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HP Pavilion dv6-3085ea 15.6in notebook

Family favourite?

Brickbats

The results of the performance tests are not so impressive, indicating a capable computer but certainly no powerhouse. I also ran a blatantly unfair battery test, in which I ran the intensive PC Mark Vantage benchmark continuously in a loop until the battery ran out: it lasted two minutes short of two hours. But then, media playback is power-hungry, and this is exactly what this notebook was designed to do.

HP Pavilion dv6

Cheaper dv6 models, minus fingerprint reader, are available in cherry black, pearl white and a fetching red

On that note, the HP Pavilion dv6-3085ea consumed an average of 38 to 50W in normal use or while charging from the mains, dropping to 10W in Hibernate mode. Disappointingly, the transformer block in the mains cable is an old-fashioned dead-rat-cum-house-brick. Some miniaturisation is in order, HP, please.

Verdict

The fingerprint security seems out of place, especially since HP's own 'instant-on' operating system appears to circumvent it anyway. Given its pointlessness, the overall effect is to make the notebook more expensive than it needed to be. Even so, playing with media files is the principal past-time of vast numbers of domestic computer users, and everyone would secretly prefer a notebook over a desktop computer, so I can see a ready and willing market for the HP Pavilion dv6-3085ea. ®

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HP Pavilion dv6

HP Pavilion dv6-3085ea 15.6in notebook

Media-friendly notebook with fingerprint security.
Price: £799 RRP

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