HP DV3T hits the HP site!

I chose the dv4t over the dv3t because I really need the extra hard drive and I love the tv tuner (dv4t can use 2 hard drives if you take out the optical drive which i never really use after installing vista).

 

I agree saving your back from injury in any way is good. Thanks for the insight.

I would rely on an external for another hard drive, but I see your logic here. Only thing is, I like to depend on an optical drive just in case the "spur of the moment" might arise. And I know my University offers LCD TVs in the lobbies, so having mobile TV isn't too much of a concern for me.

 

Lecture halls don't have any outlets. If you have classes in a classroom then you could hook it up, but from my experience, taking out the adapter and plugging it in and then dangling it to your laptop is going to raise a few eyebrows to say the least.

Spur of the moment optical drive use? lol. Just in case you manage to catch a CD flying through the air, eh?

The dual HD option on the DV4 is great, IMO. You can always swap in the optical drive on the fly. I guess you're not going to carry it around with you, but then again I doubt you're going to need to use a CD outside of your place anyway. That way you don't need an external HD.

DV3 vs DV4 is really a tough decision. What finally swayed me to the DV4 is the fact that I am going to get an SSD so the second HD bay will prove to be very useful. If it weren't for that, I would probably have gone for the DV3.

 

I think I'll order the dv3t in the next couple of days, with the coupon. This'll be my first laptop, so I'm really looking forward to it. I am not all too worried about power, since it'll be a work machine, and a little RTS gaming. In the next year or two, I plan on building a Core i7 machine anyways to run all the powerhouse stuff.

Does anyone have a picture of HP's 9 cell battery?

 

I've been doing a little digging deeper into this machine and found a few interesting details.

The machine that's up for customization on the site right now is a 16:10 1280x800 model, but I've located two model numbers for a 16:9 1366x768 version - NE898AV and NE899AV. Looking at the parts listing these are both US models with a 13.4" screen. The really cool part is the CPU options include the "holy grail" T9900 3.06GHz Core 2 Duo alongside a 7200RPM 500GB hard drive.

Don't know when HP plans to let this puppy loose on the site for order, but I definitely like what I'm seeing.

 

If you look now, you will notice they removed the words "optional backlit keyboard" from the description on their website. They must have done that in the last day or so.

 

Has anyone received their dv3t yet? I'm hankering to read some reviews on it.

 

I'm ordering tonight, gotta get my family in the US on the phone so they can order for me, so I should have it home in around a month or so. Hope someone can give u a review faster than that

still don't like buyin one without review first, but $400 off is enough to convince me

 

any reviews yet?

 

just got ma dv3t yesterday and i must say i love this computer, it is worth every penny but the battery life on a high capacity 6 cell kinda sucks. i will be uploading some photos soon.

o by the way the screen resolution listed on HP website is wrong it is NOT 1280X800 but 1366X768 looks like HP is finally moving into high res screens...will be updating later. got to run

 

Do me a favor my man, and tell me if it has Expansion Port 3. It's a special connector used to connect to the HP Quickdock.

The HP website lists it as having the port, but I looked at the pictures and it doesn't seem to have it..... I checked in with their customer service and they said it does have the port, but I still don't believe them.

Pics would be great!!!!

 

I don't think it has the quickdock port either. According to the spec i got sent to me in a PDF file from a person that represent HP in Sweden, it doesn't have it:

"3 USB 2.0, 1 HDMI, 1 eSata, 1 VGA-port, 1 RJ45-ethernet, 1 phones, 1 mic, IR port"

//R

 

could u let us know how the temps are ? and is the fan constantly on ?

 

Anyone know where to get an extra 9 cell battery?

 

damn. it seems like the 400 off coupon expired just few days ago.
It is officially expired.

 

Here is the 30% off 999+ coupon


NB3857


I just bought a DV3t spec'd out (2.66, 8 gb, 500 gb, infinity and the works) and it came out to $1470. I'm a happy camper.

 

nope there is no expansion port, and as we all know HP customer service doesn't know what f*** they talking about, all they know is what their screen says. by the way i must say some of the things listed as specs for the dv3t are wrong, it seems they just lifted it from the dv4t specs without editing. here are photos of the sides of the laptop.

 

not sure where to get the 9 cell battery for cheap but HP has it listed for a murderous price of $140 but if you want it or need info about it check here

http://www.shopping.hp.com/product/computer/categories/notebook_batteries/1/accessories/NB801AA

 

do you know how it's size is compared to the dv2?

 

i am not too sure what the temps are in exact values but i must tell you this, i had the laptop on a couch as usual and even with the air vents blocked only the processor area got warm but when on a flat surface and nothing blocking the air vents the laptop never got warm, i think it has to do with the fact that i am using a P-series processor so it runs at 25W instead of 35W like the T-series. Unlike my old dv2700tv that got replaced the hard drive area does not seem to get hot at all. i would safely say that this laptop does not run hot at all.

the fan is constantly on but that is because i left it as constantly on in the BIOS, you can change it to disabled in which case it only runs when the laptop gets hot.

