The Pavilion range of laptops are HP’s latest edition to their already huge catalogue. If your after a budget yet good performance laptop then the Pavilion dv6t is for you. Don’t be fooled by the low price tag (You can find it on the HP website for just $650!) this is a powerful laptop that will suit the needs of home users, office users and casual gamers.

Spec and Performance - The base model for the Pavilion dv6t has the following:

• CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 (2GHZ)
• Memory – 4GB (DDR3)
• Graphics – Intel 4500mhd
• Screen – 15.6 Inch
• Hard Drive – 320GB
• Other Stuff – Wireless-N, HDMI port, 4 x USB, E-Sata, Dolby speakers, RJ45

With a Core 2 Duo processor and 4GB of DDR3 memory the Pavilion dv6t can handle some memory and cpu intensive programs without any problems. When it comes to multi tasking you can effortesly run several browser windows, a media player and other applications all at once without any downgrade in performance.

The 320GB should give most people plenty of room to store their media and applications on but if you want to use a removable drive there are plenty of USB ports (and an e-sata port) to plug them into to. The basic graphics processor is just that – basic. It will render graphics at an average speed and can handle some older games without too much trouble, but if you’re thinking of running the latest Call of Duty on here, forget it, unless of course you plan on buying the dv6t with a better graphics option (which you can do on the HP website). The rest of the spec is good enough to run some of the latest games providing you upgrade the graphics card.

Look and feel - The dv6t is a very sleek and shiny laptop with a smooth front panel. The keyboard is actually one of the best laptop keyboards I’ve ever used, the keys have the perfect sensitivity and the keyboard also has a number pad, a feature you won’t find on many laptops nowadays! HP has managed to fit this in without it being too intrusive which is impressive for a 15.6inch laptop.

The screen is nice and bright and even under a low brightness setting it is easy to use (making it great to save battery life). As for the ports – they are all well positioned and easily accessible.

Other features - In terms of networking the dv6t comes with a Wireless N network card offering you the maximum possible wireless speed currently available. There is also a built in RJ45 port that offers 1GB speeds on a wired network. The HDMI port is a nice little feature especially since this could be considered a budget laptop.

The dv6t weighs in at 6lb which is light considering its size; this makes its mobility good for a 15.6inch screen laptop. The battery has a life of up to 4 and a quarter hours. Chances are you will get less then that especially if you have wireless enabled and are putting the processor under load. However by lowering the screen brightness you can greatly improve the battery life.

One thing worth noting – the dv6t comes shipped with a whole bunch of software which will negatively impact the performance. Most people will find the software useless and so I recommend removing it when you first get it to get the most out of the laptops spec.

Summary - The dv6t is a great addition to the HP Pavilion range and starting off at $650 it is an absolute bargain for the spec you get. For those who want a general use laptop that won’t struggle with multi tasking then the dv6t is perfect. If you’re a hard core gamer on a budget then the dv6t is viable providing you get a graphics upgrade as an additional option.

The Compaq 6735s is a relatively new addition to HP’s extensive range of laptops. It would be safe to say that with the spec you get with the 6735s it is mainly aimed for office users and those on a budget. However with that being said the performance you get is very good considering the price tag and even some lower end gaming can be achieved easily enough from it.

Look and feel – The case is well built and designed and has a sleek and slim line look to it. You get the standard 15.4″ tft screen which is well attached, the first thing you will notice however is the maximum angle at which the screen will go, you cannot extend it back anymore than 135 degrees. Whilst this might not seem a big issue you might be surprised at how often you might need to extend the screen back further.

The laptop itself is quite light weighing in at 2.5kg which is quite reasonable considering its standard size, the other thing you might notice to begin with is that there is no locking mechanism for when the screen is down and this can cause problems for some! It is also a bit more fiddly to unlock the screen when it’s down.

The 6735s is quite a tricky laptop to clean, above the keyboard you have the built in speaker panel mesh which is a nightmare to clean if you get anything in it! Also the hinge covers will soon gather lots of dust and it’s tricky to get it out of.

The keyboard is well built and like with all HP laptops very easy to use, keys are spaced perfectly apart and require just the right amount of effort to use. As for the touch pad well, let’s just say it’s very sensitive, perhaps a bit TOO sensitive, I have found myself typing away and all of a sudden the mouse has moved position because my hand has hovered over the keypad ever so slightly, this can get a bit annoying!

Display – The screen is probably one of the slight bad points with the 6735s, when you are using it you will probably notice that the contrast is a bit weak and dull, especially so when running on batteries. If you plan on using this laptop outside in the sun then you are going to struggle to see anything unless you have the charger plugged in.

Spec and performance – The 6735s comes in a range of models but by standard you will get an AMD X2 dual core 2ghz processor with 64bit capabilities (should you decide to go down the 64bit operating system route). The lowest spec version will come with 1GB of ram bit you have a maximum capacity of 8GB. As standard, 1GB is quite poor nowadays and will not serve you too well if you’re planning on running any memory intensive applications. Storage will vary but the model I tested was 150GB which for some people will be plenty. You get the usual built in accessories: wireless LAN, 1GB network card, 4 usb ports, DVD writer, modem and card reader.

If you plan on pushing this laptop to the limit then I would probably reconsider. The performance starts to get very sluggish when the CPU is over half load; you will notice jolty response times and once the fan kicks into double speed things start to get very noisy! Not only that but the left hand side of the laptop where the heat sink is will get very warm indeed.

Battery life – The battery life can vary, if the laptop is under minimal load you might be lucky to get over four hours of life out of the 6735s! However, as soon as you start to put the CPU under stress you will soon see the battery life drain and under 75% load you might get just over an hour out of it!

Conclusion – The 6735s is a nice entry level laptop and is probably more suited for the casual user. It has all the features you would need for general laptop use (including a built in webcam!) with good performance and a very decent price tag ($420!). For those who need a laptop for more intensive use they might want to choose a different model as the 6735s struggles under heavy load and doesn’t offer the performance for a more high end user.