HP Pavillion dm3 Notebook

youtube HD worked perfectly for me, downloading 3dmark now

 

Just ran 3dmark 06.
3d mark score: 1131
SM 2.0 score: 368
SM 3.0 score: 452
CPU: 1104

 

I picked up the dm3 this morning from office depot

Here are my first impressions:
-Solid notebook lid.
-right palm rest makes a bit of noise when i push on it. Not noticeable unless you are looking for it. Also you can see that the metal trim around the sides are not 100% perfectly edged on to the notebook but its its only noticeable unless you are looking for it.
-The screen is pretty good for a CULV low end computer. Almost as good as the 14z (The studio 14z default 1366x768 panel actually surprised me at its quality comparitively. Especially when i put it beside my 2408wfp desktop. I returned the 14z b/c the lid was just horribly bad quality and the webcam in low light sucked really bad. FYI, the machine i had was a refurb unit.)
- Good things about the Keyboard:
Feels almost like a desktop keyboard. The texture is like a super finely dimpled plastic (looks smooth). Slightly smoother than a Microsoft digital media pro keyboard. It has desktop like spacing between the keys.

The noise is very laptop key like but the travel is quite a bit more than traditional laptop keys. Looking at my desktop keyboard I would say the key travel is between 3/4 of a desktop keyboard. It makes it feel very good to type on. Good soft springy return. The size of the keys are actually bigger then my desktop keyboard.

Overall I feel this is a very good keyboard in fact I will say it is better than 14z(short travel, strange look), Vaio FW(keys too far apart), Vaio W(key size too small), Dell Mini 9(key size too small). Not as supple as a T400 though but this type of keyboard definitely has design potential. I wonder if they just took the Envy's design and threw it on here.

I also really dig the 14z like top row keys for F* and other function keys. Some ppl may hate that but i think it simplies the design and looks much more sleek.

Other cool things are the white leds they use for caps lock (lights up beside the key) and the num lk (lights up beside the key).

Now for bad things about the keyboard:
The up and down buttons are puny but usable.
No dedicated pgup/pgdn/home/end.

Other notes:
-Laptop does not go totally flat. Stop at around 130 degrees
-You can set VT on in BIOS (I'm going to check to see if VT is supported on L335)
-You can change F* keys back to normal and require function key to be pressed for special functions in BIOS
-There is an option called Fan Always ON that is enabled. I might play with this setting.
-Heat vent is on the right side of the machine.
-Heat coming out of the machine is not close to as hot as a 14z could get. It is just a bit warm. Left palm rest gets warm as well.
-The power cord plugs in and looks very percarious since it is plugged into the left corner and sticks way out. I prefer Sony W series like L shaped connector
-There is a white/red light beside touchpad enable/disable button. This button only works when you have booted into windows (requires software maybe?). Does not work on the password screen.
-Two white LEDs at the front indicated power plugged in and HDD access light
-Sliding power button on the right with white led
-Wifi button is has a blue led press button.
-C:\258GB of 285GB free (D:\12.6 Gb recovery partition) (320gb drive)
-ALPs touch pad. Better defaults and options than Dell studio 14z
-Touch pad has too much friction (mirror surface blech). Looks cool though.
- Battery looks like LI-poly (flat pack)

Thats all the comments I have for now. I'm going to proceed to try some video playback. The battery is charging right now so probably no batt tests.

The machine looks very very cool. Its not really shiny silver. It is more of a matte grain ripple thats greyish in color.

EDIT: Hulu HQ video playback seems to lag ever so slightly on full screen a bit. IF you maximize a popped out window it doesnt stutter. I 100% blame adobe flash.
Same goes with some Youtube HD vidoes. I reality, adobe really has to get their together and use GPU acceleration for h264 using gpus.

 

hrmmm ... that 3dmark06 is lower than the hp mini 311 (~1400) ... is that really correct?

 

That's about right. The Mini 311's Ion platform is based around the GeForce 9400M architecture, which rates at 1425 3DMark06, as compared to the HD3200's 1037. The G105M clocks in at 2272, but these numbers are all trumped by the HD4330, which weighs in at 2505. The GMA4500MHD is left in the dust with a score of 713.

