*HP dm3 (1XXX series) Owners Lounge*

I got an HP Pavillion dm3-1035dx this morning! Awesome lappy! I will expand this post with all the information you provide in this thread.

Model dm3-1035dx (US$550; Best Buy, et. al.) Features

• AMD Athlon Neo X2 1.6 GHz dual-core processor L335
• 13.3" LED widescreen display with BrightView and 1366 x 768 resolution
• 3GB DDR2 SDRAM
• 320GB Serial ATA hard drive (7200 rpm); Optical drive not included
• ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics; up to 1470MB graphics memory and 128MB display cache memory; AMD M780G with 64MB GDDR2 sideport memory.
• Built-in webcam with microphone
• Altec Lansing audio
• 4 high-speed USB 2.0 ports
• 5-in-1 media reader with support for Secure Digital, MultiMediaCard, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO and xD-Picture Card formats
• HDMI output
• Wireless LAN (802.11a/b/g/n)
• 10/100Base-T Ethernet LAN with RJ-45 connector
• Weight: 4.2 lbs. and measures 1.2" thin
• 6-cell lithium-ion battery
• Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64-bit OS preinstalled
• Software included: Microsoft Works; HP MediaSmart; Adobe Acrobat Reader; Cyberlink DVD Suite; 60-day trial version of Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student Edition.
• Rated battery life: 6 hours AMD/10 hours Intel

Model dm3-1030us (US$550; Office Depot, et. al.) Feature Differences

• 4GB DDR2 SDRAM
• Bluetooth

Other Available Configurations/Models/Benchmarks

• dm3z -- AMD Athlon Neo L335, ATI 3200 - PCMark Vantage 2,339
  http://www.studentbuyingguide.com/2009/10/hp-dm3z-review/
• dm3t -- Intel SU 7300, Intel 4500MHD - PCMark Vantage 2,874.
  http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptop/hp-pavilion-dm3t.aspx

A complete list of all available models (29!) can be found at HP's Web site.

Windows Experience Benchmarks (Processor)

• AMD Athlon Neo X2 Dual-Core L335 Processor (1.6GHz, 512KB L2 Cache): 4.2
• Intel Core 2 Duo Processor SU7300 (1.3GHz, 3M Cache, 800 MHz FSB): 4.1
• Intel Pentium Processor SU4100 (1.3GHz, 2M Cache, 800 MHz FSB): 4.0

Pros

• Great LED screen
• Chiclet keyboard with normal shift-key sizes
• Trackpad supports swipes and pinching/zooming gestures
• Solid body construction, no flex
• Brushed-metal “Modern Argento” finish on lid, palmrest; aluminum bottom
• No discernible fan noise
• Fast AMD processor
• USB connectors on both sides
• Price: AMD $550/Intel starting at $650

Cons

• Trackpad is smallish but manageable
• Trackpad keys are too narrow
• Power-on button placed on side
• No Bluetooth (HP Pavillion dm3-1035dx only: available with BTO)
• No built-in DVD drive
• No Express Card slot
• Weak speaker volume
• Some report lower-left-side gets warm due to CPU/GPU
• Trackpad is considered slippery by some. Dimensions are 3-5/16" x 1-9/16" for those who want to apply a SkinStyler.

Links
Gizmodo rates dm3 third-best thin-and-light: http://gizmodo.com/5387914/win7-laptop-battlemodo-thin-and-lights-for-under-800
HP dm3 site: http://www.hp.com/united-states/campaigns/thinandlight/dm3.html
Laptop Mag full review: http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptop/hp-pavilion-dm3t.aspx
Laptop Mag video review: http://blog.laptopmag.com/the-hp-pavilion-dm3-promises-brushed-metal-long-battery-life
Newegg customer review: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834157044
PC World preview: http://www.pcworld.com/article/171955/hp_pavilion_dm3_oneups_the_dv2.html
Student Buying Guide review: http://www.studentbuyingguide.com/2009/10/hp-dm3z-review/


Photos
HP dm3 Side:

​

HP dm3 Front:

​

 

Congrats, I'm stuck playing the waiting game Benchmarks and impressions would be much appreciated!

 

Cool. Which processor did you get? How is the fan noise? is the fan blowing all the time like even when it's idling or only on load?

I'm deciding between the dm3 and the Probook 5310m with the intel SP93000 processor and the fan noise is a key factor in my decision.

 

I got mine too at office depot for $499. Looks really awesome. Yet to play around with it.

Finally its Goodbye dell for me.

 

I will have mine soon enough I'm sure. I can't wait but guess nothing else I can do but wait.

 

LED screen is awesome, it's unquestionably the best screen I have ever used, deep dark blacks. No fan noise that I notice, but let me open 15 tabs in IE to verify that! The HP set-up software was outstanding and uses a cool 60s-like font that made me chuckle!

