Problems? See this thread at archive.org.
I got mine on my birthday on the 13th. Everything this time around seems great. Third time was a charm. My first two came with plastic. This one was with the sleeve. It's more of a thing that HP I think started for this model to make it more premium feeling. The sleeve is even branded. I was going to buy a sleeve, now I won't have to. Besides the computer was going to be in my bag and the sleeve was just for scratch protection. Its a tight fit though. Unless sleeves are meant to be that way? I've never bought any sort of sleeve for any of my electronics so... Anyways third times a charm :thumbsup:. Anyone have any opinion on whether I should buy accidental protection from HP or SquareTrade?
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Actually it would be a great idea to come up with a list of things everyone must test with their laptops during the return window of time.
Still waiting myself for the 20% coupon to appear
Looks like i'll be playing the waiting game for a long time
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It's like you read my mind. I ran it for just a few minutes and of course I did see some shadow of the checkerboard, but then I ran it on 3 other computers I have - 1-5 yrs old, and had about the same results. All of the image retention was, of course, gone within a few minutes. It's not clear to me that this is a test of anything except that extraordinarily bright, high contrast images left static on a bright, high contrast LCD screen for many minutes will leave a temporary "ghost." Seems to me they invented something decades ago to protect screens from having any lasting impacts from a single image burning itself into the screen: "screen savers!!"
I'm with you, oryan_dunn, as far as not being concerned that any of this is a lasting problem to be concerned about. I happen to feel the same way about "backlight bleed," something given all too much lineage in this thread (and many more like it, dealing with modern, very bright IPS LCDs). Like "image retention," I consider backlight bleed to be a condition in search of a dire warning when, in fact, it's an almost inevitable side effect of the ultra bright backlights in today's best laptop LCDs and for reasons I understand but can't explain, is a good bit more likely to occur with IPS screens. Being able to detect this even beyond the initial OS-launch screen gave me about 15 minutes of anxiety until I realized that: a) I'd owned that laptop (a 2010 Sony Z13 with a 13" FHD TN screen) for 4 years and had never noticed the "bleed" on actual content and, b) until this thread - god love it - got the better of my long-held belief that the whole issue of "backlight bleed" is hooey, I lived happily with the then-best-and-only 13" FHD LCD and with others since it - including the awesome QHD of the Spectre 13t which exhibits a very small amount of "backlight bleed" and, I now must acknowledge, "image retention," neither of which are to a degree that interfere with my enjoyment of the wonderful displays nor are they, I am unshakable in this conviction, signs of a defective screen or problems down the road.
(***Something I always forget to bring up when pontificating on this "pet peeve" subject: I owned an HP Elitebook 8560 with the "legendary" 10 bit color, IPS, "Dreamcolor" screen - a $700 option at the time (I didn't pay for it, or for the computer; it was a ridiculous over-correction for a defect-ridden product I had purchased from HP which they replaced with a workstation worth 2.5x what my problematic computer - a 2011 Envy 14 - was worth.) But again, I digress. The point here is: the "reference standard" HP Dreamcolor screen had the worst backlight bleed I have ever seen, before or since!)
Here are my suggestions for anyone feeling plagued by either of the two conditions, which shall go nameless henceforth from my posts: 1) don't even look at the splash screen as your computer is launching its operating system and don't look for imperfections on the edges or center of your lcd unless you have very distracting dead/stuck pixels or the rare case of so much light showing through the image on your screen that it can be considered defective and should be replaced; 2) Don't display an extremely bright black and white checkerboard on your screen for 15 minutes-ever!; it's bad for any screen and it's why screen savers were invented! and, finally, 3) If you don't want to experience any of these unavoidable (as of current technology) minor side effects of very bright, very high contrast, unlimited viewing angle IPS displays....don't get one, saving yourself lots of grief and around $500 in the process.
After all, 3 years ago this would have been a 1366x768 TN, 150 nits bright, 140:1 contrast ratio, blacks so bright they made grays look white, 26% of sRGB color gamut reproduced. But no backlight bleed in sight and no possibility of "image retention" - seeing the original image was so difficult, having the screen retain it was the last thing you worried about.
Why not just kick back and enjoy the marvelous display technology that didn't even exist until recently. Same goes for the rest of the attributes of the Spectre 13t - an absolute stunner, "category killer," as far as I'm concerned. Obviously, you shouldn't keep a computer with defects or one that displeases you, but in this thread I've observed more people obsessing over non-problems and worrying that there's a possibility that another brand might do something a little bit better. Relax. If you own this wonderful computer, pat yourself on the back. It's the best in its class by quite a margin, especially if you bought it with a coupon. If you're on the fence, go get it - now. Beat HP down on price as much as you like, as that's the way the game is played, but know that even at list price this is pretty much the best deal going in this market segment.
