PC Hardware : HP Pavilion TX2120US 12.1-inch Laptop (AMD Turion 64 X 2 Dual Core TL-64 Processor, 4 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, Vista Premium)
Reviews: HP Pavilion TX2120US 12.1-inch Laptop (AMD Turion 64 X 2 Dual Core TL-64 Processor, 4 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, Vista Premium)
Pre-installed with the 64-bit version of Windows Vista Home Premium (Service Pack 1); includes remote control
Rating: - Don't waste time and money on this
Got a TX2110US model, AMD Dual core X2 with 3 gigs of RAM and the 250 G HDD and boy am thoroughly disappointed with it or what? Should simply have stayed with an Intel based Dual Core. This system produces a lot of heat (will literally burn off your lap, if you hold it as a laptop!) and not to mention the fan noise; far from quiet by any means and only gets a Vista Performance score of 2.4 and you will easily notice how slow it runs when running even simple video editing or Photoshop editing.
Performance scores reported in Vista are below:
Processor calculations per second - 4.8
Memory operations per second - 4.6
Desktop Performance for Windows Aero - 2.8
3D Business and gaming Graphics - 2.4
Disk data transfer rate - 5.2
Vista seems to be worse than Windows ME with its intermittent "Auto restarts" and crashes, leaving one clueless most times. The HP Advisor program is the main culprit most times when it does leave a clue. The tablet drivers don't load up one or 2 out of 10 reboots.
(so much for using the tablet). The SD card reader quit in a month and had to mail the system for repairs. They had to replace the main board and ship back. After shipment arrived, there is a ding on the case! Now going through "Claims". HP customer service really sucks if you think Dell was bad! Do yourself a favor. don't fall a prey to its size and mobility. If you really need mobility, buy yourself a decent PDA. This can't stand upto the high demands of today's applications.
Rating: - An Excellent Laptop! You won't be disappointed
I bought the HP tx2120us which was cheaper than buying the same components and features separately. I did a lot of due diligence before buying this laptop. It over performs and I'm extremely happy with this product. I suggest you buy this product.
PROS
- Extremely fast processor (I often have more than 5 programs running at the same time (Word, Excel, Outlook, Firefox, PowerPoint, Abode PDF and Photoshop) with no significant slowing in speed or freezing or crashing)
- Large hard drive space (250 GB)
- Tablet functionality is incredible (it's amazing how well the pen works and recognizes handwriting without training. In fact handwriting is more easily recognized than print. The free addition of One Note greatly enhances the tablet function.)
- Fingerprint scanner (you can scan all 10 fingers if you want despite what some reviews are saying)
- Feature rich (WIFI, bluetooth, 3 USB ports, phone & Ethernet ports, DVD burner, etc)
- Size (The PC is just the right size for me. Not too small that the keyboard is difficult to use or screen hard to read. At the same time, it's not too large or heavy to carry)
- Touchpad. (the pad is award at first but the dimples on the pad make the cursor easier to control)
- Media (remote control, dual head phones and media playback is excellent)
- Eye catcher (while this is not really important, it's definitely feels good when you pull out your laptop and others in the room ooh and ahh)
- Vista 64bit ( I was concerned about Vista because of all the bad things i had heard about it. In addition I was worried about the 64bit version not working with my current hardward and software programs. Vista has been stable, fast and a pleasure to work with. In fact, Office 2007 works much, much better on my laptop than my Windows XP desktop. I only have one program that I could not load on the laptop. That's because the company hasn't written a Vista 64bit version yet but they claim it's on the way)
CONS
- Heat (as you do your research you'll notice everyone talks about how hot the battery gets. They are 100% correct. The base gets so hot that you can't leave it on your lap. I use a magazine or something else to place under the PC. I plan to purchase a cooler.)
- Battery (the battery life if fine for me. But the battery extensions 1 to 2 inches beyond the PC frame. It's a weird design. However, on the plus side the extension works like a handle when using the tablet function and holding the computer in your hand. Especially because the PC bottom is too hot to handle otherwise)
- Screen (the touchscreen has a film on it that dulls the screen somewhat. This a problem for some users, especially in sunlight. It a minor issue for me because the screen can be rotated to practically any position to avoid glare from light. And the screen dullness is minor)
- Pen string (the stylus/pen attaches to the PC via a string (not really a string) that extends well beyond the PC frame. It often catches on things which pulls the pen out of it's socket. It's another design flaw. Please note that you won't lose the pen because it is attached to the PC by the same string that causes the pen to become dislodged).
- Fingerprints (Another minor issue is that the stylist black cover is also a fingerprint magnet.)
- Young look (Another minor issue is for business users the PC looks like it's for the younger non-professional market. I use the PC for business and personal use and don't care about this because I only care about functionality. However, as a fair reviewer I think it should be noted)
On sum, this is an EXCELLENT computer. I originally purchased this laptop for road and travel but I love it so much I use it instead of my desktop. Buy this laptop with confidence."
