HP Spectre 13T-3000

Just called HP and they agreed to price match it! Total price was $1069.27 for the Core i7 w/ 8gb Ram and 256gb SSD. (I did not get the WIFI AC or qHD screen). Original Price was $1435.69 including tax. I had paid $1330.28 with the $100 coupon code. But the 20% coupon code for Cyber Monday is wayy better. Total saved was $261.01.

 

Hmm... i recently ordered it with the $120 coupon code that expired a few days ago but now there's the 20% coupon. Would it be possible for me to argue back the price?

 

That is a great deal! I would have waited til this weekend if I didn't have time constraints...

 

I would. They won't let you use both, but the 20% coupon will be a better deal. I just called and they are crediting me ~$200 back based on the 20% off coupon.

 

Definitely call in and get the 20% credit difference. If you're on the fence, order now! I was one of the first to purchase this ultrabook(but it was delayed twice!) and now I'm kind of glad. They wouldn't honor the 20% off and refused to credit me the difference since I ordered on October 17 and received it November 19. Luckily, I'm still in the 21 day return/exchange period so they recommended I return it to take advantage of this promo.

For essentially the same price I paid, I'm getting the fully loaded model(I was able to upgrade to QHD and i7). Now that I've held it in my hands for a couple weeks, I know I'm going to love it and the suspense caused the mystery of whether I'd like it or not is gone. Yes, I do have to wait 3 - 4 weeks before I get it back in my hands.....but I think it will be better in the long run for sure. And to think, I was going to meet someone to sell my old Asus laptop tomorrow!

 

Ok I called back. They weren't able to give me a refund but they allowed me to cancel the order and then do it again with the new coupon code.

 

For those who have theirs already, I am having a problem with the touchpad. Is the "3-finger Flick" to the left and right working for you? Also, the left control zone is not working like the manual says. It says you can tap the center of the left zone and the apps you have opened will pop up on the left of the screen and then you can scroll through them. Mine doesn't do that. I'm not sure if it's just my computer or everyone's is not working. There isn't even a three finger flick option in the HP touchpad control center.

I'm also getting the crackling noise when the screen turns off but the laptop stays on.

 

I don't seem to have any three finger flip, but the two finger swipe works as expected. And it also flicks to a scroll which is stopped by a finger press. Not sure what three finger vs two finger is supposed to do except a three finger swip from the top is supposed to close the open application. (I think this only works with Win 8 applications,) The left touch pad zone works as described, but only for Win 8 applications. And you have to press and hold in the middle of touch zone, not just give a quick touch. A list of icons comes up and you can scroll, using the left touch zone. I still do not have any clicking noise from my keyboard. If it continues to aggravate you, you should return it for replacement or repairs.

Good lick, Jim

 

I called HP today to ask about the current 20% discount. I ended up getting a $90 rebate on my system which was delivered on November 14th. And an additional $9.99 rebate for shipping which they charged me on the original order. So, a phone call was worth $99.99 on a unit that was ordered on October 23rd. And that is on top of the original $50 coupon discount.

Good luck, Jim

 

Just ordered one
Can anyone provide more info on the battery life?
And I am curious how good the keyboard is for people who need to do a lot of writing (e.g. papers or programming)
Thanks

 

Can any Spectre 13t-3000 owners comment on (a) its battery life and (b) whether or not the battery is easy to replace once it starts to lose significant charge capacity?

 

That was a great tip, Jim. HP is pretty awesome. The allowed me to apply the 20% coupon code to my order instead of the original $100 off I had. One thing I discovered is that you want to call on a weekday and have talk to a supervisor.

 

That was likely my problem as I ordered in October as well, called in Sunday night and didn't get anywhere. Since I purchased mine when that 20% coupon wasn't valid, they wouldn't honor it. Regardless, I'm actually happy to upgrade my specs! Interestingly, I have one Fatwallet check already coming in the mail and now another one is pending for $57.50 with my new purchase. Not sure what will happen there!

As far as those who are asking about battery life. Haswell does it's best work with low power use and idle time. It seems like this laptop can idle forever! I personally have the screen brightness up near 100% and was seeing a typical 5 hour battery life. It really depends on what you're doing. Streaming a CPU intensive video will kill it a lot faster than checking Facebook or email. Overall, given the size and weight of the machine, I'm quite satisfied with my mix of activities and screen brightness.

