*HP dv4i Owners Lounge*

Hello everyone, this thread is dedicated to the HP dv4i and is intended to be a place to talk specifically about this laptop. Please post specs on your system as well as any questions you may have about anything in the computer.

 

I think it's pretty sweet that HP finally upgraded the dv4. It looks like a much more nicely speced machine and should perform better, though I wish they stuck a 5000 series graphics card in it. I'm not sure why they didn't.

 

Anyone own one of these? I'm wondering what sort of temps it has...

 

I picked one of these up last night to replace the HP DM3 I "mistakenly" bought a few days ago. All I have to say is wow... This thing is UBER fast for it's size. The Core i5 matches the performance of older "X" series intel notebook processors.

This thing is a dream. Mind you I have an monster i7 triplehead gaming rig at my office. This laptop is fast. Very fast. The processor is quick, the drive is a WD Black (7.2k yay!), the screen is bright with no sign of leakage (go LED!), and it is not to big.

and, it plays TF2. YEAH BABY...

As far as heat. I am using it right now with shorts on and bare legs and I feel pretty much no heat coming from the bottom typing to you right now. I have had this on for a while too. The unit is no warmer than warm skin.

Though I haven't properly "raped" the system yet, I will come back with more that I find... So far this system is impressive on all feats.

I have a DV4-2170us with the new Intel HD Graphics. It plays TF2. Well. lol...

 

That sounds great! My DV2500, the old 14in model, burned itself to death...and the HDD died twice so the temps really concern me.

If you could do me a huge favor and download HWmonitor and post the temps you get after an hour or so of just casual browsing/music or whatever...you can get it here

That would be great!!

 

I bought a dv4i from Staples last week and have been very disappointed. It's the i5-430m model (dv4-2170us). At first I was pleasantly surprised by the aesthetics and performance, but over the week the system has been unstable with supporting even internet browsing. I've tried firefox, ie, AND chrome, and all have crashed. At first I thought it might be due to Norton, so I removed it. The problem still continues... it appears that simply running flash has caused it to crash multiple times (which I've reinstalled multiple times). I even got a blue screen last night! The integrated webcam software caused the system to do this...its completely ridiculous. Do you guys think I likely just got a defective unit and should try to exchange for another?

 

Ok dude, you are strating to freak me out. I just ordered this system. also Intel Core i5, w/ free upgrade to ATI 4550 from default intel HD graphics. So far after reading all the posts regarding this unit, from different forums, I think it is a well rounded system, which is what I'm looking for. As for your problem, you should call HP and demand a replacement. Other owners dont seem to have that problem, so it's probably just ur defective unit. (i hope that's the case, no offence though)

 

I just ordered one of these from the HP site with the i5, free upgrade to the ATI HD 4550, 320gig 7200 hard drive for $625 plus tax. Seems like a really good deal to me.

 

I too am getting the dv4i. Unfortunately I missed the free ati upgrade (literally here today, gone tomorrow) but I have coupons so not a deal breaker. I ultimately decided to choose this over a vaio cw, since upgraded it has a faster processor, hard drive, better graphics card and more useful display (taller vs. wider). HP as a brand kind of scares me, half the people I know that own one have had some sort of hardware malfunction whereas the other half couldn't be happier. Hopefully lady luck is with me on this one. Also I kind of feel like a tool for spending money on midnight rather than bluetooth, so sue me.

 

Good stuff, i hope so as well.

I've actually been very lucky with this deal. I got the ATI upgrade plus the I5 upgrade for a total of $512.50 plus Tax. Part of that is Bing cash back and the rest a credit given to me by HP. So i'm very happy and looking forward to receiving this.

Just wished i had ordered 4 gigs of memory rather than 3.

 

DV4i does not have an LED back lit screen to my knowledge. It uses the same as the DV4 and that also does not have an LED back lit screen. They use to offer it as an upgrade on the dv4 but is no longer available.

 

I have a question.

Is the dv4i a newer version of dv4? What exactly did they change from dv4 series to make a dv4i?

 

I just bought one two weeks ago. This machine is almost as fast as my gaming rig (take that with a grain of salt) but will play most valve games on it's standard resolution. I picked it up from staples after price matching, instant rebates and a mail in rebate. AMAZING deal! Overall it's a great laptop. I was once loyal to apple but there is no way I can afford I new MacBook Pro right now, that and apple is behind on developing their logic boards. No support for core i3/5/7 yet. Whats up with that? Anyway, great machine!!! Love the hdmi and esata out!, Only gripes are the volume control and the wireless button that I always hit but I can live with that.

