HP’s DV Pavilion range isn’t a bad choice for budget models from a top name brand. We reviewed the Pavilion DV6-3085ea, which is a higher-specc’d addition to that range that can handle most multi-media apps. However, it does come loaded with HP bloatware and has a shocking touchpad.

The Pavilion DV6 we reviewed has a solid feel, that's thankfully not too plasticy so it’s good for hoofing around town. The top has a nice burnished aluminium finish but the copper layout is a little too feminine for our liking. There’s also a filigree pattern on the lid, which looks good if you’ve had enough to drink but it’s not something we really want to look at every day.

 HP Pavilion DV6: Navigation

A real let down is the touchpad. We like the solid keyboard but navigating the touchpad spoils the experience. The left and right click had to be held down under duress to work and the cursor pop all over the place, thanks to a badly implemented touch-sensitive controls.

We aren’t too enamoured with the ridiculous array of HP apps already pre-installed on the laptop. We didn’t find anything useful and they can slow down start up time.

The 1366x768 resolution LED display is serviceable and vibrant, but has a limited viewing angle.

HP Pavilion DV6: Performance

HP has packed a great set of features for a mid-price model, including 1GB of ATI’s HD5650 graphics horsepower. Add that to 4GB and a capacious 500GB hard drive and you have some decent grunt. ATI’s quad-core P920 at 1.6GHz doesn’t offer as much ompah as Intel’s Core-i models but we didn’t have any multitasking lag issues for a spot of Crysis Warhead with graphics set to medium.

HP also bundles Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit and a big 500GB hard drive so storage is excellent. There’s no Blu-ray drive but there is an HDMI out and a Lightscribe DVD player. This is pretty cool as it lets you laser-burn discs with info or images and the results beat shoddy handwritten labels.

Last but not least, battery life is an absolute choker. On performance mode we got just over an hour and ten minutes with everything maxxed. That only went up to two hours and eighteen minutes in power saving mode.

The HP Pavilion DV6-3085 is solid addition to HPs range, but it doesn’t stand out from the crowd and you will need get a second battery if you’re taking it beyond your office or desk.

The HP Pavilion DV6 is out now, find out more from HP