*HP dm3 (1XXX series) Owners Lounge*

What are the differences between Dm3-1030us and the Dm3-1130us?

 

my white sticker shows up as a dm3t-1100. The manual about the nVidia graphics came up with a date of December 2009 so I'm guessing around that time HP decided to include the Switchable graphics feature.

 

I'm glad I waited now.

 

Running the first set of battery tests. I'm using battery eater pro2.7 to make it more official because I have submitted my review to the editors and hopefully they'll publish it on the main page

I figured that I should do it for nbd bc I can't find any reviews of the dm3 with switchable graphics. Heck even Hp doesn't advertise it.

Right now I've discharged my computer for almost an hour now and it's down to 87%. At this rate I'm estimating 7.5 hours of battery life for the Intel card. I'll be updating my review later tonight.

And yes that's with intel graphics and undervolted CPU

 

I've got a Dm3-1130us here and am ASTOUNDED at my estimated battery life in BatteryBar.

When i turned it on it was at 2:01 for a full charge. System froze (adobe 10.1 bug) and I rebooted to find it down to 95% and 1:51 remaining..

Doesn't that seem a little drastic??

 

Make sure you run your computer until the battery is completely dead, then charge it completely and see what it shows.While primarily web surfing on the Power Saver setting I'm consistently hovering around four hours on BatteryBar for my dm3-1030us.

 

Can anybody help me out here? Thanks!

 

OK GUYS!

First battery test available, now up on my review on the HP board.

This is with Intel graphics, SP9300, and Intel SSD. WiFi is also on, but Bluetooth was turned off, and screen was set to 50% brightness.

 

You should be fine without updating as long as you aren't having any weird problems. Sounds like you've already done the tough ones anyway.

 

I picked up a DM3-1120eb this morning, with SP9300-4GB-500GB-NVidia G105M, and I can also confirm that this model has NVidia Hybrid Graphics, and also HP Quickstart.
I also picked up an Intel G2 160GB SSD, and will be performing battery tests playing SD and HD video with both harddrives and both GPU's for those interested.

 

Thanks, man.

 

Well I managed to scratch the hell out of the lid of my DM3 this morning...

and the lid is NOT entirely made of aluminum...

theres a fine coat of aluminum on top of a completely plastic lid.


this aggravates me beyond belief.

 

Finally got around to doing some set up on my DM3t. With a clean install of Windows 7 and a skinstyler on the mousepad, I'm a happy camper. Too bad it didn't come that way, but for the price, I was willing to put in a little elbow grease to end up with a pretty slick machine. Thanks to everyone who has posted tips thus far.

 

I'm looking to buy a skintyler too. Should I go for "Clear Touchpad Skin"?
What size should I order?

(searching the thread did not work)

 

Most notebook chassis are either plastic molded in color or painted. Generally the claims of an aluminum or magnesium chassis are actually plastic parts with metal bracing at flex points.

 

Yeah, I went with the clear. I just bought the standard size, applied it, and cut off the excess with an exacto knife. There was an earlier post with the exact size, but the rounded corners on the touch pad make it difficult to get one made to spec. One warning - shipping seemed to take forever.

 

I wonder if they added Quickstart when they added integrated graphics..
So the Quickstart is on the dm3 now, but is it just on this specific configuration?

 

I only get about 2 hours now and it's a joke. I don't really know what to do.

 

Batterybar is messy... it can ramp up CPU utilization and mess up your OS.

I have had several bad experiences myself and read from others. I hope you can undo the damage by removing it. I had to do a clean install to get rid of the effects.

 

I just received my DM3-1044nr from the MS Store on 01/22/10. I found it odd that the rig was already registered at HP because the warranty states it started on October 22, 2009. Can someone that got this machine from the MS Store check the warranty by going into HP Support Assistant and clicking on the warrranty button at the bottom of the page and let me know if it's the same or some other date that does not correspond with the actual warranty start date. I'm wondering if all the machines bought from the MS Store were pre-registered by MS with HP or if some were returns that had been already registered by a previous owner.

 

Anybody got inside info on upcoming deals? I am waiting to pull a trigger on this beauty. I found HP got a 5% off right now. Is msft going to be having any more of those deals?

 

This is a known problem and MSFT doesn't advertise that.

The machines from the MSFT store start their warranty the day MSFT accepts shipment of them, meaning that your HP has been sitting at MS since Oct 22, in the box, with the warranty ticking away.

