Hewlett-Packard had an artist competition to design the outside of the chassis of their new dv2800t laptop computer. HP received more than 8,500 entries, and the winner graces this powerful and decidedly unique laptop; you can even customize Windows Vista with a matching theme that extends the artist's vision throughout the laptop computer.

But in addition to being aesthetically pleasing, the dv2800t is a performance pleaser. Powered by a 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5750 and 2GB of DDR2 memory, this laptop can hold its own against many other mainstream machines. You can also opt to upgrade to smaller, faster Core 2 Duos and add an extra gigabyte of memory; these two upgrades boost the dv2800t's performance significantly without doing too much damage to the sticker price.

The dv2800t tips the scale at just over 5.5 pounds, placing it pretty close to the thin-and-light laptop category. This low weight is due in part to its smaller 14.1-inch widescreen display, but the screen still delivers sharp images and text thanks to the same 1280X800 resolution that's often found on larger displays. And even though the dv2800t is small, HP still manages to fit a graphics card inside; the Nvidia GeForce 8400M GS features 128MB of dedicated video memory, providing a boost to video handling and 3D gaming.

Storage space starts with a respectable 160GB 5,400rpm hard drive. If you need more elbow room for your multimedia files, you can step up to a 250GB hard drive for a reasonable price.

The optical drive is a robust SuperMulti DVD writer. This drive can burn to everything from CDs and DVDs to DVD-RAM disks and dual layer DVDs. You can also add support for Blu-ray high-definition DVD playback to the optical drive, but this upgrade increases the cost of the dv2800t rather substantially.

The dv2800t offers 802.11b/g/n wireless connectivity, which lets you connect to the Internet via the fastest Wi-Fi available. Additionally, the built-in Bluetooth lets you add wireless peripherals and synch with Bluetooth devices such as PDAs and cell phones. You'll also find two USB ports, a FireWire port, an ExpressCard /54 slot, and a 5-in-1 media card reader on this laptop, so there are plenty of ways to connect peripherals and transfer files to and from your notebook.

The dv2800t is reasonably priced at baseline, although indulging in those tempting upgrades will increase its cost fairly quickly. Its unique appearance isn't for everyone, but if you want a laptop computer that stands out from the crowd and offers excellent performance, the HP Pavilion dv2800t Artist Edition is an excellent choice.


Pros: Unique and stylish look, good core power
Cons: Upgrades can get expensive

Warranty
1 year, limited