HP Pavilion DV7T Review (LOTS OF PICTURES)

My mistake. I just noticed the 250GB option lol. It still has two drive bays. You can just pop another one in the second slot.

 

where can i buy this laptop in the uk without paying like 1.5x the price??

 

^^^^^^^^^^

 

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en/ho/WF25a/321957-321957-3329744-64354-64354-3744231.html

 

ok cool. so if I wanted too, I could just add in another one if my 1st HDD fills up?


also, has anyone confirmed if it is true that the dv7 can hold 8GB of ram?

 

It can hold 8gigs of ram. I called up HP and they had a 4 gig stick on the parts list for the DV7.

As for the HDD you might need a bracket. I also have a few extra drives and an extra DV7 bracket. Just PM me if interested.

I have 160's and 120's 7200RPM.

 

Did your DV7T ship from KUNSHAN, CHINA too?

 

I believe all CTO notebooks ship from China.

 

mine shipped from kushan yesterday. i believe they all come from there.

 

Mr. Desi, why are you having buyer's remorse - what other 1% did you forgot to include ( I dont want to go back billion pages )

 

^

1) the t9600 proc instead of the t9400

2) the fingerprint reader (im not a spy or fbi agent, i just want to log into sites via finger swipe as opposed to typing name+pass 100x a day when i check email

3) this i will judge when i get my unit but - i may reorder without the infinity display. i want to see how the screen looks in my apartment at diff times of the day so i'll post abt that once i recieve my unit

4) the dv7t cost about $300 more than a max'd out dv5t. im thinking if i should get the dv5t instead...

5) i use a desktop all day long at work and at home. should i have gotten a desktop instead? this became a question after i started reading about the heating related things people have to do with their laptops. i dont want to worry about something frying if i use my laptop 5+ hours per day...

#'s 1 and 2 are what i have regrets about compared to my current config.

i think im missing something but that's mostly it.

i am a man of extremes. either my laptop will be fully max'd out in terms of specs and cost $2,200 or it'll be absolutely bare minimum specs, and cost like $600. LOLOL

a friend of mine recently bought a toshiba a305 from BJ's wholesale. the unit was $799 and my friend had a coupon for $150 off! he paid $649 for it!!!! and the specs on it were impressive - 250 gb drive, 3gb ram, core 2 duo (i forgot which proc), dvd burner, wireless, 15.4" screen -- pretty **** good for the price. only downside (for me) was that his unit didnt have a tv tuner - but you can pick up a $100 unit that is just as good.

so when i saw his system, and realized he paid approximately 1/4 of the price of my unit, i was like what the hell..... i gain a lot over his machine but is it worth the extra $1,500?

 

Okay, it really isnt worth keeping it - after reading all of the above - just return it.

I bet we can help you find a BETTER system for 2,200 Post a FAQ and get huntin' again!

 

LOL. i wanted this laptop because the prices are nice but the prices on mid-highend machines has dropped so much, for me, it doesnt make sense spending so much... besides, i dont even play games. the most i do is make dvds (10 a month maybe), surf, music, word+excel, and that's about it ...

i actually ordered a set of logitech z-5500 speakers for surround sound yesterday and they've already shipped. i just want a nice machine to connect them to now :-D

i priced out a highly spec'd dv5t and it came out to about $1449. using the nb6997 coupon, the price would have been under 1100 for a machine that can compete with my dv7t which was over 2 grand. that's nearly 40% off of the price..... yeah, the screen is larger, but do i really need it?

specs are here:


vista home x64
Core(TM)2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.4 GHz) edit
15.4" WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050)
4GB DDR2 RAM
512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT edit
250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection edit
Webcam + Fingerprint reader
Intel(R) WiFi Link 5100AGN
SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support edit
tv tuner (which hp has since taken off their site for some reason)
---------------
total: $1,449



this has been eating away at me for the last few days..... and it sucks!

