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Review HP Pavilion dv9033cl Notebook

Beauty Notebooks of the Pavilion dv9000 are bigger dv6000s, which we already reviewed some time ago. Despite of powerful, energy-demanding components, it is extraordinary slim.

HP Pavilion dv9033cl Logo

Case

Following review is provided by notebookcheck.pl, our Polish editor team.

Overall, all notebooks of the dv9000 series have a common design. Also the dv9033cl has a piano coating and shows the already known wave pattern.

Generally, the workmanship of the dv9000 series is alright. However, the panel above the keyboard is not at the same level than the surrounding case.

The display cover slightly yields under pressure, but in total it is still rather robust. Tough the hinges are small, they hardly allow any wobbling.

The Pavilion dv9000 series and the dv6000 series mainly differ by their closing mechanism. While the dv6000 notebooks utilize a magnetic locking, the bigger 17 inch dv9000 series provide a standard latch with two bolts.

Because of its design specifics none of the interfaces could be located at the notebook's backside. Besides of the audio ports, the infrared port and the WLan switch, all other interfaces were located left and right of the notebook. The dv9033cl also provides a HDMI interface, while the dv9074cl does not.

HP Pavilion dv9033cl interfaces
Front Side: IR receiver, Audio Ports, SPDIF
HP Pavilion dv9033cl interfaces
Left Side: S-Video, VGA, Docking Station port, LAN, Modem, HDMI, 2x USB, FireWire, Card Reader
HP Pavilion dv9033cl interfaces
Right Side: USB, ExpressCard, DVD drive, USB, Power Connector
HP Pavilion dv9033cl interfaces
Rear Side: No Ports

Input Devices

The keyboard of the dv9000 series is basically identical to the one of the Pavilion dv6140ea. It provides a  seperate numerical keypad, however the enter key extends only over one row.

Typing features a short travel and an extremely abrupt stop and is a little bit noisy.

The touchpad is not placed in the center, but a little bit moved to the left. This was not uncomfortable for us, but chances are that the touchpad is accidentally activated by the left wrist. However, it can be deactived by a little button, lit by a small blue LED. The touchpad is the same than the one of the smaller dv6000 series. Its sliding properties are not ideal, and the according buttons not really user-friendly.

HP Pavilion dv9033cl Touchpad
Touchpad
HP Pavilion dv9033cl Keyboard
Keyboard

Display

HP Pavilion dv9033cl Display
Color Diagram

The dv9033cl is equipped with a 17-inch LG.Philips display with a native resolution of 1440x900 pixels. Its maximum brightness is 161.2cd/m², an acceptable result. Due to uneven brightness distribution, the illumination is only 77.5%.

124.7
cd/m²
169.8
cd/m²
158.5
cd/m²
130.4
cd/m²
161
cd/m²
159.8
cd/m²
135.9
cd/m²
134.3
cd/m²
148.4
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
Maximum: 169.8 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 147 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 73 %
Contrast: 201:1 (Black: 0.8 cd/m²)

Because of a black value of 0.8 cd/m² the LG.Philips screen has a calculated contrast ratio of 201:1.

HP Pavilion dv9033cl
dv9033cl on the right

The stability to the vantage point is moderate. Even small changes of the position worsen video quality.

Stability to the Vantage Point HP Pavilion dv9033cl
Stability to the Vantage Point HP Pavilion dv9033cl
Stability to the Vantage Point HP Pavilion dv9033cl
Stability to the Vantage Point HP Pavilion dv9033cl
Stability to the Vantage Point HP Pavilion dv9033cl
Stability to the Vantage Point HP Pavilion dv9033cl
Stability to the Vantage Point HP Pavilion dv9033cl
Stability to the Vantage Point HP Pavilion dv9033cl

Performance

The dv9033cl is equipped with a Core Duo T2300E (1.66GHz) processor and a GeForce Go 7600 video card. This equipment is alright for office and internet applications and also allows to play some not too demanding games.

The built-in harddisk is a  100GB HDD by Fujitsu. It is outperformed by the Seagate HDD of dv9074cl.

Further information about the video card can be found  here or in our comparison of mobile video cards. Detailed information about the Core Duo CPU can be found here.

Please also look at our benchmark list of mobile processors or at our benchmark list of mobile video cards, in order to compare this notebook to other configurations.

HP Pavilion dv9033cl Benchmark
Benchmark Comparison 3DMark
Benchmark Comparison PCMark
3DMark 2001SE Standard
17716 points
3DMark 03 Standard
8373 points
3DMark 05 Standard
3610 points
3DMark 06 Score Unknown Setting
2178 points
Help
PCMark 04 Standard
4853 points
PCMark 05 Standard
3454 points
Help
100 GB - 5400 rpm
Transfer Rate Minimum: 18 MB/s
Transfer Rate Maximum: 40 MB/s
Transfer Rate Average: 30 MB/s
Access Time: 18 ms
Burst Rate: 59 MB/s
CPU Usage: 4 %
Core Duo T2300E
Turion 64 X2 TL-56
HP Pavilion dv9033cl (Core Duo T2300E) HP Pavilion dv9074cl (Turion 64 X2 TL-56)
Windows XP boot up 47s 50s
HP QuickPlay boot up 22s 26s
PCLinuxOS 2007 TR4 boot up 2min29s 2min14s
SLAX Linux (w/o GUI) boot up 50s 36s
loading a saved game HoMM V 21s 21s
MOV to MPEG conversion (on battery, 109MB) 1min18s 1min44s
MOV to DivX conversion (on PSA, 109MB) 1min12s 1min14s
installing .NET Framework 2.0 2min 11sec 2min21s
Aquamark benchmark 60516 points 57197 points
x3 Reunion benchmark 29.426fps/sec 29.271fps
WinRAR benchmark 794KB/s 817KB/s

