HP Pavillion dm3 Notebook

you doods wanna see some r/l pics of the dm3?
here you go:










i had quick hands on with it.

I must say, build quality is top notch, comparable to the stiffness of them apple alu notebooks, i dont like the touchpad tough, its like the dv2's.

i can't say anything about heat, but seeing that this thing has an aluminum case i'd say that the surface's will get pretty hot, esp. with a maxed out Intel spec..


btw, those pics are taken with a Nokia N86 8MP

 

Wait a minute... that looks like a Best Buy! Are these computers on display already???

 

ZOMFG YES!!

since yesterday noon!

They also have the envy and the others, except the tx2

i didnt snap pics of the envy as there's enough hands on pics of those already..

 

I'm guessing it is the cheaper versions with the amd/3200 and intel/4500 like I've seen online right?

 

Yeah, you'll never see higher configurations since they cost a lot more and not enough people want them.

 

yep, the ones at best buy are the AMD versions.

 

Office Depot is selling the DM3-1030us (AMD Neo L335) for $499.00 after $50 mail in rebate. We are talking netbook pricing here.

 

Yeah, I was able to convince a Staples manager to let me see the DM3z. Completely agree with what creepinshadow said. The build quality is top notch. Screen hinge is sturdy. the brushed aluminum looks absolutely gorgeous. He wouldn't let me power it no though. As good as the pictures looked, seeing it in person was on a whole other level. These things are gonna sell like hotcakes.

Now for the painful wait for HP to deliver mine.

 

Wow. DM3's are omfg niceeeeeeeeeeeeee.
What are the specs on these?

 

Wow, that's a really nice looking notebook. For $499, that's a great deal. I know myself, though. There is no way I can buy it without the 4330.

Creepinshadow, how was the weight? It says 4 lbs, did it seem heavy compared to say a netbook? I wanted a thin and light, but I can't deal with atrocious graphics a la 4500mhd. I need something with more 3D oomph, and I'm willing to compromise and get something a tad heavier.

$699. More than I wanted to pay, but I can't pull the trigger on it without getting the better graphics option. Decisions, decisions.

 

Went to BestBuy at Potomac Yards, Alexandria yesterday and they had the brand new DM3 with the AMD, 320HDD and Wifi-N for $549. It was powered on and you could play around with it.

Hands down the best bang for the buck notebook out right now. It feels and looks like it should a $1000.. and the specs are there to back it up.

I fell in love with it so quickly in person, that I was actually seriously trying to purchasing it right there from the store, and cancelling my order from HP which has a build date of 10/28. But the guy said the notebook was just for show.. you cant actually purchase it until 10/22.

Hours later I was glad I couldnt either. After I had some time to think about it. I paid $649 for my AMD configured DM3 and will recieve $162 cashback. Thats $487. That includes Wifi N + Bluetooth and the external USB DVD burner.

The one in Best Buy would have been $62 more.. WITHOUT bluetooth and the external drive. Sucks to wait a week longer to recieve mine from HP.. but a much better deal overall!

 

Get the AMD with ATI Radeon HD3200. Thats $549... If you chose the base AMD option you are already talking much better gpu and saving a $150 bucks. And because its a thin and light.. chances are you wont be doing heavy duty computing on it.

I cant beleive so many people are ignorning the AMD option. Unless you are after superior battery life and weak graphics (which would cost $100 more for the SU7300 + 4500).. or upi wanted superior processing power at the cost of weak battery life ($250 more for the SP9300 + G105). The AMD is the clear cut winner. It provides a nice inbetween option thats atleast a $100 cheaper.

I plan to use my laptop to work on a few MS Office documents, play all sorts of videos (DVD rips, youtube HD, Hulu, etc), play music, sync/charge my iPhone, update my fantasy football team, surf the net and generally carry around with me during the day. And I love the fact bluetooth is built in for easy internet tethering as soon as AT&T offers it on the iPhone.

I couldnt be happier with the AMD DM3 combination. It fits every need I have at an incredible price.

About the most CPU intensive task I do is unzipping archived DVD and BluRay rips. And I have no problem waiting an extra 20 seconds for those to finish because I didnt buy the most powerful CPU. Since Im a XBOX360 COD4 freak and this laptop does have a decent GPU.. theres a chance I might install it (and a couple of cheap games from Steam) on it just to give me something else to do when Im bored to death on the plane, train, bus or stuck somewhere for the day. I have no doubt the base AMD configuration I ordered would still run COD4 @ 30fps with a rez of something like 1024x600.

 

you got it, these ones do not use socketed CPUs, so the motherboard/CPU is all one part, just like on the dv2 or the mini notebooks. Does kind of nerf upgradability but I would say that 99% of the laptop owners out there would never even think about swapping in a faster CPU.