Rating: - Good machine; horrible support
I bought the HP tx 2120 us at Fry's in Phoenix in early June, 2008. When I got it home, I could go no further than turning it on because someone at the factory had swiped their finger across the reader and it would not recognize anything I did. If I lived closer to Phoenix, it would have gone back to the store that night. Instead, I spend hours on the phone with an Indian tech who was worse than worthless. Then I spent more time with an on-line chat tech who was equally as bad. These people had no idea what to do other than to send out some recovery discs. I told them to send the discs but they never came. I decided to run all the diagnostics I could find and eventually, I was able to get it to allow me to swipe my own finger and I was finally able to use it. The next issue was when I tried to connect to my HP Laserjet printer. Nothing I or a local tech did helped get the two connected. Finally, I tried the on-line chat again. This guy was at least as bad as the others; he kept sending me to a site that had no way to download anything. Again, on my own, I finally managed to download the drivers and get connected.
The machine itself is a good one. I hear others complain about it getting hot and the "crapware". This one does not get hot and the stuff I did not want was fairly easy to get rid of. I am certainly not a a computer geek, but aside from what I mention above, this is a good easy to use machine and I am getting to along with Vista just fine. The only reason I do not give it five stars is the support. There is none. If you want a good machine, this is it. Just be aware that you will be entirely on your own. HP apparently is not interested in anything resembling support for their products.
Rating: - TX2120US Is a great tool.
HP Pavilion TX2120US 12.1" Laptop (AMD Turion 64 X 2 Dual Core TL-64 Processor, 4 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, Vista Premium)
First the negative.
1. Because the HP Pavillion TX2120US comes pre-installed with Windows Vista Home Premium 64 bit operating system this has limited this hardwares ability to run some of the best Tablet PC software out there, such as Education Pak, Ink Desktop 2.0 etc... which are all Microsoft Products. I hope in the near future that Microsoft updates their software to run on their new 64 bit system.
2. Stylus: It's not that the stylus is super cheap but there are other stylus' out there that are definitely higher quality. ;)
3. Sound: Sound isn't horrible but it definitely doesn't deserve to get a "Great" rating either. Fact is anybody buying this tablet should know that the fingerpring reader, the screen, several buttons, the mic, the camera, and the sound all come from the screen which pivots on a very small joint. Which by the way is not cheap or flimsy.
4. DVD Eject Button: Now I understand that as a manufacturer you need to put the button in a place that if it accidentally gets bumped it won't pop open your drive but if you have big hands like I do than you might want to consider creating a DVD eject shortcut on your desktop like I did by downloading nircmd.dll. There are tutorials out there if you need help.
Now for the positives.
1. Screen: 5/5 Bright, clear, responsive to the touch and large enough to satisfy any user.
2. Battery: 4/5 I have read many places that the battery is only good for 3 to 3 1/2 hours of batter life but after I purchased mine and conditioned the battery (correctly) I was able to get between 4 and 4 1/2 hours of battery usage on "BALANCED" power setting.
3. Processor, RAM, and HD: 5/5 As far as a pc/notebook I don't think I could have asked for more in such a small machine. AMD Core Duo 2.20ghz / 4GB RAM / 250G HD... compare that to other machines in $1150 - $1400 dollar price range and you might find something with 160G HD and 2 maybe 3GB RAM. Not to mention the added bonus of having a touchscreen. ;)
4. Keyboard, and Ports: 5/5 I have read other reviews calling the keyboard "Cheap" or stating there aren't enough ports on the tablet but when you consider the size and portability of this machine it has more than enough to do the job. This machine has 3 USB, 5in1 Reader, 34mm Express Card, Expansion Port 3, Ethernet, Tele, S-video out, 2 headphone, and 1 mic slot. It also comes with a remote control that easily stows in 34mm express card slot.
5. FingerPrint Reader: 5/5 Before I purchased this machine I thought to myself what a waste this addition would be... WRONG. With the additionof the fingerprint reader it quickly and efficiently gives you access to your computer, files, email, banking, etc... and is easily programmable with their preloaded DigitalPersona software.
6. Loaded Software: 5/5 The reason I am giving this a 5/5 isn't because the software is so good it's because there isn't much "bloatware" at all. ;)
Final Thoughts:
This is an excellent machine for the price and I had been hard pressed in finding a machine that had as much goodies packed into it for the price. Whether you use it for business, education, or just for leisure I think you will find this to be more than a suitable choice for all of your pc needs.
I hope this helps!
HP Pavilion TX2120US 12.1-inch Laptop (AMD Turion 64 X 2 Dual Core TL-64 Processor, 4 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, Vista Premium) Reviews
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