HP Pavilion dm1z Review
PrintWhat netbooks were meant to be
We’re not living so close to the cutting edge here at Maximum PC that we can’t see the utility of a no-frills, budget portable that’s capable of performing all the common day-to-day computing tasks. Whether it serves as a secondary machine for work on-the-go or as a primary PC for a school-age kid, we get it. It’s the same need that netbooks were meant to fulfill, if only they hadn’t fallen short of the mark. What netbooks taught us is that today’s common computing tasks—which include things like gaming and high-def video playback—require more power than an Atom processor and integrated graphics can muster.
AMD’s Fusion offers a more viable option, as evidenced by HP’s Pavilion dm1z—an 11.6-inch portable that starts at $450. The notebook’s E-350 chip comprises a 1.6GHz dual-core processor and a Radeon HD DX11-capable graphics part on the same die. Compared to the 1.6GHz N270 Atom in our standard zero-point netbook (a Lenovo IdeaPad S12)—well, there is no comparison, only horrific carnage. The N270 gets slaughtered by more than 50 percent in content-creation chores and three-digit margins too embarrassing to repeat in our gaming tests. Instead, we measured the Pavilion dm1z against the very best Atom-based netbook we’ve tested to date, the Asus 1215N (reviewed December 2010). The 1215N is an outlier in the category with a 1.8GHz Atom D525 (a dual-core with Hyper-Threading) and Nvidia’s Ion discrete graphics chip. At the time of its review, it was priced similarly to the dm1z config reviewed here.
Given the typical audience for this type of notebook, it’s not too surprising that access to the RAM and drive compartments is not easy or obvious.
The dm1z doesn’t run away with the win, but it does surpass the 1215N in the majority of the benchmarks, most notably by nearly 45 percent in 3DMark03 and 50 percent in Quake III. Before you start objecting that Quake III hardly counts as a game these days, we’ll point out that the dm1z’s score of 38.5fps in Quake 4 isn’t too shabby for a notebook of this size and price. What’s more, Call of Duty 4 was playable at the notebook’s 1366x768 native res.
The only benchmarks that the dm1z ceded to the 1215N were MainConcept, where the latter’s four processing threads gave it the advantage, and in battery life, where the 1215N’s Optimus technology was able to disable the discrete graphics and eke out an additional hour of juice in our video rundown test.
While Fusion will never be as power efficient as an Atom chip, we’d still happily exchange some battery life for greater performance versatility. That versatility also includes HD video playback, both online and via a Blu-ray player. The dm1z doesn’t come with an internal optical drive, but an external BD combo drive is an option for $130.
What does come stock are a glossy screen, a full-size island keyboard, VGA, HDMI, three USB 2.0 ports, a media reader, and 802.11n Wi-Fi. Build quality feels fairly solid and the screen reclines a full 180 degrees on a seemingly sturdy hinge.
All and all, it’s a well-rounded value package, although we’re surprised it’s not actually a bit cheaper considering that there’s no overhead for a discrete graphics chip. Nevertheless, if you want a small, inexpensive, versatile notebook, this is it.
$480, www.hp.com
HP Pavilion dm1z
WINDFALL
Performance that puts most netbooks to shame; good value.
DOWNPOUR
Battery life isn’t stellar; limited in multithreaded apps.
9
Specifications
| HP Pavilion dm1z | |
|---|---|
| Processor | AMD 1.6GHz E-350 |
| Chipset | AMD A40/A50 |
| RAM | 3GB DDR3/667 |
| Graphics | AMD Radeon HD 6310 |
| Display | 11.6-inch, LED-backlit, 1366x768 |
| Storage | 320GB 7,200rpm HDD |
| Connectivity | VGA, HDMI, three USB 2.0, multicard reader, Ethernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, webcam, audio in/out |
| Lap/Carry | 3 lbs, 7 oz / 4 lbs, 3.2 oz |
BENCHMARKS
| Zero Point | HP Pavilion dm1z | |
|---|---|---|
| Premiere Pro CS3 (sec) | 470 | 439 |
| Main Concept (min) | 251 | 134(-10.4%) |
| 3DMark03 | 3,898 | 5,648 |
| Quake 3 (fps) | 104.4 | 155.7 |
| Quake 4 (fps) | 36.5 | 38.5 |
| Battery Life (min) | 307 | 227 (-26.1%) |
Our zero-point netbook is an Asus 1215N with a 1.8GHz Atom D525, Nvidia Ion graphics, 2GB of DDR2/800 RAM, a 250GB 5,400rpm HDD, and Windows 7 Starter.
