HP Pavilion DV7T Review (LOTS OF PICTURES)

by: me, of course...

The HP Pavilion DV7T is a part of the recently refreshed line of notebooks. This particular notebook replaces the doomed HP Pavilion DV9000T series. Along with the Blu-Ray drive, dedicated Nvidia graphics card this notebook features the new Intel Centrino 2 mobile technology. Intel Centrino 2 along with its predecessor Intel Centrino has revolutionized the way we use the notebook in our modern world. Hang on tight while we examine this notebook from all sides!

The HP Pavilion is set at a reasonable base price of $1,079. It comes stock with a very decent Intel Core 2 Duo P7350 processor clocked at 2.0 GHz. Unlike the processor included with the DV9000T series, this one has a 1066Mhz Front Side Bus and a minimum of 3MB Level 2 Cache. All of those changes play a vital role in the significant improvement from the DV7T's predecessor. This notebook also comes stock with 2 Gigabytes of PC2-6400 (800 MHz) RAM, but can be upgraded to 4 gigabytes. According to several websites, this notebook can hold up to 8 Gigabytes of PC2-6400 RAM. However, a 64 bit operating system is required to take advantage of 4 Gigabytes or more of RAM.

The DV7T featured in this review contain the following components:

HP Pavilion Entertainment dv7t customizable Notebook PC
KN798AV

* – Windows Vista Ultimate with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
* – Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo Processor T9600 (2.80GHz)
* – 17.0" WSXGA+ High-Definition HP BrightView Display (1680 x 1050)
* – 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
* – 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
* – 320GB 7200RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (160GB x 2) with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
* – Webcam + Fingerprint Reader + Microphones
* – Intel(R) WiFi Link 5100AGN
* – LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
* – 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
* - Dimensions 15.59" (W) x 11.22" (D) x 1.31" (min H)/1.66" (max H)
* - Weight 7.64lbs
* - 90 Watt AC Adapter








Input Devices: Touch pad, Keyboard, etc

The touch pad on this notebook is very impressive being both responsive and amazingly designed. As the theme with the new line of notebooks, this touch pad features a chrome like surface that makes this notebook unique. It has a nice vertical scroll bar that allows for quick browsing. Both left and right mouse buttons are firm versus the spongy feel from the DV9700. There is an on/off switch for this touch pad, however in the DV7 it lights up white.



The keyboard was a part of the extreme makeover from HP that transformed it to match the metallic theme in the new line of notebooks. Aside from the color change, the only different thing is the texture of the actual keys. They are very smooth whereas the DV9700 keyboard seemed rough.



The QuickPlay button region on the notebook has undergone a big transition from modern to futuristic with the new magic chrome that conceals the QuickPlay buttons when the notebook is not powered on. In addition, the QuickPlay field which is touch sensitive is now home to the WiFi on/off button.



I/O Ports

There are a few significant changes to the DV7T including the addition of a new port and the discontinuing of a few as well. Added to the new notebook line is the eSATA port combined with an USB port. Discontinued are the S-Video out and the 56K Modem ports, although the 56K port can be added when purchasing.

Here is a list of the included ports:

ExpressCard/54 Slot (also supports ExpressCard/34)
4 Universal Serial Bus (4th shared with eSATA port)
IEEE 1394 Firewire
1 Consumer IR (Remote Receiver)
HDMI 1.3 connector
Microphone in
2 Headphones out
1 Expansion Port 3 Connector
1 RJ -45 (LAN)
1 VGA
5-in-1 digital media card reader (SD-MS/Pro-MMC-XD)


Front: (left to right) Microphone in, Headphone out, Headphone out


Right: (left to right) USB, USB, Optical Drive, TV Tuner adaptor, 56K Modem


Left: (left to right) VGA, Expansion Port, Ethernet, HDMI, eSATA/USB, USB, Firewire, ExpressCard slot, 5-in-1 media card reader


Battery placement, Subwoofer, Memory, Network Wireless card, Hard Drives

Display

The WSXGA 17" 1680x1050 screen is noticeably brighter than the display of the same type on the DV9700. The display is crisp and the color is perfect. The backlighting is even and the viewing angles are somewhat better than the DV9700T display.