 

well dont forget the HP Dv5t gets HOT.. you might be turned off by that.. And if u dont game and just want a cool HD center just get a really good secced up Sony FW 16"

 

the sony looks hot! and re heat: i just dont want a $2,200 laptop dying on me (proc/gpu/hdd, whatever) after a year or something due to heat related problems... i'd rather have a $1100 laptop die on me. LOL

 

tsd,

My friends who purchased Toshiba all regretted it. It's kind of like the saying "You get what you pay for." You'll have more buyer's remorse when you think about that.

Besides, you can get an extended warranty with the DV7. For the duration of that warranty they will do everything possible to make sure it works. That includes free shipment to and from their repair centers, etc. HP is fairly reliable and will keep your interests in them positive.

 

Hi everyone,

Just wondering if I should get a DV7 as well, currently have a DV9700t speced as follows:
T7700 2.4GHz 4MB
4GB RAM
500GB 250x2
8600GS 512MB
17" WUXGA+
Wifi/Bluetooth
Cam/Fingerprint/Mic
Blu-ray ROM
HP Expresscard D-TV Tuner
and that really good expansion base from HP.
Oh I also have like 8 of the long-life batteries for this thing.

Gamer and movie buff. I like the eSATA combo port on the dv7 and the new GPU, but that's pretty much all, I don't think there's a HUGE diff in my CPU and the T9600. Any recommendations? Oh and how similar are the batteries? They look similar but the dv7 has a tab space on it...wonder if I can mod these to fit... idk.

 

If you're a gamer and a multimedia freak, then yes. The 9600m GT is way better than the 8600m GS. The newer processors have a 1066MHz FSB.

 

Just built mine and got it with a $200 coupon!

HP Pavilion Entertainment dv7t customizable Notebook PC

• Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
• Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T9600 (2.80GHz)
• 17.0" diagonal WSXGA+ High-Definition HP BrightView Infinity 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
• [For BrightView Infinity] Webcam + Fingerprint Reader
• HP Color Matching Keyboard
• Intel(R) WiFi Link 5100AGN and Bluetooth(TM)
• No Modem
• $100 OFF Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer
• No TV Tuner w/remote control
• 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
• Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
• HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

All of that for a total of $2,140.33! Thank God for that coupon. The last one that I customized and then canceled ended up being around $2,400.

I can't wait till it's in my hands.

 

^ beautiful specs. i hope you enjoy that beast!

 

That's gonna be awesome!

 

^ says the guy with two beasts for laptops.

 

Wonder if I can move my WUXGA screen over too, should be same inside...obviously I modded this laptop

 

Thanks! I'm hoping HP will have it built and shipped out before Sept. 1st which is when they say it will be built.

 

as an fyi, my info to have an idea:

ordered: august 12
projected 'built by' date: august 21
projected delivery date by HP: "before september 1"

actual ship date: august 21
projected delivery date: sometime this week as it has left shanghai as of 2am eastern time today, aug 22.

 

Mine just shipped as well today:

 

I'm just curious? Why did you order a secod one? Will you really use it a lot?

 

He's rich. One unit will be for checking emails, the other will be for Crysis. That way there is no downtime when minimizing Crysis to check emails / post on NBR.

 

lol I have a money tree in my backyard. It should be here Monday so I will take comparison pictures of the Infinity display for people.

 

That's the EXACT info on my shipping so far too... let's see who gets theirs first


By the way- hello! This is my first post but I've been lurking for a while. This will be HP laptop #3 for me.

About the screen stuff, I will probably post some pictures comparing my incoming system's (Infinity) screen to my Ultra Brightview dv8000t. I'm a little worried from what I've heard about the Infinity display, especially if there is a possibility for double reflections due to any gap between the glass and LCD. I spend most of my time in front of the computer, whether it's for gaming (WoW), writing code, working with Photshop/Lightroom, or a million other stare-intensive tasks.

 

Congrats! Definitely interested in hearing about your comparison. Tropical Storm Fay has me working from home all this week and the more I sit at the laptop the more I like it. The Infinity is looking good to me - hopefully it will work well for you as well. To me, it isn't noticeably more reflective than my last laptop - an Inspiron 9300. My biggest adjustment is going down from 1920x1200 to 1680x1025. I miss the extra real estate when developing.