After having returned my first one, I realize how much worse the audio quality is on my old Asus that I'm temporarily using again.

 

Can any of the users tell me if the touchpad doesnt interfere with typing for a long time?
Also does it overheat ? and how well does it do with games?

 

I did a battery test on my usual use profile which is mostly light duty, Email. Web. board games, Angry Birds, etc. I kept start and end times in a log. After about 6-7 sessions the screen went black. The total time for one 100% charge was 8 hr 47 min.

I am a hunt and peck typer, so I can't comment about lots of typing by a competent typer.

Good luck, Jim

 

Thanks Jim, that sounds awesome!
My current Thinkpad lasts me 1 hour on lowest brightness

 

I ordered a smart buy Spectre 13 last monday. Got $100 off offered plus talked them into another $100 off plus another $20 off after delivery to match previous code PC1723 active last week. Today I found the 20% off PC999CM code and called HP tonite- fully ready to cancel my smart buy order and reorder a matching customized laptop. To my surprise- HP will credit me the additional $91 difference on my current order. NICE JOB HP!!!

 

Out of curiosity, is the touchscreen gorilla glass or anything, or have any scratch resistant coating?

 

Initially, I looked at the Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus (no AC Wi-Fi!) and the Asus S7 after dismissing the previous Spectre due to its screen. Then HP upgraded the screen with the newer 13t-3000. I ordered it under a $120 off coupon. Then HP did the 20% off cyber Monday and sent me an email. I'm currently in England and it came in while I was sleeping. After I got up I tried calling HP but of course they were closed due to the time difference. After taking care of some business I finally got back to HP and explained the situation. Customer service immediately sent an additional discount to my account bringing me up to the full 20% off even though the sale had technically ended. Do you think this would have happened with Company X or Y? There are computer manufactures out there who are famous for NOT providing customer service. Bottom line-there's more to buying a computer than the naked cost of the hardware. I've always had great luck with HP gear and HP customer service. Once again full marks to HP.

 

Any of you lucky owners looked at cases, sleeves etc yet? Any recommendations?

 

It's amazing how many people badmouth HP for everything from product quality to "horrid"customer service! While I have had my share of bad products I have always found Hp to be the best in the business by far in terms of purchasing, returns and extending discounts, etc. And I'm inclined to think that this model is a winner and the value of, well, maybe the decade!. (Strange because the so vastly overpriced their last exceptional Envy Spectre - the 14 Spectre, a gorgeous and perfectly performing model overpriced by at least $300 and not discounted for too long. I got two open box ones for $560 )

One word of warning to any with no experience dealing with HP Tech Support, after the 21 days are up and you have a problem and you OWN it. Not that they turn nasty, it's just that they're not very competent or useful. Mostly they tell you to reflash the BIOS and if it doesn't fix your problem, to send it in for service. My advice: get on site service if you can and make heavy use of your forum buddies to troubleshoot.

Just a word to the wise. I'm so excited for all of you and can't wait til you get your computers and tell about them. I'll have to wait for the next sale Best, Jeff

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Agreed! This is my first HP purchase and they've been more than willing to go the extra mile to get me a good deal without hassle. Every person I've spoken with has been courtesy and helpful...not to mention easy to understand on the phone! Once I get my old one swapped for the upgraded model, I will likely write them some rave reviews! So long as this Spectre holds up, I will put them on my short list for the next purchase.

Now if only they could get that leather case in stock. It matches this laptop so well!

 

Hi guys... just stumbled on to this thread.. from some other deal thread...

I was looking for a ultrabook deal.. all this Black Friday... I didn't find any good.. so I got an old Samsung ultra book 3rd gen i5..which I didn't open yet.. as I am still hoping for some good ultrabook deal.. even though the price that I got this ultrabook for around 521$'s after tax.. seems pretty good .... the specs aren't that good and future proof... but this HP ultra book seems promising.. but its too costly... right now.. I am able to apply PC999CM ... is there any other code.. that you guys are having... which can bring this price down.. and may be get me into buying this...