Sound Quality

Amazingly enough, the integrated Altec Lansing speakers sounds much better in the DV7 versus the DV9700. The DV7 does feature a subwoofer which really does enhance the listening pleasure. The sound is very clear and can be amplified to a very high level. It makes watching movies on the computer exciting again.




Ventilation

Surprisingly enough the notebook runs very cool and is almost inaudible. I mean don't get me wrong you can still hear the disk writing once in a while. I am amazed at the heat distribution on this notebook. The DV9700 has always acted as a lap warmer which just makes me even happier that I own the new DV7T. Using the DV7T on both my desk and lap was a breeze. There was a little warmth while using it on my lap, but on the desk it felt as cool as if it wasn’t even on.


DV7T (left), DV9700T (right)

Battery Performance

All I can say is WOW. The standard 8 cell battery lasted me about 3 hours and 16 minutes before shutting off. During that time I was using AIM, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Photo Gallery, MS Word and Media Player (listening to music). You wouldn't think 3 hours would be capable out of a 17 inch beast such as the DV7T, but it is simply amazing.

Architecture

The DV7 is structurally sound as all HP notebooks are and will continue to be. The new DV7 is somewhat identical to the DV9700 by sharing a designer LCD frame although not the same design. When you first take the DV7 out of the box it is like a solid piece of art. It looks visually appealing but at the same time is rugged and durable. The Mesh design is simply extravagant.

Unlike the DV9700, the DV7 sports a Mac Book type hinge. It's a beautiful touch that was incorporated and I don't think there is another type of hinge that would do this notebook justice. There is one thing that this notebook is missing and that's the latch that keeps the notebook shut. HP built a very sturdy hinge that does just that. It's firm and applies pressure to keep the notebook shut and secure.

The overall design is different and can only be explained through pictures. Below are pictures that contain both the DV7 and the DV9700.


DV7 (left), DV9700 (right)


DV7 (left), DV9700 (right)


DV7 (left), DV9700 (right)


DV7 (left), DV9700 (right)


DV7 (top), DV9700 (bottom)


DV7 (top), DV9700 (bottom)


DV7 (top), DV9700 (bottom)


DV7 (top), DV9700 (bottom)


DV7 (top), DV9700 (bottom)


DV7 (top), DV9700 (bottom)

CPU Performance

The base processor (P7350) in the DV7T series notebook is more than powerful enough to conquer all tasks. Included in this review notebook is the Intel Core 2 Duo T9600 running at 2.8 GHz with a 1066 MHz FSB. I compared the processor in this notebook to the T9500 processor in the DV9700T and produced the following SuperPI benchmarks:

SuperPI 2 million calculations:

DV9700T (T9500 2.6 GHz): 40 seconds
DV7T (T9600 2.8 GHz): 36 seconds

There’s a slight difference according to SuperPI. However, when I perform CPU intensive tasks the DV7T is always the victor!

HP Service

HP has always been a wonderful company. They've been with me the whole way! Whenever a part became defective or I made a booboo they would provide a remedy and with FEDEX overnight shipping. I brag a lot about their company on the NBR forums here solely due to the fact that I am simply impressed. Some people have problems, but you can't make everyone happy. If you purchase an HP notebook, I highly suggest you get an extended warranty.

Conclusion to my novel...

All in all, the DV7T is a great notebook in more ways than one. It not only looks great but performs well. The design and structure of the notebook is appealing yet sturdy enough to handle a pretty tough beating. Being considered a desktop replacement, I think it passes with flying colors.

This notebook isn’t as heavy as it would appear. Being very similar to the DV5T, I think this notebook is more suited for gamers, graphic designers, 3D architects, and other people who need a notebook with a LOT of space and a BIG screen.


