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HP Pavilion dv6-3040us

 & Daniel S. Evans DIY Analyst

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

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(Editor's Note: HP has issued a driver fix for the touchpad issues, though all the problems haven't been resolved)

If you like to watch movies and online content, then the HP Pavilion dv6-3040us ($849.98 list), available from Staples, is a very entertaining laptop. If you like to play 3D video games and listen to music via your PC speakers you probably won't find this laptop all that appealing.

Design
HP has updated the design of the dv6-3040us. The all-brushed aluminum chassis gives the laptop a solid feel and structure, but doesn't seem to add that much more weight, as the system weighs just 5.4 pounds. There is an engraved streaming design embossed onto both the lid of the laptop and the area surrounding the touchpad. The previous iterations of the Pavilion laptops had a glossy Expresso Black plastic finish that looked pretty cool but made the notebooks into giant fingerprint magnets. The dv6-3040us has a full-sized, island-style keyboard, but true to its entertainment theme, doesn't have a numeric keypad. The keys are not as soft as previous HP Pavilion laptops; instead the keyboard offers good solid feedback for those who like to type aggressively. The keys are also well-spaced, a boon for touch typists.

HP Pavilion dv6-3040us : Top

HP Pavilion dv6-3040us : Angle

HP Pavilion dv6-3040us : Front

HP Pavilion dv6-3040us : Right

HP Pavilion dv6-3040us : Drive

HP Pavilion dv6-3040us : Left

HP Pavilion dv6-3040us : Closed

HP Pavilion dv6-3040us : Angle

About Our Expert

Daniel S. Evans

Daniel S. Evans

DIY Analyst

Dan Evans is the DIY Analyst for PCMag.com. He has been at the magazine/website for over 10 years and during that tenure has worked on every product team here. When he is not building a PC from scratch he is reviewing laptops, desktops, and videogames. Before coming to PCMag.com he earned a BA in US History at Columbia University and was a member of the oldest collegiate wrestling program in the country. In his spare time he is the co-host of a sports/tech podcast www.thesportscircuit.com.

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