 

What he said..and another thing i like about it is the remote controlled media center. Im sure most of you know that laptops have that functionality, but its new to me ))). even though i didnt specifically order it, I guess all dv4i come with a remote control that lets you *gasp* control functions like sound, audio, video playback. Heck it even turns on my laptop, just like a tv remote would...So far im impressed with the machine.

 

I bought this a month ago during the President's Week sale with the Core i5 430m and the ATI 4550 HD gpu. It's switchable graphics, btw. My only mistake was buying the crap 6 cell li-ion battery. It barely lasts 2 hours. Aside from that, it was a very fast machine once you uninstall all the HP bloatware. I had a lot of issues with the volume adjusting by itself on startup, but a system recovery fixed it. The fan was constantly on, but you'll only hear it when there's no other noise in the room. It does run hot after an hour or 2 but it was never unbearable.

The 14 inch screen was average. Blacks are very washed out when streaming Hulu. Brightness was good though. Anyway, I ended up returning it because the battery life was just horrible. Even after reducing the processor state to 20% in the power options, dimming brightness to 50%, only using Word and Firefox for browsing, taking out the optical drive, and using only the integrated graphics card, I barely got 2 hours.

Plus, putting this along with the power adapter in a case the weight is approximately 7 lbs or above, which is just a little too heavy for portable use. You're basically going to be tied to that power adapter anyway.

If you're someone on the go, then battery life is going to be a major problem. I suggest not being cheap like I did and go for the high capacity battery. I didn't want to opt for the 12 cell because I didn't want to put anymore weight to the laptop.

As of now, I'm in the market for another laptop and I have been eyeing the dm3, which is obviously weaker. Bottom line: The dv4i is an excellent machine, but it may not be the most portable around.

 

I have a question regarding dv4i. I got mine couple of days ago, and I noticed a small button on my 12-cell battery. What does that button do? What function does it serve? Or does it just light up for fun when I press it?

 

From amazon:

 

yea i figured it out already, took some hard work and determination ))). I was playing CSS the other day on dv4i, i guess when u play games, it begins to boil. i need to look for cooling pad now

 

I just ordered a dv4i from hp.com:

• Espresso Black
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-520M Dual Core processor (2.40GHz, 3MB L2 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.93GHz
• 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
• 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 4550 Graphics
• 14.1" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)
• Lightscribe Blu-ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
• Webcam + Fingerprint Reader
• Wireless-N Card
• HP Color Matching Keyboard
• 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

I took advantage of a stackable $200 off coupon, so I got it for $1,099, however, I also had to pay sales tax. I ordered it on 03/23/2010 and the estimated build date is 04/12/2010. I'll post a review after I've had a chance to use it a bit.

I'm looking forward to discussing the dv4i with other owners. I've had several HP laptops: a dv1000, a dm3z and a HDX16. Although my experience hasn't been entirely problem-free, I'm satisfied with all of them. I had to replace the display inverter on the dv1000 after two years and then the hard drive crashed after five years. My daughter cooked the motherboard on the dm3z after almost one year, but HP replaced it promptly and for no charge under warranty. The touch-capacitive controls on my HDX16 are a little finicky, but I've adapted to their quirks. My wife decided that she'd rather have a laptop than an iPad, so I took the opportunity to give her my HDX16 and order the dv4i. I'm really looking forward to using it.

 

did you have any problems with other HP models?

 

They come with either an i3 or i5 processor.
They're both dual core with hyperththreading.
The i5 comes with turbo-boost which is overclocking
the cpu. Neither of them are quad core. Best Buy
has a version with integrated graphics. You can
get dedicated graphics as an option when you buy online.
Correct me if I'm wrong on any of those facts.

 

i3 doesn't have hyperthreading. Windows will see 2 threads with the i3, and 4 with the i5. So it's kind of like have four cores..
Also, i3 doesn't have turboboost where the i5 does.

 

i3 do have hyperthreading and windows sees 4 threads as shown in the task manager, but turboboost yeah i3 doesn't have.

 

My dv4i has made it from Shanghai to a FedEx facility in my state! I guess HP was able to build it before April 12.