 

no never seen the dv2

 

what about the feel of it? does it feel like the dv3z? i found it to be very cheap feeling.

 

nope it doesn't feel cheap not too sure how the dv3z feels but laptop feels well packed together. the keyboard does feels cheapo though

 

I just got the DV3T but I'm on vacation so I won't get my hands on it until Thursday evening.

Are you running Windows 7 on it? How do all the drivers work out on it? Or are you dual OS?

 

yeah am running windows 7 on it and all the drivers for vista work on windows 7 and yeah am dual booting both vista ultimate and windows 7 RC. windows 7 RC runs like butter on this laptop...

 

any issues so far on Win 7 that would warn you against a pure Windows 7 OS w/o Vista?

Also, what are people upgrading from? Unfortunately even though I love my current laptop, it runs too hot on the palm rest and I've made numerous attempts to have it resolved. I'm upgrading from a Lenovo Thinkpad X61s.

 

@ kloves2fly: Have you run 3D Mark 06, PC Mark 05 and PC Mark Vantage yet? whats your score?

//R

 

nope no issues so far with the release candidate, it is actually running much better than the bets with which i had a few problems with on my previous laptop...not too sure what people are upgrading from but this is kinda of an upgrade for me from a dv2700tv and that computer used to run hot on the palm rest too but it was because of the hard drive, this one does not so i guess they used a better hard drive.

 

you know i have never tried running any of those programs before. are they free? i did score a 4.0 on WIS, screenshot below.

 

What kind of battery life are you getting with the dv3t? I am planning on getting one...

 

Will the dv3t with the 512MB NVIDIA GeForce G 105M,
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor P8700 (2.53GHz, and 4gb of ram be able to play left4dead? also how's the noise level?

 

I see! They are absolutely free (and can be downloaded at: www.futuremark.com) but are also available in versions you must pay for. In those versions you'll get additional test features. But the most common one i of course the free version and that is also the version that is used by most test/review web sites/people.

//R

 

Yes it can, the G105M is a higher clocked 9300M G, with a nice CPU it can handle L4D maybe not at it's highest setting but still fully playable.
great game by the way.
Smokers,Boomers, and Witches = awesomness!

 

Wow thanks, finally someone answered that graphics card question . Sooo, how do i know if the hp dv3t has a CPU that can handle it? sorry for the newbie question :

 

This forum is made for asking question =)
The CPU won't be a problem. It's powerful enough for sure. It's the GPU that will force you to reduce the resolution and other graphics settings.

//R

 

I am in need of a new laptop and plan on custom building the dv3t by HP from Costco, but don't really know what any of the GB, MB, GH, G card, etc. means. I will be using it primarily for: storing my pictures and home videos, Itunes, internet and for my scrapbooking die cutting machine that requires a computer to cut images and to store the images and fonts. I don't do a lot of creating documents or games, but will need to be able to add Adobe. I would like something that I can take with me and use Wi-Fi as well. I have a couple of questions:

1) I'm assuming that the Wireless G card offers free wi-fi. What is the difference between the Wireless G card and the Intel Next-Gen wireless-n-mini card? Do I really need the Intel Next-Gen wireless-n-mini card or will the wireless G card be sufficient?

2) Will the specs below fit the needs for my die cutting machine? My die cutting machine requirements are as follows: Pentium 111 600MHz, 128MB RAM (256 MB recommended), 550 MB hard drive space.

3) Can I purchase an external hard drive (not sure if this is correct) to backup my laptop...pictures, videos, etc.?

4) The laptop comes as a Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual-Core Mobile Processor T4200 (2.0 GHz), but I can upgrade it to the Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T6400 (2.0GHz). Or should I leave it as a Mobile Processor T4200? What is the difference?

5) With the specs below will this laptop meet my needs?

Thank you, I appreciate any help you can give me!


* Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T6400 (2.0GHz)
* FREE Upgrade to 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) from 2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
* FREE Upgrade to 320GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
* Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
* Wireless-G Card
* 13.3" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP LED BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)
* Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
* Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
* 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
* Espresso Black
* HP Color Matching Keyboard
* No Included Mobile Broadband
* LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
* Webcam Only

Included Features:

* Type: Exquisite design meets powerful entertainment
* Memory card reader: 5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader
* Accessible memory slots: 2
* Maximum Memory Expansion: 8GB
* Ports: 3 USB (3rd shared with eSATA port),1 Expansion Port 3
* Additional Ports: VGA, RJ-45, HDMI
* Hard Drive Protection: HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
* Audio: Altec Lansing stereo speakers
* ENERGY STAR Qualified:EPEAT Silver w/Discrete Graphics+Core 2 Duo only
* Adapter: 65W AC (Shared Graphics) / 90W AC (Dedicated Graphics)
* Dim

 

ok another question concerning the Windows experience index. Why is the graphics for windows aero performance much lower than the gaming graphics? Would having P8700 processor and 4gb of ram change this? (in contrast to the test in this thread with a P8600? and 3 gb of ram?