ALL of the above, IMO, of course.
Burd likes this. -
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Hey, for anyone finding two finger scrolling on their Spectre 13t (and other HP clickpads), I rediscovered a great "helper application" that was developed 4 years ago by someone who hated the HP clickpads of that era - which were little short of horrendous. It was especially developed for the first HP Envy 14, which was a great machine but one of the first implementations of the clickpad by HP and it worked terribly; I should know, I owned 2! This app/driver runs concurrently with the Synaptics driver and I can tell you after using it on many HP laptops over the past 4 years it is robust and does no damage of any kind. The author titled it: Two Finger Scroll Mac Hater Mod! because that first Envy 14 looked as much like a copy of the then-Macbook Pro 13 as the Spectre 13 looks like the MBA and he didn't want a Mac but wanted his Envy to scroll as well.
The only function to pay attention to is the Scrolling tab and you can set both speed and acceleration. You have to fiddle around with the settings of both of these in conjunction with the Synaptics settings for two finger scrolling speed and coasting and there are probably several permutations that will get you to a response that you are looking for. Personally, I find it works best when you turn the Synaptics scrolling speed to about 1/4 and the Synaptics Coasting also to about 1/4. (Can't swear that you even need the Coasting checked at all, but I know mine works great this way. Then you install and launch "Two Fingers" from the link above and just ignore all settings except in the Scrolling tab (don't think any of the others work, but they are Use At Your Own Risk). After lots of experimenting with the Spectre 13t (I've used this on at least 5 different HP clicpads over the years, and each requires different settings for desired results) I find the settings shown on the screen shot below works very well. If you increase the scrolling speed on Two Fingers much beyond the level shown, the thing will fly, but it's hard to control. Same goes for using the "Acceleration" at all.
So, in reprieve, download Two Finger Mac Hater from link above, extract the zip and double click the app and it will appear in your tray. Set your Synaptics two finger scrolling to about 1/4 speed and 1/4 coasting and set the TFMH to about 1/8 or so Speed and uncheck Acceration and use other settings as shown in the picture below. The only other thing to adjust is the General tab in which you can choose to "Launch with Windows" (recommended once you find you like it) and while there is also a Palm rejection setting on that tab I have never found it to have much if any effect. You can also exit out of it on that tab so you can quickly see what it's like with and without it launched. I find with these settings that two finger scrolling is smooth and as fast as you want it to be. I find it more useful to make fine adjustments on the helper app than on the Synaptics driver.
YMMV, but this tool has stood the test of time and I was not very happy with scrolling non W8 apps, including browsers until I remembered this utility and installed it. I hope it works well for you. Do report your results. Of course, if you're very pleased with scrolling as it is, there's no reason to try this, unless you're just curious. It's amazing how good some community drivers are and unlike, say, graphics drivers, this is benign, easily removed, and basically compatible with every HP clickpad I've ever tried it on. For all I know, it works with all Synaptics pads as well.
Enjoy!
Jeff
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Good for you, Raistlin! It's kind of bizarre the way virtually all notebook PC mfrs these days appear to be shipping out of two different warehouses: 1 with products that went through full QA testing and are essentially great pieces of work and 1 for all the rejects that, instead of returning to production to fix or scrap, they randomly send out to customers! It's not just the Spectre 13t and it's not just HP. Even vaunted Apple threads on Forums like Macrumours show the same thing, except that the problems with Macs are more likely to be prevalent in the majority of units shipped rather than applying only to a portion of its output of a given product line. In other words, the wifi on most MBs over the past 4 years has sucked, even in the most highly praised models such as the last couple of years of MBAs and the rMBPs. Apple has the exclusive ability to ship products with known defects and just gets away with it until finally enough people squeal that they get off their duffs and admit, then fix the chronic design/manufacturing problem!
I hope yours continues to pass your burn-in tests with flying colors - or, better yet, stable colors . It's been said quite a bit on this thread but it bears repeating: it appears that the majority of the Spectre 13ts have come off the line as very solid builds with a minimum of serious problems that can't be handled by some savvy advice from other forum members. I have felt guilty at times in hearing the problems of others when my first and only Sp 13t came through built as solid as a tank with perfect lines and near perfect performance in all areas. I was having significant trackpad problems until I finally found just the right adjustments to deal with "flying cursors" and then re-discovering the patch/utility program described in my post just above that has made my trackpad a pleasure to use with smooth, responsive scrolling. (If you are having any problems with your trackpad I can't recommend enough that you try the"Two Fingers" program I describe and link in my post just above.)