TIA

 

Reading this thread and online videos have pretty much convinced me to pick up the Spectre 13t-3000 (well, that and the 20% discount... ). I'm trying to decide between the i5-4200u and i7-4500u (both with 8GB ram). I'm willing to pay the extra $100 (or $80 after coupon), but I was wondering if anyone knows if the i7 consumes more battery than the i5? Battery life is pretty important to me, so I'd be willing to take the performance hit if there's a noticeable difference between the two (i.e., if the i5 is more efficient on average than the i7).

 

Yay! I just ordered my Spectre 13t-3000! After reading this thread and comparing this to the other models, I have decided to go with this baby. I also fiddled with one at my local Best Buy and thought the design was fantastic!

The other Ultrabooks are simply too expensive IMO... the closest competitor being the Yoga 2 Pro, which came in a close second for me.

Here's my configuration and price:

i7-4500U
8GB RAM
QHD Screen
256GB SSD
802.11ac

Discount: 20% using that coupon
Pre-tax: $1147.99

I also went through FatWallet and right now the CashBack offer is 5%! So that should get me back about $55-60 depending on whether the CashBack is pre or post tax.


If I went with Yoga Pro 2, this could have been my config:

i7-4500U
8GB RAM
QHD+ Screen
256GB SSD
802.11bgn

Pre-tax: $1179.00 (went through StudentRate.com for extra discount)

The HP is definitely a better deal and I like the design a lot more since their innards seem to be pretty much the same. Also, I have purchased HP in the past, including my previous two notebooks and they have been awesome.

Edit: Oh and I believe the HP version includes Lightroom, and from what I heard, it's a great photo editor


DON'T FORGET TO USE FATWALLET for that extra 5% cash back!!!

 

Ordered my Spectre 13t-3000 last night. Went with the i7, 8GB, 256GB, QHD, and 802.11AC and the 20% coupon. Shipping date is December 19, but I'll have to wait a little longer. I'm military overseas and since HP doesn't have a FedEx plan that ships to FPO/APO addresses I have to get it to my parents and have them send it over. Looking forward to it.

 

I am seriously thinking about purchasing either the Spectre 13 or the Yoga 2 Pro. How "Champagne" and "Truffle Brown" is the laptop itself? In most customer photos it looks more silver than champagne to me.

 

Hi, can someone who has actually received and used the pc let me know how loud the fan is and whether it is on all the time vs. on sometimes, hardly ever comes on...also whether or not this thing gets hot? Much appreciated!

 

My i5 never even gets warm. And I never feel any warm air coming out of the vents. I put my ear up to the rear vent and I did hear a very low sound from the fan. And a couple of times I actually heard the fan for a few seconds before it went back to "ear against the vent" volume.

Jim

 

I ordered mine earlier this week, but Best Buy has the base model in stock, and they opened one up to let me look at it. Only the top and the bottom are truffle brown, but its very dark. It's almost more of a black from a certain angle than brown. Overall it looks really nice. I played around with it for a while, but I really couldn't get a great feel for the control zones they have. Very nice looking overall. It took a handful of seconds to boot up. But to anyone who wants to see it, Best Buy is the place to go.

 

Wow, amazing that it took so long for BB to get this model in. The Spectre 13 is an underground success! I suspect this forum had a lot to do with that

 

Has anyone looked into sleeves? The dimensions of the 13t-3000 are listed as 12.75 x 8.66 x 0.59 in. The MacBook Air 13" is listed as 12.8 x 8.94 x 0.68 in. So I'd think a MacBook Air 13 sleeve would fit at 13t-3000 pretty well (maybe slightly large). I'm tempted to take my 13t-3000 to an Apple store and try one out

 

I notice the model number is HP Spectre 13-3010dx Ultrabook vs 13t-3000. And if you Google that model number, you will get a ton of hits.