(all benchmarks from notebookcheck.net)

 

So in your opinion, does the palm rests get uncomfortably warm? I have Dell Studio 14z, and the computer stays very cool (unless under heavy stress, and then it warms up a little bit). In your opinion, do the palm rests get hot enough to where you wouldn't want your hand resting on them?

Thanks for posting btw!

 

hmm, i thought 3dmark06 was dependent on both cpu and gpu, guess not ...

from what i can gather, the probook 5310m with sp9300 and gma4500 has a 41 whr battery that supposedly runs for 6.5 hours, while the su2300 supposedly runs 7 hours, so maybe the dm3 with sp9300 and 105 and 57 whr battery will run about the same? otherwise, the L625 with 4330 and SU7300 with 105 seem pretty comparable, but the su7300 is likely to have better battery life -- is that correct?

 

You are likely correct, although I wouldn't put much stock in the battery life numbers HP (or any other manufacturer) provides up front. You can usually figure out the actual, real world battery life by reducing the manufacturers' claim by about 20-25%, depending on usage.

 

Considering the SP9300 TDP is 10W more than the SU7300 (approx), and the G105M would undoubtly use more power than the X4500MHD, i would estimate half the battery life with the more powerful processor and dedicated graphics... so maybe 4-5Hrs!

 

SP9300 TDP is actually 15W more... SU7300 is only 10, SP9300 is 25.

 

I'm hoping it is that good... The DM3-1030 I picked up yesterday is probably going to my wife, I ordered a custom DM3 early in the week with the $200 coupon that is, shall we say, fully loaded:
HP Pavilion dm3t customizable Notebook PC
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor SP9300 (2.26GHz, 6M Cache) with 512MB NVIDIA GeForce G 105M
• 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 320GB 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)
• Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
• HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope
Estimated build date: November 2, 2009
No tracking number available

 

Hoping someone puts up a 3DMark06 scores for dm3z with Amd Turion + Ati 4330 graphics.... =D

 

Avatar26: That's exactly the same specs that I'm thinking of getting, except with a 160GB SSD (so similar battery life anyways)

 

I get 1627 with my HP Mini. The ~1400 scores that the reviewers are giving it is due to leaving only 1GB memory module in it. Once you increase the memory (thus increase the shared memory for the GPU) you get 1600+

Both myself and several other uses have confirmed the same thing.

The SM2 and SM3 destroy what I seen ^ there... The CPU score only appears slightly behind. I find this rather odd. I do EXPECT that the SM2 and SM3 scores for HD3200 lag behind the 9400M, but I expected the CPU score in that subset to destroy the Atom. Something that did not take place... Hmmm...

Edit ** To clarify - By all rights the CPU score did destroy the Atom. However, since the CPU score is perfectly multithreaded, it would appear (at least in 3DMark) that both processors core for core are pretty much the same. The Neo doing better due to the extra core. I would expect that a Dual Core Atom would give the Neo L325 a run for its money. It would still be slower, but only slightly.

Now, as for the GPU - The HD3200 is getting crushed by the Ion's 9400M. My SM2 score was ~600 and my SM3 score was ~700 on my Ion.

I have to believe that the HD3200 is either down clocking itself to conserve energy, or AMD has crippled it on Congo by just making it a lower core clock product. Those are the only two things I can think of. A properly clocked HD3200 (500Mhz) would only be around 10-20% behind the 9400M.

Can you try and test again with it set to 'max performance'? Can you also confirm the resolution that 3DMark06 is using. I believe it defaults to 1280x720 on a 1366x768 display.

 

This might seem like an odd request, but could any get some measurements of the screen on this thing?

From what I saw on the HP site the notebook is just a little over an inch longer than the DV2 while being the same width.
The DM3z is looking about like the perfect laptop... small, light, portable, but with a decent processor(though still a tad slow for my tastes) and a nice light video card... Though it's a shame it's missing an express card slot because of the side design..

 

It makes sense. The screen on the dv2 was a 12.1 in. 16:10 ratio (1280x800) display, giving it an effective height of ~6.41 in. and a length of ~10.26 in. The dm3 has a 13.3 in. display but with a 16:9 aspect ratio (1366x768), giving it a height of ~6.52 in. and a length of ~11.59 in. Even though the screen is now larger, the switch to a wider aspect ratio results in a much larger change in the length of the screen while the width remains roughly the same. That's why the dm3 only really increases in length while retaining roughly the same width as the dv2.