On hp.com, you can choose between Core i3 and Core i5 processors. On another site, I saw a performance comparison between the two and it's not huge. I'm not a gamer, so now I kinda wish I had stuck with the base Core i3 instead of upgrading to the Core i5. I rarely, if ever, operate my laptops unplugged, so battery life is not a major concern to me. I do, however, need to process a bunch of video and photos, so hopefully, the increase in processing power is worth the increase in operational heat and the decrease in battery life.

 

So I was right!

 

Just purchaed the HP DV4I from Costco.($699) I took the laptop home and set it up. It looks great and runs well. I went to watch a HULU video and this is where i noticed a problem. When the speakers are above 60% volume i get a buzzing from the keyboard on the right side. It is very anoying. If i hold my hand lightly on the right side of the keyboad across all of the keys the noise goes away. Does anyone else experience this? Is this normal? I dont want to return it to costco for a swap and find out that every dv4i is like this.Any help is greatly appricated.

Intel I3

Thanks

Ken

 

PECo412, thanks for the tip on the stackable coupons. Saved $350!!! I have a customized dv4i in the cart right now with the 540m and 6GB! I've heard that the fingerprint readers aren't working with Windows 7 yet. Is this true still?
Gotta go now and transfer some funds at the bank!

Edit: 4/15/2010 Will be built April 26th and be shipped 2 business days.

Edit: 4/17/2010 Order has been declined because I changed the shipping/billing address and used a different card. Have made several calls, answered multilple choice questions to prove who I am, and still have to wait for another call from them! What a pain, I have done this before at other businesses and only had to make one phone call!

Edit 4/18/2010 HP sales called and made a new order# and got it done. Tracking pending build.

 

@HotRod74 - The fingerprint reader works great with Windows 7 Home Premium. It appears to be the same on as on my wife's HDX 16 and is better than the one on my daughter's dm3z.

My initial impression of my dv4i is that I like it a lot:

I much prefer its size to the HDX 16. However, the case is similarly plasticky; there are some sharp edges around the display and the touchpad.

That said, I also much prefer the 16" 1,920 x 1,080 display on the HDX 16. I love the higher resolution because it allows me to see much more of most web pages with much less scrolling (I'm not yet presbyopic!). It also has much better viewing angles than the 14.1" 1,280 x 800 display on the dv4i. The vertical viewing angle is very narrow on the dv4i. You have to position the screen just right to be able to see everything clearly.

I really like the keyboard. It has very slightly raised markings on glossy black keys. The contrast is great. So great that I double-checked to make sure that they aren't backlit (for which I would have paid extra if it had been offered; it's my favorite feature of the dm3z).

I'm still adjusting to Windows 7 Home Premium, coming from Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit. It boots up and shuts down a lot faster. A WHOLE LOT FASTER. Even with no tweaking.

I like the Altec Lansing speakers. The Altec Lansing speakers with subwoofer on the HDX 16 sometimes buzz on the right side of the laptop. I think it's a problem with the laptop construction; something is loose in there. I have no such problem on my dv4i. And the sound is plenty loud and clear for my needs. I use a Squeezebox Boom for streaming music, but the dv4i's speakers are sufficient for even that.

I'm still getting used to the trackpad. It's vertically smaller than on the HDX 16 and I've had a few instances of it not tracking my finger. Its non-responsiveness is reminiscent of the occasional non-responsiveness of the touch controls on the HDX 16. It's like there's interference of some sort. Static electricity, perhaps, since I use my laptops on my lap while sitting up in bed (and, yes, I use a book or something else to keep the cooling ports clear). Ironically, I've had no problems at all with the touch controls on the dv4i.

I haven't dug into this at all, but my dv4i does not detect the 5GHz band of my D-Link DIR-825 wireless router. I have the Wireless-N card, but it detects and connects only with the 2.4GHz band. I also had a problem with losing connectivity while using iTunes Home Share to transfer my iTunes Library from the HDX 16. The connection would just drop out from time to time.

Anyway, I've just started using my dv4i and am happy with it so far.

 

Just got my new dv4i yesterday. It came early, wasn't supposed to be built until the 26th and shipped in two days. Well, I got it on the 26th! Got the i5 540M and 6GB RAM.
First off it wouldn't boot from the hard drive after several tries to get all the setup stuff done. I messed around in the BIOS after trying and trying to boot. I finally gave up and changed the boot order to the DVD drive and used the System Restore disks. Not too happy about that, but it worked.

