HP Pavilion General Question

Hi there,

I'm just wondering, should I buy an HP Pavilion dv6-3073CA. It's got amazing specs with the perfect price I was looking forward for, but as I keep reading in this forum is that A LOT of people return their HP products, from things like bad keyboards, extreme heat etc.

I am going into university this upcoming Sept. and want this laptop mainly for doing school work and watching multimedia videos/listening to music, and do not tend to use this machine for video games at all. Should I buy this laptop, or go with another laptop, Asus K52jr, as I haven't found any issues regarding that laptop.

BTW, the exact HP laptop I'm looking at:

Costco - HP Pavilion dv6-3073CA, Bilingual Core? i5-430M 15.6-in. HD WLED, 4 GB, 640 GB

 

If it suits your purpose I would go ahead and buy it. Costco offers a 2 year warranty incase anything goes wrong, and imo, most of the people returning dv6's is because they want it to be perfect. Keyboard flex and heat are really in the eye of the beholder (to a point) and any laptop you'd look at buying could have those issues(not that its likely to happen).

 

You may wish to take the complaints with a grain of salt. Very rarely do people post that everything's great, which tends to skew the perspective.

 

I would go ahead and purchase it. I recently purchased a dv6tse, but I was hesitant after viewing these forums and hearing people complain about heat and slight keyboard flex, but I'm now realizing most of these people are just scrutinizing every little detail and are, well I hate to say it, but picky. Also, the issues I'm hearing about with the dv6t are heat and fan noise, but there are quite a few people saying they're not having those issues at all.

Now that I think about it though, it makes sense; most people are only going to post if they're having problems with their laptop, or have a question, or are impatiently waiting for it to arrive, so the resulting posts are a bit skewed IMO.

 

And if you're buying at Costco, where you got three months to return it without a restocking fee if you don't like it, you'd have plenty of time to test drive it to see if you likey.

 

I love mine, it's absolutely perfect. No complaints, except that the touchpad is well...touchy. I do recommend getting an extended battery however. But I love the feel of the keyboard, the screen is nice and bright, I can't hear the fan at all when doing normal usage, and the heat is negligible.

Does anyone know if I can purchase the costco warranty if I bought my laptop directly from HP, and how much of a hassle it is to deal with them, if any?

 

What are the downsides of ordering from Costco?

 

I actually bought this laptop two weeks ago

I wouldn't say there's extreme heat. I find it gets gets very warm at the top left side of the laptop (where the vents are) if I am using the dedicated video card and plugged into AC. The metal finish does get warm as a result, but it's not scalding or burning (I wouldn't say it's different than my other laptops from HP or Dell). Plus, I use it on my desk.

My suggestion: Try it out. If you can, buy it from a local Costco and you will save $20 (mine was $999.99). The only similar model out there is the one from Future Shop, but it's $100 more, and the hard drive is 750 GB versus Costco's 640 GB, and Costco has a 2 year warranty versus Future Shop's standard manufacturer 1 yr.

If it's just for basic stuff, you might consider the dv6-3023ca Costco offers, which has the AMD Turion X2 chip. It has the same video card, a 500GB 7200rpm hard drive, and it's "champagne" painted finish versus the Argento finish. It's also cheaper than the one you're looking at.

 

The keyboard and trackpad aren't the best feeling ones out there, but you get used to it. For schoolwork and watching videos and music, it'll work just fine. I'd be surprised if it gets hot at all. As others have mentioned, you also have the awesome benefit of Costco return and extended warranty policies. I use mine for gaming and light video editing and it does get pretty hot.

 

Alright, Thanks guys. I think that I am going to get this laptop, looking forward to having an amazing laptop- my first one too !

Just to make sure again, this will play movies/tv shows at a good level? I tend to watch A LOT of TV on my computer, and am just wondering if this should be sufficient for shows.

 

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