HP starts selling AMD Llano-powered Pavilion notebook

As expected, HP has added a new model to its Pavilion notebook lineup that's based around AMD's Sabine platform and powered by the recently-released A-Series "Llano" APUs boasting four x86 cores and DirectX 11 graphics. The 15.6-inch Pavilion dv6z Quad Edition starts at the affordable price of $650, versus a minimum of $999 for the Intel-equipped dv6t, and the base model will get you a "discrete-class" integrated GPU while maintaining up to 6 hours of battery life.

Processor options range from the 1.4GHz quad A6-3400M, which can hit 2.3GHz in Turbo mode, going up all the way to the A8-3530MX offering clock speeds from 1.9GHz to 2.6GHz. Other specs include an LED-backlit (1366 x 768 or 1920 x 1080) Brightview display, up to 16GB of RAM, a maximum of 1TB of storage space, the option of adding a second GPU, 3D-capable HDMI 1.4, a couple of USB 3.0 ports, and either a DVD writer or a Blu-ray combo drive.

The Pavilion dv6z Quad Edition also features Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, a 5-in-1 card reader, a TrueVision HD webcam, Beats audio, and either a 6-cell or 9-cell battery.

This is one of the few Llano-powered laptops available right now, though we expect to see many more in the coming months. Other options include the Gateway NV55S02u for $600 and the Toshiba Satellite L755D-S5204 for $550.