HP Pavilion dv9820us Notebook-Turion64 X2 TL-62, 17 250GB

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is a secondary drive bay to hold another hard drive, so you can get another 320 GB drive should you need that.

PERFORMANCE:

Overall, the performance is reasonable, but I know I could get more mileage with Windows XP, as lesser powered systems are more responsive. Vista has some nice features, but is not as responsive as XP. Many times, at least 2-3 times a week, I have stuff crash. Explorer (clicking on Start Menu) and Internet Explorer have crashed, and some programs seem to lock up and choke the system of resources, making other programs unresponsive. Programs requiring administrative access, sometimes take 30 seconds before you get a dialog to "allow" the program to run.

The worst problem I've had is when the video driver bugs out frequently when using programs that use full screen (DirectX) like 3D video games. Windows notes the NVIDIA driver at fault. I updated the driver, but still have these problems, where the screen goes completely black, is unresponsive, until Vista resets the driver, and I get a display again.

Another major problem, is that the multimedia controls, like sound volume, lock up my programs. In addition to raising/lowering the volume, it draws a graphic to show feedback of settings, but in doing so, my program is momentarily frozen. When playing an online video game like Warcraft during an intense moment, this well, was frustrating.

OTHER NOTES:

I think there are two design issues with the laptop: the keyboard and speaker grill:

The speaker grill has tendency to not stay attached. Inspect your model carefully to make sure there are no flaws, and purchase an extended warranty in case a portion of the grill cover pops up in the future. I had to exchange my first laptop immediately at Fry's because of this.

The keyboard keys have open spaces between the keys and sharp edges. Thus it is easy to pop the keys off and destroy the keyboard. If you had this laptop in a bag with papers and folders for instance, the flat thin object could rip out the keys. So, I recommend keeping the black cloth that came with the box, and place it above the keyboard when transporting as well as keep the laptop in a separate cover or bag if placed in bigger luggage (such as large computer bag) to protect the delicate keys.

INSTALLING XP or OTHER OSes:

HP doesn't support installing Windows XP, and so the Windows XP drivers are not available. In order to install XP, you'll have to be really computer savvy. You'll need to identify the devices (use device manager), and get the Windows XP drivers from the chipset vendors.

If that sounds complicated, well, it gets worse. Even after grabbing the needed drivers, you'll find that Windows XP will not recognize the hard drive during installation. There's a new serial ATA chipset from Intel, so you'll need to get drivers on a floppy disk and use the F6 option when installing XP. Even worse, is that it wasn't easy to find, I have to scour the internet, and what I have I'm not sure will work.

I wouldn't recommend destroying existing OS, as you'll need it for support calls if there is something wrong with hardware. You'll have to create partitions for XP (Vista has limitations, so I used Linux live CD). After you get XP installed on another partition, you will have to get some utility to boot between Vista and XP, or install Linux to help juggle all the OSes.

As for Linux and other OSes, I notice at least one problem chipset from RICOH, which is well known for not supporting non-Windows OSes. Thus, some or many components of the laptop may not work under Linux.

For installing your own Vista, HP does not give you your own install CD, so you'll either have to buy a full retail version, or purchase an OEM install CD w/o license key, which may be accessible through dealer channels (talk to your local small computer shop). As Vista Home Premium is limited, I would recommend upgrading to Ultimate if you can afford the added expense. Ultimate is business + multimedia essentially.

If that sounds complex, well, it unfortunately is quite involved. I tried my best to keep the technical side simple, but HP lack of support for XP and Vista woes makes this difficult.

LAST WORDS:

Overall, I think the laptop is a good deal for the price tag. The unfortunate circumstance with Vista is a problem with other pre-installed-Windows laptops as well. We're all forced to go that direction, as that's whats is sold from big companies (except Apple naturally).

The multimedia features is a nice bonus, but not a major selling point for my casual usage. The biggest selling point for me on this laptop, is the separate video card for increased performance (increased performance just perhaps not under Vista), and the secondary drive bay is nice for media collectors.