 

Play with it! Want to hear your thoughts, I saw this one early this morning and was impressed. The AMD Neo processor had very snappy performance in Windows 7 and actually scored a better Windows Experience CPU score than the SU4100 and SU7300 laptops I saw. SU4100s came in at 4.0 on average, SU7300 at 4.1, and Neo L335 at 4.2.

 

I just ordered it too and it's set aside for me for store pickup. Used bing and got 10% extra off at Office Depot!

 

Did you actually get the bing cash back? Generally when there are already coupons and savings used in the deal, the cash back rewards dont work. Sometimes it shows up at Bing account as pending and it may not be honored later on. Please confirm.

 

First time I've heard this. I went with the AMD L335 simply because of price. It also helps a little that I've built a PC with an AMD Athlon back in the day.. and have a laptop from 2004 that still works well with its Athlon XP-M processor.

I couldnt find real reason why the Intel offering would perform $100 better.. except for battery life. As long as the AMD can give me 5-6 hours use.. (enough for a coast to coast flight) then that absolutely fine with me. Finding out the AMD scores as good, or better, than the Intel offering makes me even happier with bang for the buck purchase!

Performance between the 2 chips was the only question mark I had left.

 

In fact I was initially tilted towards purchasing the acer 11.6" with that SU4100. However, the fact that DM3 offered a discrete graphics card tilted my case strongly in favor of DM3.

 

That I won't know for $60 days right? I'm completely new to Bing so I just assumed it works. Bing claims there's 10% so who knows. I sure don't. I just tried that's all. Either way, it's still cheap.

 

You should be able to check in your Bing.com cashback account and see the amount listed there as "pending"

 

Did you actually pick one up? I have an order pending for a heavy duty custom DM3, but debating if I should snag the Office Depot deal for a little of half the price and get longer battery life to boot...
For anyone who picked on up, what are you seeing on the battery life?

 

I must agree on the extra $100, it's not worth it. When I bought my dm3 using the bing cashback, it ended up only being a little more expensive, about $50 instead of $100, and so I went with the Intel. Due to better battery life and better hard drive, especially for only $50 more.

 

I was just at Best Buy and Micro Center (I picked up an SSD drive for my desktop..). While I was at Best Buy, I got to see the dm3z. It extremely sharp looking. I felt the palm rests (the laptop had been on all morning) and the palm rests were completely cool with no heat whatsoever... !! I took some pictures with my camera on my iPhone. I love the port selection, SD card reader, and the fact that I can get switchable graphics... ahhh... I'm in heaven... except for the touchpad, which sucked... the dm3z is absolutely amazing.

When I went to Micro Center, I found the dm3t there. It had the SU4100 processor in it, and they wanted $699 for it. The first thing I noticed was that the palm rests were very warm, which shocked me because it also had the Intel 4500 integrated graphics card, which I thought shouldn't have produced that much heat. Either way, this convinced me to buy the dm3z instead of the dm3t, since heat is a big deal for me, plus the dm3z is cheaper, and has a better graphics card by about 15-20% which is switchable to integrated graphics for better battery life, etc.

I placed my order for the dm3z as soon as I returned home. I got the:

HP Pavilion dm3z customizable Notebook PC
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• AMD Turion(TM) Neo X2 Dual-Core L625 Processor (1.6GHz, 1MB) w/512MB ATI Radeon(TM) HD 4330 Graphics
• FREE Upgrade to 3GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) from 2GB DDR2 System Memory (1 Dimm)
• FREE Upgrade to 250GB 5400RPM 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
• Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
• HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope
Estimated build date: November 3, 2009
No tracking number available

 

I saw the DM3-1047CL at Sam's Club which is basically the 1040 with a 500GB hard drive for a little bit less $$$. The palm wrests were not warm at all, even after running a few programs simultaneously (web, games, and HP pre-loaded garbage)... Maybe there was something wrong with the one you saw or maybe the guy who was drooling over it before you got there was all riled up with excitment...

 

I certainly wouldn't have expected the Intel to run hotter, especially considering the Intel combo supposedly sucks down 30% less power. Hard to say if that was just a bad unit though.

 

Here's some videos I found about the dm3:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfABPcT9iLg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdoZy4pcn3Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shzqDyL505Y

yeah, I'm right with you guys on that. I wouldn't expect the AMD to run cooler either, unless maybe they moved some parts around for the intel configuration, which wouldn't seem likely...

It is possible someone had just done something intensive on the dm3t before I got to it. Either way, the dm3z does run strikingly cool... which is great news!