I hope HP will keep and expand the Spectre line to include the 13t and the all but stealth marketed 13x2 (hybrid 2-piece tablet/laptop with the 13t's DNA and to expand into 14" models, perhaps even to 15-17" models with quad core cpus and d-gpus to compete head on with the mac rMBP line.
(I happen to also own an HP "Envy 14 Spectre," an excellent piece of kit released in 2012 with SB cpus, refreshed in late 2012 with IB cpus, far better igps, better battery life and much faster SATA III SSDs. Regrettably, the model line seems to have been put out to pasture by 2013 and was overpriced by about $300 for the [short] life of the product line. I was fortunate enough to get a great deal on an open-box unit in early 2013 with a warranty through 2014 and wonderful build, keyboard, audio, 14" display and excellent port selection for an "ultrabook," with full sized gigabit ethernet and HDMI, 2 USB3s and mini DP for 3 monitor arrangement. The Envy 14 Spectre was the model with black gorilla glass lid,GG display and keyboard/trackpad deck that remains pretty much the classiest looking UB yet designed and a track record of excellent build and reliable performance. Kills me to have to part with mine, but the Spectre 13t was my upgrade model as they did not make a 14 with Haswell or a touch screen and now it is time for me to sell the Spectre 14 though I hate to part with it. I think we can all agree that 4 laptops are enough for a single person, no matter how busy he may be Hint: mine is for sale and you can feel free to PM me for details. I'm looking to get around $650 for a machine that listed for $1,495 and performs very close to the Spectre 13t with an i5 cpu except the top screen resolution isK 1600x900 - more than adequate for all tasks and far less reflective than the 13t's screen. End of commercial
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Keep us posted on your success, Raitlin! -
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People do it all the time and it often works though sometimes you strike out with the first person and have to call a second time. Also, I say this 5 times a month here, but talk to a supervisor! not a front line phone agent, and don't accept that person asking their boss. You have to speak directly to the person with the authority. In your case they might be developing a policy about this because the discount-on/discount-off status has been the story of this model's short life in the market and HP will surely know that most purchases presently ordered will be returned or otherwise re-ordered to get the bigger discount.
I'm still staggered by how cheap these have become, if the QHD screen is free now and the 20% discount is in effect. Some people get an additional 5-10% off through American Express and another 5% from Fat Wallet or one of these other buying coops. Without doing the math, it sounds like you can buy a top-spec config of the Spectre 13t for as little as $900 after applying all three discounts. That makes it $500-$800 less than every other competing high-spec premium ultrabook, including the MBA and, with the exception of the Asus UX-301, none of the other models have a single feature or a level of quality that materially exceeds the Spectre in any respect. I mean, some may prefer the aesthetics of one vs. another and, I guess, to some the extra 0.3 lbs the Spectre weighs is a real negative (I think it's not only insignificant, but as an owner I'm convinced that every ounce goes into a more solid build) but only the Asus has a beefier Haswell i7 and HD 5100 Iris - for $800 more!
I wonder if HP will lead a landslide on pricing in this market segment. I really don't see how anyone who doesn't have money to burn buys the Asus, Samung Ativ 9, Acer S7, Dell XPS 13, Toshiba Kirabook or even Sony Pro 13 (which is a different story too, as it is a good 0.5 lb lighter, but also full of quality problems and sold by a company who will exit the business in 2 months!). Whether HP can make money at these prices is probably irrelevant because the name of the game for now is market share and brand identity, and the whole hierarchy of brands of premium notebooks has done a backflip in the past 2 years. Consider: 2 years ago the king of the hill was Sony, with its 2.5 lb SVZ13, that had an Ivy Bridge quad core mobile i7 cpu, a 1080p TN screen and sold for $2,199 with 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD. Acer was considered the lowest of the low in terms of quality and performance, and it was widely believed that no Windows laptop - Ultrabook or otherwise - would ever come near the quality or design excellence of the MBA 13 whereas every model I named above, plus the Spectre 13, is arguably as well designed and made as the MBA, but all have FHD, QHD or QHD+ displays arguably making them more valuable than the MBA unless you gotta have OSX or you really need 11 hours of battery life on your laptop, because 8-9 just won't do!
When you look at the high end of the markets for these laptops and likewise for smartphones and tablets, they've all matured and new models are just getting sleeker and cheaper with no meaningful functional improvements from one year to the next. Consumer hardware technology badly needs Steve Jobs to come back from the grave and invent some new product forms and categories to make it worth the trouble to pull out your credit card and buy new stuff.
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HP Spectre 13T-3000
Discussion in 'HP' started by theboswell, Oct 19, 2013.
