*HP dm3 (1XXX series) Owners Lounge*

Yeah the UL series look great but a bit out of my price range (preferably sub $500 since this will only serve as my 'take-to-school' laptop). I guess at below $500 you have to be willing to make some sacrifices... which seems to be battery life with the dm3.

 

Haha sorry to hear that. Yeah for the form factor and specs it comes with, 399 doesn't seem like a bad price at all. If not for the battery life, it'd be a no brainer. Any other impressions of the machine? Positives/Negatives?

 

Some people say the touchpad is bad, but I think it's fine.
Some have paint on their chrome trim falling off. I don't have any of that, but I'm not moving this laptop around much.

Pretty much everyone says the keyboard is awesome. There's no flex, unlike some ASUS laptops.

 

Most of the complaints I have read about the machine have not been a problem for me. No heat issues, no touch pad complaints, overall speed and power of the machine is good as far as I'm concerned, but I am no gamer.
I have noticed a bit of chrome on my trim has worn away already, which I am not happy about.
Overall the look, weight, and size are all great.
Windows 7 works pretty well, but not a huge difference over Vista that I can tell.
The card slot is nice, and it reads SD HC.
I also really like how the keyboard top row is the special functions rather than F1 through F12 or whatever. Easy to hit the sleep button, adjust the screen brightness, etc.

 

Yeah the HP DM3z keyboard is insanely good. The touchpad takes getting used to but if you just use the default Windows driver and you get used to it, it is actually quite good. I actually think it's a decent trackpad now, and I came from a MacBook Pro.

The screen is average.

The build quality is average. While there is no flex or soft spots, the paint chipping is terrible.

Performance is decent for the size and price. I can play 720P Youtube videos flawlessly fullscreen and only slightly stuttery with 1080P.

I think it's a good buy. Yeah the battery life is kind of a shame, like 3-4 hours or if you really do a lot of settings costumized you can squeeze about 5ho hours 15 minutes, but I found an alternative. I just charge it while going inbetween places with the HP DM3z car charger I got for $20 on Amazon.

 

hmmm

Damn you CA 10% Tax & Recycling Fee!

 

Anyone have an idea when/if HP will bring back a Dm3t-1xxx compatible battery to HP online

 

So anybody placed an order for the new line coolsense dm3s? I am eager to hear some user experiences and especially the battery life. When hp quoted 10hours in the previous dm3, it ended up being 5-6hrs, now they're saying 7.5hours, I wonder how much battery life we'd get with the core i3...

 

The core i3 is an ultra low voltage processor, and with the integrated graphics, battery life should be pretty darn good.

 

I think they are out of stock/empty for batteries on the online store (they have no more batteries to sell). But once they get more in stock, they will sell it online again.

 

Yes especially with the high capacity 9-cell battery.

 

1 Post above your's:



I'll post pics when I get it.

 

Good but probably not as good as the 'old' DM3 with ULV. The 330um hasn't been coming close to SU7300 or SU4100 power consumption in other laptops.

Acer 1810 (SU7300) used to get over 8 hours, Acer 1830 (330um) gets about 6.

 

Am sure hp will pretty soon make the 4gb RAM and 500gb HDD standard on the base config (like they did with the dm4t). Also it looks like hp has stopped releasing those 30% (if you configure above $999). Those coupons were much better; I cant imagine having to configure this thing above 1250 (just to get 200 off). Cos even if you throw in an core i3, 4gb, 128 SSD, backlit keyboard, and bluetooth, it still comes down to about $1009.

 

WinXP on the HP DM3-2010?

Anyone get to doing a full WinXP install on the DM3? Win7 is a little too much for my wife and this machine is for her especially after 5 years on XP Pro.

I know there are no XP drivers posted on the DM3 HP support page. but sometimes there are some backwards compatibilities from other machines that are close in hardware.

Thanks in advance.

 

You could try searching for drivers at the specific manufacture's site, especially for the wireless card. But in all honesty she's better off just spending a week getting used to 7, its very quick to learn.

 

Just a warning, I have significant issues resuming from sleep and hibernate. Normally it just resumes to a black screen and I have to cut the power and start again

 

I have to agree with nikeseven. Windows 7 is not hard to learn at all, and a heck a lot better than that 9 year old OS. It'll be better in the long run to just use Win7.

 

I just got myself a refurbished dm3.

BUT the left and top side of the keyboard doesn't sit flush/flat with the surface.

Anyone ever removed the keyboard?

It looks the HP removed the KB and didn't put it back right.

 

I managed to take out the keyboard and make it sit flush before selling it. It was extremely easy to take out however it was a pain adjusting the ribbon cable as it kept coming out - the ribbon cable holder is particularly weak at grasping it.

Anyways, overall it's a relatively simply process and I'll quickly go through the steps.