 

I've had so many issues with bing/cashback. i've made 2 purchases and ALL had to be "investigated" to get it to even show up. it might be the work computer blocking stuff. i do go through bing each time to link me to the store. i usually give them 2 days for it to show up, like their website says. then i submit a dispute and copy/paste my order confirmation. that's all. i won't have an answer about bing for you guys for a couple days.

 

Purchased one today at office depot.... and I am extremely impressed.

I have never been a big fan of HP computers (because of their overly glossy plastic design), but this dm3 is extremely impressive. The brushed metal looks, and feels great in person. Build quality is extremely solid, with no case flex... pretty much anywhere. My only gripe with the design is the touchpad, but it really is a striking machine.

 

Could anyone tell me the tilt angle of DM3's screen? Is it still limited to 130 degree as with other HP notebooks? I've found it is quite uncomfortable to work on notebooks with 130 tilt angle. Thanks.

 

I, too picked one up from OD at lunch today. Haven't gotten a chance to even open it since I had to rush back to work.

OD gave a lame attempt at a runaround on the price. They had it listed on the tag as $100 more. Pretty easy to convince them to price match when I loaded the page showing $499 after rebate directly on their floor model. LOL!

They only had two in stock at this store in OC, CA. They might go fast ladies and gentlemen!

 

The first Bing cashback purchase I made was my DM3 this weekend when they were running the 25% cashback promotion with HP. And yes, I had to get mine "investigated" by Bing support to show up too. Considering it was almost $200, the darn thing better go through.

 

I had the exact same experience in ATL. They had the price listed for 599. Then I showed them what was on their web and the guy admitted it was a mistake and honored the 499 for me.

 

For those who have their DM3s in hand, please post your observations on battery life, bloatware, any benchmarking you can do, etc...

Not too keen on the Radeon HD 3200 graphics, can anyone try running some 1080p videos on it and see how they perform? Know this isn't a gaming chipset, but with the HDMI out, it would be great to see this thing handle H.264/VC-1 decoding smoothly.

The OD deal is probably going to get a lot of play in the next 24-48 hours, it sure feels like a superb deal if the Neo CPU can hold up its end of the bargain on longevity.

 

Same here, never a fan of HP since the heyday of their RPN calculators, but this is one great lappy!

 

in one of the videos posted, the HP guy talks about a quick boot for websurfing/etc. Anybody try that yet? How is it?

 

After having a netbook for about a year, it feels great to be back on a real laptop.

 

Placed my order on Sunday with 25% bing.com cashback.

$739.99 +72 CA tax +8 recycling fee
= $820.14 - 185.00 Bing CB = $635.14 Suhhhweet!

HP Pavilion dm3z Entertainment PC
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• AMD Turion(TM) Neo X2 Dual-Core L625 Processor (1.6GHz, 1MB) w/512MB ATI Radeon(TM) HD 4330 Graphics
• 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• FREE Upgrade to 250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
• 13.3" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP LED BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800) *Resolution on the website is incorrect I hear
• Webcam Only
• Wireless-G Card

Only thing I regret is probably not getting a Wireless-N for an extra $25. I would change it, but that means getting the machine a week later plus no Bing CB.

Hoping the switchable graphics will yield at LEAST 5 hrs battery... so excited for this to arrive!

 

I ordered mine on Sunday for the dm3z as well. w/ %25 Bing Cashback

Turion Neo X2 w/ Ati Radeon 4330
3GB of Ram (ordered 4gb from newegg)
250GB HD
Wireless N

772-181 BingCB= $591

Im also hoping for 4.5-5 hours of battery life. If i actually get 6, Ill flip out.

 

Guys, post battery life especially on the HD 3200 (though I think everyone who bought it stock has it). I'm also guessing that none of the stock options had the switchable graphics option of the HD 4330, but we'll get ot that later.

I did check it the dm3z at Fry's today. Made me wish mine would get here faster. I'm ready to ditch my MacBook Pro!!!

 

I'm going to be unboxing mine later tonight, although I have a sneaking suspicion the wife is going to claim ownership of it. Will post pics, observations, etc... over the late night hours.
Would be a bummer if I needed to get another...

 

Thats interesting. My wife aint with me right now and will return tomorrow. And she doesnt want me to open it before she comes.. coz she wants to share the excitement So I am stuck till tomorrow So I am sitting here looking at the box currently working on my lenovo.

 

I picked up the intel unit at Sams... faster ram, larger and faster HD... to early to tell how well I'll like it.

Bluetooth? I can find it on this... and I mssing something?

FYI spec from sams page

1047cl
Get up to 10 hours of life for extended use with the standard battery. Break free with the performance you need in a design you’ll love (without the designer price tag). Set yourself apart with an ultra-thin design in colorized brushed aluminum. Get greater durability with lightweight aluminum-magnesium casing.
Experience full-screen views of HD TV and movies with the 16:9 13.3” diagonal display. Enjoy your photos and videos on HD TVs with the HDMI port (cable sold separately). Chat face to face with the HP Webcam and add fun special effects.

