*HP dm4t (1XXX series) Owners Lounge!*

I was kidding. Simply projecting that people need to look at laptops for what they offer, not what they don't. Sure the dm4 lacks a few options, but it's a great laptop at a great price considering what you get.

That new Asus does look pretty cool though... just a thought.

 

"Order in production"!

I'm getting really excited, haha! This is my laptop for college, and the first computer that I will have actually received in new condition. Every other computer I've had has been handed down to me... even the one I'm typing on now is almost 7 years old. So, hopefully the dm4 will be a huge step up

 

@bhanuisgreat - GPU is the better upgrade IMO.

 

been looking through this thread for some time...
I placed my order when BCB was 25% w/ a dv4i model...
the next day when I went on HP, I saw they were discontinued (the DM4T) came out & BCB was gone .

I was hoping 25% BCB would comeback but if you haven't already hurd BING CB will be discontinued starting Jul 31, 2010... so I am doubtful.

...Went to some stores (including Costco) to see the dm4t first hand but its no where to be found.

That said I saw that there is a $250 coupon out & thought I might as well pull the trigger... need some opinions on this build.

Going for portability (downgrading from my HDX w/ a 12 cell) but wanted good battery life... how much life do u get out of your 6 cells?

i7 or the configured i5?
... any reviews about the i7 as far as Battery life / performance / heat?

and I saw they now have the 160GB SSD... is it worth the $320?

thnx

 

First of all, about the BCB, with the total $350 you probably get a better deal with the coupon than the 25% BCB.. so don't fret. It's a good deal.

A few things:

Screw the Core i5-540M.. save $175 and keep the 430M, unless of course you will be using this for CPU intensive tasks. Using that money, get the 160GB SSD. This'll provide a MUCH more noticeable increase in performance than the CPU upgrade. Your computer will boot faster, and everything will load faster. Best thing you can do right now to make a computer faster.

Those normally go for $400 on Newegg.. so it's a pretty good deal from HP.

Newegg.com - Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2MH160G2R5 2.5" 160GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

If you want battery life, why not just get the 9-cell? You'll get 8-9 hours of battery that way.

Also, there have been reports of HP wireless cards being weaker in general.. you may want to upgrade to the Intel Wireless N

 

I'm getting a little concerned...the fedex tracking for my returned dm4 says delivered, but my order tracking on hp's site still says "awaiting return pick-up".

Has anyone here gone through this process before?

 

Any one wanna share there experience on "instant-on mode" of dm4t. can you browse web over wifi on it ?

 

Huh? Seriously? To get the $200 off coupon code to work you have to bring the price up to $1099. Take off the instant $150, which was there for the BCB, and the price is now $949. Now, let's do some simple elementary math. $949 - $200 = $749.00. So, the coupon can only get you a minimum of $749.00 plus tax. In this case, I would not have bought my dm4 as that was out of my budget. For those looking to spend this much or more, it's still a great deal, but for those who can't afford it in the long run it is not. Some of you may say, "it's an instant discount though!" Foolishness. 25% of $949 is $237.25. This is an extra $37.25 extra in the bank for you in the end. Consider it gaining interest over that one month in which you won't receive your cashback from bing. Would you get those rates in a savings account? Not even close...

I received my dm4 for $706 after tax. I will receive a check for $222.25 from bing in a few weeks, which is a pretty good discount. Until they offer a $250 or 25% coupon code through HP, BCB will still stand as the best deal.

Just putting things in perspective, relating this hot deal to the one from a couple weeks ago. Go USA against Australia today!

 

I am planning to buy HP DM4T.

I see some of you here got the Intel Wireless N with DM4T. Can you please tell me what model Intel Wifi N card did you get with DM4T Laptop.

Thanks.

