HP DV5-1235dx Review – HP Pavilion Entertainment PC

January 30, 2009 by eurojoe
Filed under News

Features:

The HP DV5-1235dx is an amazing laptop with plenty of power under the hood. The Intel Core™2 Duo Processor T6400 delivers everything you need to watch or edit DVDs, or even play 3D games. The laptop is equipped with 4Gig of RAM and is upgradable to 8G, which I haven’t seen in a laptop in this price range ($729 at Best Buy). Update: Best Buy dropped the price to $649 and raised it to $699…and dropped it again to $649.

The keyboard is excellent, and the 15.4″ screen is acceptable. What I don’t like about the screen is the somewhat low resolution of 1280 x 800 – but standard for a laptop in that class. HP calls the screen high dev, but don’t expect a picture like on your 1080p HDTV. A 1440 x 900 resolution would make this laptop a rockstar.

Other great features are:

HDMI port: To connect a HighDev Monitor or TV
eSata port: This is a new standard that HP wants to push. eSATA can transfer data (i.e. from an external hard drive) up to 3 times faster than a USB2.0 port. eSATA competes with the Firewire. Read more about eSATA here.
3 USB ports (actually 4 ports, but the 4th is shared with the eSata port)
Webcam: Video Size: 640 x 480. Not suitable for shooting Hollywood pictures, but better than nothing. By the way, to start the webcam, go to START>All Programs>HP>HP MediaSmart>HP MediaSmart Webcam.
320GB harddrive. Nice size, about 13GB are already gone for the recovery feature, and after MS Office you have abut 210GB left.
The laptop comes with a tiny remote control (stored in the PCMCIA slot) that makes the laptop an Entertainment Notebook PC; nice to have but I am not sure if I will ever use it.

MISSING Features

Firewire
Wireless N
Bluetooth. However, you can upgrade your computer to Bluetooth for about $19 with a USB Bluetooth adapter from Newegg.com or from Walmart.

Battery surprise

Before you buy this laptop, make sure to let the sales person at Best Buy show you the laptop with the battery inserted (Best Buy removes all batteries from the display). This monster of a battery might be the deal breaker: It lifts the computer about 1 inch in the back, and you really need to get used to it. I personally love it since it makes it easier to type, keeps the processor cool and lasts for abut 4.5 hours. But there are plenty of reviewers at the Best Buy website that absolutely hate the battery!!!

Altec Lansing Speakers

The laptop features Altec Lansing stereo speakers with excellent sound quality; but in order to use the full potential of the speakers you first need to download the IDT HD sound driver from the HP support site, (unfortunately not preinstalled). Before I installed the driver the volume was so low that I thought my speakers a defective.

Here is the driver you need: IDT High-Definition Audio Codec driver

Microsoft Office 2007

I noticed that Excel is pretty slow with extreme calculations like “goal seek”. I am not sure if this is due to the processor or Windows Vista, which generally is pretty slow compared to XP.

Windows Vista 64Bit Compatibility

The DV5-1235dx has Vista 64bit installed, which concerned me a bit because of possible compatibility issues with software I used on my XP desktop. So far I haven’t had any issues, everything runs smoothly: Office 2003 (version 11), Gimp 2.6, Inkscape 0.46, etc.

Conclusion:

Great looking budget laptop with a powerful processor and lots of features. If you can get used to the huge battery, you will absolutely love it.

Links:

CNET Review of the HP Pavilion DV5-1235dx
HP Support: Downloads and Drivers
Best Buy: Price and customer reviews

Windows Experience Index for the HP DV5-1235dx:

HP DV5 1235dx Specs

Product Height	1.7"
Product Width	14.1"
Product Weight	5.9 lbs.
Product Depth	10.2"
Processor	Processor Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 / 2 GHz Data bus speed 800 MHz Cache Memory
Display	15.4"WXGA high-definition widescreen with BrightView technology (1280 x 800)
Screen Size	15.4"
System Bus	800MHz
Cache Memory	2MB on die Level 2
System Memory (RAM)	Installed Size 4 GB / 8 GB (max) Technology DDR II SDRAM Storage Controller
Hard Drive Type	320 GB Serial ATA (5400 rpm)
Optical Drive	8x Double-layer DVD-RW/CD-RW
Direct-Disc Labeling	Lightscribe
Digital Media Reader or Slots	Yes, digital media card reader
Graphics	Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD.
Video Memory	Up to 1759MB total available
Built-in Webcam	Yes
Networking	Built-in 10/100Base-T Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 connector)
Wireless Networking	Wireless-B+G
Bluetooth	No
S-Video Outputs	None
Additional Audio/Video Connectors	1 HDMI
Audio	SRS Premium Sound. Built-in Altec Lansing speakers
PCMCIA Slots	1 ExpressCard/34/54
USB 2.0 Ports	4
IEEE 1394 FireWire Ports	None
Pointing Device	Touchpad
Operating System	Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit with SP1
Included Software	HP MediaSmart; Microsoft Works; muvee Reveal; Cyberlink DVD Suite; Adobe Acrobat Reader
Included Accessories	HP mobile remote

Tags:

Comments

22 Comments on "HP DV5-1235dx Review – HP Pavilion Entertainment PC"

eurojoe on Tue, 12th May 2009 9:53 pm

Press really hard on the black plastic cover where the remote goes (PCIexpress slot, it should pop out. Remove it and stick in the remote.