Its a shame, but theres not much that can be done about it./

 

Mine also says 22 oct 2009. Seems like a glitch. In the BIOS there's no date.

Look on Ebay. They cost about $500 now.

 

Mine also says Oct. 22, 2009. That in itself doesn't bother me but it will if I need warranty service and it happens after the expiration date they gave me.

 

another battery test has been posted on my review.

 

Just bought mine from HP. Couple of points, didn't upgrade memory to more, because will be downgrading to Win7-32bit (already have ultimate license), had to get an external dvd drive for my gf because she is too afraid to buy a laptop without one so I am gonna give mine away.

Coupon used: NBLB654877

With hesitation, I will challenge you to find a better deal than this:

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)
* • 160GB (Solid State Drive Flash Module)
* • 13.3" diagonal High-Definition LED HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1366 x 768)
* • External Tray LightScribe Super Multi 8X DVD+/-RW w/Double Layer
* • Webcam Only
* • Wireless 802.11b/g/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

Model: VR921AV
Original Price: $1,513.98
Paid Price: $1,063.98

 

I'm interested in this computer, but I'm worried about the screen. Is there any option to get a non-glare one?

Right now I have a TC 4200 which has a really beautiful screen, better than any other laptop I've seen.

 

The glare screen is quite good but nothing special. it looks better with the gamma set a bit lower.

It's the same screen as used in Asus UL30 that has been reviewed here:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Asus-UL30A-X1.20888.0.html

 

You do realize a Windows 7 license is a windows 7 license... you can use it for 32b or 64b installs.

 

What exactly do you mean? I got Win7-32bit Ultimate from msft on special. As I recall when I was downloading, you had to choose between 64b and 32b, I went w/ 32b.

On a side note, don't really want to rehash this issue as it's all over the net already, but, does anybody have a good reference on 64b vs. 32b performance? Yea yea, you get to reference less memory w/ fewer number of address bits, but I am talking about actual measurable performance difference between the two?

Also, can somebody confirm that 64b is a bigger footprint than 32b OS? This instinctively makes sense, that anything 64b takes more space, but how is that reflected on the actual HD and the size of restore partition?

 

Is there anyone that could send me a copy of his DM3 receipt from Microsoft store?
I bought a DM3 off someone but he doesn't have a receipt. I will be going over the dutch border and I might need to prove it's around $500.

Windows 7 keys work with 32 bit and 64 bit.

So if you have a 32 bit Windows 7 Ultimate key you can download Ultimate 64 bit version and use your 32 bit key.

Performance hardly makes a difference. Unless you run applications like heavy Photoshopping that benefits from more than 3GB.

I do not believe 64 bit OS takes more space than 32 bit.

 

Pretty much the same setup I'll be going for except I'll be adding the extra ac adapter (one to keep in the bag, one to keep plugged in at home.

Coupon expires the 8th. Hopefully by then I'll have my tax refund.

 

Here's an interesting article:
Microsoft looking into Windows 7 battery life failures

The article also notes that calibrating the battery is done by "...letting the battery drain completely outside of the operating system...". Since the article is specifically referring to Win 7 I'm assuming booting Ubuntu off a USB drive may be one way of doing this.

 

For those who have the dm3t with the Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor SP9300 (2.26GHz, 6M Cache) with 512MB NVIDIA GeForce G 105M, how is heat and fan noise? How is is the battery life using the IGP?
And for the poeple who have the 1.3ghz processor, can it be overclocked to 1.7 like the Asus ul30vt???

 

@popextra :

The CPU goes up to 57° C under load, up to 47° C under load when undervolted to 0.875V. I removed RMClock though, because for some reason when RMClock was running, the CPU wouldn't clock down to 800MHz anymore, only to 1600MHz.

The casing stays cool to the touch on the touchpad area, and gets a bit warmer on the underside, but only slightly, never uncomfortable. I never even noticed the fan. Using an SSD, it is completely silent.

I just finished my first battery test, playing a 720p .mkv file (DXVA on) using MPC-HC, brightness 40%, volume 100%, headphones plugged in, IGP enabled.
I played the file from a 2GB RAMdrive, and it lasted 4:56 before shutting down at 3%.

Next tests will be from SDD and from HDD, and after that I will test some SD DIVX material.

 

Thanks, I will do a fresh install and hopefully that will fix it, although I presume the wear that it reports is genuine (though BatterBar's fault)? ie now that it has lost like 20% capacity, I can't get it back?