 

Does the DM3 come with the original 1366x768 screen resolution, or has it been nerfed to a 1280x800? I spoke with multiple HP sales representatives, and they all claim the latter. Can anyone who's played around with the laptop already contribute to this claim? For me, I need all the pixels I can get, and that lower-res screen is a dealbreaker

 

I went discrete graphics with my previous laptop and realized I played games on it maybe once every few months. At most.

Considering you get as good or better CPU power with intel, and better battery life, and gaming is completely unimportant to me on a notebook, Intel is the much better decision. Even if the price is a bit higher... 10 hours or 6 hours? 1.66 times longer battery life on intel is worth it.

I ordered the DM3t w/ SU7300 & 4500MHD w/4GB DDR3.

 

The hd3200 will still have the advantage in HD playback.

 

Does anyone know for sure if the dm3z has switchable graphics with the ati 4330. As in, it will run on the igp(3200) when on battery and run the discrete 4330 when on AC. I see nothing official on HP's website.

That is the whole reason i went with the Ati 4330 in the first place, ive got my fingers crossed OCT 28th cant come soon enough.

 

My biggest concern for graphics is HD video. Considering these machines have an HDMI port and can be configured with a external BR disc player. Playback of 720 & 1080p videos was extremely important to me. And that main reason I didnt go with other CULV offerings like the ACER 1810T or ASUS UL30.

Bingo!



To each his own though, thats the best part about custom configs. You get to choose what you need and what you dont. The guy that ordered the SU7300/4500MHD may not have a need to playback HD video.

 

Shopping for a new laptop, for work, personal use, etc. Mainly used for MS applications and email, but also for solid modeling CAD design (solidworks). But...portability is key as I carry this laptop daily, and often travel also.

I had decided to get the dv3t, configured as follows:
* Espresso Black
* Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
* Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor P7350 (2.0GHz, 3 MB L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
* 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
* 512MB NVIDIA GeForce G 105M
* 13.3" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP LED BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)
* LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
* Webcam Only
* Intel Wireless-N Mini-card
* No Included Mobile Broadband
* Backlit Keyboard
* 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
* Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
* HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope


But after checking out the dm3, I'm really tempted to give up a bit of processor for improved graphics and improved portability. I also like that it will come with Windows 7 pre-installed. Cost is nearly the same. I can live without the optical drive.

I've checked the processor comparisons on notebookcheck.net, and while the dv3t is clearly the more powerful laptop, I almost think the improved graphics capability of the dm3z might be more important for my CAD design work. Otherwise, it's basic word processing, email, internet stuff.

Any thoughts on the true performance difference between these machines for applications described? For comparison I'm replacing a 4 year old HP laptop, that handled the CAD stuff fine, so pretty much anything *should* be an improvement...

Thanks!

 

The 4500MHD is more than capable of handling HD...

 

ok i think im gonna buy this laptop.

is this a good deal?
http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/328626/HP-Pavilion-dm3-1030us-13-3/

does the processor have 512kb or 1mb? and does it make a difference?
and is the harddrive 5400 or 7200 rpm?

 

How do I get 25% Bing Cashback. When I go to bing site and add HP Direct it shows me only 5% cash back. Is this an expired deal?

And can someone tell me if dm3t has an optical drive and/or eSata port?
Thanks. I am considering between dm3t and Acer 1810tz.

 

Would this be a good deal?

HP DM3t Custom Build:
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor SU7300 (1.3GHz, 3M Cache) with 512MB NVIDIA GeForce G 105M
4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
13.3" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP LED BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)
Webcam Only
Wireless-N Card with Bluetooth
HP Color Matching Keyboard
50% OFF!! Extra 6 Cell Polymer Battery
Mobile Stereo Earbud Headphones (1 pair)
External LightScribe Super Multi 8X DVD+/-RW w/Double Layer

Shipped for ~$900 US after instant rebates/coupons.

 

how does the AMD Athlon Neo Dual-Core L335 Processor compare to the 1.3GHz Intel SU7300 Core 2 Duo Processor in terms of performance and power usage/battery life? basically, which is better.

 

You're going to have to wait a few days for reviews on that one.

 

oh, my bad. i didn't know they were new processors. i thought they already exist on current laptops.

 

Does this thing really come with a 16:10 screen?

It looks like a pretty nice laptop, too bad I already have the DV2 or I would totally buy one of these.

 

What's the expected battery life on these machines? (AMD Neo with HD3200) I'm hearing 6 hours on one side and 4 hours on the other.

Also looked up revews for the DV2 which should have similar specs and found only 2 hours on those.

Need some clarification before I pull the trigger!

 

We should start seeing in depth reviews soon, probably Oct 22nd. If not ill be glad to let you guys know what kind of battery life im getting once i receive mine. Im hoping for 4.5-5 hours.

 

I am not any good with batteries, but the dv2 comes with a 6 cell lithium ion, and the dm3 comes with a polymer battery, not sure if that could be causing the difference, but yes the dv2 had suck for battery life.