 

Avatar26, Thanks for all of the posts. When you get "your" DM3 with the SP9300, can you let us know about heat and fan noise?

I currently own the HP dv3z and the fan noise on this laptop with the AMD Turion X2 is driving me absolutely insane. The fan is audible in a room even when idling. My wife complains about how loud my computer is all of the time. I can't wait to pass it on to my kids. As a result, I don't want to replace the dv3z with an equally noisy dm3t. Let me know what you observe.

PLEASE NOTE: In case you missed it, my current computer is the dV3z, not the dM3z. I don't know what fan noise is like on the Athlon Neo X2s or Athlon Turion Neos X2s but I am curious. Any observations?

 

Thing is, if you bought the dm3 for gaming, you'd rather go for the 4330 because of switchable graphics. Just use the 3200 for typical stuff w/better battery life and 4330 for gaming. It's the best of both worlds. As such, I care more about battery life when on the 3200 than anything else.

As for the dm3t configured with Intel graphics, it makes me shudder that such a chip even exists.

 

hey does anyone know for sure that the hp dm3 has switchable graphics between the ati 3200 and 4330? i did an online chat with a sales rep and i think she was saying it dosen't have switchable graphics. (i don't know if she understood what i meant)

ok i spoke with another rep just now. she said it dosn't have dual vid cards aka crossfire x. and then i asked if that means i can only choose btw 3200 and 4330 and she said yes.

are you guys sure it has dual graphics?

 

probly won't be sure until someone actually gets one, which from the looks of it wont be till around the 28th

 

well the 5310m has the same sp9300 and a lower-power 41 whr battery and lasts 6.5 hours, and the dm3 has a higher-power 57 whr battery which would scale to 8 hours. the only question is the graphics card on low use.

 

Yes, we are sure it had switchable graphics. I've read it several places. HP reps often don't know what they are talking about... unfortunately...

When it's plugged in, it automatically switches to the HD 4330, but when you unplug it automatically switches to the HD3200 to lower heat and battery consumption. I've read that somewhere. I can't think of the source off the top of my head.

EDIT: I've read it several times, but I found one of the sources right here. http://www.itechnews.net/2009/09/15/hp-pavilion-dm3-notebook/ ... found another one here: http://www.productwiki.com/hp-pavilion-dm3/

 

Hi:

I just picked up this computer at Office Depot, too. I turned off the Fan Always On setting in the BIOS, but I'm still getting the fan. Have you tried it with any success?

Thanks,

PL

 

Here's an article about dm3 and other thin-and-lights in a comparison review...

dm3 ranked 3rd

 

Is the laptop plugged in or on battery?

 

Don't worry. That's just Gizmodo.

 

Good to know. Dankje.

The Macbook like weight puts me off buying for now. I'm looking for < 1.5kg. DM1 and 1810TZ are high on the shortlist.

That was before the latest drivers and Windows 7.

Now performance is fine.

 

They also rated the Intel version in that comparison. Plus some of their info is wrong (screen resolution). Now if they had tried out the AMD version that cost only $499, I think their conclusions would have been different.

 

The fan's on regardless of AC or battery. It's not super loud, but I'm coming from a MacBook Pro which only seems to fire up the fan if it's really working hard for little while.

 

My 2006 MacBook Pro seems to double as a space heater since I upgraded to Snow Leopard. Oh well, I'm probably going to be selling it and making a hackintosh anyway.

 

Check the Win7 Power Options and change the fan setting to Passive instead of Active and see what happens.

 

My DV4 has a fan setting in the bios, it was defaulted to always on. Not sure if it's in the DM3 settings but it helped mine a lot.

 

I unplugged my dm3z for about 10 minutes and it was stuck at 100% with no indication of time remaining. It took almost 4 hrs to charge it up to full from around 50%. The power brick was warm but not hot during that time. The machine overall does get warm but never hot in regular use. The area under the left palm rest is not the hdd heat. If you look at the bottom of the machine you will see that the hdd is under the right palm rest. the memory is near the middle. I guess the cpu/gpu is in the region. Why it is over there and the exhaust fan being on the opposite corner is a good question.

 

Sorry, another basic question:

I have the DM3z from Office Depot with Windows 7 Home Premium. The ToolTip for the battery icon (in system tray) only shows percentage remaining. On another laptop with Win 7 Pro, it shows the estimated time remaining, too. Does anyone know how to turn that on?