 

so mine finally went through and just made it to the "order in production" stage. after a lot of hassle with my order and my bank being stupid. EE! i'm so giddy I can't wait. I ordered the dm4t with

• Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-620M Dual Core processor (2.66GHz, 4MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 3.33GHz
• 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 320GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
• 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5450 switchable graphics
• 14.0" diagonal High-Definition HP BrightView LED Display (1366 x 768)
• SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
• HP TrueVision Webcam + Fingerprint Reader + Digital Microphone
• Wireless-N Card with Bluetooth
• 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (standard)

I dropped the 1GB ATI 5450 and downgraded to the 512MB because i read it was pointless. maxed the processor. I can upgrade the hard drive or memory anytime i want so i dont really care about those as much. i never spend money on warranties because i take exquisite care of my stuff. too bad HP doesn't mail to an APO box. now i have to mail it home and have my mom mail it to me :< my two day shipping is for naught as the trip it will take overseas will tack a week onto the shipping time. and i am an impatient man

 

While I obviously can't say for certain, I don't think exchanging the battery would void your BCB. I emailed Bing asking about my situation (getting a $70 credit from HP post-purchase), and their response was:

"...we would like to inform you that the $70.00 credit offered to you by HP should not affect your cashback eligibility since you did not alter or cancel your purchase."

So it sounds like as long as the original purchase didn't involve a coupon, and you don't modify your actual purchase, you should be fine. Just make sure the battery swap shows up as a new transaction, not a modification of the old one.

Edit: Ah I misread your post, sorry. I didn't realize you were going for a partial refund as well. Hmmm... it still may be ok though if HP can construct the transaction as a credit to you, and not as a subtraction from the old purchase.

 

Arrived at FedEx location: Anchorage, AK.

Should be seeing this laptop early next week! Can't wait...any advice on what to do with my old laptop (assuming everything is fine with the dm4t)? Do any electronic stores buy used laptops and refurbish them for re-sale?

 

Just curious, when did you order your laptop?

 

You lucky S.O.B. They offered me an $80 credit and I turned it down because I was worried.

 

I ordered on the 27th of May. It took about 24 hours to process and become "in production" and another few days until it shipped. I am pleased with the progress, especially considering the estimated ship date wasn't until June 8th when I ordered it.

 

If your laptop is on the newer end I'd suggest craigs list/ebay especially if nothing major is wrong with it. Also it would kind of depend on what local computer stores in your area will offer, some buy used some dont.

 

anyone feel like the speakers are too low? idk if its just my laptop or the laptop in general but it seems low to me. I always find myself needing to put my volume on max. anyone else feel the same?

 

I jumped on one of these at hp.com this morning after playing with the laptop at costco yesterday. From what I could tell, it was a pretty sweet little laptop. My only complaints are screen resolution (not 1600x900) and no bluray option. My plan is to give this to my wife (who doesn't want movies on a laptop anyways) and get myself the envy 14 in a month.

Anyways, the config is:

i430 cpu
320 gb hd (7200 rpm)
4 gb ram
intel wifi n with bluetooth
high capacity 6 cell battery
ati 512 mb graphics

$787 after tax and shipping.

 

It's an older (~5 years old) Dell e1405 model, but it is in really good shape. Some minor cosmetic blemishes exist but no major software problems. I guess i'll just have to call around and see if any stores are willing to offer a respectable price. I'm really not looking to get that much for it but obviously I don't want to just give it away. Thanks for your reply.

 

a 5 year old laptop isn't worth anything, no matter how good of a shape it's in.

 

I kinda had that feeling ha! I guess I can just pass it on to a friend or family member.

 

Might be able to get ~$100 for it on CL

 

I see some of you here got the DM4T with Intel Wireless N. Can you please tell me what model Intel Wifi N card did you get with the Laptop.

Thanks.

 

I don't have it but, according to the product specs, it is the Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1000

 

Thanks. Appreciate it.

 

Does anyone plan on overclocking the GPU to see what stable performance you can get out of it? I don't want to put too much stress on it, but if one could milk some more power out of it why not try?

 

So while I'm waiting for my order to ship, does anyone have any insight into how these HP customized laptops are built?

I mean, things like -- what does it mean when a "team" is assigned to an order? How much is hand-built and how much is done by machines? Any other interesting information?

 

I'm assuming since it's outsourced, there is zero quality control

 

Arrived at FedEx location: Memphis, TN.

I live near the Kansas City area so it seems odd that it didn't come from Anchorage directly to KC, but whatever. I'm hoping to see this laptop no later than Tuesday...I never thought I would be so excited for the work week to begin.

 

Question to all you HP DM4T owners out there. Can anyone please reply to this original post as I am interested as well.

"Any one wanna share there experience on "instant-on mode" of dm4t. can you browse web over wifi on it ?"