 

It actually uses a display with a 16:9 aspect ratio with a resolution of 1366x768 (not 1280x800), just like the dv3t. The same error still exists for the dv3t configuration options as well. No idea why it's still not fixed. It's probably just an outdated description in the computer that got assigned to the display's part number, and just that they have yet to update the description when they switched over to 16:9 displays. With the exception of the dv4t and the Mini 110, all notebooks in their product lineup now use displays with a 16:9 aspect ratio.

 

Can one use the HDMI slot in the same way as a normal RGA monitor slot?
it would make life easier just to use one cable for audio and video, and hopefully the picture quality would be better too.

 

Yes you can provided your monitor / tv has an hdmi port.

 

Can anyone who has access to a DM3 at retail pull the battery and see what it is rated at? XXXX mAh, xx.x V, etc...

 

The parts store listed it as a 57 Whr 6-cell battery.

 

Actually the 4500HMD will play everything the HD3200 plays.

But the Intel CPU has slightly more power for HD Flash.

The AMD options is better for people who care about games. People that care about battery life are better of with the Intel option.

 

I'm about to jump on the DM3 bandwagon as well. Looking at getting the DM3-1033TX config with the Intel SP9300 CPU + G105M graphics.

Hoping to order it tomorrow and then fire it up for a review ASAP!

 

...no, the hd3200 is atleast twice as fast

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Graphics-Media-Accelerator-4500MHD-GMA-X4500MHD.9883.0.html

http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Radeon-HD-3200.9591.0.html

 

I know, that's why I said it's better for gaming.

But for HD playback, the 4500HMD will play everything the HD3200 plays.

For flash playback, which is still CPU accelerated, the SU7300 beats the AMD.

 

Hey dynamius, I know this seem out of no where, but do you have Bios file F.07 for Dv3t-2000 still? I just got mine and I want to downgrade to F.06 but I'm just worried I won't be able to go back if i want to. I am having the same screen flickering when viewing dark colors. HP's website doesn't have the F.07 file anymore. I would appreciate it if you let me know if you do.
Thanks

 

I'm not sure how it will work with flash 10.1 though, like it will be gpu accelerated but i'm not sure if there will be any difference between the 2 in that regard.

 

I really don't know much about the performance of these low-voltage CPUs.
I really don't do any gaming or video editing... but I do multi-task l. I like to have iTunes open for my iPhone, Winamp streaming some music, Firefox chugging along with a bunch of tabs, while writing up a report in Word... would the SU7300 handle this? I would think it would, but I really hate it when things start opening slowly and such... I'm running a Celeron M450 right now and it handles things pretty well, although it does get slow and things just don't feel as "quick" as they did on my C2D T7250 2.0ghz.

Anyone have any idea how the SU7300 would fair?

I'm thinking of opting for the SP9300 or whatever with the 105M, but I want to see how the battery life and heat is on that... if the SU7300 can handle my tasks with basically no heat and great battery life, then that might be the ticket.

 

It will do fine. With your usage memory and hard drive will be a bottleneck before the CPU will.

 

Anyone know if this laptop will get a 9-cell battery? HP doesn't offer an option when ordering.

 

I spoke to HP sales support today and they shared a couple of interesting details with me:
6 cell 5026mAh battery is the only one planned for the DM3 series.
With higher end Intel CPUs with Geforce graphics, the 105M discrete graphics chip is the only onboard GPU (no switchable graphics).
Also with higher end Intel packages, they are supposedly utilizing the Intel 5100 AGN wireless card.
The WXGA LED backlit displays for this series are indeed 1366x768 resolution, not 1280x800 as stated on the website. They are working to correct the mistake on their site.

I bit the bullet today and pulled the trigger on a custom build. While Acer and ASUS have some nice-looking CULV solutions, at the end of the day the HP DM3 seems like it has more solid construction and with the current coupon/instant rebates, I was able to get the following config shipped to my door for under $900 US:

Intel Core 2 Duo SP9300 2.26 GHz
4 GB DDR 1066 (up to 8 GB)
320 GB 7200 RPM w/ impact sensor
13.3" WXGA 1366x768 LED Backlit Display
NVIDIA GeForce G 105M 512MB
10/100 Ethernet & 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth
6 cell 5026 mAh battery x 2
1.3 MP Webcam
Mobile Stereo Earbuds (to reach the threshold of the coupon requirements)
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit

 

Avatar26, This looks exactly like what I'm getting ready to purchase. Which coupon did you use?

 

The one you can find in the HP Coupons section of this site.
Instant rebate from HP of $150 and coupon for another $200 off...
Now I just need to stop second guessing myself, been hunting for a thin and light for months now... Hope this is the right one!

 

Does anyone know what the Fan Noise is like? Is the fan always blowing even on idle, or only on load?

 

Bummer. Seems like the $200 off coupon has expired. Didn't work for me...even when configured just like yours....Nice timing on your order!

 

I'll report back on this thread once my lappy arrives.
No need to have this in 2 threads though...