$200 upgrade to 9600M GT on the dv5t

Is this really worth it? My goodness seems like the upgrade should be $150 or so

 

Well, it does offer significant benefits above the 9200m gs. However, it's up to you as to whether the cost justifies the upgrade. HP is in it to make money where they can.

 

does anyone have benchmarks for 9600GT?

 

it is a very reasonable price for the specs, you can get an excellent config for under $1,500

 

Just this:

Notebookcheck: NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT

 

If you take a look at the 3DMark06 scores:

9600m GT: 4500
9200m GS: 1400

Huge difference.

I'd say if you don't plan on gaming then don't bother getting the 9600m GT, but then again as I always say, "You can't upgrade a laptop's video card (except in the higher end gaming laptops), so you might as well get the best you can afford because you never know what you'll be into a year or two down the road."

 

Speaking of the 9200m GS, isnt the X4500 supposed to get roughly that 3DMark06 then?

 

I would say that the X4500 is lower than the 9200m, but not by much. I looked at a couple other resources, but I don't have the time right now to compare the other computer specs used in the testing to see the differences, but this thread below shows the X4500:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=252297

I'm just finally happy that HP finally started putting in the GT model video cards in their laptops, the GS models that had in their last series were garbage.

 

im assuming the hp 9600gt is ddr2 though with that low of a 3dmark score

 

i think it's gddr3 because that is about the same 3dmark score as the 8600m gt gddr3

 

if i ask hp, will they know if it's ddr2 or ddr3?

 

Possibly, but usually sales reps you talk to don't know that much. You can always try though

 

Probably only the engineers...but they don't answer your tech support call.

 

here is what the HP sales team managed to find for me. why ddr2?? why!!??!

10:10:25 AM Customer
ok

10:12:56 AM AgentMariah B
Codename NB9P Pipelines 32 - unified Core Speed: 600? MHz Memory Speed: 800 MHz , Memory Bus Width: 128 Bit , Memory Type: GDDR2, GDDR3, Max. Amount of Memory: 512 MB Shared Memory: no , DirectX: DirectX 10, Shader 4.0, Current Consumption: 23 Watt , Transistors: Million

10:13:32 AM Customer
any idea if it's ddr2 or ddr3?

10:13:36 AM AgentMariah B
Features: PCI-E 2.0, 1250 MHz Shader Taktung, 400 MHz Speichertaktung bei GDDR2, 800 MHz bei GDDR3, PureVideo HD Technologie (VP3), Hybrid SLI mit HybridPower (mit aktuellen nVidia Chipsätzen).

10:14:16 AM AgentMariah B
That is DDR2.

10:14:47 AM Customer
interesting. and the HP dv5t uses the Hybrid SLI too you think?

10:15:37 AM AgentMariah B
Let me check.

AgentMariah B
it features Hybrid SLI and HybridPower.

interesting... she was obviously reading it off some sheet... but the specs are now revealed.

 

That's interesting. If that is indeed the case, then the Dv5z really should have the Hybrid CrossfireX and PowerXpress. (not because Intel/nVidia does, but rather to compete - especially since it is part of the Puma platform).

 

so basically the 9600gt in the hp is a little under the 8700gt specs wise, I guess that's still good for the price

 

Ok so the dv5t will just blow my old system away right?
old system: hp dv9000 with 2gb ram, 2.0 ghz intel t7250, 120gb HD, nvidia 8600m gs. vista 32 bit

a hp dv5t with 2.53ghz processor, win vista 64bit, 4gb ram, and a nvidia 9600m gt will blow my old one away right?

i have a hard time running BF2 sometimes, and COD4 is a joke 4 me.

 

Double checked it tonight and its no longer there. Or is it just me

 

Yes, you're right. I also don't have the option of picking the GeForce 9600M GT graphics card for the dv5t.

 

Yea, its gone..........

 

preconfigs with the 9600GT on the UK site have disappeared too, so there must be a problem with drivers or something.
let's hope this is only temporary.

 

Lets hope it's only temporary because I just ordered one last night with the 9600, might have to give HP a call and see what the deal is.

 

Might be out of stock.

 

Just when I was considering buying one...

 

Just got off the phone with HP. Sounds like they are no longer going to offer the 9600GT, which seems like a very bad idea to me.

 

Thermal issues again?

 

I hope you bought it already as HP has removed the 9600GT from their order website for good, it seems.. although I was not gonna buy a dv5t yet, but I still hate the fact that HP came in 'business' bringing latest video card to the market and then took it off the sale so shortly after the launch of the new series of notebooks. Hope they do something about it and stay current, afresh and ahead of the competition.

