DV6-6117dx Replaceable Upgrade Chart

I'm designing a compatibility chart for the dv6-6117dx in regards to upgrades and part interchanging amongst it's computer siblings. (the chart will be uploaded as soon as a few more questions are answered)

On HP's forums, there are a lot of questions cropping up about this computer, due to the influx of how many purchased it over black friday with the Best Buy deal that went on.

Q: Is there a model of HP laptop that has a backlit keyboard which could be used on the dv6-6117dx?

A: On eBay, there are vendors that sell keyboard 'covers' for the dv6-6117dx, and their descriptions claim that their covers will fit the "HP Pavilion DV6-6117DX, DV6-6190US, and DV6-6120U". Since none of those models have backlit keyboards, so far, the answer is "no". The 6117dx has very similar characterstics to the HP envy though, so if anyone knows more, post about it.

Q: I read that the dv6-6117dx can be customized to have a 1920x1080 resolution lcd. I didn't buy it that way, but is there a place I can purchase the upgraded screen? (compatible models on different HP laptops, etc?)

A: Yes. See this thread here for details: http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-pavilion-notebooks/610177-hp-dv6t-display-replacement.html
A2: If you're currently sporting a 720p screen (1366x768), then you'll need to buy a cable along with the screen. They usually go for 40-50 dollars, but here's a link to a $23 one!: http://www.waresphere.com/store/hp-pavilin-dv6-6000-fhd-cable-50-4rn10-021.html

Q: Is there a 9-cell battery somewhere for this model?

A: There is a 9 cell option. As long as it's compatible with the dv6 series, it'll work. - ntheo

Q: Are there compatible video cards that can be swapped into the 6117dx?

A: Unanswered


Feel free to add more, or help answer any of the questions people have had over on the HP forums.

 

Regarding the 1080 screen, it looks like you can from the 720 to the 1080.

720- 1080 upgrade
Although it's for the Intel version, the dv6 series should all be allike.
Look on page 5 of the link.
You'll need a new video cable and a panel. The cable is a bit expensive.

There is a 9 cell option. As long as it's compatible with the dv6 series, it'll work.
HP has the following part number.
636631-001

 

Any other updates?

You can upgrade to bluetooth with the HP (Ralink made) WIfi/bluetooth half PCIe cards that are sold on ebay. Can also put in SSD but they are still pretty pricey. What about bluray and/or backlit keyboard?

 

Yeah, does anyone know of a compatible bluray player or burner to fall into the DVD drive slot?

 

I swapped my standard DVD drive with an old DV7 Blu-ray player.
HP BDDVDRW CT10L

 

I wish they had a fan to fall into the DVD drive slot. I never use a DVD but I'd like the laptop to cool well.

 

I would REALLY like the know the answer to this one. Have there been any updates? Or any other updates actually? I'm loving this laptop (got it for Christmas), but would love to upgrade a few things to make it my perfect little beast!

Thanks!!!

 

I've been trying to track down a backlit keyboard for my dv6-6180us, but have had no luck.

Now, that said, there is a rare Canadian model sold in the retail channel called dv6-6130ca (LY076UA) which supposedly does come with a backlit keyboard (at least according to HP specs) and the part number is 640436-121, however that is a bilingual English/French version, and the only official one for that machine by the look of it. Personally, I don't like the English/French keyboard due to the different position of the Enter and backslash keys.

Now, it seems that when a keyboard is BackLit, there is a "BL" somewhere in the part description, which I don't see for the 640436-121 on HP PartSurfer...so... hard to say what the deal is there. The -121 suffix apparently indicates English/French Canadian Bilingual, while -001 would be the English only version. The 640436-001 is the same keyboard in English, and it's certainly not backlit, as that's what I have on my dv6-6180us.

Perhaps the dc6-6130ca doesn't have a backlit keyboard and it was a mistake in the product specs. However several different sources claim it to be backlit, and HP did go out of the way to single that machine out as being the only backlit keyboarded version of the entire dv6-6100 Series lineup. The keyboard part numbers would seem to indicate otherwise though. *headache*

Additionally, even if we could locate a compatible backlit keyboard, wouldn't we need to have a special connector on the motherboard to power the backlight, or would it be powered through the ribbon cable??
My old laptop (dv5-1007ca) didn't have any compatible backlit keyboards available, yet oddly there was a backlight connector jack on the motherboard beside the keyboard ribbon cable connector. Anyway, just another potential roadblock.


Here is a link to the specifications of the dv6-6100 Series laptops in Canada. In the Keyboard section, you can see it shows the dv6-6130ca as being the only backlit one.
HP Pavilion dv6-6100 Entertainment Notebook PC series specifications - HP Home & Home Office Products

And here is the link to the PartSurfer list for the dv6-6130ca
HP PartSurfer

This likely won't be of much help to you, but it's as far as I've been able to get so far. I've pretty much given up hope of a backlit keyboard for the dv6-6100 Series. Based on all the confusion, can you blame me? lol
Why the hell they can't just spend a few bucks extra to make backlit keyboards standard (or optional) for all machines is beyond me.

 

Well, it looks like HP has updated the information on the dv6-6130ca to remove all references to a backlit keyboard.

 

Update: Added information regarding the $23 video cable that can be found online. This makes the screen upgrade cost under the magic $100 mark.