 

I'm a dv3t noob too but i can offer answers to some of those questions...Wireless N i believe is the next level of wireless, if I were you I'd just shell out the extra money to "future proof" the wireless aspect of the computer. As for the external harddrive, yes you can do that because external harddrives now use firewire and/or usb 2.0 which comes with the dv3t sooo yes you can back up your stuff onto that

 

the card itself does not offer free wifi. all it does is just receive a signal from an access point or a router. so for example if your computer has a wireless card (could be a,b,g or n) you could go into a public library or a park that offers free wifi and connect to their service. at home you would have to buy a router and connect it to your home service and that way you could get wireless service in your house but this is going to be paid though unless you are sniffing someone else's connection.

wireless G will be sufficient but if you dont mind paying a little extra i would suggest wireless N because not only is the throughput higher 130Mbps on the N compared to 54Mbps on the G but it also has a wider range cos it uses 3 antennas compared to the 2 antennas on a wireless G.

those specs are more than enough. although i will recommend a P-series processor since they use 30% less power.

sure thing at least a 160GB drive should do

for $50 more i would suggest the T6400 cos it is quite a bit faster. even though they have the same speed for both processors, the L2 cache is more on the T6400 and it is also more power efficient

the specs above perfectly match your needs but i must warn you. i notice you chose 4GB of memory 'cos it is offered as a free upgrade but what you may not realize is that you have to choose vista 64bit operating system. this is not a problem per se but if the software for your die machine does not work on 64bit then you gonna be in trouble. i would suggest sticking to 3GB of RAM and Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (32 bit) or trying to figure out if the software will work on 64bit vista.
also i would suggest getting the high-capacity 6-cell battery it gives you about 40mins more battery life

 

Yayitsthatkid and kloves2fly, thank you both so much for answering my questions, I appreciate your help! I'm off to order my new laptop.

 

How is your battery life kloves2fly? with the 9cell right?

 

My dv3t just shipped from the factory in China last night. I'll post pics and try to answer any questions once it gets here. That $400 coupon was great.

Espresso
Vista Home Premium 64 bit
P8600 (2.4Ghz)
3GB RAM (I bought it before the free upgrade to 4GB)
320GB 5400rpm HDD (I noticed they have 7200 rpm options now)
Non-infinity display w/ Webcam only
512 MB G 105 M Graphics
Wireless N + Bluetooth
9-cell battery

 

Hi,

I also placed an order for the DV3T on Monday using the 30% coupon. Today I noticed they're running a better promotion that gives 4GB free memory and the 50% off for the 6-cell and 9-cell batteries option. So it's like another $80 savings. I called HP and they are going to refund me the difference except they won't refund the extra state tax which is like $5. Anyway for those of you who have ordered a laptop, don't forget HP has a 21 day price adjustment policy. Just call them and request the price difference should the price drops.

Take care and I will check back with you fellows about this laptop!

 

How did you talk them into a refund for the 4GB memory? Did you already select the 4GB option and then get the refund or did you have a different amount of memory and then get some sort of match/refund? Same question for the battery refund.

 

no i got a high capacity 6 cell but i can't seem to get the 4hr battery life they talking about. i get about 3hrs and 12mins. this is with wifi, bluetooth on and am using both wifi for browsing bluetooth for my mouse and screen on max brightness. i kinda wish i had gotten the 9 cell but hey beggars...

 

dms541,

It just happened that I chose the 4GB RAM and the two batteries options. In your case, I think you should still call them up and tell them about the price changes. If they don't give an inch, just tell them you would like to cancel your order and that should be enough for them to offer you a better deal.

Another promotion I noticed is the Free Printer offer which wasn't available at the time I ordered. But since I've got printers at home, I wouldn't want another one sit around. You should mention that too if you want a free printer.

Good luck!

 

Hey guys,

Firstly, thanks for all the information, but I still have a few quick questions that haven't been completely answered yet. Kloves2fly, you mentioned that your dv3t has shipped with a 1366X768 resolution LED screen rather than the 1280x800 that is listed on the website. Can anyone else who received their laptop confirm this? Its just surprising that HP would let this mistake go for so long on their website.

Also, has anyone heard anything regarding the change in the back-lit keyboard option. I tried to chat with sales rep, but she could not offer any information other than the back lit keyboard not being available at this time. I would love to jump on this laptop with the 30% coupon, but would really love this option to be there. Do you guys think they will put this option back up in the near future?

