Customer Reviews
HP Pavillion DV982OUS 
2008-07-24
Beautiful machine,no compliants to report.Like everyone else,not to crazy about Vista,but oh well.It's my first laptop,so far so good.
Laptop 
2008-07-19
HP Pavilion DV9820US 17" Laptop (AMD Turion 64 X 2 Dual Core TL-62 Processor, 4 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, Vista Premium)
Unfortunately this computer was quite disappointing in performance and picture quality. What was not disappointing was Amazon's handling of the return and total satisfaction regarding the transaction. Amazon will always be my first choice in the future. RFG
Perfect for Bluray movies with HDMI output 2008-07-12
I bought this laptop due to it's hdmi output and bluray drive. It's perfect for watching hig def movies!
Poor Ergonomic Design, Other Problems 
2008-07-05
After months of research, I bought this computer when the price seemed right ($700), mostly based on its good reviews, because it seemed to incorporate all the features I needed for a semi-replacement to my aging desktop.
I have had several laptops and this rates lowest, despite its sleek look and large screen.
I had hoped the unit would double as a DVD viewer at times, the main reason I went with the 17" screen. However, the sound set at highest volume is not loud enough to be heard from more than about 4 feet away, and even then, the audio quality if poor.
The DVD tray vibrates alarmingly when started and takes a lo-o-o-ong time to load.
The weight does not seem an obstacle in the beginning. That is, until you pack your padded computer bag -- vital especially with such a large screen surface -- with the hefty charger, much less a spare battery. This puts the total weight at about 10 lbs., which should keep your chiropractor busy if you choose to carry it on your shoulder. (Even if you are young and in good shape, this will come back to haunt you in later years when you are surprised to learn that your rotator cuff is shot.)
The mouse has a mind of its own, the cursor mysteriously disappearing and reappearing elsewhere on the screen during use.
But most bewildering of all is the placement of the pad-mouse itself, toward the left side of the unit. Since most people are right-handed, it would only make sense to place the mouse to the right side of the machine, or at the very least, in the middle. Its placement on the left makes balancing the large and heavy machine on a lap challenging, plus one's hands feel crowded to the one side. The opportunity to provide a roomier feel, as in a desktop, was sadly lost.
I would never purchase this computer again, even at a much lower price.
HP Pavilion dv9812us 2008-07-03
This has been a great notebook computer for me. Some reviewers complained about it being heavier than others, but duh! It is a bigger notebook with a wide screen. The wide screen has worked great for doing my graphic design work on with lots of room for windows and palettes. Its fast with plenty of memory.
No la compres 
2008-07-03
The HP Pavilion dv9800 Entertainment Series is an ultra-stylish notebook PC powerful enough to take on the most demanding of challenges. A widescreen display and leading edge mobile processor make this notebook an entertainment powerhouse.
Great laptop, can't say much for the OS 
2008-07-03
The only bad thing about this laptop is the fact that Microsoft has once again shoved an inferior OS down our throat by the name of Vista. Too bad HP is not allowed to upgrade this from Vista to XP or Win2000 would be even better!
The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, and The Uglier 2008-07-01
OVERVIEW:
I purchased this laptop for the beefy components, but mainly because the segregated graphical system (NVIDIA), which should improve performance, and the dual-core Centrino. Beyond productivity software, I wish to play games and do experiments with operating systems using VMWare.
Much to my dismay, essential functionality in the Centrino processor (VT) is disabled and there is no option to turn this on, and the NVIDIA graphics system is unstable with Windows Vista.
PERFORMANCE:
I'll try to avoid going into a diatribe about the follies of Vista, but as this OS is foisted upon us, and HP doesn't support any alternatives, I feel it is appropriate to mention some highlights. The overall system is not very responsive, with programs like Explorer and Internet Explorer crashing frequently enough, and other networking programs often become unresponsive often enough. Sometimes with programs that require administrative access, we wait about 30 seconds for a dialog to appear asking us if we wish to allow the operation.
Beyond this experience, the graphic driver crashes frequently, and multimedia controls like sound volume lock up the system and render the system unresponsive. I talked with their technical support, and they told me to call NVIDIA as that's their fault, and NVIDIA's website says call HP for driver support, as they are the OEM.
OTHER NOTES:
I think there are two design issues with the laptop: the keyboard and speaker grill:
The speaker grill has tendency to not stay attached. Inspect your model carefully to make sure there are no flaws, and purchase an extended warranty in case a portion of the grill cover pops up in the future. I had to exchange my first laptop immediately at Fry's because of this.
The keyboard keys have open spaces between the keys and sharp edges. Thus it is easy to pop the keys off and destroy the keyboard. If you had this laptop in a bag with papers and folders for instance, the flat thin object could rip out the keys. So, I recommend keeping the black cloth that came with the box, and place it above the keyboard when transporting as well as keep the laptop in a separate cover or bag if placed in bigger luggage (such as large computer bag) to protect the delicate keys.
INSTALLING XP or OTHER OSes:
Undoubtedly, users will be interested to install alternative operating systems to get around the problems with Vista foisted upon consumers. I haven't dabbled with open source systems, but I do know that some of the hardware components, like RICOH, are infamous for not supporting or cooperating with open source community, so expect some loss of functionality with Linux, FreeBSD, etc.
For Windows XP, there will be major problems, because not only will you have to fetch drivers from non-HP sources, you'll need a driver so that Windows XP can see the hard drive (the whole F6 floppy ritual). Intel seems to only release this to OEMs (or makes it hard to get at it), and the OEM, HP in this case, won't release the driver to the user. Some of these heart aches might be important when considering this laptop.
SIDE RANT:
I know many will disagree with this, especially HP, but knowingly selling laptops with problematic graphics systems is just dishonest. It's like selling a car with a problematic transmission, and then telling customers to call the transmission company. Directing users to go to NVIDIA, who haven't been able to solve the problem in over 9 months just salts the wounds.
And disabling a major feature of Intel processors surmounts to false advertisement. You buy these things expecting things to work and be functional. This topic is often discussed in the forums with other HP laptops, and in some cases HP has addressed the issue and provided the option, but several of their laptops, including this one, are not addressed.
LAST WORDS:
Initially, I thought the laptop would be a good deal for the price tag, even with the unfortunate circumstance with Vista, a problem shared with other pre-installed-Windows laptops these days (sans Apple Computer, and perhaps Dell). But with the disabled features in the processor (VT technology) and lingering problems with NVIDIA and Vista (a problem that exist with other HP laptops for over 9 months, a cause for many lawsuits), I couldn't recommend this model or other HP models professionally or personally.
Great Mobile Desktop Replacement 2008-06-29
Bought this unit about a month ago as a replacement for my wife's aging Toshiba 2.8MHz 15" laptop. She was looking for a machine with a full size keyboard and number pad with additional speed, storage, and memory. She owns a retail store and also runs 3 websites so portability is only a factor taking the computer from home to her shop and back. Although a "heavyweight" at 7.7 lbs this unit is still .1 lbs lighter than her old Toshiba. I was very unsure about going to Vista, but after stripping off the uneeded HP extras, this unit has plenty of memory and speed even running Vista to keep my wife (the only person I know who normally bounces between 10 web pages, MS Frontpage, Excel, and possibly Word) working without a degradation in speed. The screen is bright and clear. She often also works at a local coffee house and the battery life seems decent once you adjust the settings to the saver mode. So far all aces...
What a super computer, blazing fast 2008-06-14
This computer has it all. Tons of RAM, Blu-ray 64 bit system
Vista is not backward compatible with all products but why should it be.
Tech moves forward fast and this baby is fast
