Does an Ultrathin Notebook ‘got GAME?’ 

Recently I got my mitts on a DV2 and I thought I’d have some fun gaming with it.  Now you may not consider the HP Pavilion dv2 a “gaming” notebook, but hold that thought for a few moments…

My HP Pavilion dv2 config as given to me was:

AMD Athlon™ Neo Processor @ 1.6Ghz

ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3410 Premium Graphics

DDR2 – 2G

12.1” Screen

3.8lbs

External BluRay

HDMI output

And a whole lotta coolness

As stated above and as clearly obvious from the specs, there is no dual or quad core cpu, no high-end GPU (let alone ATI CrossfireX™ technology), no 20” screen. So all in all, not a normal spec’d gaming notebook, BUT, that has never stopped me before and it won’t this time!  Let’s load this little badboy up with some tier1 PC games and see how it handles.

Let’s level set though, this notebook is beautiful, its sleek and stylish, has good mainstream battery life and (as of the writing of this blog) is the only comparable laptop in its class under $750 (after a limited time $50 Mail-in rebate), BUT, I believe some mainstream consumers might want to game on it from time to time so this blog is solely a service to them (and to us enthusiasts who love to see silicon sweat under load).

On tap today is Left4Dead, Tom Clancys H.A.W.X and CoD WaW! A tough bunch of games, no Pong or Tetris here folks!

Left4Dead was played @800x480 2x AA, 4X AF, Shader Detail – High, Effect Detail – Low, Texture Detail – High!

L4D

The gaming experience was fantastic; especially when I reminded myself that this was an inexpensive Ultrathin Notebook weighing under 4lbs and that I was playing on a super portable platform.  The game play dropped below 30FPS a couple times but if this actually reduced or impacted game play I could have simply reduced the quality settings to adjust, but even at lower FPS, it was a good experience.

Tom Clancys H.A.W.X is a newly released game from Ubisoft which is one of 2009’s best Flight Sims.  I loaded up the Demo and put the little HP Dv2 to the ultimate flying test!  Seeing as how Ubisoft “recommends” a dual core AMD processor, I was a little apprehensive, but in the end, the Dv2 shined again. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3410 inside the Dv2 delivered a great gaming experience at native resolution and the other settings were: 1280x800 – Environment – Low, Texture – High – HDR – Off.

Here is a video capture of the gaming experience on the HP dv2:

A zombie shooter and a flight sim pwned, what was next? My failsafe, CoD WaW! I know, I know, you are now “wincing,” expecting the game to beat the PC; the verdict is in, the Dv2 “got GAME!” I was almost knocked off my feet at the ability to play CoD WaW. Seriously, this is one mean little piece of innovation all wrapped up in an ultra thin chassis.

Xavier over at Notebooks.com captured some sweet video of his experience playing CoD WaW that is worth checking out!

A little nugget of info to pass along, my version of the Dv2 came with 40 preinstalled games, titles like Agatha Christie – Death on the Nile all the way to and including ZUMA Deluze and Wheel of Fortune.  While not first intended to be a gaming notebook, the HP Dv2 does not disappoint!

Buy here.

Check out what others are saying:

Pat Moorhead here and here

Pat Moorhead on Batterylife

Nigel Dessau

Notebooks.com

TGDaily

SLASHGEAR

PCMAG.com

Cheers,
Ian “Cabrtosr” McNaughton

Ian McNaughton is senior manager of advanced marketing at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.