And now the scale of pros and cons:

PROs:

Nicely designed
Handles heat very well
Has a fairly decent battery life
VERY quiet
Blazing fast
Good sound quality


CONs:

A Cop’s favorite piece of evidence (fingerprints)
No S-Video port
Buggy QuickPlay buttons


If possible could a moderator make this an official review?

Look forward to my unboxing video that I will be adding soon! REP ME PLEEZ!

Feel free to reply with your comments...

 

Thank you very much!

I LOVE THE PICS!

How did you like the screen? The color saturation

nice review, thanks again!

 

The DV7T screen looks better than the DV9700T screen. I tried taking pictures to compare but they wouldn't show up. I'll try again later tonight.

 

Dude the DV7T is freakin awesome, it's wayyyyy better than the dv9700t. I'll tell my dad about this one cause he has a Sony Vaio laptop with a 17in screen, personally I think his laptop is okay, but this one is awesome. Maybe he'll buy it for himself when I tell him about it. By the way I am 15 years old and am going to be turning 16 in September, I know a lot about computers, cars, electronics, music......

 

How about girls? and heck yes the DV7 ROCKS!

 

Haha yes I do...I have a girlfriend, we've been together since May 6th, 2007 YEAH

and let me say this again THE HP DV7 KICKS

 

WOW! Thanks infamous for the pics...looks gorgeous!

What do you mean about the QuickPlay buttons being buggy? What exactly does QuickPlay do? Do you use it often?

Also if I got Vista 64 Bit (Home Premium w SP 1). Will HP send me the Windows Vista Recovery Discs or no?

Also what's your Windows Experience Index?

 

Awesome Review!!

 

The QuickPlay buttons don't exactly react correctly. For instance, I push the mute button and it mutes it but doesn't always glow orange like it should. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It's not that bad of a problem. I don't use it very often. I just fully tested the computer so that I could make a proper review.

For some reason, HP didn't offer the option for recovery discs this time. What you need to do is grab 2 DVDs and open up recovery manager to make your own. If you don't plan on installing XP or anything else then you'll be fine. Vista comes with a recovery partition. Pretty much it eliminates the need for recovery discs. You just boot up the computer, hit f11 or f12 and BAM. It reformats it back to factory install. Easy as pi.

I haven't optimized the notebook quite yet to give me the best score. Right now everything is way above 5 except for the graphics card. That will be way down due to Vista's Aero interface. It's 4.8.

 

ahhhh
this is really really making me itch to get my hands on mine.
I really hope HP ships it early like with all the dv5t owners so I can get it before I head off to college.
awesome awesome review, I've waiting for weeks for someone to post one.

 

jpz, i'm not sure if I am remembering you correctly. Did you just buy the DV7T the other day? At least I thought it was you...

Anyhow if so, you're gonna love it!

 

Charon it'll be worth the wait.

 

I bet.
But as soon as I get it I need to install the ram (it's looking very very lonely right now. I wanted to try it out on my dad's laptop, but it was an older macbook and didn't accepted it. ) and do either a clean install of vista or do a extensive swipe of bloatware. Of course I also plan on dual booting XP so I can run my older games etc. Looking forward to running C&C 3 on this beast at max everything and maybe Crysis at medium heh .

 

You'll like this: http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/referrer/srtest

 

Cool, thanks. ^_^
I'll probably try it out on Crysis when I get finished doing all that stuff, but after reading through all of the forums, I'm pretty sure I'm set for C&C3. It'll probably run Red Alert 3 at max too when it comes out.

 

So did they move the hard drive? The dv9700t is very warm underneath my hands when I'm typing, even when it's on a desk and has a cooling pad underneath. I think this is due to the hard drive being placed right underneath where my hands would be while typing.

 

Thanks for the review and pics. Really nice review and nice laptop!!!

I am using dv9700t, but I am thinking about replacing it with Dv7t. I would greatly appreciate if anybody could help me find 3 answers:

1. One thing I don't like dv9700t is its card reader. It's very very very slow, and when use a lot CPU. Does dv7t use a better card reader?

