HP Pavillion dv6t SE or QE Customization

HP Pavilion dv6t-7000 Select Edition Entertainment Notebook PC

• Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• 3rd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3210M Processor (2.5 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.1 GHz)
• NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GT 650M Graphics with 2GB GDDR 5 video memory
• 8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• Microsoft(R) Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word/Excel(R) only, No PowerPoint(R)/Outlook(R)
• FREE Upgrade to 750GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
• NO mSSD Hard Drive Acceleration Cache
• No additional security software
• 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery - Up to 6.0 hours of battery life +++
• 15.6-inch diagonal HD BrightView LED-backlit Display (1366x768)
• SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
• HP TrueVision HD Webcam
• 802.11b/g/n WLAN
• Standard Keyboard with numeric keypad
• HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

For $754.99

OR

HP Pavilion dv6t-7000 Quad Edition Entertainment Notebook PC

• Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• 3rd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3610QM Processor (2.3 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache)
• NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GT 650M Graphics with 1GB GDDR5 memory [HDMI, VGA]
• 8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• Microsoft(R) Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word/Excel(R) only, No PowerPoint(R)/Outlook(R)
• 1TB 5400 rpm Hard Drive
• NO mSSD Hard Drive Acceleration Cache
• No additional security software
• 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery - Up to 6.0 hours of battery life +++
• 15.6-inch diagonal HD BrightView LED-backlit Display (1366x768)
• FREE Upgrade to Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner
• HP TrueVision HD Webcam
• 802.11b/g/n WLAN
• Standard Keyboard with numeric keypad
• HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

For $824.99

I'm trying to compare prices with performance towards multitasking and playing Guild Wars 2 on highest settings smoothly. The only real differences between the two laptops that I can see are the processor, graphics card, and the hard drive.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

 

The difference between the graphics card and hard drive do not matter and should not be critical points in your decision, here's why: The extra 1GB in VRAM between the 650Ms provide no significant difference over the other; don't worry about the amount of VRAM but do make sure you get the 650M over the 630M.

The HDD is an easy aftermarket upgrade - You can definitely find a better price for possibly even more memory and it's pretty simple to install; this is especially important if you're planning on making the switch from an HDD to an SSD. In fact, there are a couple sales on some SSDs going on right now that I could link you to if you wanted. If you're sure about getting this laptop and making the jump to SSD, buy the SSD now because you never know when another sale will pop up.

So that just leaves the processor as your determining factor between the two. I can see that you want to play Guild Wars 2 on high settings, and since MMOs require a lot of tasking for multiple objects, I think the i7 would be the way to go. In terms of future uses, some might argue that the i5 will be just fine for gaming down the road and that the GPU is more than likely going to be your bottleneck. While the latter is true, keep in mind that some games are starting to utilize the processors a lot more (Such as GTAIV). So if saving the $70 is that critical to you in the short-run, get the i5; if you can spare the extra cash, then you could be saving yourself in the long-run because even though we can only speculate the use of more processing power/cores in the future, there's still a possibility it could happen.

 

Right now I'm leaning towards the 2nd option.

However, there are some customization options I can play around with.

1. NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GT 650M Graphics with 1GB GDDR5 memory [HDMI, VGA] Is fine for my needs correct? There's no need to upgrade to 2GB GDDR5 memory? An upgrade from 1GB to 2GB would cost $50.

2. 1TB 5400 rpm Hard Drive or 750GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection? They're both free with the laptop.

3. There's a 32GB mSSD Hard Drive Acceleration Cache for $50. Should I go for it or can I just install an SSD by myself later when the laptop arrives?

4. Backlit Keyboards. Are they worth it?

 

1) Yes, save yourself the $50. There is virtually no difference in performance by getting more VRAM. You can search around Google or here to find agreeing statements.

2) It's up to you honestly; I felt more comfortable with the HP ProtectSmart because I could easily find the 1TB HDD as an aftermarket buy so I took the protection software. If you would rather have an extra 250GB though, go for it.

3) I've heard a lot of people having problems with the mSSD, you can look in the DV6 Ivy Bridge Owner's Thread located in these forums. If you don't mind switching your HDD for an SSD then I see no problem in getting the SSD later.

4) They're very nice, that's for sure; mainly for aesthetics though, as I don't think people who buy it are those who can't type in the dark and they use battery quicker. Again, entirely up to you.

 

I can either get 750GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection free with the laptop or 750GB 7200 rpm Hybrid Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection for $10 more. Is the extra rpm worth it? How much would it help? And would it make the laptop a lot hotter/noisier?

 

I think its worth the extra 10 bucks. Thats what I did on my recent dv4t-5100. (Comes in thursday!)

 

A 7200rpm drive will make the laptop a lot snappier than with a 5400rpm. A hybrid drive, even more so. Well worth $10.