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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nitrousoxide - Monday, February 21, 2011 - link
So first swap the HDD for a value SSD, then do a clean install :)Penti - Tuesday, February 22, 2011 - link
Impossible to do without a retail copy of Windows. Or Volume licensed image. You'll have to go trough the trouble cleaning it up yourself if you want to run a legit copy of Windows.shtldr - Wednesday, February 23, 2011 - link
I have an ACER laptop with Win 7 Home Premium x64 OEM and I was able to swap out the drive for an SSD, then re-install the system (from a retail DVD I also own) using the key from the laptop chassis.The only pain was - I had to dial some MS phone number and dial in some numbers using the phone's keypad, then hear and write some numbers back to the activation window.
After doing this, the clean install of Windows reported it was genuine.
nitrousoxide - Monday, February 21, 2011 - link
I've seen aother review from engadget with 'only' 6 hours heavy web browsing, wi-fi enabled.JarredWalton - Monday, February 21, 2011 - link
Yes. We test with WiFi, not off of wired Ethernet. We repeatedly load four tabs in IE8 (AnandTech's old home page, MSN.com, Yahoo.com, and my Facebook page). All are saved versions stored on the AT web server, so they always appear the same, complete with Flash advertisements. IE8 is set to clear Temp files on exit, so the pages actually reload over WiFi each cycle of the test. Outside of video playback in YouTube, this is about as stressful as Internet surfing gets in my experience.Stuka87 - Monday, February 21, 2011 - link
A net book that I can actually tell people "Yes you can get this model, and it wont be horrible!"This is actually a machine I would consider for myself if I didn't already have a MacBook and a Precision M4500. I just can't justify a third mobile machine when the MacBook handles the mobile side well, and the Precision handles the heavy work.
screamlordbyron - Monday, February 21, 2011 - link
I've had one of these puppies for three weeks now. I've got to say that calling the dm1z a netbook does it s disservice. It certainly is not mobile gaming rig, but for business productivity, it is a fantastic subnote.I use it for word processing, excel, web research, light graphics editing, remote desktop, etc. No stutters, good battery life, good (albeit not excellent) screen, decent track pad, excellent keyboard.
For anyone but a gamer or graphic artist, who wants a small, light, affordable subnote, this thing is the bomb! :)
Computer Bottleneck - Monday, February 21, 2011 - link
Are Tablets here to stay or are they merely a stepping stone ARM is using to get into Desktop/Laptop?The Mac Book Air video on the Apple website points to the better ergonomics of a keyboard and Apple's glass trackpad when using a LCD screen oriented in the vertical position.
Computer Bottleneck - Tuesday, February 22, 2011 - link
My mistake here. I meant this comment to be in response to ganeshts's opening comment.erkerb - Monday, February 21, 2011 - link
Well, i jumped on the Netbook wagon about 3 years ago, and i am ready for an upgrade. AMD might be late, but remember being late is better then not showing to the fight at all.. Also there is still a demanding market out-there that i do not think AMD would be hurt that much. It'd be nice to see a USB 3.0, but at this price level and platform, it seems like a luxury addition. I would rather see more USB ports though.. I hope Anandtech will also give a shot to Lenovo Thinkpad X120e soon.