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It order to keep the cost and size of its Pavilion dm1-3100sa laptop to a minimum, HP has opted to fit it with a dual-core 1.6GHz AMD E-350 platform. In terms of performance, this processor is similar to Intel’s Atom range.
For this dm1-3100sa, HP wants the laptop to be more than just another netbook, so you get 3GB of RAM and Windows 7 Home Premium. The 11.6in screen is also a step up from what you get with the average netbook, with a resolution of 1,366×768. Compared to the netbook norm of 1,024×600, the extra resolution (particularly vertical) means that you’ve got enough room to display all of Windows’ dialog boxes, plus plenty of room for web browsing.
There are some problems with the screen. Its glossy finish is designed to make colours more vibrant, but we found that it picked up reflections very easily. It doesn’t help that the backlight is quite dim, so the screen’s not easy to see under bright lighting. Vertical viewing angles are quite poor, so you have to angle the screen carefully to get the best quality image.
The dm1 uses AMD’s “Vision” platform, a combination of processor and graphics chipset – which is part of AMD’s Fusion line-up. The graphics chip is a Radeon HD 6310 with 384MB of dedicated RAM, but it’s not very powerful, scoring only 11fps in Call of Duty 4. Even with graphical settings turned right down, you’ll struggle to play any modern 3D game. It can decode HD video, however, and the screen’s resolution is ideal for 720p video.
With an overall score of 11 in our benchmarks, the processor’s not very powerful either. However, this laptop is still quicker than most netbooks and it felt responsive enough for word processing and web browsing. Battery life at just over seven hours is impressive and this laptop should last for most of a working day without having to be plugged in. Given it weighs just 1.6kg, you can easily carry this model with you everywhere you go.
Behind a long metal grille that runs along the front edge of the dm1 is a set of Altec Lansing speakers. These are surprisingly loud and have a clear sound, but they lack bass, so for watching movies you’ll want to either plug in an external set of speakers, or output both sound and video via the HDMI out to a home cinema amp. There’s also a headphone jack, and as with a lot of other laptops we’ve seen, it accepts headsets too, much like a smartphone.
Tapering towards the front, the dm1’s keyboard is at a slight angle, which makes it more comfortable to type on. It has flat, separated keys with a crisp, light action that gives excellent feedback for touch-typists. There’s a double-height Enter key and much of the layout is standard. Our only complaint would be the function keys – instead of using the Fn key as a modifier, they now perform shortcuts by default, although this behaviour can be changed in the BIOS.
Once again, however, HP has opted for an all-in-one touchpad – a single, touch-sensitive surface with a clicking action along the bottom edge. This might look smart, but it’s annoying, as clicking often means you move the cursor and miss your target.
With benchmark scores a lot higher than on the average netbook, the HP Pavilion dm1-3100sa seems like a decent laptop for standard office tasks. Sadly, the poor touchpad and dim screen detract heavily from it.