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6
Comments
randomclick
January 09, 2012 at 11:59am
Agree with the review, this laptop has good form factor and I think the battery life is ok.
I have this laptop for 7 months, there is one issue, the touchpad button. The left button fires off by itself randomly and automatically. When typing (and carefully not touching the touch pad), it fires the left click to move the cursor to somewhere else. Worse, it will fires repeatedly and highlighted a block of text, the next keystroke deleted that block of text.
The laptop has been sent to HP for repair twice and is on its way to to HP again the thrid time (in 7 weeks). Each time they simply replaced the trackpad.
Techsupport is not helpful as usual. I have been on the phone with them for more than 3 hours. They escalated to a case manager who told me that the only resolution is to keep sending it back until my warranty expired. At this rate, the laptop will travel around the earth a couple of times. Looks like they are hoping a frustrated customer to simply give up.
The case manager also told me that he has no supervisor, I have reached a dead end in tech support. He advised me to find other ways to escalate.
enigmatech13
June 20, 2011 at 10:48am
In for one based on this MPC review. It's on sale for less than $400 all in from HP. See Slickdeals.
Such harsh comments. The MainConcept score is a little screwy (not sure if that's how it was in the mag).
I believe this review was actually in the June issue, which subscribers would have received in May. Still a bit of a delay, but still relevant. I read MPC for trustworthy, concise, curated articles, so I still appreciate the reviews. I can always check other websites to make sure I didn't miss out on anything significant in the meantime.
@jasondunn, thanks for the info.
jasondunn
June 15, 2011 at 10:47am
As the owner of a dm1z, this review missed a coulpe of key points: first, the statement about access to the RAM and hard is "neither easy of obvious" couldn't be more off the mark. When you remove the battery, you can see two finger holds that you simply pull up on, and the entire bottom shell of the laptop comes off. You can access the hard drive, the RAM, and every other part that can be user-replaced. It's freakin' awesome - I wish all laptops were that easy to access parts on! I don't know how it could be easier.
As as much as I like this laptop overall, the one con that should *definitely* be on the list is the fact that the fan never turns off. It just blows and blows. It's not loud, but it's not silent either...it seems AMD can't make a system that runs cool.
Overall this laptop is one of the best bang-for-the-buck products I've ever owned, but for some people, the fan might irritate them.
benvoliothefirst
June 09, 2011 at 1:03pm
It sounds like a great deal, and I'm kicking myself for having spent $399 on a netbook when I could've gotten this for just a bit more. DO WANT!
And livebriand, this review was originally in the January issue of the print magazine. You want the timliest reviews, gotta pony up the cash! ;-)
livebriand
June 08, 2011 at 3:46pm
Sheesh, you're only showing this now? This model came out in January! Besides, the base price for it (320GB 7200GB HD, 6-cell, 3GB RAM) is $450. I can get a Lenovo Thinkpad x120e for that price with the same hd, battery, and 2GB RAM (sans BT, which the hp has by default). But I get better build quality, known reliability, a matte screen, a great keyboard, and a trackpoint. I went with the Lenovo. Oh, and that was a month ago. This isn't the latest stuff anymore.
win7fanboi
June 08, 2011 at 1:41pm
Ok so its a slow work day and I even read this article. But how is 134 only 10.4% less than 251 Main Concept score??!!
Also, according to :
"The only benchmarks that the dm1z ceded to the 1215N were MainConcept, where the latter’s four processing threads gave it the advantage, and in battery life, where the 1215N’s Optimus technology was able to disable the discrete graphics and eke out an additional hour of juice in our video rundown test."
shouldn't the results be reversed? The 1215N should take less time to encode than the hp. This is a sub par article and not something I would expect from MPC. I always wondered what Kat brought to the team (I know it's none of my business, except I am a MPC subscriber and I don't want to waste time reading articles/reviews by people that don't know what they are taking about.). Answer is apparently not much.
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