I had heard that WoW looks great on the dv7t and I had to try it last night. I was clean for 3 years and 1 month before falling off the WoW wagon. It does look amazing at 1650x1050 with everything turned up (and still hitting 55-60 fps).

 

It won't be that bad. I'll tell you which one I prefer more after I take pictures in all types of conditions (daylight, night, and outside).

 

Thanks, michaelj!

The dv8000t is also pretty reflective so I hope I don't see too much of a difference either, but it's also pretty bright. It seems like people who are accustomed to the reflective screens have positive opinions about the Infinity display, and I look forward to not having dust stuck in the bezel.

Well, that's good and bad news about WoW, I am looking forward to some nice game play but I don't want to get *too* sucked in hehe. My current system only has a Go7600/T2600 (max config from only 2.5 years ago!), so this is going to be a huge upgrade.

Here's an awesome tidbit: my current system is still rock solid, and I've taken it all over the world and used it to death just about EVERY day. The only issue that's come up is some bad hard drive sectors and a bit of heat while gaming. I hope I get the same ROI from my shiny new dv7!

 

my unit arrived in alaska. why haven't they made teleportation devices already?!?!

 

I would be the first to get one of those. I could get to China in less than 4 seconds.

 

A quick question.
How warm does your palmrest get on normal operation, especially the left one where the HDD is?

 

My DV7T gets a little warm on the left, but it isn't uncomfortable. It's rather nice.

It's almost as if HP has a built-in keyboard warmer. I'd actually pay more for that. When you use the can (bathroom), the bowl is usually cold so the laptop warms ya right up.

 

lol, nice. Alright, I guess this is quite normal then. Since my fujitsu made HDD doesn't have a temperature sensor I can't get it to display on HWMonitor, so I was getting a bit worried on how warm it was getting(I really don't want to have to return it since I've done so much work on it and also I leave for college tmrw). Running Crysis does get everything a bit toasty, good for a cold winter night though.

 

Don't you love laptops that also servers as a portable stove?

And expect it to heat up during very intensive applications (Crysis).

BTW, what settings do you use on Crysis and how many FPS do you get? You have the 9600m GT, right?

 

I usually use medium (except shadow, which I keep at low) at max res (1440x900), I pull about 20-30 frames on average. I had to switch to low after the alien ship level though, apparently the snow is playing hell with frame rates (of course if just might be my rig is getting a bit too toasty, I average about 85C on crysis with the back raised up and maxed at 97C once). I expected it to getting pretty toasty with crysis and such (it's a bit cooler with say C&C3), I was just more concerned with how toasty it should get on casual use.

 

I took a screen capture of my temps while using the DV7T. It puts a new meaning to the term "chilly."

 

Dude, how do you do it?!?
Funny thing, I thought my laptop was getting a bit too warm while on casual use...until I used my dad's macbook again. Right now it's getting much warmer than my laptop and the speak grill's getting hot.

 

dry ice in the pc-card slot for the win!

 

So, Infamous, I know you got your Infinity screen system- any comparison shots yet?

 

I'll take some right now. IF they come out horrible I will wait until tomorrow morning for better natural lighting.

 

I had the dv9700t and loved it very much, but from what I'm seeing here, the dv7t is just "more to love" So I'm thinking of getting it... there is only one thing that worries me. I noticed in your pictures that the arrow keys (up, down, right, left) are smaller than usual... that must be uncomfortable, no?

If anyone has the dv7t already, please let me know how you feel about this.

Thanks in advance!

 

Once you get used to it, you barely notice it!

 

I ordered my DV7t on Aug. 30th and I can't wait.

Here's the specs of mine.

- Ultimate with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
- Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T9600 (2.80GHz)
- 17.0" diagonal WSXGA+ High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen 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
- Intel(R) WiFi Link 5100AGN and Bluetooth(TM)
- SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support


What makes me even happier is that I got a laptop that is 2.3k for only 1.6k with my 30% off coupon!

 

^ i got nearly the identical setup with the identical price.

i got my unit this morning and it has been kicking *** all day! l0l.