Edit 4/28
All set up now and I'm loving it. Very fast, can multitask like no other.Wish the graphics was better, but it's not like I'll be watching movies or trying to game on a 14". Installed Photoshop and it loads faster than I've ever seen before! Bought a 15" Incase (MacBook) neoprene slip sleeve from Best Buy and it fits like a glove. Still need to try out the TV tuner...

 

Yes, all the i5 CPU's have turbo boost.

Here's a link to Intel's info on the HD graphics. Towards the bottom it says "up to" 1.7 GB. I don't know how much that is true because it's kinda like many ISP's say "up to" 20Mbps and you never ever see it! Right now I noticed on the HP store you can get the 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 4550 Graphics for $100. Probably worth it to some, but I don't plan on gaming on a 14" laptop anyway.

The dv4i I bought is excellent. I mainly use it on the go and I rarely have been using it at home since I have a desktop and a 17" laptop I use everyday. The i5 and 6 GB of RAM is amazing, I ripped a movie the other day in 20 min 15 sec from the time I put the movie in and the time I took the new burned disk out. FAST! The CPU never went above 5% because of the i5's raw power. Apps like Photoshop CS3 open in a blink. I would recommend it to anyone looking for mobility, but don't want something as small as a netbook.

 

Here's a cool little Turbo Boost desktop gadget to watch your turbo boost. It is for the i5 and i7 only, but does work for mobile CPU's also! Works on Vista and Windows 7.

 

HotRod or any other dv4i owner, could you comment on battery life and heat please? Other posts have mentioned battery life being poor (1-2 hours) and a lot of heat issues. Any info would be appreciated, thanks

 

I take not entries on this forum as a good thing, I think. s everyone's dv4i working perfectly? Are there no tinkerers about; reformatting and adding RAM and doing such massacres of their $1000.00 devices? Is no one actually buying this model?

Mine is on the way, (I love tracking FedEx shipments, it has left AK for its next destination.) I know it has been updated and the new version is not available yet is that the reason there is no action here?

 

As for battery life I would say just over 3 hours. This is on a brand new high capacity 6 cell which will surely be worse over time. I always take my charger with me though.
I was little worried about heat of the i5 in this laptop, but it actually does very well. I have run HW Monitor right after SU and watched while running to see the temp change and it was impressive. Much better temps than my older 17".

I just went to HP shopping site and I can't even find the dv4i anymore, so I'm not sure whats going on there. Glad I got it when I did because I didn't really like the other models that I saw there today.

Jonthebru: There is a fair amount of HP bloatware on the system, but I for once have actually been using some of it and kinda like it. The only thing I have uninstalled is HP Wireless Assistant because Windows already does that for me and it is a resource hog. The GUI on these media programs are good looking and so far run smoothly compared to some of the older programs like Quick Play 3.5 was terrible. Hope this helps and hope you enjoy!

 

I have a question for dv4i owners. I own a dv4i, 6gb ram, core-i5, ati video card. When I turn up my sound to over 50%, i start hearing noises. THey quiet down when i do something, but when i leave the laptop idle for a minute or so, there are noises from the speakers i guess. keeping the volume under 20% quiets the noise down. There was another post made regarding the same problem with the noise. I was wondering if anyone else has this problem?

 

@neogamer

No problem here with mine I would look at HP's site for the manual and see what it takes to open it up to the speaker bar and see if there is something loose. I use mine with a Quickdock connected to desk speakers most of the time anyway though.

 

Can anyone confirm the dv4i with HD4550 has a switchable graphics utility? How much better battery life does running on Intel HD give?

 

I'm sitting here with a DV4-2160us and thought I'd update the Intel HD video Win7 driver on it, which still had the original one from late 2009. Much to my surprise, it turns out that HP doesn't use one of the half million hardware IDs listed in the INF file for the Intel driver from Intel's site, so Intel's driver won't install. HP clearly wants you to use the Intel driver on the HP site, which has a modified INF. Why? Is this their normal practice? Does HP ever bother to provide an updated driver? Intel has released numerous updates since last year.

 

can you guys give me a direct link to the dv4i's page?

because i seems not able to find dv4i in the HP Shopping page

 

At least on the American site, only a couple of quick-ship models are still sold.

 

[delete - redundant ]

 

Welcome to the DV4i Owner's Lounge! A place to liase with other owners and share useful tips/tricks/mods to get the most satisfying user experience. Examples below:

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