Also, does anyone have any pics of the 9-cell battery? The little picture next to the battery option shows that 12 cell batteries stick out from the back, but it does not show how a 9-cell would look. I was just wondering if this was flush with the back or does it add size? Pics would be appreciated.

Finally, is there any non-gaming disadvantages with the integrated graphic chip. I do not plan to play any 3d-intensive games, so I do not think I need the $150 upgrade. However, I just wanted to make sure that the integrated chip handles the graphical parts of the operating system the same (windows aero, HD video playback, etc.) Are there any performance setbacks compared to the Nvidia chip in these regards? I would be more than happy to save the $150, also I assume that i would get a little boost in battery life by sticking with the integrated chip?

Sorry if any of these questions have been answered, and thanks for any information.

 

This is the second time I write this, I managed to press some combination of keys that erased it and all mention of it. I am now using my trusty Notepad, which I find to be the most powerful little piece of software ever compiled.

Alright.

I would take Kloves word for it. It's actually not surprising at all. For instance, they list the DV3 as having Expansion Port 3, which it most certainly does not. Heck, I even contacted HP Customer Service and alerted them to the issue, even went so far as to point out the fact that it after examining the pictures of it, there is absolutely no EP3. They replied assuring me it does have the port to which I replied asking them where exactly on the laptop it's located. They told me that they could not find it themselves on the laptop, but wanted to assure me that it does in fact include the port. If it's not on the right bezel nor on the left bezel and it cannot be on the back nor the front, where in the heck is it? Hidden? It simply does not have the port and it's just another typical example of HP getting their facts mixed up. Even when confronted with a mistake they don't fix it nor admit it.

I remember reading a press release that it would have 1366x768, so initially when I checked it out on their website I was surprised to see it listed at 1280x800... Kloves confirmed my suspicion. Again, you can be 99.99% sure it's resolution is 1366x768.

The backlit keyboard option is actually pretty funny. I had emailed HP Customer Service wondering if the DV4 would include that as an option and they replied telling me that they will offer it when they get a new shipment of boards in, apparently there was some shortage. I let them know that the DV4 has never offered the backlit option, so were they talking about? I think they got confused with the DV3. So, it's very possible that there is just a shortage of parts. It's odd that they completely removed it from the website, first time I saw them do something like that, they don't even remove components that laptops don't have! I honestly don't know. But well, let's just say I wouldn't count on it. Besides, odds are you could purchase the backlit keyboard at a later time from HP PartSurfer or other various part vendors. This is just speculation but... either way, I wouldn't hold your breath.

This is the best approximation of how the DV3T would look with the 9-cell:
http://www.laptopmag.com/review/newgallery.aspx?id=28325&img=7
That's the 9-cell on the DV3Z, which is actually thinner than the DV3T for some odd reason.
Check out the gallery for more images.

If you're not gaming, you would be doing yourself a disservice by purchasing the Nvidia dedicated solution. It will decrease your battery life and produce more heat in your laptop. Aero and HD playback will be just fine with the 4500MHD, which has the ability to decode HD movies, hence the HD moniker. Aero will be just fine too, really doesn't take much to run Aero. Again, if you're not gaming, stick with the 4500MHD. It will handle light gaming just fine too, actually been surprised with some of the titles people can run it, granted at low quality.... but still playable.

Here is a thread about the HD decoding ability in Win7 with the 4500MHD:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=380276

An extra tidbit, I would recommend you purchase a P series Intel CPU (P8600/P8700)- they run cooler and give longer battery life and will tide you better well into the future than the T series CPUs.

Sorry if some parts don't make sense, I wrote it again as fast as I could out of sheer annoyance.... lol.

 

lol i guess making my own thread for my questions was not a good idea when the center of the dv3t info is here so uhhh here's what was in it:

Hello
So I've been debating between the Sony SR290 and the HP DV3t and have decided (im pretty sure) on the hp dv3t. Just a few questions:

1) Should I buy it now while I still have a chance to save $400+ with that coupon code flying around? Or should I wait for more reviews to come out...and is there a better buying period later in the year? (one thing i should note is that the coupon code was more effective in lowering the price than the rebates plus the student discount )

My initial impression was that the dv3t was an awesome machine but digging deeper into hp has made me skeptical about their quality...(which is why i purchased a 2-year plan thingy)

2) can anyone with the dv3t tell me about the noise it makes (if any) and the heat issue? Also if you happen to have upgraded to the nvidia card, 4gb of ram, and p8700 processor could you post the results of benchmarks and windows experience index?

I know its asking a lot, but any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

right now I'm keeping an eye on this thread. I'm possibly considering the dv3t.
Just a quick question, are the graphics switchable? If so can it be switched while running?

Someone needs to write a review! thanks for all the info dv3t owners