HP Pavilion DV7T Review (LOTS OF PICTURES)

Grrr, no fair. How accurate was the shipping? I'm hoping that it might get done a little quicker, I can't wait until the 10th. And that's only the day that it is supposed to be shipped! Hopefully shipping is fast as well.

 

Mine feels like it gets very warm sometime, but according to the temperature sensor it is only around 100 degrees F. I don't think I have ever seen it hit even 120.

I wish HP would have put vents into the bottom cover for the hard drives. Maybe when this laptop gets old and outdated I will cut my own.

 

Hello, I’ve got HP Pavilion dv7-1098eo

Can anyone here do me a favor? Please measure the time which pass from you pressing power button to vista loading screen, because on my laptop it takes over 30 sec, from my point of view its very long. Also windows vista 64 bit sp1 loads very long on this lappy, even after I’ve installed fresh OS without any bloat software. It takes over 1,5 min…

 

Mine takes about that long (or longer)... which really isn't very long. Seriously. It's ok.

 

Your laptop is fine. Vista = the slowest.

 

The wonky quickplay buttons don't surprise me. I have a DV9500t and the quickplay buttons haven't ever worked good... I don't mind that much since the only ones I use are the volume and mute, but it would be nice if they fixed that problem.

I must say that this laptop looks amazing and I wish I could upgrade, but I just passed the one year point on my laptop and I will probably need to get to the two year point before I upgrade again...

The thing that looks the best is the better video card and the better head dissipation as those are the main issues I have with my laptop (that sucker can get rather warm...).

 

i bought one for €1000 its the HP dv7 1080 ( dutch modelnumber)

Anyone has this one with these specs??

 

Hi there,
how does the Brightview screen compare to the Ultra Brightview that you can get on the dv9700t?

I am getting one of these laptops mainly for photo editing work, so I am concerned about the comments regarding the rather dim and reflective screen on the dv7t...

 

there is a big difference. The dv7t's screen isn't as bright and the color is much cooler. I have some comparison shots I'll upload at some point. I am getting used to it, however, and it seems almost as if the not-as-bright screen is better for my eyes.

The only thing that is concerning me is the lack of fidelity in high-res pictures - I'm a photographer so I see a big difference. It's not a big deal unless you deal with color balance or color space representation issues on a regular basis.

Also, the viewing angle isn't too great. You may still be able to see the screen from an angle, but the quality is crap, unlike an Ultra BrightView where it looks great up to 175 degrees

 

Correct on all points. I, too, am a photographer and have found the
color fidelity of my 1280x800 dv5t screen to be less than desirable.
I use CS3 for all my photo-editing, along with calibrated Sony Trinitron
CRT.

Even when shooting in RAW and performing click white-balance on a
certified reference gray card in the RAW converter, I still have color
fidelity problems. I had to go into the graphics card properties and
do quite a bit of tweaking.

I won't even go into the viewing angle. Suffice to say it is about the
worst I've ever encountered - even worse than a lot of cheap-@ss
LCD monitors I've used.

Rob

 

I'm the Red Blanket photographer lol...

I noticed the color quality is slightly better in the un-infinity ULTRA bbrightview screen. The colors are amazing. You can raise the "vibrance" in your Nvidia control panel SLIGHTLY to enhance the colors. Do not over do it, otherwise everything will look bright and bleed horribly.

 

Thanks a lot guys for your comments. Will try to check it out at BB this weekend.
It seems the screen might be an issue. That's too bad, since the dv7t is so tempting!

 

Check out my Infinity screen comparison...


http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=292740

 

infamous: I just ordered mine yesterday, but I decided not to upgrade to 64 bit vista due to price. How much of an impact do u think this will have on my system? I don't plan on playin games as demanding as crysis, but I'd like to know the impact that stickin with the 32 bit will have..... I mostly play games and audio production.

my system:

- HP Pavilion dv7t Entertainment Notebook
- Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (32-bit)
- Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T9400 (2.53 GHz)
- 17.0" diagonal WXGA+ High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1440 x 900)
- FREE Upgrade to 3GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) from 2GB 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
- HP Color Matching Keyboard
- Intel(R) WiFi Link 5100AGN
- No Modem
- SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
- No TV Tuner w/remote control
- 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
- Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
- HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

 

Vista Business + Vista Home Premium = Vista Ultimate. It's a combination of both operating systems. If you're going to be playing games and basic video editing and sound editing, then it will be more than fine. There should not be any type of impact. I have heard some people complain Home Premium is a little slower though, but I am sure you could disable some computer services that aren't necessary.

Ultimate (64 bit) on the other hand would prevent you from executing 16 bit applications and some 32 bit device drivers. I haven't run into any of those, so I can't comment on that.

 

::resurrection Due To A Few Random Posts Regarding The Dv7t::

 

Infamous22 is this review aint official yet? It should be. Im configuring my Dv7 now, I hope the expresso color is still available.

 

The Black theme is a very nice change to the DV7 line. I think you'll like that most.

Regardless if its official, I still think this review is very current and informative.

 

isnt t series of intel chips slwer than the p series? i have hp dv4 1022tx.. its working amazing.. no problems so far.. and the gaming experience is awesome.. even got nvidia physix system working,, making gaming experience more real to life..

 

Hi I am thinking of buying this one and saw that the graphic card has been changed to this 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 4530 Is this as good as the nividia one.

 

Ghost, the "P" series is a more power saving processor. The "T" series is the full power series. Both processors are as strong as there specifications, but the "P" series can only get so far. The "T" series is usually superior.

Wiking, the ATI HD 4560 is comparable to the Nvidia 9600M GT not the 4530. The 4530 is decently weaker, so BE SURE TO GET THE 4560!

 

I currently own a DV9700 GT811AV. I'm intested in the DV7t 17". Here is my problem:

HP had to replace my first machine (DV9500) at 11 months when the display card failed. HP blew it and installed the wrong MB (84 key keyboard) and wound up replacing the machine with a DV9700. That episode took 23 hours on the phone to resolve. Now at 15 months, this one is having display issues - vertical pink lines when the bezel is moved, and the ballast is overheating. I've ordered parts and guess what - they are all on back order. The cable used in this machine is employed across a large number of models. Logic dictates they would be available - they are not (at HP or by 3rd party). Based on this and rants by owners on boards everywhere, I sense a problem with HP laptop displays. On HPs own site (where the majority of the complaints are posted), no one at HP will address the issue or the group. It reminds me of the case study on Dell a few years back - when one blogger's problem with a Dell machine snowballed and sales of Dell's consumer line suffered for years.

I'm concerned about buying another HP machine based on the simple perceived lack of quality. However, it is the only machine that I can configure to my needs that includes the ability to dock the power supply without spending $2,400 or more.

Once the shine wears off guys, what are your experiences with the DV7t? Past 90 days will I have buyer's remorse? Does anyone know if they have solved GPU heating issues and the facts that the display cable runs over the processor causing it to melt?

Thanks!

 

I am in the same boat. Really like the specs and look of dv7-1260. What conclusions have you come to on the DV7T?

 

I was very clsoe to pulling the trigger on the DV7T and then I decided to take a $49 gamble and replace my video cable. Fixed the problem.

The design of the clamshell pinches the cable where it enters the LCD case. So, $49 later (and a few screws in and out), no more pink lines on the screen.

I doubt HP has figured this out yet as the cable is used across a lot of thier product lines.

 

Wow! Congrat's; I'm glad that fixed it for you