And have you guys got used to the track-pad on this machine or have you just abandoned it in favor of using a mouse? This is very important for me as I have been using ONLY the track pad of my HP's for the last 4 years and I don't want to start using a mouse.

Thanks

 

I'm very close to canceling my order from yesterday. I very much wanted a bluray drive in the machine, but couldnt' configure one. I found the maintenance manual here: http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c02196918.pdf

I scanned it quickly, saw that it claims the optical drive is a 12.7 mm drive, then ordered a dm4t. I then went on ebay and bought a 12.7 mm bluray drive for $70 shipped. All was good, so I thought. When I went to costco today to look at the lapop again, I noticed the drive seemed a lot thinner than I expected. Then I went back to the manual, and searched for "9.5". What do you know, another section of the guide claims the drive is a 9.5mm one afterall. I might try some surgery to make the bluray drive I bought fit in it, or I might try returning it. Does anyone think HP would give me some money back to keep the laptop instead of returning it? The best I can find on a 9.5 mm bluray drive is $500 by the way.

 

I haven't tried using the instant on mode, but that is because there is really no need to. If I am going to use my computer again soon, I just shut the lid and let it go to sleep. It comes back on from sleep in ~3 seconds. Otherwise, I hibernate it, and it takes ~10 seconds to start from hibernation. So I haven't felt the need for a faster start-up. The start-up screen lets you browse the internet though, so I'm pretty positive it would work with Wifi... wouldn't be much point to it otherwise.

As far as the trackpad goes, I think it works great. I upped the sensitivity, and it responds to all my multi-touch gestures just fine. I think the key is to have a light touch - on my old Acer, I had to really press and drag if I wanted to move the cursor. This computer responds much better to less forceful pressure, and the multi-touch gesturing works better as well.

Some people have noted that when they type, they accidentally touch the keypad causing a click or making the cursor move. I haven't had that happen, though it may be due to personal differences in typing posture. I have noticed that resting a thumb on the pad (anywhere except for the very bottom edge, that is) can make the cursor jump. I would say that this could be a problem for you if you really need to use your thumb - I just treat it like a Macbook trackpad, and use my index or middle finger for everything since tapping anywhere on the pad registers a "click". A small issue is that sometimes I have to repeat click and drag gestures due to my thumb not pressing on the very bottom edge of the trackpad, but it works fine if I am attentive to my thumb placement. It's still easier to C&D on this trackpad than any other I've used, and the negative points I mentioned are really nitpicking. Overall it works great for me, and I actually prefer using it to using a mouse.

 

Why on earth would they do that?
They probably haven't shipped your order yet so they will just refund and probably reccomend other models with blu ray.

 

Just wanted to post my 2 cents on the 6 cell battery. There have been a few posts saying they've gotten 4.5 to 5 hours. The best I've seen is 3.5 hours from 100% down to 10%. So maybe close to 4hrs at best if I had let it run all the way down. The only thing I've done during that time is have about 3 or 4 browser windows open with very little browsing in any of them and the screen dimmed 2 clicks. So not all that impressed if you ask me. I did get the 9 cell as well so hopefully that will pan out to its reported 8+ hours.

 

Did you get the standard 6 cell battery or the 6 cell HIGH CAPACITY? Just curious.

 

I got impatient and purchased the Sony Vaio Blue Label at best buy today. It has everything I need and even though it cost 1049$, I think it's perfect. I would have purchased the dm4t if it had the backlit keyboard :/ but this vaio is 1 inch smaller and has a DVD drive, so I think I made the right choice for my needs

 

I have a question for those who already have their DM4Ts --

Is there any way to configure the trackpad so that the buttons are NOT part of the trackpad? I kinda don't like that the buttons also function as areas for moving the cursor... I've found that sometimes when I've positioned my cursor somewhere, putting my finger on the button to click it would cause it to move again. It's not that big a deal, I guess, but still kind of annoying.

And a bit of a peeve: for shortcuts like Alt+F4, F5 for refresh, etc that I use often, I have to press the Fn key. Is there a way to choose which ones would need the Fn key? Or is there a way to change its functions? I don't think I'll ever need keys for media (back, play/pause, stop, next) so I wouldn't mind changing what they're for. It's also too easy to turn wi-fi off with the F12 key, and I've pressed it accidentally a few times because the keyboard isn't backlit and I was trying to go for the mute button. Arg.

