The HP Pavilion dv 6000 measures 14 inches wide, 10.1 inches deep, and 1 inch thick-about the same size as the Dell Inspiron E1505 and the PC Club Enpower ENP680. However, at 6.2 pounds, the Pavilion dv 6000 is the lightest of the three; its AC adapter brings the total travel weight to a still portable 7.2 pounds
Like all Pavilion laptops, the dv 6000 includes a row of light-touch buttons above the keyboard that launch the media player and provide volume and playback controls. We like the sleek look of the keys, but we hate the beeping that indicates you’ve pressed a button; the sound can be disabled, but doing so is rather complicated. The Altec Lansing stereo speakers, located above those controls, deliver decent-quality sound, but unfortunately the sound becomes muffled if you close the laptop lid. The Pavilion dv 6000’s keyboard is ample and comfortable to type on for long periods, and both touch pad and mouse buttons are entirely usable. We love the Pavilion dv 6000’s touch pad on/off button, which keeps you from accidentally misplacing the cursor while typing and makes it easy to use an external mouse.
The dv 6000 didn’t come out ahead on the multitasking and Photoshop tests, though, most likely because it has less RAM than its competitors. Even with half the RAM, we expected the dv 6000 to best the Dell Inspiron E1505 on all three of CNET Labs new benchmarks; that it took longer than the Dell to complete our Photoshop test shows that Core 2 Duo systems are not leaps and bounds ahead of older Core Duo laptops. When it comes to battery life, the Pavilion dv 6000’s 2 hour, 35 minute battery life is somewhat disappointing; we’d hoped for at least 3 hours. In short, the dv 6000 should give you all the power you need(especially if you kick in a little extra to upgrade the RAM right away), but you aren’t likely to get much time away from the wall socket with the standard-capacity battery.