The good: Attractive design; bright, crisp display; Blu-ray drive; thorough set of audio visual controls, ports, and connections; long battery life; touchpad power button; fingerprint reader.

The bad: Mediocre gaming performance; HDMI port takes the place of one USB port; decent, but not great, speakers.

The bottom line: The HP Pavilion dv9700 doesn't have enough graphics power to satisfy hardcore gaming enthusiasts, but it is a great choice for home users who don't want to spend a fortune on a Blu-ray-equipped entertainment notebook.

Read full review of the HP Pavilion dv9700 »

By Michelle Thatcher
Jun 17, 2008

The differences between the HP Pavilion dv9700 and the dv9500 are subtle. Externally the two laptops are identical, but the dv9700 includes a current Penryn processor, an upgraded graphics card, and a higher display resolution. Also, the dv9500's HD-DVD drive has (out of necessity) been replaced by a Blu-ray drive in the dv9700.

The landscape of laptops has also changed since we last examined the 17-inch Pavilion model. CES 2008 saw the introduction of low-cost desktop replacements, which give the Pavilion dv9700 a run for its money, performancewise. However, the Pavilion dv9700's primary advantage over its cheaper competitors lies in its Blu-ray drive, HDMI connectivity, and massive hard drive capacity, all of which make it the superior machine for HD video. In the end it comes down to your primary reason for buying an entertainment-oriented desktop replacement: If for gaming, choose the Dell XPS. If for watching high-definition movies, choose the HP Pavilion dv9700.

Editors' note : This review is based on tests done by our sister site CNET.com. As such, please note that there may be slight differences in the testing procedure and ratings system. For more information on the actual tests conducted on the product, please inquire directly at the site where the article was originally published. References made to some of other products in this review may not be available or applicable in Asia. Please check directly with your local distributor for details.

Design

The Pavilion dv9700 has impressive heft when you lift it out of its box; weighing 3.49kg without its power adapter, this is not a laptop you'll carry every day. Nevertheless, it is lighter than many other entertainment-oriented desktop replacements, such as the 4.81kg Dell XPS M1730. The dv9700's case features the familiar Pavilion design, with rounded corners and a glossy imprint finish--with a subtle circular pattern--that create an overall sleek look.

Features

We're fans of the Pavilion dv9700's glossy display, which features a crisp 1,680 x 1,050-pixel native resolution. The screen produced rich colors and sharp details, and there's plenty of screen real estate for traditional computer work as well. Like all Pavilion laptops, the dv9700 includes a row of light-touch buttons above the keyboard that launch the media player and provide volume and playback controls. Altec Lansing stereo speakers, located above those controls, deliver decent sound, though we prefer the depth and clarity of the sound produced by the speakers (and subwoofer) on the Toshiba Qosmio G40.

Our Pavilion dv9700 review unit incorporates HP's optional VGA-resolution Webcam with two built-in microphones for Web conferencing. Like almost all desktop replacements, the Pavilion dv9700's keyboard is full-size and includes a 10-key numeric keypad. The somewhat compact touch pad includes a scroll zone, and we love the power button at the top of the touch pad, which is handy when you want to use an external mouse. To the right of the touch pad, a fingerprint reader lets you log on to Windows and Web sites with the swipe of a finger. The final design feature of note is the handy Wi-Fi power switch located on the laptop's front edge.

The dv9700 has a typical array of ports and connections for a desktop replacement, plus a Blu-ray drive and HDMI output so you can watch high-definition movies on a TV. Unfortunately the HDMI jack comes in lieu of one USB port, leaving just three USB ports for you to attach peripherals. We do like the laptop's dual headphone jacks, which make it easy to share movies and music with friends.

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