2. Sometime, I use laptop outdoor, and I am using dv9700's ultra-brightview, is there anybody could compare dv7t's screen (1680 x 1050) with dv9700t's ultra-bright view?

3. For more than 3 hrs battery life, is the screen 100% bright?

Thanks a lot.

 

Can you tell me what you would recommend to optimize it?

Yup, that's me. I can't wait to get it!

 

Well as you know, Vista is a resource hog in more ways than one. Included with the notebook when you first buy it is a lot of bloatware or applications you will never need. I first uninstall all of those and then proceed to management service to see which services are running. Things like Help & Support, IP Helper, Windows Search, etc. Windows Search is a BIG one. That's what causes you hard drive to go on the fritz.
The biggest difference between Windows XP and Windows Vista is the new Superfetch technology. You'll see that in the services. You'll notice when using Vista it requires a lot of ram and what not. That's primarily due to Superfetch preloading your applications into memory so that they start up really fast.
Another thing is Windows Aero that is a pain in the butt. If you disabled Aero (the windows vista theme) then you would have a significant improvement in terms of performance. Keep in mind that if you do disable Aero your computer will revert back to Windows Classic.

There's really too much to type but I have gotten the current processes from 80 to 26 in Vista. Everything ran perfect and almost like XP. I was apart of TechNet when they were first testing Vista and I got to fool around with it so much before release.

Sorry if I just mumbled this all to you lol. I haven't had any coffee yet.

 

DV71098EO got this laptop. as i understand it uses ddr2 in 9600gt bad

 

Be happy that it's a GT for a change and not a GS. lol

 

I'm confused...

Is Windows Search the same thing as "Superfetch"

Also how did you about stopping those unnecessary processes? I don't want to damage my laptop when it gets here by getting rid of a crucial program or part of a program.

 

Windows Search is an indexer. It pretty much thrashes your hard drive.

SuperFetch is totally different. It's a program built in to allow the faster use of your everyday applications. It caches the programs you use most often and then preloads it into memory about the time you would use it. IF you use Vista you'll notice it utilizes a lot of memory. The applications you use most are preloaded into it for faster use. If you like to game and use programs that are resource intensive then disable superfetch.

As for the bloatware programs I don't know where to begin. When you go into control panel, click uninstall programs or whatever. here's a list of some of those unneeded programs:
Microsoft Office compatibility wizard
Microsoft Office Powerpoint viewer
Microsoft Office Home And Student 2007 (trial)
SlingBox
SlingBox flash
HP Health Check
Hp Advisor
HP Help & Support
HP Smart web printing
Yahoo Toolbar
Nortan Internet Security (REALLY RESOURCE INTENSIVE)

Then when you right click Computer, go to manage. Then go to services and sort by status so that all started services are at the top.
Well we'll get into that later when you get the computer...just ask me or someone else.

 

Well I disagree about Norton. I'm using the beta version of the upcoming 2009 version and it's absolutely awesome.

I think Norton just has a bad rep. Maybe it deserves it in some cases but overall I think they're definitely working hard to change it.

You can just uninstall the MS Trial and Powerpoint viewer right?

As for Windows Search is it that search bar at the bottom of Vista when you click Start?

My mom has Vista on her desktop computer. Also from HP and it runs well even in spite of all the "bloatware". I agree that some programs are absolutely unnecessary and that you should trim as much fat as possible. But with reason.

 

I didn't read all of this but it provides a little insight.

http://4sysops.com/archives/how-to-disable-vista’s-desktop-search-indexing-windows-search/

 

Hey, im thinking of picking one of these up. However, i must get the prebuilt version, as I need it ASAP.

the prebuilt has a P7350 processor, would that be sufficient for some gaming? If you could test this baby out a bit with some games, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

The graphics card is the biggest factor for gaming. Are you getting at 9600m GT? If so then it will do very well. I was playing COD4 and it plays very nicely. I just installed Vegas 2 so I will tell you how that goes.

Other than that, the P7350 should handle it. It's a decent processor, it really is.