First, remove the battery. You should now see one black screw in the center (the side where you lift out the battery) - unscrew that. Next, unscrew the HDD bay cover and place it aside. Now you should see the hard drive and a silver screw located next to it (near the input ports.) (in other words its the odd coloured screw). Simply unscrew that and set it aside.

Once that's done, look at the battery compartment (obviously with the battery out). You should see 2 circular dentures/holes. What I want you to do is push them using 2 fingers. This will push the keyboard out. Also, make sure the screen is not closed as the keyboard won't come out otherwise.

Finally, simply re-seat the keyboard until it's flush and re-screw the 2 screws as well as the hard drive bay cover.

And now you're done.

 

The same thing had happened to me as well when I took off the keyboard. There are clips that hold it in place, just gotta make sure everything sits in place before screwing everything back.

 

Has anyone received a new Dm3t yet? I was tempted to recommend it to someone in the "Which laptop should I buy" section but I didn't want to not knowing the build quality/potential flaws. Any insight on this would be helpful

Looks like it.

Also according to HP Pavilion dm3t-3000 CTO Entertainment Notebook PC, they are using Synaptics TouchPad Driver which is much better than ALPS TouchPad Driver in the old dm3

Ehm, I am not sure what everyone is talking about.

I am not very pleased by the newest DM3 laptop. It seems like the DM3 is repositioned to become less powerful. The evolution in review:

1.) DM3 consisted out of 2 different flavors: DM3Z (AMD) and DM3T (Intel). Both were available with integrated and separate graphics chip.
2.) Then they changed the outer appearance. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some like it, some don't.
3.) Then the DM3 series got simplified, only the DM3T was available. AMD chips were moved down to the DM1 series. So choice was removed once.
4.) NOW, the updated the chip lineup. i3 chips may be a fine update, but now the option for separate graphics card has also been removed, and all we are left with is Intel's weak graphics card.

I am sad that with each move, options were removed. With the last move of not even offering switchable graphics, the use of this laptop has been limited even further.

WHAT are they doing at HP headquarters?????

So will i notice the difference and is the i3 really worth the $70 upgrade?

The difference between i3 330um and U5400 will be impossible to notice, except for applications that benefit from hyper threading.

I don't know what applications benefit from HT.

Core i3 330UM> Pentium U5400

Core i3 has a newer design and L3 cache, while the U5400 have the old L2. The laptop will like the i3 better because i3 does have hyperthreading. The processor has two cores, so the computer will think it has 4 cores. That means two threads on one core so it will run lighter and smoother because it has smaller load per core, which will result in longer battery life and less heat. Additional features is that the i3 has virtualization technology, and is made to run HD videos more smoothly (also because of the hyperthreading). So yes I would say it's worth it.

Just got it, I've noticed the following:

+ The soft touch feel awesome!
+ It actually made of aluminum this time, I can feel the coldness when I touch it. Very well construct.
+ It extremely cool around the palm rest (I have not intensively test it yet)
+? For some reason they shipped mine with two power cable? .

- There is flex in the keyboard. Most noticeably, lower right hand. Don't brother me that much.
- I don't know how to explain this. Around the edges, the bottom case protrude around .05 inch out of the top case. It's like .05 bigger and if you run your hand around it, you can feel the displacement?
- The touch-pad it not flush with the case, around .05 inch bellow it.
- Require 5 DVD's to create recovery disc . The old one only require 3 DVD's.

Any question? I'll gladly answer it.

Also I ordered it with back light keyboard, I did not see it .... is there an option for it or something?

Oh and the new dm3t-3000 ships with QuickWeb

I'm curious to read reviews of the new DM3T.
I've been considering it, or the Vostro/Latitude 13, which is a compelling offer in the Dell Outlet.
Mostly need something portable and not too heavy - mobile user. I like the Dell for that purpose, however the battery life isn't great. Basically using it for heavy word processing with Word and some internet/email. No gaming/videos or music really.

I've tried the DM4, 6 at Best Buy. They seem OK, but they are heavy. Obviously the DM3t is meant to be a lighter machine. One concern was that my wrist seemed to fall on the trackpad while I was typing on the HP. Didn't notice this with other machines. So if anyone can comment on this, and battery life, that would be great.

OCZ Agility 2 and OCZ Vertex 2 have three year warranty. OCZ Onyx 2 only 2 years.

I'd get the Agility 2 (if it's cheaper) or Vertex 2. If Corsair Force 120 is a lot cheaper that would be good too.

And the battery life isn't as good I thought.

I noticed that too. Firefox especially.

 

I don't know much that HP could get wrong...

 

Well like with the original Dm3, the touch pad was an issue that could potentially be a deal breaker. I don't want to recommend something I havn't heard good things about

 

You have the new dm3t?

 

Aren't they now using the same trackpad as the envys, the same trackpads that have been basically corrected and perfected? Correct me if I'm wrong.

I believe the only real new technology that the DM3 is packing is the new "coolzone" technology or whatever, and even then that really isn't real new technology, that is just a strategized placement of certain parts and a better heatsink.

