HP dm1z: Taking Fusion on the Road
by Dustin Sklavos on February 21, 2011 7:00 PM ESTThe Netbook We've Been Waiting For
AMD may have taken its sweet time getting involved in the netbook race, but at least they're here now, and Brazos gives the market the leg up it's needed since the day ASUS introduced the first Eee PCs. The Bobcat core may not have been the homerun we were hoping for, but it's a fantastic start. We finally have netbooks that can pass my "Grandma Test": can it play 1080p video on YouTube and is it fast enough that your grandmother won't complain?
The only thing that hurts about using the dm1z, really, is the amount of bloatware it ships with from HP. That stuff can be uninstalled, though, and if you put a clean installation of Windows 7 on the dm1z you're going to find a surprisingly capable little computer that really screams past the Atom-based netbooks of old. It only felt sluggish when I was using it next to another computer with a mainstream or better processor; otherwise the dm1z was perfectly serviceable and a far cry from the waitfest that an Atom-based netbook can quickly become.
HP really nails the design and aesthetics of the dm1z, too. This is a sharp-looking netbook with premium looks, and in a nice change of pace HP ships it with a 7200RPM mechanical hard disk and 2GB of DDR3 standard. That may put it well over the price of competing Atom machines, but not far enough to not be a solid deal at $449—and let's not overlook the full Windows 7 Home Premium install (instead of Starter). The only major dents in the dm1z's armor are the poor screen and constantly running fan. At this price point these things are forgiveable, but in the case of the screen it doesn't mean we can't wish for better and continue haranguing manufacturers to improve what has quickly become the biggest problem with modern notebooks at any size.
The fly in the ointment is that while the E-350 is a step up, it's a long overdue one and it's not quite the huge one we needed. AMD has already announced that they'll be moving forward with CPUs that have four Bobcat cores, but we don't need more cores in the E-350; we need faster ones. I think it's fairly telling that manufacturers have largely ignored the other three Bobcat-based chips save maybe the C-50. Two cores are the sweet spot for this usage pattern, but really we need those cores to be running at faster clocks. (And sorry—there's no overclocking support for the dm1z at present.) For a first foray into this kind of territory, Brazos is a fantastic design and at least the E-350 brings some much needed life to the netbook market, but we wouldn't be doing our jobs if we didn't continue to prod the industry and ask for more.
At the end, my experience with the HP dm1z was positive enough to recommend one to my mother to replace her aging HP tablet PC. It's responsive, runs cool, lasts a long time on the battery, and has a smart design. If I can recommend one to my mother, I can recommend one to you, and for that I think the dm1z (at least at $449) is worthy of a Silver Editors' Choice. At $399 and with a better screen, we'd be looking at Gold.
On a final note, this certainly isn't the last we'll hear about Brazos netbooks/laptops. We have several other reviews in the pipeline, and we'll be looking into the gaming potential and additional performance metrics in those reviews, along with a full platform comparison between CULV, Nile, Brazos, and Atom. Jarred already has a thread in the forums for requests, so chime in there if you have any specific areas you'd like to see addressed in the future articles.
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Gigantopithecus - Tuesday, February 22, 2011 - link
"When the internet gave everyone a voice, we discovered how few people were actually worth listening to."Halley - Tuesday, February 22, 2011 - link
In my spare time I enjoy listening to music. Music by youtube - 720 or 1080, please - or by Windows Powerpoint .pps files is better sometimes IMHO. Am I better off with a tablet or with this HP dm1z netbook?Reading and replying email must be done, too. Without a keyboard, replying would take more time, I guess.
Tablets are definitely more portable. It's nice to have both - tablet and netbook - but tablets are too expensive to me. If I can afford, I would have both.
cyrusfox - Monday, February 21, 2011 - link
I second this question, is the other mini-PCIe slot msata compatible?nitrousoxide - Monday, February 21, 2011 - link
I am expecting a Fusion-based netbook with USB 3.0 support, slightly larger screen (12.1 or 13.3 inch) with better display quality and really low noise (as noise is a matter of concern with dm1z), 4GB RAM packed in a form factor lighter than 3.2lbs while charging me no more than USD500. dm1z is not a perfect choice, ASUS 1215B(USB 3.0+overclocking) or MSI U270(USB 3.0) may be better but they are not shipping at this point. One thing I worry about 1215B is upgrade flexibility as 1215N is extremely hard to disassemble so this may be a problem `cuz I want to install an SSD on it. Hope to see more Fusion-based netbook reviews.Impulses - Tuesday, February 22, 2011 - link
I'm right there with ya... Gimme USB 3.0 plus maybe a slightly larger battery and/or screen and I'm sold, though I'd take 11.6" over 13.3", 12" would be ideal. I don't even care if it's a pain to disassemble, I did it with my 1st gen Acer netbook (to install an X25-V), I don't mind going thru it again if everything else (ports, screen, noise) is ideal. Neither the dm1z (couple of small compromises, and frankly I don't care for the aesthetics) nor the X120 (somewhat overpriced) have struck that perfect balance so until then I'll stick to my current netbook.QChronoD - Monday, February 21, 2011 - link
Maybe I'm not the typical gamer, but I wouldn't even bother trying to play something that only gets 15 or 20fps on the lowest settings. Looking to replace my old 1.2GHz C2D machine and want to be able to game a little when I have an hour or two between classes.I'm more interested in how it scores on some of the older and less demanding games? I would assume that it can play games from 3-4 years ago much better than the ones that you have benchmarked.
I don't think we'd need exact numbers, but would it be possible to test this level of machine with some older games and just give us a report on whether they ran smoothly at around medium settings? Maybe also test a few of the more demanding flash games, and possibly minecraft.
JarredWalton - Monday, February 21, 2011 - link
I'm working on it with the MSI X370... you'll notice the last paragraph on the gaming page mentions additional testing. HL2 runs okay, though EP2 starts to get sluggish. Quake 4 is another title that runs fine. I figure anything from before that time will also be good, so maybe grab the original Deus Ex (with the enhancement mod) while you're at it. :-)QChronoD - Monday, February 21, 2011 - link
Sorry Jarred, reading comprehension fail on my part.Keep up the good word on your reviews.. definitely the best in the business!
Powerlurker - Tuesday, February 22, 2011 - link
If you're a gamer, you probably wouldn't be looking at a netbook in the first place. The extra graphics horsepower in Brazos is mostly intended for things like video decoding and Flash acceleration.MonkeyPaw - Monday, February 21, 2011 - link
I looked at this very netbook at a local store, and I saw that it came with 71 services running from the factory. It's such a disservice what OEMs do to machines. I can't imagine any machine would feel responsive with that much running in the background. Though I am impressed with the 7200rpm drive on a netbook.Did you do a clean install for your tests?