Ivan Rich on Wed, 13th May 2009 4:56 pm

How do I get the tiny HP mobile remote slot to open so I can store it? I’ve tried everything. I have the DV5-1235dx HP. The credit card size unit came packed separately, but I want to store it where it belongs. Anyone?

Haris on Thu, 14th May 2009 12:54 am

I want to change my home premium into xp sp3. I have same notebook dv5-1235dx.
I putted xp cd and i booted but when i start to format i cant do it.
Why? And how can i format(change) into xp???
PLS Send answers to haris_henry@hotmail.com

Azizbek on Fri, 22nd May 2009 3:25 am

I have HP Pavilion dv5-1235dx. LAN error

Jacob on Mon, 8th Jun 2009 5:06 am

Just a query…..
Will it support high end games like FIFA 09

eurojoe on Wed, 10th Jun 2009 12:51 pm

It sure will. I watch a lot of HD live streaming on this computer. Works great

NANDKISHOR on Thu, 20th Aug 2009 5:28 am

Dear All,
Immage trasfer amd immage mixer soft ware for SONY handicam is not working with my dv 5 1235 dx note book using bit.
Pl. let me know how can I solve the problem?
regards,
nandkishor

Robert on Mon, 21st Sep 2009 7:38 am

I have a HP Pavilian DV5-1235dx, I bought a Netgear WG%11v2 for wireless purposes but it does not seat in is this the wrong card? If so what would be the card that I need? thx

eurojoe on Mon, 21st Sep 2009 9:41 pm

Robert,
is this the “SUPER-G WIRELESS PC CARD WG511T“?
I yes, this is bad luck, because that card is a PCI card, and the DV5-1235dx has only a PCI-Express slot. The express is smaller than the regular PCI slot. You should probably go with a USB adapter.

Ford on Thu, 24th Sep 2009 1:02 am

But what about the video card…

Isn’t it a little low in memory?

Like 64Mb???

ROR on Mon, 3rd May 2010 7:14 am

i have hp pavilion dv5-1235dx
i rebooted my machine and installed windows 7…
now my remote is not working wat should i do now?

tyraelos on Thu, 13th May 2010 4:17 pm

I came across this and usually I’m pretty nice about what other people think but wow….the reviewer here is just off the ball completely.

First of all, let me say that for you to ‘prefer’ this laptop over the 2614u is pretty much incredible.

First of all, this laptop has no N wifi, which means to keep up with your current set up you’d have to either buy a usb adapter or go inside. Second of all, you’re missing the 1Gb ethernet which while not necessary for all, is nice to have on something that can’t be easily upgraded. Then there’s the screen size which while not a deal breaker, kind of sucks. 1280 vs. 1366 is a big difference despite the seemingly small change in numbers.
The huge issue for me however, is that you’re recommending an Intel onboard chipset for graphics over an ati hd3200 which are as different as the sea and a river.

Granted, the HP would be great AT the same price as the gateway, but with stuff missing like N wifi and a more potent gfx card, I think at the price or even 100 more, the HP just isn’t up to spec.

Bruce on Fri, 21st May 2010 4:17 pm

I have a HP Pavilian DV5-1235dx, I bought a Netgear WG%11v2 for wireless purposes but it does not seat in is this the wrong card? If so what would be the card that I need? thx

Dan on Wed, 19th Jan 2011 10:31 pm

my Question is ,dose anyone know of a replacement battery for this laptop that has been modified (compacted) made smaller so it dont weigh so much and also dosent lift the laptop up and on the battery, also my pic window on the top of the laptop cover theres a window and it dosent show a picture of whats on the screen like its suppose to. it has HP in the window ? and also dose anyone know how to loosen up the cover so it opens easier… who knows how to make this laptop play T.V. shows live with out a tuner installed , and is there a tuner adapter for this laptop thats easy to hookup with having it installed inside it… the battery is to heavy please design a replacement battery for it please ? i love this laptop but the battery is to big and bulky,i wouldnt have bought it if i knew it was this big and heavy, its terrible its a great laptop with a big bulky battery
thanks folks for any help with these issues grampa Dan

drierkarhiemn on Fri, 27th May 2011 11:00 pm

delete

Chris on Wed, 28th Dec 2011 7:10 pm

Lost the sound on my hp pavilion dv5-1235dx. Does anyone know if the sound card can by replaced? It shows the speakers are working but no sound at all.

mick on Mon, 2nd Apr 2012 8:21 pm

This HP Pavilian DV5-1235dx, looks the part. I’m shopping around now for something a few years old now. this just might be the one for me. Looks fine and loads of features too.

FQPderQNTRD on Tue, 8th May 2012 7:03 pm

Добрый день

Ничего так не тешит в житухе, точно самой – бытие. во кто отчего обожает в данной сущности? Многие, наверное,ответят – гроши, кто-нибудь скажет, люблю собственную семеюшку, а смотри я кроме этого к тому же отдаю привилегию ночным мотылькам. Проститутки Москвы девушки москвы, интим знакомства, интим досуг, интим услуги, секс исполняют почти что все на свете, все же они стимулируют с целью зарабатывания валюты, а их интим услуги просто-напросто не с чем сопоставить. однако, невзирая на свою нежные чувства к ночным бабочкам, я все же не отдаю важность экзотике, несмотря на то что другие приводят доводы, что транссексуалы Москвы очевидно клево. знать не знаю, что же им онде импонирует, кажется у них с ориентацией осложнения либо вдобавок с чем?

С уважением ваш друг Мирон

platoloktip on Tue, 8th May 2012 11:49 pm