 

Wasn't the touch pad "issue" just a driver issue? I have no problems with how mine works, and the complaints that the shiny surface doesn't slide right or whatever, just don't make sense to me.

 

Yes, it's the same touchpad all the other new hp laptops have now.

 

No I have the first generation Dm3t, (Dm3t-1000). I was just saying that I wanted to know if there were any issues with the new gen Dm3t before I was to recommend it to someone. The touchpad of the first gen was merely an example of a problem plaguing a laptop new to the market.

 

Oh okay.

Then in that case we will have to wait then, won't we?

The new HP DM3t looks like a pretty solid laptop to be honest, even though I think the first generation DM3 looks better.

 

The new one definently has some interesting ideas built into it(The whole cooling system) but I would agree the first gen looks much nicer. I do think its kind of ironic how the Dm3t was one of the first reasonably priced thin and lights to incorporate a full voltage processor but now that a multitude of other companies sell them (Asus, Acer, etc) HP doesn't offer it, other than the beefy Dm4t.

 

I'm guessing it has the same trackpad as the DM4. I was at bestbuy the other day, all DM4s up until the DV8 have the same sytle trackpad. It also looks like they made it wider and no more buttons, just the whole trackpad is a button.

 

I ordered mine on the 7th and it say it should ship on the 23rd .... how accurate is their estimate? Do they ship early than estimate?

 

Dude your awesome. The keyboard is flush all around now.

 

Yay, mine just shipped!!! It going to come in by Monday

 

try closing and opening the lid again. works for me. i think its a driver related issue.

 

1st problem with DB3.

I just got this 2 days ago.

every time tried creating a recovery image and a few minutes into it the screen turns black and nothing happens, but fans still spinning. Have to hard reboot.

BTW the computer is set never to hibernate / sleep.

 

Anyone try the "Replacement Backlit Keyboard" for older DM3Ts?

HP Parts lists a replacement keyboard for the original DM3t as "full-size illuminated backlit keyboard (US). Part Number: 580687-001

I "chatted" with a site representative and she confirmed its backlit but, I am a skeptic.

Has anyone on this forum ordered this part and, can you confirm it is, in fact, a keyboard with working backlight?

Sounds too good to be true.... I really like my DM3T (SP9300 G105) and would probably upgrade to a backlit keyboard if possible. Its the only think missing from the package, IMO.

 

Let's put it this way: the laptop in my sig was bought from HP, and it had an estimated ship date of August 31st.

 

So glad to see HP has updated this cool lappy! Me thinks me going to buy me a new one.

 

It does sound too good to be true. But if it's real. WANT

 

Oh hell yeah, a backlit keyboard for the older DM3 models? I want also, deff needed in the dark when I need it the most. Does our motherboards have a power connector/drivers/support for the backlit keyboards though?

 

What is the recommendation for back up/recovery discs for this laptop, since it has no optical drive?

Bump.

??

 

A little correction, Thornhale.
HP had both AMD and Intel flavors available. Then HP for some reason removed the dm3t and left only the AMD option (weaker processors compared to Core 2 Duo SP93000) There was a revamp in both processors, graphics, and outer design. (Only on the AMD model that HP was still selling, of course)
Now, there is no dm3z, only the new dm3t, with a newer, but weaker processor.
I get the feeling that HP wants people to buy the dm4t.

 

I noticed in the new DM3T-3000 Service Manual it lists i5 processors. Perhaps these will be available in the future....

 

Most likely it will. Engadget seemed to believe that the i5 was supposed to come out with the DM3t from documentation or something.

To be honest, for it's time, the old DM3 was much more impressive than the current one, but the new DM3 is still better.

 

Ok...finally, what job..sheez -got all of WinXP working (LAN, wireless, touchpad, etc), but NOT the audio / sound. Most or many came from the driver pasge from the Compaq CQ42-201AX PC and some came from the Lenovo x100e PC. Once done with this backflip I will eventually post all of the XP Pro drivers in a ZIP file for those that want to go back to XP Pro as well, but not quit ready...meanwhile, need some help.

With the dm3-2010us PC I am trying to find out what AMD / ATI / IDT hardware I have so I can match the hardware with an appropriate audio WinXP driver. I have tried many, many, many HP audio SPxxxx driver EXEs and a few from Acer that seemed to look like a good match, BUT no luck, so far. Anybody have any ideas on:

1. how to find the hardware info?
2. if there is a WinXP audio driver that you may have already found?

Thanks,

malloy0

 

I am planning on buying the new dm3 in the next couple days. I will be using this mainly for MS office and surfing. Is there a big difference between the i3 and the U5400 processors? Im trying to keep my costs down but I dont want to be kicking myself later for not upgrading.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

The difference between i3 330um and U5400 will be very hard to notice.

 

How does the intel U5400 processor compare with the AMD K625?