 

That is...LAME

 

I hope not, everyone that ordered the dv5t with the 9600GT before today is still getting it. I'm thinking they are trying to differenticate between the dv5 and dv7, seeing as the dv7 still has it available.

 

Ah man, I hope this isn't a permanent thing. I ordered a dv5t yesterday with a 9600M-GT and if I don't get it, I will not be happy.
Edit: Do you have a source for this info?

 

This is what the e-mail I recieved said:


"I understand you want to check if your HP Pavilion Entertainment dv5t customizable Notebook PC has the NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT since you saw recently that there is no NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT option anymore for the Graphics Card. I'll be glad to assist you with your concern, as the HP Pavilion Entertainment dv5t customizable Notebook PC is a great product.

As I verified your order, the HP Pavilion Entertainment dv5t customizable Notebook PC has the 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT. The Graphics Card was not changed because during the time you purchased the notebook PC, the component is still available."


EDIT: And I also made a phone and was told the same thing.

 

WTF .... HP is being stupid...

 

9600m gt option is gone for dv5t ..... that is so sad... and its not coming back either.

 

Great, thanks for the info. I may call them later to see if I get the same answer.

Last year I ordered a Fujitsu notebook with a screen that was taken off the config page, and my order was canceled by them. This would be the second time something like that happened to me, so hence my concern/paranoia.

 

I was considering exchanging my dv6700t for it because of the card and now there is no point.

 

strange behavior. You think they'd make a statement about it.

 

It's quite sad, I priced one out for my purchasing agent to order. She didn't get it ordered yesterday due to the fact that HP was charging tax, and now no 9600 GT for me.. Oh well. I still went with the Dv5t with the 256mb 9200 GS. It will more than do for me, was just looking forward to testing out that 9600GT.

I did call HP this morning and they said it will no longer be offered on the Dv5t just the Dv7t which is a bit large for me, and a tad bit out of my budget

 

wow. W T F.
so they aren't going to offer it ever? if that's the case i have no idea what i'm going to do.... ive eliminated dell and apple from my lists of choices...and now the one i finally picked out is gone.

 

*tears up*

 

Alright, I called HP 5 minutes ago about my order; it has been submitted to the factor (so, in line to be built). The sales rep said I was guaranteed to get the configuration I ordered, and that the options on the site change from time to time so don't worry.

I'm still skeptical, however . . . and I will continue to be skeptical until it is in my hands and the graphics properties says "9600M-GT."

 

I hope HP isn't lying to us, that would really piss me off if I didn't get the 9600GT.

 

*so raged*

 

If I had $1500 to spend on a laptop....I'd buy this

 

Sounds like my order with the 9600 is going through. I checked the status today, and it says "Order in production (Estimated to ship on July 29, 2008)". It said yesterday "Order dropped off at factory" or something like that, so progress is being made.

 

That's great Chaz! Do you plan to do a review after you get it? I hope so and look forward to it if you are!

 

I will have a full review of this machine up in about two weeks after I get it, so stay tuned.

 

I have the same status as yours, can't wait for it to get here!

 

11:09:28 AM Customer
So it is possible that the 9600M GT will be once again offered on the dv5t?
11:10:18 AM Marie C
Since this model is one of our newer models coming out in the market, most probably there are several testing done.
11:10:47 AM Marie C
It may work best with Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator X4500 or 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 9200M GS.
11:11:47 AM Customer
Okay. It is just diasappointing that the higher video card option isn't offered on the smaller form factor machine; now only on the dv7t
11:12:18 AM Marie C
I understand.
11:12:51 AM Customer
So as of your knowledge, it is most likely that testing proved the 9600M GT as a bad choice for the machine?
11:13:23 AM Marie C
85% yes.
11:14:33 AM Marie C
There are some graphics card that won't enhance some of the features that are designed for a certain model.
11:15:08 AM Marie C
Some models are designed to be more on entertainment side, so the graphics card of course is not that for gaming.


Check this out... just to add to the other users who inputed their responses from HP, here's what I found out. It seemed very clear that the 9600M GT will not be available with the dv5t anymore - the customer service agent wrote that it's an "85%" chance the option is gone for good.

 

Thanks for the info. Let's all keep asking HP about this until we get some final answer.

The whole situation is confusing. I think there is a good chance the dv5t and the dv7t have the same motherboard, and they're only offering the 9600 on the dv7t to differentiate it.

I may call up HP again later to bug them and see if I can get any more info. Note that CS reps don't know anything more than they're told and have been known to make stuff up.

 

any other number we can call? for like a higher up tech support, or a high end sales team for HP?