Emissions

The fan runs very audible all the time. A BIOS update improved the control of the fan, however, it still stayed noisy. Under load the noise level starts at 40dB and reaches up to 46dB together with the fan of the video card during playing games.

During battery operation the dv9033cl emits a high-pitched sound. Nearly all of the Notebooks with an Intel processor of the Pavilion series have this problem in common.

Noise Level

Idle
33 / 40 / 37 dB(A)
HDD
33.2 dB(A)
DVD
35.7 / dB(A)
Load
0 / 46 dB(A)
  red to green bar
 
 
30 dB
silent
40 dB(A)
audible
50 dB(A)
loud
 
min: dark, med: mid, max: light    (15 cm distance)

Temperature

Because of the rather slim case, the waste heat easily accumulates inside the notebook. The surface temperature clearly increased within a short time. Under full load it reaches a maximum of slightly above the 45 degrees Celsius.

Upper side

palmwrist: 38,8°C max: 42,1°C avg: 37,1°C

Bottom side

max: 45,1°C avg: 37,7°C

Speakers

The dv9033cl is equipped with Altec Lansing speakers. Despite of low power consumption, their sound is clear and rich, the maximum volume more or less alright.

Battery Runtime

The Pavilion dv9033cl is equipped with an 8-cell battery with a 4400mAh (63Wh) capacity. In practice you can expect a runtime of about two or three hours. Considering it is a DTR with a quite powerful video card, the battery runtime is very good.

Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
3h 15min
DVD
2h 05min
Load (maximum brightness)
2h 11min
Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0 / 0 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 24.7 / 27 / 27.5 Watt
Load midlight 65 / 58 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.

Verdict

The HP Pavilion dv9033cl has several weaknesses in key aspects.

The brightness, color quality of the LG.Philips display are moderate, the stability to the vantage point is poor. In turn a HDMI interface is available.

Even after a BIOS update the fan stayed rather loud, but its control improved. Most annoying, during battery operation the dv9033cl emits a high-pitched sound.

Many thanks to our partners of Notebookcheck Polen for this review.

HP Pavilion dv9033cl
HP Pavilion dv9033cl
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HP Pavilion dv9033cl
Reviewed: HP Pavilion dv9033cl (RG341UA#ABA)

Specifications

HP dv9033cl
Processor
Intel Core Duo T2300 2 x 1.7 GHz (Intel Core Duo)
Graphics adapter
NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 - 256 MB VRAM
Memory
2048 MB 
, 2 GB DDR2-533 (2x 1024 MB) maks. 4 GB
Display
17.10 inch 16:10, 1440 x 900 pixel, WXGA+ High Definition BrightView (LG Philips LP171WP4-TL03)
Storage
100 GB - 5400 rpm, 100 GB 
, 5400 rpm, Fujitsu MHV2100BH: 100GB, 5400rpm
Connections
4x USB 2.0, HDMI, VGA, wej¶cie mikrofonowe, 2x wyj¶cie s³uchawkowe (1x SPDIF), FireWire 1394, RJ-11, RJ-45, S-Video
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 40 x 385 x 295 ( = 1.57 x 15.16 x 11.61 in)
Battery
, litowo-jonowy 4400 mAh (64 Wh)
Additional features
Mobile Intel Calistoga i945PM, HDD: 100GB, 5400rpm, Fujitsu MHV2100BH, Conexant Cx20549 @ Intel 82801GBM ICH7-M - HD audio, Matshita DVD-RAM UJ-851S,
Weight
3.54 kg ( = 124.87 oz / 7.8 pounds) ( = 0 oz / 0 pounds)
Price
6088 Euro

 

The design of the Pavilion dv9000 series is impressive.
Although the battery isn't overly capacious, it provides a runtime between two up to three hours. Considering it is a DTR, this is an excellent runtime.
The dv9000 series provide a WLan switch.
The release of the display is difficult in use.
The brightness and color quality of the glossy LG.Philips screen are moderate, its stability to the vantage point is poor.
...but provides an additional numerical keypad.
The keyboard is similar to the one of the Pavilion dv6000 series...
The touchpad can be deactivated by little button, if needed.
A HDMI port is available.
Most of the interfaces are located at the left side.
The case is slim, so cooling the notebook is more difficult.
The workmanship is not so good.
The black piano coating looks good.

Pro

  • Good look
  • HDMI port
  • Long battery runtime
  • Accessories
  • Contra

  • Noise emissions
  • Poor stability to the vantage point
  • High-pitched sound during battery operation
  • Workmanship of the case
  • Touchpad
  • Similar Notebooks

    Tomasz Cyba, 2007-07- 5 (Update: 2013-05- 8)