Jim

 

I have definitely decided to purchase this - as soon as it goes on sale again - or if I can talk a phone sales agent to give me the black/Cyber Wednesday thru Sunday price, lol! So here are remaining questions: why go for the QHD if it:
a) adds cost b) reduces battery life by, driving 4x the amt. of pixels c) will not see much content in Windows that optimizes it for min. 2 years?. To be a bit more specific, has anyone seen the two side by side on this or any other Windows 13"laptop? Also, does the QHD downscale to 1080p and still look as good as it would in native? I'm also not sure about the i7 cpu as I know I don't need the 10% performance increase but I'm clear whether you get a better IGP with it vs. the i5. (?)

Any thoughts appreciated. I'm really looking forward to the newest crop of buyers to get theirs. Keep those cards and letters coming! Jeff

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Well, I'll have that report back very soon as I shipped my FHD i5 machine back for a QHD i7 after BF sale came up. I too love battery life, but I tend to manually limit the max processor clock if I really want to save battery with my own custom power plans. As far as QHD goes, that's what I'm really eager to compare. I don't QHD affecting battery life much on competing models, so I figured it would be worth a shot plus increase it's resale value(after the BF 20% off sale, I got this for less than I paid for the i5/FHD). I won't have mine for a couple weeks, but I can't wait to compare!

Also, not sure if it's still going on but I used the 20% off along with 5% off on Fatwallet! Definitely check it out. Saved me an extra $57.50

 

What was the sale price ?

 

Fully loaded with 20% off(PC999CM) it's $1,147.99 BEFORE taxes. I paid $1216.87 after tax - $57.40(fatwallet) = $1158.60 total

• Windows 8.1 64
• 4th generation Intel® Core™ i7-4500U Processor + Intel® HD Graphics(For 8GB Memory)
• Onboard 8GB DDR3 System Memory
• 13.3-inch diagonal Vivid QHD Infinity LED-backlit Display (2560x1440) Touchscreen
• 256GB Flash Solid State Drive
• No Additional Office Software
• Free Upgrade to 1-yr McAfee LiveSafe service™
• 4 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
• No Internal DVD or CD Drive
• Backlit Keyboard
• Included 2 Year Warranty
• Webcam and Microphone
• 802.11 AC WLAN and Bluetooth® [2x2]

 

For those who have already received the computer, what kind of power adapter does it have? It looks like HP still uses pretty big, clunky power bricks with three prong plugs. That makes traveling abroad a bit more difficult. Or have they finally joined the 21st century with a more elegant design like Asus?

 

Welcome back into the fold! You should definitely talk to customer support and see what they can do.

I don't think turning off/on pixels takes much power, at least not compared to the backlight, but I could be wrong.

Instead of being future proof, QHD is kind of future expectant. I hope to have this laptop for 3 years, in that time I'd hope to see apps handle the resolution better, but then I will always use some old apps and they may always be funky.

That's a really good question about 1080p content on a QHD screen. I nosed around on the internet and there isn't much to go on. From what I gathered, 720p content will look great (since it's an even factor of 4), but for Blu-ray 1080p content, every 3 pixels of Blu-ray data has to be scaled to 4 pixels on the screen. You would think this would create some visual artifacts, but then the pixels are quite small so I don't know.

The i7 question is a really good one. I just couldn't help myself so I got it. It might be up to 20% faster, but 10% is probably a better estimate. I don't really have a good answer as to whether it's worth it or not. I'm a sucker for "+1" marketing...

 

Thanks.. this code is still working.. I am unable to decide.. whether to just get a 1440p monitor and keep my old generation ultrabook Samsung Ativ 5... which was the only one.. ultrabook BF deal which caught my eye... and of course as fry's was a local store to me..I could order it ... unlike few other ultrabook deals which might have showed up on BF....but the price I paid for this Samsung was ~520 after tax... the only thing which would make me get this HP ultrabook is it is future proof... and by future proof.. I mean new 4th Gen Processor.., 1080p resolution... ( I am not sure if 1400p is good for 13".... these 1400p resolution ultrabooks.. seem to just copy apple's mac book resolution.... as I am not sure.. if this resolution can hurt the eyes on a small screen... never saw a 1400p resolution screen.. not even a monitor.. but hoping to get a monitor soon...) could order a 1400p monitor right away and also have some extra cash in hand.. if just use this Samsung ultrabook ( which I haven't opened yet.. and it has a 720p resolution ), order a new 1400p monitor instead of getting this awesome HP ultrabook..... confused....

any suggestions.. will be appreciated..

