The HP Pavilion dv6-3243cl ($799.99 list, at Costco) desktop replacement laptop comes packed with your standard features and all the right ports. Performance wise, this mainstream laptop neither exceeded nor fell short in terms benchmark tests, but came out as a solid player within the 15.6-inch laptop space. However, there are other laptops that have provided much more for less.

Design
Aluminum and laser-etching are the hallmarks of HP's current laptop designs, a decision that also makes their cases pretty smudge-resistant. The etching extends from the exterior to the interior on the palm rest, where it gives some traction. The dv6-3243cl's weight of 5.4 pounds is fairly standard among its peers, like the HP dv6-3143cl ($799.99 list, 3.5 stars) (5.3lbs) and Samsung R540-11 ($999 street, 4 stars) (5.2lbs).

The 15.6-inch widescreen has a 1,366 by 768 resolution, which will get you 720p HD viewing, but not True HD 1080p. Audio quality is fine for YouTube viewing and maybe the occasional movie, but the audiophile will want external speakers or one of HP's Envy 14 laptops with Beats Audio system. The full-size keyboard sports chiclet or island style keys—each key is a neat, isolated square. On either side of the keyboard are several quick-keys to help your navigating experience. The left side sports a calculator, browser, printer, e-mail, and dock button. The right has more browser-based keys like page up, page down, end (of page), and home page button.

The multitouch mouse pad is an all-in-one much like the Apple MacBook Pros' ($1,799 direct, 4 stars), but the one on the dv6-3243cl features raised perpendicular lines to delineate the two mouse buttons and touchpad. The mousing experience was a little finicky, as the cursor would occasionally jump when navigating with a thumb on the mouse button and middle finger scrolling around the screen. The clicking experience was also too resistive for my tastes. These issues are easily resolved by changing the way you navigate to mousing with one finger and simply hitting the touchpad to click.

Features
The dv6-3243cl comes with 3 USB 2.0 ports, an eSATA/ USB combo, VGA, HDMI, Ethernet, 5-in-1 card reader, and audio jacks. For added security HP has thrown in a fingerprint reader that sits on the right side of the palm rest underneath the keyboard. Unfortunately, the dv6-3243cl does away with the Blu-ray player of the previous iteration (the dv6-3143cl) and opts instead for a DVD player—and for the same $799.99 price. The dv6-3243cl has an ample 750GB hard drive that spins at a slower 5,400rpm than systems with a 7,200rpm hard drive like the HP Pavilion dv7-4183cl ($999.99 list, 4 stars).

Bloatware is at a minimum, the desktop comes fairly clean of icons and docks. There are shortcuts to Geek Squad, Blio eReader, eBay, and HP's download store. Fences Pro is another branch of the included software that allows users to create shaded areas on the desktop to arrange and organize icons.

Since the laptop is a Costco configuration, it comes with a special two-year warranty coupled with Costco's Concierges Services that includes troubleshooting and setup for customers.

Performance
The dv6-3243cl comes equipped with a 3GHz AMD Phenom II N660 dual-core processor coupled with 6GB of DDR3 RAM. These components helped it score 4,548 on our PCMark Vantage test for overall computing abilities, which was only a mere 66 points higher than the older dv6-3143cl model. Similar competitive scores were had between the new and old dv6 in the Cinebench R11.5 test (1.65), Handbrake video encoding test (3 minutes 3 seconds), and Photoshop CS5 test (7:12).

Graphics prowess and 3D capabilities aren't in the top tier on this system. The included AMD M880G with ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250 chip is DirectX 10.1-ready and DirectX 11-capable, but it won't put out playable frame rates on high-end games. On our Crysis (9.6 frames per second) and Lost Planet 2 (8.5fps) benchmark tests it put out unplayable frame rates at Medium quality settings and could barely complete the tests at High settings.

The 6-cell 55Wh battery managed to last 4 hours 14 minutes on our MobileMark 2007 test. Its score was on a par with other 15.6-inch desktop replacement, like the dv6-3143cl (4:45) and Lenovo IdeaPad Z560 (4:03). But if you're looking for a mobile road warrior that isn't a netbook, consider the Toshiba Satellite T235-S1350 (8:16).

The HP Pavilion dv6-3243cl is average; it neither excels in any particular area nor falls short in another. It has solid performance, a nice option of ports, and an added bonus of Costco's 2-year tech support. If you're looking for something a little more above average without sacrificing your screen real estate, upgrade to the Editors' Choice HP Pavilion dv7-4183cl ($999.99 list, 4 stars). It offers better performance and throws in a Blu-ray player, all for $200 extra. But if you're trying to stick to a $800 budget, the EC Acer Aspire AS5745-7247 (4.5 stars) will provide better performance and user experience, all for $600 (street).

BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS: Check out the test scores for the HP Pavilion dv6-3243cl.

Compare the HP Pavilion dv6-3243cl with several other laptops side by side.