Mine arrived great, no problems with it or anything. I've done a clean install and everything seems okay. I only got the standard battery though so the most I've gotten out of a full charge is about 3.5H, if I remember correctly. Still hoping that it'd increase after a couple cycles.

Overall, I am really loving this computer, especially its size and weight! I'm glad I went for this instead of the 13" MBP since I'm very happy with it AND I saved a lot!

 

I read on a Youtube comment for the dm3 that your problem can be solved by entering the BIOS menu at startup, and disabling "Action Keys", or something similar. I believe that should work for the dm4 as well.

 

Standard 6 cell. But I would guess you wouldn't get much more out of the high capacity version. Maybe another 20-30 minutes. As mentioned in a later post - hopefully it gets a little better after a few battery cycles. Not a deal breaker for me, but always think it's funny when companies boast long battery life and it's almost always a few hours less than they claim when all is said and done. Maybe if I just left the computer on the lowest screen brightness and did nothing I'd get 5.5 hours. But even then it's highly doubtful.

 

That's very interesting, since reviews and other users have claimed to get at least 5 hours of battery life with the standard 6-cell. Have you tried a full calibration yet (charging to 100% capacity and then letting it fully discharge, with Windows Power Management turned off)? That might help a bit.

 

Yeah I read the same thing. I ordered the high capacity 6 cell so hopefully it's a little more. I should get mine by next week so I'll post my findings when I get the chance.

 

Mine is coming today so i'll try it out and let you guys know how my battery life is (I have the high capacity 6 cell).

 

I ordered the high-capacity 6-cell as well, and I'll be extremely happy if I can get 6 hours out of it. Hopefully my laptop will arrive by this Friday (estimated ship date is this Friday, meaning that I hope it will ship by tomorrow)

 

Good point, I have a couple days to consider that.

 

I have the high-capacity 6 cell, and the first time I used it I got a little more than 4 hours until I got the low battery warning at 12% battery left. Depending on usage, I usually get from 4-4.5 hours when I'm not doing anything demanding that would cut down on battery life.

A question - when people on this forum report battery life, are they reporting it until the computer shuts off, until the low power warning comes on, or what? That might explain some of the variance in the battery life reports I've been seeing. Reviewers like CNET actually let the computer run until the battery dies, but most users (myself included) probably would consider their power plug-free existence effectively over before the battery dropped low enough to shut down the laptop.

 

HP 25% Bing Cashback is Back

My Configuration: HP DM4T
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-430M Dual Core processor (2.26GHz, 3MB L2 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.53GHz
• 3GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 320GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
• Intel(R) HD Graphics
• 14.0" diagonal High-Definition HP BrightView LED Display (1366 x 768) -For HP Mobile Broadband WWAN
• SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
• HP TrueVision Webcam + Fingerprint Reader + Digital Microphone
• Wireless-N Card
• Full-size island-style keyboard
• 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (standard)
• Microsoft(R) Office Starter 2010

$729.99 + 58.40 Tax = 788.39 (Bing Cash back $182.49)

Total Price = 605.09 (After 25% bing Cashback)

Enjoy!!!

 

Laptop just arrived! First impressions...

1. Really nice/sleek look. (Absolutely NO pink in any light)
2. Extremely light
3. Quiet
4. Runs very cool

Currently tweaking/optimizing, but so far so good!

 

I just got my dm4 laptop and there's no problems except for one thing: the right click on the touchpad doesn't work! When I use my external USB mouse, right clicking on the mouse works fine. Do you think there's something wrong with the synaptics software? Or maybe it's the laptop?

EDIT
Nevermind. I just discovered today that you have to actually push the right button on the touchpad for it to actually work, not tap. haha. Other than that, I think the dm4 is pretty good so far. There are some cons:

1. sound quality isn't that good compared to my 5-year-old Vaio, but I'm using this for class, so it doesn't matter.
2. When I type, my palm touches the touchpad which causes the cursor to move or click, I wish there was a feature that would disable the touchpad when typing, but I guess that's what that button on the upper left-hand corner is for.

And the laptop isn't pink. I agree that it's a champagne/bronze-ish metallic color.

 

its still 10%? ...

 

whats your opinion about the touchpad