14 DAY TRIAL // HP has introduced a new version of their Pavilion dv2700t, Pavilion dv6700t and Pavilion dv9700t notebooks, powered by Intel's 45-nanometer processor, codenamed "Penryn". This was a quiet move, and the company did not even bother to announce its availability. However, the Pavilion dv2700t, Pavilion dv6700t and Pavilion dv9700t are listed on the company's online shop as available in the above-mentioned configuration.
The new option will let users select an Intel T9300 2.50GHz Core 2 Duo processor for their notebook. The T9300 model is a derivative of the latest Core 2 Duo line of Penryn processors that features a 6MB L2 cache and about a 10% performance boost when compared to the previous "Santa Rosa" processor. Intel's Penryn CPUs are commonly targeted at gaming notebooks, thanks to their power-efficiency and improved performance. HP was among the first PC manufacturers and vendors to bring it into the consumer-oriented laptops, while Dell completely failed in implementing the new CPU into any of their configurations.
The cost of upgrading to the more appealing 2.5 GHz Penryn processor is $225 as of the moment of writing, which reflects in a bulkier final price tag. Although many users would enjoy a more powerful notebook system and would agree to pay some extra money, other laptop owners would gladly stick to the Santa Rosa original and its initial price tag. That is why HP is continuing to deliver the Penryn processors as an option, and not as default.
Another Penryn-enabled notebook is HP's HDX 9200, the head of the series. It comes with support for multiple processors, including the Core 2 Extreme X9000 / X7900 and Core 2 Duo T8300 / T8100. The laptop is rigged with 4GB of RAM, 640GB of storage space, dedicated NVIDIA or ATI graphics card. Some other features include HD DVD / Blu-ray drive, HDMI, wireless, integrated camera, remote control, hybrid TV tuner, and a fingerprint reader.