Thanks!

 

I was actually wondering this too. I am having the same issue.

 

I believe Win7 needs time to "learn" the battery discharge rate of your system before it will offer a time estimate.

 

I believe that's a feature of certain batteries. From my knowledge, HP's batteries as of the recent few models haven't supported it. What kind of laptop is reporting?

By the way guys, if you want to extensively test and get solid values/charts for your battery usage, the program 'BatteryMon' is really great.

 

Same here... I'll do some tinkering and see what I can figure out. May have to do with some of the HP proprietary software that is pre-loaded. I removed a bunch of it, but not all... Never sure what you are going to break by pulling some of the software off...

The fan on my DM3z is on often, but i have been beating it up pretty hard to push it to the limit. When not under load, the fan is not noticable unless you are listening for it. Under load, it is audible but not loud or distracting.

 

The real test is if you'd feel safe putting the laptop "on your 'nads" so to speak (assuming you are male).

 

Could you be a little more specific?
Under most circumstances, temps won't be an issue. If you are really pushing it, though (constant CPU load of 60%+), then it will fry your juevos.

On another note, I am curious to hear what others are experiencing with their new DM3s... Somebody else join in the action here...
Battery life, video performance, benchmarks... please, share, it's ok...

 

I'll do my sharing once I receive it! I ordered direct. And by the way, I think you all who got yours from OD are so lucky. I keep wondering if I made the right decision by going with Intel. I keep wavering! Part of me wishes I could have gone with AMD. I normally am so sure of my decision, this is the first time I have wavered on a laptop.

 

Thank you for the clarification.

 

That's why I ordered the SP9300 custom build.
Covered my bases and now I get to make the wifey happy with a brand new machine that she likes better than our ASUS 1005HA netbook.

 

Well I knew I didn't need the SP9300's power. For me it's the best performance with battery life. But I'd take better performance if it's a low hit on the battery. I really want 5 hours of normal usage. That's my target amount. Thinking back to it, I think the AMD with the switchable graphics could probably get close to the 5 hours I seek. But I definitely would go Intel if I knew the power was better. I don't need better graphics, but better overall Windows performance.

 

Looks like I noone else has tested their battery life...

Anyways, I purchased the DM3-1030US (AMD Neo w/ HD3200) from Office Depot)

Once opened, wiped and installed Windows 7 Pro 64-bit from MSDNAA. Everything works right out of the install. I've charged the laptop overnight and had the laptop tested in the morning.

As a general testing method, I decided to just keep the laptop on in lowest brightness, wifi and bluetooth on, while looping through youtube videos (had it play through a 100 video playlist on youtube). Various software installations was also made during this test (word, adobe cs3, visual studio) through network installation so this should be stressing the wifi and battery more.

So far the battery lasted a solid 4 hours until it died (asked to plug in).

Just to give you guys an idea.

 

Hmm... so the CPU was under constant assault from YouTube and installing software and it lasted 4 hours? Sounds pretty good (though if the brightness were higher, that means this thing would be a champ at aiming for maximum battery life).

 

What's the heat like? Can you post an HWMonitor screenie? I'm dying to know the sort of temps the components are running at.

 

Yeah this is my first time buying an HP and I've read somewhere that HP hides their heat sensors and battery timers (no drivers for them). Correct me if I'm wrong I'd like to know this myself if there is a way to get the timer.

I haven't tried using SpeedFan to see the temps but I will try to get some readings out of it. Overall, heat is more than manageable.

I don't have an exact measurement but I can say that I can stress this laptop or play games (long duration) on it on my lap comfortably.

Performance wise, I expected the Neo and HD3200 to perform much better but being able to play games such as WoW or L4D on native res and on lowest settings (AA = 0, enabling AA = unplayable).

This is coming from a previous Macbook (C2D 2.16Ghz Merom) user. I sold the Macbook because it had 5 hours of battery life but dropped down to 1.5 hour batt life when playing a youtube video. Also overheats to 61*C constantly.

Overall, glad I got this laptop cause build quality = 5/5, batt life = 4/5, performance = 3/5 (got my desktop to play games), looks = 10/5 (serious ).

 

Here is a great little program that will show all your temps, if you could give it a go and post the results it would be great!!!!

HwMonitor

 

Hope this helps!