to fix the problem with thier restoration disks not matching thier hardware thus preventing the operating system being re-loaded should the hardrive and the disk you make as an image from thesystem fail.

1 Poor
Reviewed by: BlueRidge

10-28-07

Duration of ownership: 2 Months

Strengths: Docking station options. Remote that turns computer on/off. 10 key numeric pad. I have found NO other computers with all of the above.

Weaknesses: I no longer have a dv9500t because HP sent me four straight machines, all of them defective. HP seems to have NO idea how to correct the problem.

Overall Evaluation: I absolutely love the feature set this computer had. Especially it's Quick Dock coupled with a remote control that could turn the computer on and off. Allowed me to totally close up the notebook and slip it under my monitor stand with the disk drive facing me. Very handy. Don't know why other manufacturers have gone away from true docking stations. Unfortunately right now HP does not seem to be able to ship a working dv9500t. They have sent me four. I have spent hours on the phone with HP and Microsoft. (Another story, but Microsoft's tech support is light years ahead of HP's.) All of the systems had corrupted system files right out of the box. Could not be corrected. Restore disks would not work as they give a SKU & Models Region mismatch. HP sent me 4 different recovery disks and computers with both Vista Home Premium and Ultimate 64 bit. Same issue. I had to finally give up. I have a Dell coming in Tuesday. If the Dell works perfectly, I know I am going to be dissatisfied for its lifetime because of the lack of a docking station and remote. (Hey, my old computer didn't have a remote either, and it was with such joy that I discovered one existed.) This is my first Dell so I guess we will see if HP can ever get me back as a customer.

1 Poor
Reviewed by: Frannie

10-27-07

Duration of ownership: 1 Years

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Overall Evaluation: I loved my computer until the morning that I awoke to find I had a "display failure" when it was one month out of warranty. The repairman cannot access data, nor so far find out why the computer completely refuses to work... This is the 2nd HP I have owned, and I am writing this on my old, SLOW laptop, which at least still functions. SO I GEVE THE PAVILION A BIG ZERO RATING !!!!!

5 Superior
Reviewed by: thecarguy911

09-23-07

Duration of ownership: 2 Weeks

Strengths: very fast, easy set up, light weight, does play the latest games without a hitch

Weaknesses: vista still needs tweaks so be patient,

Overall Evaluation: This replaced an hp zx5280 p4 3.2ghz and is awesome. I have seen reviews that it wont play games...not sure what they mean plays company of heros, spiderman 3, unreal tournement, thps, nfs most wanted ect,,,, on high settings without a hitch. One review complained about the mouse pad getting hot....I have not had this at all yet.... this is much lighter than the othe laptop I had and yes I do travel alot and not a problem. I have the 2.2 ghz t7500 with the nvidia 7600gs 2 gig of ram and it has not had any issues with game performance or overheating at all. I spent alot of time reading the reviews and some people may not have had laptops before based on what they say. The Dvd drive is alot better than past drives and does not feel flimsy at all in fact feels sturdy compared to my other laptop. The dual headphone jacks in the front are very handy if you have kids or friends that want to share the movie or game. You should definately find and take any vista info classes that you can they made it easier for me to figure out the setup and make the awkwardness of a new OS alot easier to deal with. dx10 compatible, blazing fast processor, some really cool vista features, and as much as I dislike the people I get on the phone with HP support they do stand behind the product and have been good to me on other products, (use the online chat support so you dont hear the voice that you dont understand because of the accent) the online support is actually very good. This is the bomb for a good gaming portable for those who travel alot, need the ability to use work applications and play the latest games, and dont want to break the bank on price. Thanks HP I am really enjoying this system!!!!

5 Superior
Reviewed by: ghilbid

09-02-07

Duration of ownership: 1 Weeks

Strengths: Great layout, very crisp and bright screen, nice features, remote-control, dual headphone jacks, good preinstalled software, sleek look.

Weaknesses: The DVD-ROM tray is very flimsy, everytime I pop it out to laod/take out a disc, I fear it will be broken. The embedded camera does not record other than while working with HP Quick Play software. There should have been four USB ports.

Overall Evaluation: It is a wonderful machine that has enough power under the hood to play all today's games, not at the cost of its business look. It is very thin and light for its size. The screen is a feast for the eyes. The numeric keypad gives more input access. I am not regretting my purchase.

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