Did i pick the right laptop?

Hi guys I just wanted to know if i made the right decesion in picking up the dv6t. If not i can always keep searching for newer laptop deals. (i was looking at the Samsung Q430-JS03)

I am going into college as an engineering student, so i felt i would be needing something powerful and portable.


for 630 dollars i got this. Im not an intense gamer, and if i do end up putting a few games, i am ok with playing them on medium or low.

• 2nd generation Intel(R) Dual Core(TM) i5-2410M (2.3 GHz, 3MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.9GHz
• 1GB GDDR5 Radeon(TM) HD 6490M Graphics [HDMI, VGA]
• 4GB DDR3 System Memory (1 Dimm)
• 500GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
• 30% OFF! 9-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery (over-sized) - Up to 9.75 hours of battery life +++
• 15.6" diagonal High Definition HP BrightView LED Display (1366x768)

o and Thank You!

 

Great specs for $630. When you get some extra $ get another 4GB DDR3 strip and I'd recommend a 7200RPM drive eventually. You will notice a difference. I personally wouldn't go any smaller than a 15.6" laptop unless you need extreme portability. You made a good buy IMO.

 

Thanks for the input!

Yes I shouldve gotten the 7200 RPM silly of me, since i couldve went down to 320 GB 7200 ( im not going to be needing 500 GB).

Yea ill add some more memory later.

 

engineering students need OpenGL no? then this laptop isnt a good idea b/c OpenGL runs on integrated not the discrete card

you might want to consider the llano

I'd also consider the base model for the XPS 15 which is $699

whats your budget anyways

 

In all honesty you should have gotten the 1080p screen, and either skipped the 6490M or gone all the way to the 6770M. The 6490M is okay, but it's only around 20% better than integrated graphics. That might be considered a fair amount, but it's only the difference between 30fps and 36fps.

but for $630 it's alright.

 

He won't be doing anything that intense that he needs a dedicated GPU for. Worst case scenario he uses a computer at his school.

 

Well i dont think i will be running any really advanced programs for open gl in my first year. Do you think hp will clean this up before a year?
Also the open GL programs will use intel integrated right? so its not like they wont work.

My budget was up to 800 dollars, but I wanted to keep the spending for my parents to a low.

And thanks Ill consider the xps 15. My only annoying impression is the size of the bottom of it. The screen looks nice and thin, but that bottom just looks plain ugly. So im not sure.

Yes i didnt know about the 1080p screen till i looked in these forums . But Ill see if i like the screen when i get it. I like my font big and readable, and im used to a desktop with a 1400 by 900 screen. So most likely i will be alright.

And im really suprised about the graphics. Are they really that bad. I couldve saved a good 100 dollars by just going with integrated. The chip seems to be the bottom end of midrange chips, when i look online.

I was hoping that this would run games for me at medium at around 20-30 fps.

Thank You though!

 

You can call HP to cancel if you'd like. They'll probably be more than happy to cancel your order once you get through to the right reps.

Then re-order, but downgrade the graphics and upgrade the screen for a net gain of $50 in cost before the coupon.

Really, even if you're used to large text, the 1080p screen drastically increases the usability of your computer, because you'll be able to multitask a lot more efficiently. Unless you have poor eyesight, 1080p isn't an issue for most people. Not only that, the image quality is much better.

 

It should be able to run to run modern games at that fps medium. Don't worry, as long as you aren't shooting for high/ultra. Intel Integrated HD 3000 sucks for games. For your needs the 6490 will suit your needs.

 

Intel HD 3000 is fine for low settings on many relatively recent games, and it's fine for high settings on older games such as TF2 and the like.

The new integrated graphics don't suck nearly as much as last generation's.

The 6490M is a bit better than HD 3000, but in many cases the difference won't be make-or-break. If you need power, just go up to the 6770M, it's another $25 (assuming you get the Select Edition and not the regular DV6t)

 

Thank You, ill look into that if im not satisfied with the screen. Although its giong to be pretty hard waiting another 3 weeks for a laptop. XD

Yea the only game i might want installed is skyrim.
So is the differrence between integrated and 6490 more pronounced than edit1754 said? Or does it depend on which games you play?

Thank You

 

There's not really a big leap between the two. However, the gap between the two is what lets you play on medium instead of low and since I'm not sure how GPU exhausting Skyrim will be, whether you'll meet the minimum requirements and be able to play Skyrim at all. The 6490 - 6770 has the bigger leap.

EDIT: To be honest, I think they'll raise the bar much higher than they did for Oblivion. The 6490 might not even cut it. If you really want it for PC, get the 6770m to be safe. I'm waiting to play Skyrim on my new laptop because I chose to have Oblivion on console which sucked with no mods. Ready for months of no-sleep again after years of anticipation...

 

Yea if the 6770 was available for the standard edition i sure wouldve went for it. Unfortunately its a 2GB model for 100 dollars more.

And yes skyrim does look very daunting. I might as well just get that for my ps3 instead.

So overall I think if i keep this as a work/school oriented laptop, along with light gaming it should serve me well. Would you guys agree with that?

 

Yes sir. yeah, and HP is sneaky with the 2gb 6770m. Ridiculous..

 

work/school benefits from the 1080p screen more than gaming.

But if you're going to get a laptop with a 768p screen and Intel HD graphics (or something not much better) then you're better off getting a cheaper laptop than the DV6t, or spending a bit more to get an ultraportable laptop with i5 + Intel HD + same resolution in a smaller screen.

 

You have 21 days to play with it and see if everything you ordered is what you want. I know HP's order processing time is ridiculous right now

 

Yea Ill play around with it first, see if i like the screen and stuff.

I saw a review on cnet that said the keyboard is flexy. Is this true? And if so will this pose a problem?

Thank You

 

HP is always so sneaky...