HP 6910p First Impressions

Hi guys. Well I finally got it, the HP 6910p, after having the orginal notebook lost by the courriers I decided the replacement I got I would pick it up.
Anyway...

First things: Specs;

14.1" WXGA 1280x800
Vista Business 32bit
Intel C2D T7500 @ 2.2Ghz/4MB Cache
2GB Ram
ATi X2300 (For some reason its a X1450 on my laptop, reported by Vista and ATi Catalyst )
100GB 7200rpm HDD
Fingerprint reader
Intel 4965 abgn
Bluetooth
Fast IR

Bloatware:
Norton (You were expecting this)
Office 2007 60 day trial, which annoyingly pops up asking for a product key everytime you open it up.
Roxio DVD creator
Intervideo DVD viewer
PDF Complete (never heard of this one before, don't exactly know what it does yet)
Lightscribe self promotion (it doesn't even have a lightscribe DVD writer!)
HP WWAN setup (again, it doesn't come with the WWAN card so why?)

Everyone's first question will be: "What about the fan?"
Answer: Its not loud and it doesn't fire up every time you move the mouse.

Keyboard:
Its a little different from my nx8220 in feel, but its still nice to type on. I can't compare to a Thinkpad as I've never touched a Thinkpad.
The volume buttons when pressed present a volume scale on screen, which is appreciated, and the same with the screen brightness.

I will provide more in-depth benchies etc tomorrow as well as attempts to undervolt, using NHC.

If you have further questions, please reply so I can answer them!

Edit: After a fresh install the graphics card is correctly identified as the X2300

 

If I were you, I'd contact Andrew and see about getting a review lined up for your notebook.

 

I don't think I have enough experience with laptops to right a review, especially since the competition is the Thinkpad - they'll all want to know how the keyboard compares I'll give it a shot in the forums first.

 

Hi,

Did you customize this notebook or is it Smart buy? Over here in the States we don't have a Smart buy option for a 100gb 7200rpm HD... =(

 

I'm from NZ - they are all pre-built, no custom orders.
At the moment this is the highest spec 6910p model in NZ. No WXGA+ in NZ.
I was also suprised to have a recovery DVD, plus the Vista 32bit DVD (although here we don't get Anytime Upgrade).
But I don't think there is much point for me doing a fresh install - google and norton have been eradicated from the system.

Edit: Yes I am doing a fresh install, I want to partition my drives.

 

Thanks! Can you measure the height of the laptop (front and back)? Also how is the screen?

 

Nice! I hope you enjoy the machine. Like others I am curious to hear how you like it.

 

The height at front is 33mm, at back its 40mm.
The screen is brighter than my nx8220. The screen is rated at 200nits I think.
I will probably need more time to make any real judgements, but so far its quite nice compared to my nx8220.

 

I just ordered my 6910p after split between the HP 6910p and the Dell XPS m1330. The fact that the Dell sales people wouldn't give me a price below $2200 for a system others had gotten for ~$1600-$1800 made the decision pretty easy. The Dell had the LED screen and 8400GS but those were the only two real differences and definetely not worth the extra money.
So, for $1700 w/overnight shipping, I've got this hp 6910p:

Free DOS [no OS](Will be upgraded to Vista Ultimate)
Core 2 duo T7300 (2.0Ghz, 4mb cache)
14.1" WXGA+ panel
1GB DDR 667 (To be replace with 2x1GB
160GB 5400rpm HDD
6-cell (55 WHr) Lithium-Ion battery
Fingerprint reader
Bluetooth
Wireless -n
DVD+/-DL RW

ATI x2300
NOD32 anti-virus
Norton Internet Security
MS Office 2006
3 year transferrable warranty w/LCD accidental damage

I thought this sounded perfect since I decided not to buy a "gaming" laptop.
If I do upgrade in a couple of years, I should be able to get $800 for it, especially with the warranty. Not a bad investment since my gaming will be done on my desktop.

 

Deltaupsilon, mind if I ask how you ordered? I assume over the phone since I don't see WXGA+ on the USA website. Did they give you an estimate as to when the unit would ship?

 

I'd like to hear more about display quality & brightness as well as heat.

Some photos woud be nice too (like in the reviews).

 

I will be writing a review for NBR soon.
The screen is brighter than my nx8220 and has much better viewing angle than it too. I'd say its very nice, but wish it could go darker whilst on battery.
I'm currently surfing on power saver using the battery, and all I can hear is the HDD, and I'm using this on a bed. Only the left palm is a little warm, but when I'm on mains power, the touchpad and left side of the keyboard can get warm.
When I was benchmarking the fan did spin up, but it wasn't obtrusivly loud, definately not a vacuum cleaner.

 

Thanks for writing out your first impressions!

Have you used the trackpoint mouse? Does it work well?

You probably haven't had time to look at battery life yet but that would be nice to know.

Everyone likes pictures, a few might be nice!

 

I'm used to using the touch pad so I disabled the track point, although I could get used to it, I've never used a track point before (or not for about 12 years or so anyway). I've used the battery once, but I never timed it, and it wasn't continuous use (I put it to hibernate everytime I stopped though).
I'd estimate 3-4 hours that I used it for though. I will do more controlled testing later.

Here's a couple of pictures...

My review will have better quality pictures

 

Yes, I ordered over the phone and they were very good about meeting the exact specifications I wanted; they gave me no problems, unlike Dell. They estimated about 2 weeks to build it and process it, then it would ship out.

 

Deltaupsilon, I’d be curious to know what you think of the higher-res WXGA+ screen. Would you please post your perspective of its quality and take perhaps a few pictures, once you receive the notebook. It’d be very appreciated. I have my eyes set on a similarly configured machine now that HP has made the 6910p available for CTO in our country. And I’m looking forward to your reviews as well!

 

Where exactly can one configure the CTO 6910p?

 

Czech Republic, that is... see my location. HP runs here a very handy and versatile TopConfig service, which allows you to order a range of customized notebooks, workstations and servers. Unfortunately, two components for the 6910p of my choice (14.1" WXGA+ display and DVD±R/RW MultiBay II Drive) currently have unspecified delivery estimates of more than 21 days. I inquired about expected delivery date... waiting for response now.

 

Sure, I'll be doing a formal review as well so they'll be plenty of pictures/benchmarks for you all to pour over

 

OK, I tested the battery life. It lasted my 3hrs 15mins surfing the web. Screen brightness was at lowest setting as I'm used to this, Aero was enabled, plan was power saver, and wireless was always on.
I was expecting more than this, a bit dissapointing, but at least I have my travel battery.

 

Marmion, which battery do you have for the 6910p?

 

Its the standard 6 cell 55Whr. The only way you can extend battery life is to buy the 8 cell travel or 12 cell ultra-high capacity travel batteries which connect at the bottom of the laptop.

 

It all seems pretty similar to the nc6400, but like dawn, I'd really like to know the display quality for the WXGA+ screen because the nc6400's WXGA+ screen is not as good as the WXGA. I hope they have fixed this problem.