Someone else on here has reported that Microsoft have admitted an issue with crazy battery drain on some laptops so it may be that as well. I'm pretty gutted, the laptops only 3 months old and I'm having serious issues with it.

 

Here are the RMClock settings I'm using for the dm3z L625 1.6ghz, w/ 4330. Stable so far. All the VID's are upscaled 1 step (0.0250V) because I'm paranoid. It's been stable so far, but with 45 minutes ORTHOS stress testing.

W7 Balanced
Min processor: 100% on processor, 5% on battery
Max processor: 100% on processor, 100% on battery
Unchecked Enable OS integration

Here's the thing:
More often than not my throttle only hits 4x and 8x. Sometimes it hits 6x. Is there any benefit to only keeping FIDs 0, 4, and 8?

Does anyone know the BIOS P-states for the L625?

 

^default states should be same as l335, 4x, 4.5x, 8x.
My 4.5x is unstable though.

If you choose "use only official amd pstate scheme" in the advanced cpu settings, it will only allow the default states.

The general settings don't help much for using intermediate multipliers. You need to up the "target cpu usage level" in the performance on demand power profile. I have mine set to 75%. Play an HD movie file afterwards, and see the CPU monitor jump all over the place. =)

 

Second battery test, this time with SD DIVX.

SP9300, SSD, using Intel IGP, 40% brightness, 100% volume, HP plugged in, power saving profile with max. 50% CPU, playing from RAMdisk lasted 5:58 before shutting down.

 

Nice. Those are the results I'm looking for. Can't wait to get this baby.

 

This laptop is so weird. Sometimes when im using it, the windows would minimize and there are diagonal lines all across. The lines are transparent white/milky and all distorted. It would happen for a couple seconds and go back to normal. Maybe the display is defected? Anyone experience this?

 

Amd or intel model?
What graphics option?

 

nvm I just found out that it was the "show desktop" feature. I've been using the windows XP for too long so its taking awhile to get used to windows 7. thanks though

 

I have a question for the guys that got the Intel SSD G1 with this baby. I'm looking into my Windows Experience Index, and the HDD dropped from 7.9 to 5.9. That freaked me out - how can it change so much? I'm also noticing the computer is becoming less responsive and takes longer to open up files & programs. I did test the speed of the HDD using a little program called Atto for HDD benchmarking, and the results show the transfer speed still is the advertised 250M read, 80M write.

Did any of you have this experience? Can you rerun your WEI test if you have the SSD? Any thoughts on how to improve this?

 

This is a known issue of the Intel 4500 driver. As far as I know it has not been solved.

There is a work around: do not use hibernate or standby.

try asking in the SSD thread. it should be 7.9. Maybe the Intel Rapid Storage driver would help.

 

I've been looking at the dm3 for my next laptop purchase (despite really wanting an cd/dvd drive). Is the touchpad really as bad as some reviews claim it to be? I cannot seem to locate on in the stores to test it out.

 

Hello everyone, glad I found this thread, as a fairly new owner of dm3-1044nr, (yeah, took the advantage of MS 40% off). I love the notebook so far, I did all the proper updates and downloaded K-lite Codec for proper 1080p playback. Few question I have so some of the senior members here.

Setting after discharge. (power saver) screen:40%(6 clicks down from 100%), listen to some mp3, surf nets, wireless MS arc mouse and I get about 4 1/2~5 hours in average.
Any setting I can do to pro long the battery usage? I know it's unrealistic to get 10 hrs, but with real life use, 7 hrs shouldn't be a problem for the spec
What's Microsoft signature power plan? is it better then power saver? which of these 2 setting will get me the longest battery usage?

Also I notice the side chrome bezel is fairly easily scratched and dings, make sure u handle with care.

 

Depends on the user and driver of the touchpad. Some loathe the glossy finish. For some (me included) it's not an issue and if it was a matte skin styler takes care of that. Some have issues with the multi touch. I don't have it just yet so I can't comment on that.

Come to think of it I might buy some matte vinyl and use my vinyl cutter to make some skin styler like skins for the trackpad if I have issues with it.

 

I'm perfectly fine with the glossy finish. That is the only issue? I had seen some complaints of low responsiveness and having to drag multiple times to actually get it across the screen.

 

Only problem I've had with the touchpad is fingerprints, besides that nothing. The speakers still have a crackle on and off however.