TIA

 

Please share what you find. I think a lot of people will be looking for sleeves for travel. I'm sure you can get one from HP but it is likely more expensive than a generic one that at least has the proper dimensions.

 

That's a good point...and what wattage AC adapter does it take/come with? When configuring mine I saw two different options (65 and 90W I think)?

 

Thanks for the quick and valuable input Jake. I forgot to mention that I was considering the i7 and QHD for resale as well. When you say you used the 20% off, when did you close that deal?.

Oh, and one more question: what is the overall the sceen - either one? I am a fanatic on brigtness, contrast, color gamut and color accuracy, increasingly less so than of resolution, which I truly believe needs be no better than 175 PPI (1080p) for a 13"screen on a laptop.. I have long railed against laptop mfrs for their crummy 1366 × 768 screens and was spoiled years ago by the 900p and 1080p screens on my l3" Sony Z's, but it turns out that it was their (for the time) unrivaled brightness, contrast, color gamut that made them stand out so from all the others. With no professional reviews or lab measurements the subjective impressions of owners here are the "experts" on the subject.

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Yes.. and i must say the market is lacking in this size. I am rocking a Michael Kors case, and honestly its worth every penny. Amazon seems to be out now: Amazon.com: Michael Kors Electronics Mac Book Laptop Computer Case MK Signature Vanilla: Clothing

Some may not like this bling, but then again it isn't their money is it. This case has plenty of extra room inside for usb dongles or my cell phone. The outside is leather-ish and the zipper while not YKK is still high quality. I personally use this as my primary means of storage and transportation. If I need additional devices this case slides nicely inside a larger gear bag. Very pleased with this item.

 

This was documented in my unboxing photo shoot: hp spectre 13t3000 unboxing - Imgur Who is going to find a link for this so I can order another?

 

Welcome back into the fold! You should definitely talk to customer support and see what they can do.

I don't think turning off/on pixels takes much power, at least not compared to the backlight, but I could be wrong.

Instead of being future proof, QHD is kind of future expectant. I hope to have this laptop for 3 years, in that time I'd hope to see apps handle the resolution better, but then I will always use some old apps and they may always be funky.

That's a really good question about 1080p content on a QHD screen. I nosed around on the internet and there isn't much to go on. From what I gathered, 720p content will look great (since it's an even factor of 4), but for Blu-ray 1080p content, every 3 pixels of Blu-ray data has to be scaled to 4 pixels on the screen. You would think this would create some visual artifacts, but then the pixels are quite small so I don't know.

The i7 question is a really good one. I just couldn't help myself so I got it. It might be up to 20% faster, but 10% is probably a better estimate. I don't really have a good answer as to whether it's worth it or not. I'm a sucker for "+1" marketing...

 

Thanks for the link. Bummer HP hasn't put any thought into this. As far as I am concerned the Asus design that puts the circuitry into a small (3x3" or so) block with just two prongs that fold down is a billion times better for portability and travel.

Not sure I understand your question. Can't you just order another from HP like everyone else is doing? Or does the discount code only count once per person?

 

Yeah, the small block with the prongs that fold flat is very handy. But, have you ever stayed in a motel/hotel where the only outlet was behind the dresser and the small block wouldn't fit? I have and I would rather have a plain plug on the end of a cord.

The AC adapter that came with my Spectre 13t is small enough for easy travel. But I would have preferred a plug with two prongs rather than the three that it has. Mine is 45 watts and measures 3 3/4 x 2 x 1 inches. And it seems to charge very fast until the last 10%. Then it seems to slow down and take quite a while to get to 100%.

Regards, Jim

 

I just went looking into ordering some extra AC adapters, and they're 50% off if you order them separately off the HP website instead of ordering it with your computer. I just bought a 90W slim adapter with a car adapter for $65. That's the cheapest I've been able to find anywhere.

 

I was just browsing Bestbuy.com.. and found this... I believe its the same spectre lineup and this works as both ultrabook and tablet.... too exciting.. have to go to a local BB and see.. if they have it in stock to try it out... sad.. that it is only in i5 not in i7...