Relax with extra protection from file loss due to drops with HP ProtectSmart. Enjoy easy access to your favorite entertainment with HP MediaSmart.


Processor and Memory:
Intel Pentium Processor SU4100
1.30GHz processor speed
2MB L2 Cache
4096MB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm) Max supported =8192MB
Accessible memory slots: 2
Hard Drive and Multimedia Drives:

500GB (7200RPM) Hard Drive (SATA)
Optical Drive: Not included
Audio, Video, and Graphics:

Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD (shared) with up to 1695MB total available graphics memory
integrated digital microphone
integrated speakers
integrated web cam
Data, Fax/Modem and Wireless Option:

Integrated 10/100BASE-T Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 connector)
Intel WiFi Link 5100AGN
External Notebook Ports:

5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader for Secure Digital cards, MultiMedia cards, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, or xD Picture cards
4 Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0, 4th port shared with eSATA
1 headphone out
1 microphone in.
1 VGA (15-pin)
1 RJ-45(LAN)
Keyboard, Pointing Device and Display:

Touch Pad supporting Multi-Touch gestures. With On/Off button and dedicated vertical Scroll Up/Down pad
13.3” Diagonal High-Definition(8) HP LED BrightView Widescreen Display (1366 x 768)
Brushed Aluminum finish in Modern Argento & HP Webcam with integrated digital microphone
Power:

65W AC Adapter
6-Cell Lithium-Ion battery
Operating System:

Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Dimensions and Weight:

Dimensions: 12.83” L x 9.06”D x 1.23”H
Weight: 4.21 lbs.
Security And Support:

Symantec Norton Internet Security™ 2009 (including 60 days complimentary live update)
HP Help & Support
HP PC Recovery
HP Advisor
HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
Software:

Microsoft Works
Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student Edition: 60 Day Trial Version
HP MediaSmart
Cyberlink DVD Suite
Adobe Acrobat Reader
HP Games Powered by Wild Tangent
HP Set Up
Microsoft Internet Explorer

Warranty:
1 year limited warranty with toll free support (NA)
1 year free hardware technical support
30 days free limited software support with 1 year (from date of purchase) free limited software support with product registration
Assembled Country of Origin:
China

 

I've got some questions for those of you who have already gotten the laptop:

1. Have you experienced issues with the laptop getting really hot? Can you have it on your lap "okay" without heat from the bottom being too much of an issue? Do the palm rests remain cool? lukewarm? hot?

2. Have you been able to use the multi-touch controls to scroll down? what functions can you use the multitouch controls for?

 

It has eSata?

 

I have had the thing layinmg on my bed, (read no airflow out of the bottom) and have moved it to my lap, and the temp is fine... been on for 3 hours of so.

The fan is vey quiet, the hard drive may make more noise!

Multitouch... not played with that yet...

 

I think that is a misprint, official HP specs for the Sam's club model say nothing about eSATA.

 

No eSata on the model I picked from Office Depot. That must be a mistake

 

Anything about battery life guys.

 

Okay, cool, (get it? I crack myself up) which model do you have? The dm3z?

 

I run a Mac and I could not figure out how to change Power Options to show remaining time, but all I can see thusfar is that, at full brightness, it loses about 10% of battery power after about an hour. So that suggests nearly 6 hours of battery life, but that's very unscientific.

 

That would actually suggest 10 hours of battery life, which is not believable.

 

Unless he's got the intel version of the computer...

 

Haha, yes totally not believable. That's at 50% brightness, Wi-Fi on, browsing only.

 

OK, here's the first real con of the dm3, the speakers are relatively weak in volume, although they're very clear-sounding. I guess it was a good trade-off.

 

Which he does not because he picked it up at OD. Not to mention maximum brightness the Intel would not even come close to 10 hours. Basically, the 'up to ten hours' for Intel means 'wifi off, bt off, min brightness, idle and in max battery mode'. For AMD's 'up to six hours' means the same exact thing...

Which is why we need real world examples and worst case scenarios tests. Looping 3DMark is a great way to ge worst case scenario battery life. If you can get 2+ hours with any laptop looping that, you are sitting really good.

 

That's nice to hear that your laptop is running cool. I was over at Best Buy checking out the DM3z (AMD version) and the left palmrest was quite warm while the underside of the laptop was even worse (wouldn't want it on my lap at that temp). Maybe the display one at Best Buy is messed up? (perhaps the Geek Squad got a hold of it :smile:

 

I agree with this. Its loudness at max volume is only good enough for a somewhat quiet room. It is very clear sound though.