[urgent] some questions before I buy this laptop - DV7

I want to buy dv7-4290us.

First question: It only has USB2 ports. Is there any hardware I can add to it, or anyway that I can use to be able to use (and fully benefit) of USB3 devices?

Second question: It has 1TB 5400RPM, if I take it out and put it in a chassis, will USB2 bottleneck it?

Third question: It has AMD HD6570 1024MB DDR3, is there a big difference in performance between DDR3 and DDR5? It's not like I will do a lot of gfx intensive work, but even for small work, will it be a big difference? (I don't think it depends on work load as they both have same size of memory.)

Fourth question: I want to buy an SSD to put it in place of the HDD, is Crucial C300 the best to buy?


Sorry for the big number of questions Please answer as much as you can. I just want to buy something to enjoy and that will relief me. Thank you.

 

AFAIK no, you can't connect anything to USB2 that'll make it work like a USB3.

Also, there's a huge difference in performance between GDDR3 and GDDR5, since the latter has twice the bandwidth. For small work, the difference would be negligible, but it's a different story for heavier work/gaming.

 

Ummm... thank you for your answers

I just have one more question, will I be able to add an audio card? is the Beats a high quality one?

 

That was not the question.
Express card 34mm/54mm To 1 Port USB 3.0 expresscard au - eBay (item 330514732661 end time Jan-12-11 16:06:12 PST)

Yes, USB 2.0 will bottleneck the SATA interface of the hard drive. And the expresscard interface will bottleneck the USB 3 which will bottlneck the SATA...... but not significantly. Your fastest option is probably and Esata enclosure and card actually.

Yes, you can add one and no, the beats is probably just as average as the integrated sound card that the laptop comes with.
If you're just listening to music and playing games then theres really no reason to get an external audio card.

 

Then why does it exist? (high quality audio.) wouldn't it suffice higher volume at higher quality?

Also, that was really great news... but the very very bad news is that this laptop AFAIK doesn't have express card slot! can you please confirm it has one? it's not listed in the specs. but maybe they just didn't list it?

 

afaik the beats audio system also gives you better speakers like a bass speaker below and bigger twin midrange speakers. but as far as the soundcard goes just like niff says its the same as most.
ichecked your laptop on google and it seems that no expresscard slot is listed in the 3 sites i checked. these slots are fairly standard tho and it would be best to check hp itself for the info. it seems like a great laptop tho.
as a side note, you will most probably want usb 3.0 for an external 1tb hdd.
also, last i checked the c300 was a great buy and supports the higher speed sata3 interface. id say its one of the best buys for ssd atm but not the fastest.

 

1) As stated, the dv7-4290us does not seem to have an easy way to upgrade to USB 3.0. However, if your concern is for transfer bandwidth with a hard drive, it _does_ have a combo USB/eSATA port, which means if you use an eSATAp or regular eSATA connection (you'll need a separate power supply with regular eSATA), you'll get speeds comparable to, or possibly faster than USB 3.0 for a hard drive. If it's a different application that requires USB 3.0 (and there aren't many/any I can think of presently) then no, you're stuck with the 2.0 protocol.

2) If you put the 1 TB 5400 RPM HDD in an external enclosure, then no, the USB 2.0 will not generally bottleneck it noticeably. The limit here is the 5400 RPM of the HDD, which means the average transfer speed of the HDD will not usually exceed the USB 2.0 bandwidth limit. If you don't want to take chances, you can go back to my answer to point 1 and get an eSATA enclosure, which will guarantee that the bottleneck is your hard drive.

3) As stated elsewhere, GDDR5 has better performance than GDDR3, but depending on exactly what you plan to be using your notebook for, you may or may not notice. Chances are that you won't really notice, usually.

4) C300 is one of the better SSDs out, although a Samsung 470 series might be able to top it. Really, at the (higher) end, a lot comes down to personal preferences. There's a lot of liking for the Sandforce drives, for example, as well.

Added question about sound cards) There are numerous aftermarket soundcards or DACs that could be added to your system if you wished; many of them are straight USB accessories. Do note that any you add will essentially _have_ to be USB connected; since this notebook apparently lacks an Expresscard slot, you couldn't use an Expresscard based soundcard.

 

Thank you all for the answers Really, I don't have to worry about USB3 now. I know that I'm buying a good SSD. I know I'm buying a satisfying GPU. Moreover I know there exists audio cards that work through USB. I know all I wanted and more
And trvelbug, specially thanks for searching 3 websites for me! Thank you.

Two really last questions:-
A)Someone told me DV isn't that good, why would that be?
B)Someone told me I can fit in 2 SSDs. Now I know there won't be TRIM if I RAID0 them, but will GC be enough?

 

A member on this forum actually purchased this exact laptop from microcenter about a week ago. From the pictures he took of the box, it appears to have GDDR5 memory for the 6570m.

 

I've got a recent dv7 (not sandybridge)

common criticisms:

1) screen: some folks don't like the DV screen. It's low end screen... not deep blacks, not great contrast, narrow viewing angle. For me, I'm satisfied after tweaking GPU color settings. And if it's a problem, you can use an external LCD monitor.
2) TP: Many folks hate the touchpad, especially the stiff buttons (yes they are stiff), and buttons are also part of the touchpad so for some users, the pointer annoying jump when they click. Personally, I'm satisfied, after getting used to it, loading newer drivers and configuring it.
3) chicklet/island keyboard. dv7 no longer has separate media buttons. F1-F12 keys double as media buttons now. I dislike the half-size up/down arrow, and the layout of the dedicated arrow keys.

There's often a question of HP quality, durability. Don't have personal opinion on this, I buy HPs because I had bad experience with other brands. I can only recommend using your new laptop as much as possible during the refund period to work it out and burn it in. If you buy it from HP Direct, HP is very good about refunds during the 21 days. Or buy the 3 year accident insurance.

 

That wasn't my experience. USB2.0 downs 5400rpm drivers significantly.

 

In actual usage, or just benchmarks? It hasn't in actual usage in my experience, although my experience is mostly with somewhat older drives (about 1-2 years old). A lot will also depend on what/how you use the drive in the first place. Even so, as I mentioned above, if you're really worried about transfer speeds, an eSATA enclosure is the easy answer. Of course, if you're _really_ that concerned about transfer speeds, you should probably spring for a 7200 RPM drive or SSD anyway.

 

Actual usage. I have had more difficulty sometimes to find difference between 7200rpm and 5400 rpm.

 

That WD Elements 2TB usb external drive is pretty slow... really slow compared to a Samsung Spinpoint F1 1TB I use on a Vantec drive dock