 

thanks Infamous. Yes, the prebuilt one comes with the 9600GT and 4GB of RAM. I think it could handle Mass Effect, BioShock, World In Conflict, Crysis, and Orange Box right? I mean, these games dont have to be at the highest settings. Medium is alright with me. I could even settle with low for Crysis.

 

Well, crysis rans pretty well in medium settings... May be there will be some improvments after overcloking

 

Well, overclocking correctly will always result in improvements. Has anyone tried OCing the 9600GT in the dv7t?

 

Infamous --

Excellent review. I am just wondering 2 things:

1) how is the sound quality? what sound card/chipset does yout dv7t use?

2) what brand hd does it have?

I ask because I just ordered a pretty high spec machine and i'm wondering if i need to get an external/pc-card sound card for really high end sound.

thanks again,
- tsd

 

I think this notebook is to nice to the subject of neglect. lol

 

It's IDT. The sound quality is very nice. You'll find out when you get it. It's all about preference, really.

 

I cant wait to get my hands on the dv7t! I just might jump on it today.

 

I just got the dv7t yesterday with the 2.5 Ghz processor, 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT, and 4 GB of Ram. How well with this play COD4 and Crysis? Cod4 has a system requirement of a 3Ghz processor, and crysis has2.8. Will my 2.5 be able to handle these on decent settings?

 

CoD4 is like child's play. It plays very well on the DV7. I'm not entirely sure with Crysis, but I would imagine medium settings?

 

Hey Infamous...

Alright just looking at some of the things that are on my mom's desktop computer. Would you mind advising me which of these I should uninstall?

PowerTab Editor
muvee autoProducer 6.1
LablePrint
HP Total Care Advisor
HP On Screen Cap/Num/Scroll Lock Indicator
HP Easy Setup - Frontend
HP Customer Experience Enhancements
HP Active Support Library
Power2Go
PowerDirector
Snapfish Picture Mover

My mom does have a digital camera and I don't know if I should get rid of that last one since it seems to deal with pics but I'm not sure if it's necessary or not. I recently downloaded Adobe Reader 9 and it installed Adobe Air as well. Should I uninstall that or will that affect the reader?

 

Im sorry, I ment RB6 Vegas 2 said it requires a 3.0 Ghz processor......is this really required to play well? Also will the games play better if I am using my 720p TV as a monitor (lower resolution, but much larger screen)?

 

Well RB6 want single core 3.0ghz... and we have 2 cores, that is why it won't be problem... Well just choose lower resolution on internal screen and that will solve all lags

 

I was just playing Vegas 2 I was getting about 45-60 FPS constant.

You can remove the following Cassiline:

muvee autoProducer 6.1
HP Total Care Advisoror
HP Easy Setup - Frontend
HP Customer Experience Enhancements
HP Active Support Library

That muvee program is a pathetic video editor.

 

Any one know how to enable system restore from recovery partition? just interested how it works cause i would like to format C: to install fresh vista

 

Pressing F11 at boot should do the trick. But BURN the restore DVD's before messing around with the OS, the hard drive recovery partition is pretty much rendered useless once you clean install the OS even if you dont touch the partition. Having the restore DVD's will allow you to put the system back to factory state in the event you need to.

 

wooooohh!!!!!
Yay, my dv7t just shipped from Kunshan, China!!
that's 7 days before estimated shipping date!
hopefully I'll have it by the wkend, it would be nice to get it on Friday as it is my birthday! ^_^

 

Very nice review...

Rob

 

thanks for the review!

 

You won't get a fresh install of Vista. It will still have all the bloatware that HP likes to force upon its customers.

 

If you already ordered you notebook from HP but didn't use the $400 off coupon, call them and ask for it!!!
I got $175 back from them after they deducted the amount from my previous coupon.

 

Charon, from experience FEDEX ships the notebooks within 3 days. So it should be there by your birthday!

BTW, HAPPY BIRFDAY!

 

Which coupon!?

And you just called and they credited it back to whatever payment method you used?

I could really use it...

 

Nice review! It makes me want one, but I generally go with the 15.4 models for budgetary reasons.