Customer Reviews

HP Pavilion DM3-3130C 13.3-Inch Notebook

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I purchased this for on-the-go studying for courses I'm taking. Through no fault of the notebook, I've been wishing I had purchased a regular laptop--I find it too small for writing papers, or even for comfortable browsing.

These things said, the notebook works well & I've had no issues with it. I've had it for close to a year.

Generally the laptop is good only if you are just a Business Application user. For heavy entertainment, like HD video lags some performance. The screen is also an issue as you can virtually use it as a mirror. Becareful from receiving used or refurbished product, like I received one.

While I'm still at the stage of removing the software that I don't want and installing that which I do, I'm quite happy with this unit and fully expect that it will do what I require it to do. Its primary purpose is that that of an "away from home" computer, handy for traveling and capable of handling the software that I use--office type applications and photo editing. I'm not into gaming or major streaming video so I don't need a heavy duty laptop/notebook computer.

I would have like to have a built in CD/DVD player/recorder and built in Bluetooth for the mouse--I got used to these in my old Panasonic-- but didn't want to pay the highend prices for these features. I never found a computer with too many USB ports. I used a standalone CD/DVD unit to install software from disk and to burn the backup application to DVD. I have a notebook style unit for travel on my Santa list!

A previous reviewer implied that what was being sold were referb or returned units. I have not seen any evidence of this in the unit which I received. It may be last year's model but it was good value for the money.

I bought this on November 30, 2011 for $399CDN + tax, and I have been quite impressed and pleased with this notebook computer.

It is powerful and extremely portable.

My only reservation is that the system lacks virtualization. I learned this the hard way after upgrading to Win7 PRO in anticipation of installing XP Mode so that we can run older software applications that do not run in the 64bit OS.
XP Mode would not install because the Intel CPU lacks Virtualization.

Otherwise, a very good product for the money.

Nice little bloc note that satifies my needs. Nice finger notes and clear image. Can be carried everywhere and for those looking for the essential without spending big bulks...this is it.

Pros:
- Battery life: 6-7 hours, depending on what you're doing
- Aesthetics: very nice look, matte finish means less fingerprints
- Weight: 2 lbs w/o the battery
- Display: crisp
- SATA out: great for me to hook up my external hard drive

Cons:
- Display: limited vertical viewing angle, but not a biggie
- USB ports: only 2 on the right side; I think the 3rd was sacrified for the SATA port. Works out for me but not for many others

I'm always on the go and don't want to lug a heavy laptop around. This laptop is as convenient as a netbook but with more than enough power to do projects, research and Photoshopping. I'm very happy with this purchase!

Got this computer end of 2011 on sale for $400 and it's a good computer at that price. Originally for my wife to watch some TV shows and as a secondary computer if the primary desktop is being used. It performs ok with Windows 7 but would definitely get something with more processing power, like an i3 or i5 if it had to be used as primary. Now I have installed Windows 8 consumer preview making the system dual boot. Windows 8 does perform quite nice on this computer and boots a lot faster than Windows 7.
The laptop has a nice finish, nice keyboard and it does it's job. In the future I might upgrade the hard drive and replace with a SSD, but so far I'm satisfied with it running Windows 8 and by the time Windows 9 comes along in a few years, if necessary, may just have to buy a new laptop all along.