DV5t vs DV5z

Reasons for getting one over the other? Intel series seems to cost more, is it worth it? I will be a law student, so will be multitasking a lot, but not much more (only game i may ever play is homeworld 2)

 

yes its worth it, Intel Centrino 2 Processors are more power efficient, less heat producing, and can multi task faster (a bit)

 

dido......

 

The two offer the same feature set save for the processor and graphics card. I don't know how much battery life the dv5t gets, but if past performance is any indication, it should be better with the integrated graphics.

What kind of multitasking will you be doing? The CPU is not the bottleneck these days. The real reason to get the dv5t is because of the 9600M-GT graphics card - it is much faster than the HD 3450 in the dv5z.

 

Multitasking might be going between outlook, word, firefox, youtube, aim, etc.

How significant is the power and battery difference? Hopefully it's significant for a $200 difference or so

 

For that type of multitasking I think either model would be perfectly fine. If your gaming is not extensive then I would recommend just getting the HD 3200 version of the Dv5z. As far as battery life, for the Dv5z you are looking at about 2 1/2 hours with the regular 6 cell. If you get the high capacity 6 cell it may get as much as 3 hours or a little more than that. I haven't seen a figure for the Dv5t but if you get the model with the Intel X4500 my guess is that it would get about 3 hours with the regular capacity 6 cell and maybe as much as 3 hours 45 minutes with high capacity 6 cell. Chaz is getting a Dv5t with the 9600 M GT soon and is planning on a review a couple weeks after that so if you can wait maybe you could compare his review to the one of the Dv5z. Good luck and happy computing!

 

My computer seems to be just DV5. The full name on the box is DV51010US.... How does this relate to dv5z and dv5t. Is mine a totally different line?

 

No!

It should be DV5-1010US. It's just the model number of the laptop you got. You must have gotten it preconfigured.

 

No, the only difference between the z and the t models is the z models have AMD processors and ATI graphics. The t models have Intel processors and either Intel integrated graphics or NVIDIA dedicated graphics. So, you just need to check and see if you have AMD processor-if so then you have the z model. If you have Intel then you have the t model.

 

Thanks for clarification guys. I thought that already but wasn't sure. I do have the Intel cpu and Nvidia 9200m-gs video card.

It's just I haven't seen the "dv5t" anywhere on the box, documentations, or actuall computer. Everywhere it just says either dv5 or dv5-1010us.

 

I always thought that was annoying. They could prevent confusion such as this if they only clarified things a little more.

 

Comparing AMD-based and Intel-based systems isn't exactly an "apples-to-apples" comparison. Choosing the hardware specs that will provide the most balanced performance is increasingly more important...but it's not as easy as some make it sound.

Reading the replies already posted here, it appears that most are recommending the dv5t because the Intel processors are superior. It is a fact that Intel Core 2 Duo processors outperform AMD Turion processors of similar clock speed, at least in synthetic benchmarks. The real-world difference in everyday productivity tasks and in email/internet usage is far more debatable. I compare synthetic benchmarks in much the same way I compare 0-60mph stats for cars- it shows the maximum performance possible, but how often do we drive with the accelerator on the floor? In less demanding usage, is there much difference?

I digress...back to Balanced Performance-

In addition to the processor (CPU), you should also consider the graphics card you'll be pairing with it. Comparing the two HP's, the dv5z has the best performing integrated graphics processor (IGP) currently available. Even the $100 discrete graphics option in the dv5t (256mb nVIDIA 9200M GS) doesn't outperform the standard IGP on the dv5z- widening the price gap from $200 to around $300.

I am confident that a dv5z with the 2.1GHz ZM-80 Turion X2 Ultra processor and ATI Radeon Mobility HD3200 graphics would serve you very well, but the decision is ultimately up to you.

Here are links to the reviews of the dv5z and dv5t posted here on Notebookreview.com-

dv5z-
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4486

dv5t-
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4555

Good luck with your decision! Let us know the model and specs you finally decide to order! =)

 

Both processors are great. However, there were a few websites that did comparison testing. The end-result was that the current AMD Dual Cores were not performing as well as their solo core processors.

 

Intel makes a great processor, an inferior graphic processor and cost more.

I don't know about you but I'm replacing my notebooks on average once every 3yrs. I'll take the AMD savings and bank it for the next "new" thing...

BTW - I agree with you AllFiredUp.

 

id agree with blksnake right now if that 400 dollar coupon wasnt around.

 

Definitely was the processor for me that made the decision that and a $500 coupon.

 

The thing is that performance is relative... basically any modern CPU will offer enough performance for 90% of what people use their laptops for (web browsing, video, music, word processing, etc.). You'll notice bigger performance improvements in real world usage from adding more RAM or a faster HDD than a slightly faster CPU.

You can't really go wrong with either a dv5z or dv5t. If you're not a gamer I would just save a few hundred bucks and stick with the dv5z.